Santa Cruz Superlight - A proven winner.
I have a little problem here. My Gary Fisher Cake 2 DLX and I have never gotten along. And I’m about to get back into long-distance mountain biking again, since I’ve been roped into joining the duo team “Lost Nuts” in the 24 Hours of Old Pueblo.
The Gary Fisher has just never fit me well. It’s always been a bit too long in the travel department for me, and I’ve just never felt comfortable on it. So I think it’s finally, really, truly New Bike Time for me. I’m an Arizona rider, so that means a lot of rocky madness.
Here’s what I’m considering:
1. Curtlo Advanced Mountaineer – A custom-made steel hardtail. Some of you tyros may never have ridden a steel hardtail. You might think I’m crazy. But a quality steel hardtail is light, rugged, low-maintenance and snappy. Take care of it, and it will keep riding after the flavor-of-the-month carbon wonder machine is delaminating in the landfill. Doug Curtiss, according to his site, builds these to suit each individual rider’s body, preferences and riding conditions – making the already-great steel hardtail even better with attention to detail.
2. Santa Cruz Superlight – A simple, rugged full suspension bike. It’s a proven winner – I’ve owned two bikes from Santa Cruz, and both delighted me with super fit and killer ride quality. They’re also reasonably price and handle snappy as all get-out. You can spend a lot more money on a full-suspension bike – but you can’t get all that much better.
I’m leaning toward the Curtlo, though whenever I ride something super-rocky I get the Santa Cruz craving. But there’s something so sleek about a well-appointed hardtail. And I think having such a well-established hand at the torch can yield some benefits for me. Either way, I’m looking at mostly SRAM X9 components and some sort of hydaulic disc brakes. I’m used to Hayes, so I’ll probably stick with ‘em.
What do you bikers out there think?
Ran across Curtlo while I was shopping for a steel hardtail. I really like the idea of a custom-built frame. That said, I’d never consider a hardtail for an all-purpose bike. I own a Voodoo Dambala and a Turner Sultan. The Voodoo is very nice for relatively smooth trails (and would do very well in the 24 hour race) but the Turner is what I absolutely love to ride just about anywhere. The Voodoo is a great back-up bike. BTW – go 29er – you’ll never regret it and you’ll never go back to 26.
I already tried a 29er up in Whistler, and I just wasn’t convinced. I could see it being great for singlespeed hardtail for keeping your momentum going. I found it balanced really funny in downhill switchbacks – especially of the rocky variety where I need the most help!