# Specialized FSr XC or Pitch



## Shanemart (19 May 2009)

Hi all, Would have introduced myself, but couldn't find anywhere to do that...

new to this game, not had a new mountian bike in 17years and used to love doing a bit of everything so am looking for an all rounder really. Think is when I am going into shops, they all seem to not even want to talk about the fsr xc, and push things like the cannondale Prophet.. Now I love the look of the pitch, but found that it was just way too bouncey for any kind of normal riding, and I did like the Prophet and found it a much nicer ride (and would suit me better for what I want it for) but why do I keep being steered away from the XC when it is probably more comparative looks wise to the pitch, and more type wise to the prophet, so surely would be a sensible suggestion? 

Any opinions welcome.

Cheers
Shane


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## bonj2 (19 May 2009)

might get a better response on http://www.singletrackworld.com/forum/forum/bike-chat
but for me it'd be the pitch no second thoughts. But that's cos it's more suited to the type of riding I do.
For YOU, though, if you've ridden a pitch and a prophet and you like the prophet, why aren't you getting a prophet?
If you haven't ridden an FSR XC, then try to get a test ride of one then you can compare that to the prophet.
Don't listen to bike shops that try to "steer" you away from something that your better judgement tells you you would be good with - they're probably only doing it 'cos they've got a commission bonus on that model this month or something or they've got some stock they need to get rid of.


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## Shanemart (19 May 2009)

Cheers mate, 

Is there a way to stifen up the back end on the pitch as it really did seem too bouncy, almost broken even... A friend suggested that it may not have been at the right pressure but the guy in the shop seemed to think it was fine... I couldn't even get it on its back wheel as all the momentum just went through the shock.. Is this normal or not? Cos that is my favorite looks wise by far.

The prophet is £200 over my budget really, so was just after a comparison.

I will check out the other site though mate. 

Cheers
Shane


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## bonj2 (19 May 2009)

firstly full sussers are meant for the generic trail riding that most people in the uk do at places like the peaks, coed y brenin etc. Not for doing tricks like manuals and stuff on.
It sounds very much like you got on it, couldn't do a manual on it and so decided it was rubbish. Well that's not what it's meant for.
Sorry to sound harsh but that's what it sounds like...
Like i say - generic trail riding since that's what most of the UK's terrain is suited to. The pitch is with slightly more emphasis on being a confident descender, while the FSR XC has slightly more emphasis on being light and fast and stiffer for up climbs, but they're not, respectively, a full on downhill bike or an out-and-out XC race bike. Largely since that's not what most of the terrain in the UK is like - if you want full on downhill or XC race then you can hunt it out, but these bikes are made for just generic trail riding.

So it sounds like you should decide what you're after. If you want to do manuals and tricks, then get a very slack-angled hard tail like a jump bike, but if you want to do normal trail riding, then test the bikes with that in mind - so an appropriate test would be not whether you can 'get it up', but how it handles on a technical descent and whether it inspires confidence there. If it bottoms out when you're hammering it down a rocky section, then yes it most definitely is too low pressure.
If it handles well because it's keeping the back wheel in contact with the ground, then the shock's doing it's job. but if the feel of it compressing makes you lose confidence then maybe a full sus isnt' for you?

To achieve the correct pressure, you should set the sag to about 25%-30%. i.e., so that the shock travels that percentage of its total travel when you just sit on the bike normally. For my bike that's about 120-130psi and i'm about 75kg, but obviously will be different for you and whatever bike it is.


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## bonj2 (19 May 2009)

oh and DON'T let how it looks have too much influence on your decision! 
buy the one that's good to ride, not the one that you'll look cool in front of your mates on. If that's your aim, go to halfrauds and get a cheap shitter with fake double crown forks, anybody who doesn't know any different will think it's a downhill bike


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## Shanemart (20 May 2009)

Bonj, I know what your saying, and appreciate your reply, but as you say the 2 bikes are designed for a similar purpose, yet i found that i could stand it on its nose and rear end no probs on the prophet, but didn't stand a chance on the pitch.... Now I am going to go back and have a go again, but there aren't any hills near by for me to check it out in its best suited environment only a big flat car park with a cycle path round it, and so will get the guy to show me exactlly what pressure is in the rear shock before I go anywhere. I weigh about 70kg at the mo, (not been too well of late) so will be looking at around 110 - 120psi you think?

I am more resigned to the fact that it must have been set wrong as it did ride really bad at the back end no matter what I did with the adjuster.. the front end was much more manageable with the adjuster set lower.

I am not buying a bike to look good infront of my mates though, they all run £2k+ FS bikes so just hoping to be able to keep up, and I can't see myself doing that on the pitch if it is as it was... It must be the pressure..


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## bonj2 (20 May 2009)

Shanemart said:


> Bonj, I know what your saying, and appreciate your reply, but as you say the 2 bikes are designed for a similar purpose, yet i found that i could stand it on its nose and rear end no probs on the prophet, but didn't stand a chance on the pitch.... Now I am going to go back and have a go again


All I can do is reiterate that how it performs in 'standing it on its nose and rear end' is not really representative of how it performs on general trail riding. So the bike that you can 'stand on its nose and rear end' may or may not be the same bike that you can keep up with your mates on...


Shanemart said:


> , but there aren't any hills near by for me to check it out in its best suited environment only a big flat car park with a cycle path round it, and so will get the guy to show me exactlly what pressure is in the rear shock before I go anywhere. I weigh about 70kg at the mo, (not been too well of late) so will be looking at around 110 - 120psi you think?


You can't really just apply a multiplication factor - the figures i gave are just an example for my bike, it isn't really appropriate to transpose it to any bike. Geometry for instance will have a large part to play and this is different for every bike.



Shanemart said:


> I am not buying a bike to look good infront of my mates though, they all run £2k+ FS bikes so just hoping to be able to keep up, and I can't see myself doing that on the pitch if it is as it was... It must be the pressure..



With the pitch it may be a case of them waiting for you at the top of hills, and you waiting for them at the bottom, with the FSR XC it may be the other way round. It may be all of one or all of the other.
If they're good mates though they won't mind waiting, so unless you really are going to enter actual races on it, then just get what you're going to enjoy riding the most.

have you asked on singletrackworld yet?


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## RedBike (20 May 2009)

You can obviously adjust the shocks to suit but from the sounds of it the pitch was set up correctly. It's a 6" travel bike. With all that travel it's suppost to feel 'squiggy' at the back. You can obviously adjust the shock to harden up the ride but theres no point having a 6" travel bike if you prefer to ride around with the suspension hardly moving. 

The Felt Virtue is worth looking at. It's like the FSR but it's got this extra 'link' that really stiffens the back end up. When you can bounce up and down on the pedals it wont bob anything like as much as the Pitch. The downside to this link is it takes a lot more of a jolt to get the suspension to move so it doesn't feel anywhere near as smooth.


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## mtb4evr (29 Jul 2009)

'08 FSRxc Expert is great and you can turn the lockout on 1/2 - 3/4 of the way on to stiffen up the suspension, but im sure you can do that with the rest of the bikes also though


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## mattsccm (29 Jul 2009)

I think you are making a mistake in comparing them. They are not aimed at the same type of use. In fact from a performance point of view they are separated by the Stumpjumper. The XC is what it says its is. Great for doing the distance, great for up hill and reasonable at middling speeds down. The Pitch is tolerable up and great down. The only comparison really is that they are relatively cheap ( Compared with the Stumpy or Enduro) . the Pitch is really a simple Enduro, much like the 06 models but cheaper. It strikes me that a Stumpy would be the best of both worlds. Perfectly good for manic descents at Welsh trail centres but nice when doing long trips. How about looking around for an 09 model as the 10 ones will be out soon


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