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If you go to les cycles, haggle a bit, he knocked my Marin down nearly £100

Jumps....what sort you intending on hitting with it?
You'll never be able to hit proper dirt jumps with a full susser.

Surely your better off with a full blown DH bike and a free-ride hardtail?

I need something that can do it all. The voltage travel is overkill for Danbury's jumps, but my hardtail doesn't inspire confidence in places like Woburn. So its a catch 22.

I have a FR hardtail already and if I had it my way I wouldn't be selling it to get this. It would be great to have both, but I have to many bikes already.

Besides, certain people on this forum run around Danbury on 200mm travel, so 170mm is XC in comparison.

But I got some time to think about it now that I am looking at 2011 bikes. No rush to catch the 2010 deals.

You talking about Woburns jumps or free-ride stuff?


What about a Cowan DS?

My two pence

I started out on a giant reign x with fox 36 air up front and 170 of fox air at the back all weighing in at about 32 pounds.

this was great for loads of stuff, from the giant black xc loop at glentress to danbury to aston hill to the dual at chicksands - an awesome bike which could go up and down.

then i went to the alps with jon and the kiwis and to be honest me and the bike felt a little too skitty and not plush enough so i got a coil fox rear shock ,180mm totems, halo SAS wheels and saint discs. that was a great uk downhill bike which if i needed to ride up to get to the downs I could do it without any issue but i think the black xc loop at glentress would be pushing it.

then along came bike number 2, a SC chameleon with all the old bits from the reign X which was perfect for trail riding and great fun at chicksands and danbury where the tracks are smooth.

unfortunately i put a nice dent in the rear triangle of the reign X and so needed a new frame before the next alps trip. i got such a good deal on a devinci wilson and built it up with all my parts to make a fantastic dh bike which inspires confidence not just due to the extra travel but also the geometry. It is overkill for danbury and woburn but then if i want to ride those i can always take the chameleon too.

so from my experience if you want a bike for going dh in the UK and the occasional longer up and down trail a single 170mm bike with the right geometry and kit can be awesome. As what you ride gets bigger, steeper and more seat of your pants a proper dh bike works well with a hardtail for places like danbury etc but is no way essential - just look at Tom and Matt both rocking the alps on 170mm and below with no issues.

Cheers for the input guys but, to be fair its only made me more indecisive than ever.

Tested the Scott Voltage 20 2011 today! And its pretty impressive. Haven't been that comfortable on a bike in long time. You can feel the difference the double crown makes, even on the little back road I tested it on. and Scott had fitted Boxxers (all be it entry level), instead of the Domains. Not sure why, but I like them!!!! Very impressed.

Makes my Marin feel like a XC bike now, not sure how I am going to get back on it! Cause I think I am gonna have to stick with it for a few more months at least. I reckon if I am this indecisive now, its the wrong time to buy.

But got the money in the bank and when I am ready! I reckon its the Voltage 20!