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Hi there,

So I'm in the process of converting my Marin East Peak 09 from an XC to downhill and was wondering if anyone could point me in the direction of a decent chainset, but reasonably priced?

Cheers!

Saint, truvativ descendent or MRP camber would be my choices

Is that the best idea? I dont think an east peak would be the greastest bike to turn into a downhill bike, geometry wouldnt be great on it.

Chainset wise, don't think you can look far past Shimano Saints with an MRP chain device.

Got to agree with Tom on that.

if you want to make everything stronger then....

reasonably priced then the new shimano zee may be a good option or a set of shimano slx is a favourite for those looking for tough but affordable.

I was looking at getting a Giant VT1, found one second hand reasonably priced.

Would that suit better?

It would be better
although i think you should start from the beginning.

where do you intend to ride on the regular?
whats the budget?

I'm going for something secondhand because I'm on a bit of a budget and quite simply can't afford a brand new bike

Probably places like Rogate/Hindead/Aston Hill regularly. Will make trips to other places further afield though.

U may be better off seeking advice on www.ride.io it is the main uk downhill site

I'd second Tom, just back from my second visit to Morzine/Les Gets and bike took a beating with a few crashes but Saint gear and MRP guide were perfect (apart from guide needed bolt tightening once).

Andy

I had a vt-2 for about 8 months. Not bad bikes, but how much are you talking? I wouldnt pay over £250 for one as I reckon you could pick something else up for only slightly more second hand.

http://www.pinkbike.com/buysell/1161517/

http://www.pinkbike.com/buysell/1154349/

two examples of frames that are pretty cheap. However, if you could cobble together £750-£1000 you could pick up a second hand dh bike that is quite nice. Maybe sell the marin and go from there.

I guarentee you that you will end up spending a fortune on it anyway.

I've found the whole Vt-1 for £300, would sell the parts I would replace to further fund it. You think £300 is worth it?

Well I sold mine 3 months ago for £475 (the guy was completely stupid, I bought it a year before for £400). So £300 for the bike is good, but still, it's not a downhill bike, whatever you do to it.

Sadly, I've got first hand experience of this, I tried to turn the VT-2 into more of a freeride bike, but, although I made it ride much nicer, it can't take over 130mm-150mm forks, and it only has 5.7" rear ravel (if memory serves) Also i bottomed out that bike countless times, even with far more air than recommended for my weight.

Getsomething like this:

http://www.pinkbike.com/buysell/1169229/

http://www.pinkbike.com/buysell/1023181/

http://www.pinkbike.com/buysell/1171860/

Take a look on that website for yourself. I reckon you'll be much better off doing that.

Unless ur an absolute animal Xt and slx are fine for dh.

im sure more people would run them on DH rigs if they came in 83mm widths.

An east peak wont make a great DH bike... phaps swap the frame out for something like a charge blender.. still a hardtail.. can be had second hand cheap and has the geo to rip on the downhills.

http://www.pinkbike.com/buysell/list/?q ... ntryid=193

I will second Karve you can pick up and blender pretty cheap on ebay and its an absolutely brillant bike. I use mine for everything bits of downhill at warley, pumptracks, bmx tracks and most recently i started getting into 4cross. (just dont try and do any climbing as its awful at it) Like already said if you are on a tight budget you will get more for your money from a hardcore hard tail