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The Street => The Bike Shop => Topic started by: Cole on November 30, 2014, 02:20:43 PM

Title: Transition Bottlerocket?
Post by: Cole on November 30, 2014, 02:20:43 PM
Guys that ride full suspension MTB's, looking at getting a Bottlerocket as there's one somewhat local to me for decently cheap (about 1200). Fox suspension, blah blah. here's the ad. Let me know if it's a decent deal or not.

http://www.pinkbike.com/buysell/1674965/
Title: Re: Transition Bottlerocket?
Post by: Bink on November 30, 2014, 02:35:33 PM
$1250 for the complete bike? I'd say that's a great deal, especially with a Fox 36. Go for it.
Title: Re: Transition Bottlerocket?
Post by: Cole on November 30, 2014, 02:42:36 PM
Thanks Bink.

I'm not totally opposed to other medium travel bikes, but I'd like to stay in the 1000ish budget range. I would only really be getting out maybe once a month to ride. What are my other options?
Title: Re: Transition Bottlerocket?
Post by: Bink on November 30, 2014, 02:55:32 PM
My best advice would be to keep up on the PB Buy/Sell. The Bottlerocket is definitely a good option as it's 26" and "outdated", so they're selling rather cheap. The NS Soda FR would be a good option too, but they tend to sell for fairly high prices.

Are you set on a mid travel rig? Or would you consider a slopestyle frame? I was using a Banshee Rampant (100mm rear travel with a 140mm fork) on everything from pump tracks to XC to DH last summer without any problems, though my frame did eventually crack (I bought used and it cracked where many other Rampants have broken, to be fair). I mention slopestyle bikes because they often sell for much cheaper than mid-travel bikes and there's usually a number of them for sale on PB. Plus they can be a lot of fun depending on your local terrain. Speaking of which, what type of trails will you be doing?




Title: Re: Transition Bottlerocket?
Post by: Bink on November 30, 2014, 02:59:28 PM
I forgot to mention to check out the Banshee Wildcard. It's a mid travel freeride/big hit slopestyle bike that's similar to the Bottlerocket: http://www.pinkbike.com/buysell/1615267/
Title: Re: Transition Bottlerocket?
Post by: Cole on November 30, 2014, 03:26:07 PM
Bink, given that there isn't much "big hit" stuff in Ontario, slopestyle or mid range travel stuff would work. How's the Kona Bass? Found one for about 860
Title: Re: Transition Bottlerocket?
Post by: Cole on November 30, 2014, 03:26:45 PM
Also, Blue Mountain will be where I use it.
Title: Re: Transition Bottlerocket?
Post by: joelite44 on November 30, 2014, 03:28:58 PM
thats a downhill oriented slope style less trails riding and climbing kind of bike. its got a nice price tag but not the nicest. As bink stated, keep up on the look out for bikes. http://www.pinkbike.com/photo/11520523/

what style of riding will you be riding with your future mtb?
Title: Re: Transition Bottlerocket?
Post by: RidingBMX on November 30, 2014, 04:09:52 PM
Cole, I used to shred the FUCK out of my bottlerocket until I recently sold it.  I blew out the rear shock and sold it as is for $1000.  I'd say the one you posted is a good deal.

I can't recommend the bottlerocket enough.  I fucking LOVED that thing.  My rear and front shock were able to lock up, so it made it super easy to climb on it, and it shredded the downhill like nothing, too. Also, I can't even begin to describe how awesome it felt to jump this thing.  Super steady in the air and it jumped like a bmx, but could keep up with the full downhill bikes coming down the mountain.

I used it a ton on lift access trails, but I also used it in an almost xc fashion on my local trails.

Let me know if you have any questions!
Title: Re: Transition Bottlerocket?
Post by: Bink on November 30, 2014, 06:55:29 PM
Bink, given that there isn't much "big hit" stuff in Ontario, slopestyle or mid range travel stuff would work. How's the Kona Bass? Found one for about 860

I've never ridden one, nor do I know much about it. As far as I can tell online, it's a decent frame. Some other bikes worth considering: Rocky Mountain Slayer SS, Specialized SX (the 100mm travel version), Transition Double, Diamondback 4x/Slopestyle, Scott Voltage (adjustable travel, very versatile), Black Market Roam, Yeti 4x, and I hesitantly recommend the Banshee Rampant. It appears to occasionally crack on the pivot weld above the BB, which happened to mine, and it uses bushings instead of bearings in the pivots, but I really loved the feel of that frame. My bike felt like an oversized BMX bike, but with the stability of the big wheels. They're also had for a reasonable price on PB, especially since many of them are in Canada.
Title: Re: Transition Bottlerocket?
Post by: cmc4130 on November 30, 2014, 07:09:21 PM

I have a Transition Double. It's the 4"/4" travel bike, while I think the Bottle Rocket was 6"/6".   I think the Double handles great.  So I guess it depends what kind of terrain you're on, whether you need 6" of travel.
Title: Re: Transition Bottlerocket?
Post by: RidingBMX on December 01, 2014, 07:39:11 PM
Cole, buy that fucking bottlerocket.  You won't regret it.
Title: Re: Transition Bottlerocket?
Post by: MEAT on December 01, 2014, 08:07:34 PM
Seat tube looks skinny, is it a 27.2? Might be if its a play bike, if thats the case then you couldntfit a reverb and the available dropper options are all horrible. Might be a consideration...?
Title: Re: Transition Bottlerocket?
Post by: Cole on December 01, 2014, 10:07:06 PM
Meat, not really up on any new MTB stuff. By dropper do you mean a setpost that's adjustable on the fly?

Anyhow, sent the dude a message, I'll be paying for it Friday and anxiously awaiting the day it gets shipped
Title: Re: Transition Bottlerocket?
Post by: Finn the Human on December 02, 2014, 03:43:42 AM
Meat, not really up on any new MTB stuff. By dropper do you mean a setpost that's adjustable on the fly?

Yeah, it has a mount on the bars to adjust it. You're looking at a minimum of £170 for a new one over here.
Title: Re: Transition Bottlerocket?
Post by: master on December 02, 2014, 11:48:46 AM
Thomson makes a 27.2mm dropper now. Depending on your leg length you may have trouble finding a post long enough to get full leg extension on though. Transition made the TT low on the Bottle Rocket for slopestyle riding and not with climbing in mind.

An upside to your new bike is the DHX 5.0. Find someone with tuning skills or research the hell out of it, you'll need to dial in a decent amount of pro-pedal (low speed compression) to get that bike to pedal well. The boost chamber settings are nice too. I liked my DHX 5.0.
Title: Re: Transition Bottlerocket?
Post by: Cole on December 09, 2014, 10:07:50 AM
Well, dude finally got back to me. He fucking sold it a day before I was paypal'ing him the money for 200 less than I was giving him. Oh well.
Title: Re: Transition Bottlerocket?
Post by: 1664 on December 09, 2014, 03:57:30 PM
You didn't miss out on much , all entry level parts, fox vanilla is a heavy coiled lemon. Also for single pivot lower travel frames I would recommend  the concentric bottom bracket pivot point found on the bm killswitch the kona bass the commencial  absolute and the dart moor shine

I would  sell you this for 1200 shipped http://www.pinkbike.com/buysell/1339373/
Title: Re: Transition Bottlerocket?
Post by: Cole on December 10, 2014, 10:48:52 AM
Thanks for the offer, but no thanks. I have car parts to buy now instead
Title: Re: Transition Bottlerocket?
Post by: Bink on December 10, 2014, 01:33:25 PM
You didn't miss out on much , all entry level parts, fox vanilla is a heavy coiled lemon. Also for single pivot lower travel frames I would recommend  the concentric bottom bracket pivot point found on the bm killswitch the kona bass the commencial  absolute and the dart moor shine

I would  sell you this for 1200 shipped http://www.pinkbike.com/buysell/1339373/

BB pivot makes no sense for a bike he would have wanted to pedal. The only advantage it offers is the ability to run your bike single speed without a tensioner, so I'm not sure why you would suggest it. Oh wait...
Title: Re: Transition Bottlerocket?
Post by: 1664 on December 10, 2014, 02:24:46 PM
The advantage of a conc bb pivot is more than just the ability to run single speed, as you go through the travel your chain stay length remains constant, there's a reason the high end slope style bikes have it as well as the new s works demo. 
Title: Re: Transition Bottlerocket?
Post by: master on December 10, 2014, 03:07:09 PM
Like Bink said, the only reason to run a concentric BB pivot is the ability to run a SS drive train. Other than that it's just a funky bearing arrangement and not worth the tradeoffs.