# Finally, i need some advice fellas



## einstein (Jan 13, 2004)

Alright i've been doin my homework and looking at gazillions of bikes and reviews tryin to find the best bike. This is what i've come down to, please let me know which one you would get. Oh, a little background, i'm looking for my first dj bike, i'm lookin to spend about 600-anything left over would probably go towards upgrades, i've been riding mountain forever so i'm debating the whole 24"wheel thing on the soul bike. But ok, my brain is goo now.

First up a 2005 trek bruiser for $375, i'm not too hot on it but the price seems good









Second a soul loki. $600 I'm not sure about goin 24" but i really love the frame, which is new.It has a new 06 sherman flick fork, and mostly new parts, dig the sun rims too









third a 05 specialized p2. 400ish Has new saint cranks,brakes,bar,stem, and pedals.









Next a 05 diamonback assault. 400. really like the sun stype wheels, could get a new fork eventually with money left over









A brand new 06 redline skookum. 450. this pic is of a bigger sized frame









Last a 05 kona scrap. $500 love the konas. Has a new dj2 fork. havent got a pic yet but heres one without the fork upgrade


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## XSL_WiLL (Nov 2, 2004)

einstein said:


> Alright i've been doin my homework and looking at gazillions of bikes and reviews tryin to find the best bike. This is what i've come down to, please let me know which one you would get. Oh, a little background, i'm looking for my first dj bike, i'm lookin to spend about 600-anything left over would probably go towards upgrades, i've been riding mountain forever so i'm debating the whole 24"wheel thing on the soul bike. But ok, my brain is goo now.
> 
> First up a 2005 trek bruiser for $375, i'm not too hot on it but the price seems good
> 
> ...


There is no o6 Sherman. It was replaced by the Travis in 2006.

The picture of the p2 doesn't have Saint cranks. And what bar, stem, pedals, and brakes are on it?

The Soul cycles is a nice frame, but I get the impression it's more oriented towards freeride. If you do end up with it, I'd reduce the travel on the fork.

I'm not a big fan of the Big S, but it's a solid bike.

Diamondback is overlooked so often. They get such a bad rep sometimes, but really, they have some nice stuff. The Assault rides pretty well.

And as for Kona. I like Kona. The bike rides very well. But if it's got the Shimano brakes... They're garbage.

The Redline really doesn't look like much of a jumper.


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## todd_freeride (Aug 9, 2005)

the loki is a pretty nice deal, the reason being the fork, but with that fork it isnt really a DJ bike. forks for DJ are usually 100mm or less in travel. I started out with a P.2 its still running today. I love it to death. the diamond back looks like its been abused/left outside. 

my vote is to go for the P.2 its a great frame and its at a low price, you could afford to upgrade anything if you didnt like it.

everyone will come on here and say "STP is the only way to go" and for the price, STP's are pretty nice, and it would be new. look into those if you want. but buying something like the P.2 and haveing $300.00 to put into it might be a better idea.

the scrap is okay, will is right, the shimano brakes really suck. what year is the DJ II ? the DJ series from marzocchi sucks major a$s though. and if you really wanted to upgrade the fork to a dirt jumper on the p.2 that can be done for about $150.00


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## attomixt (Dec 26, 2004)

p2 or kona, both look like nice


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## GorillaTactics (Nov 12, 2006)

if the kona is in good shape, I think I'd pick that one depending on what other parts it has on it. The upgrade to DJII is dope, and I'm assuming the wheelset is upgraded too (scraps don't come with a 20mm fork, so the wheelset or at least the hub would have to have been upgraded).


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## einstein (Jan 13, 2004)

Well the ad says manitou flick, i dont know, but my brothers Dirt jumper po feels like total crap and thats what most entry livel bikes come equipped with.

the p.2 has hayes brakes, sette bar,? stem,5050 pedals, all new. the saint cranks are included but not shown


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## Tag1 (Mar 17, 2006)

The Bruiser's a good solid bike - I like mine a lot. Looks like he's done quite a few upgrades for you, so factor that into the price too.


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## XSL_WiLL (Nov 2, 2004)

einstein said:


> Well the ad says manitou flick, i dont know, but my brothers Dirt jumper po feels like total crap and thats what most entry livel bikes come equipped with.
> 
> the p.2 has hayes brakes, sette bar,? stem,5050 pedals, all new. the saint cranks are included but not shown


Well, it's not a 2006. 2005 at the latest.

There is no Dirt Jumper Pro. There's the Dirt Jam Pro and the Dirt Jumper series. If you ask me, both suck. SSV dampening is fine for the one hit wonders. But not much else. Top out can be pretty bad. The Dirt Jams use a plastic preload clip. It can break under hard use. That'll leave you with a very spongey fork. The DJ series are pretty heavy... and pretty tall.


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## XSL_WiLL (Nov 2, 2004)

todd_freeride said:


> the loki is a pretty nice deal, the reason being the fork, but with that fork it isnt really a DJ bike. forks for DJ are usually 100mm or less in travel. I started out with a P.2 its still running today. I love it to death. the diamond back looks like its been abused/left outside.
> 
> my vote is to go for the P.2 its a great frame and its at a low price, you could afford to upgrade anything if you didnt like it.
> 
> ...


How do you figure the Assault was abused? I don't see any significant rust or dents/dings. It was a dull drab flat black to start with. I don't even see any chainslap.

Todd is correct. You can eBay a DJ1 for roughly 150, maybe even less.


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## todd_freeride (Aug 9, 2005)

XSL_WiLL said:


> How do you figure the Assault was abused? I don't see any significant rust or dents/dings. It was a dull drab flat black to start with. I don't even see any chainslap.
> 
> Todd is correct. You can eBay a DJ1 for roughly 150, maybe even less.


I could be wrong. but the way the seat looks, looks really weathered, like its been sitting outside for a long time. the stem bolts look a little rusted, just everything looks a little discolored. like the seatpost and tires. it just really looks like its been sitting outside. also follow the headtube down with your eyes, the fork looks like it might be a little bent.


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## bitterrider (Sep 21, 2006)

Im not a big fan of the bruiser but that one looks nice and definetly has some upgrades. You might want to get it for the price. The only thing i would be thinking is frame swap. 375 for a full set of components aint bad. So take the little extra money you saved and go buy a frame. I saw some nice looking fetish cycles dj frames on ebay buy it now for 150 brand new. Just a thought.


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## Vinny A (Oct 8, 2006)

todd_freeride said:


> I could be wrong. but the way the seat looks, looks really weathered, like its been sitting outside for a long time. the stem bolts look a little rusted, just everything looks a little discolored. like the seatpost and tires. it just really looks like its been sitting outside. also follow the headtube down with your eyes, the fork looks like it might be a little bent.


To me it looks like its dusty from a ride. Everything looks to be in very good condition on it.

I'd take the assault, and if you don't take it I'll probably sell my 20" and get it.


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## Frankenschwinn (Jan 20, 2004)

I loved my loki. Def. not a freeride frame. It is DJ/4X specific. Reduce the travel on the Sherman and you have a really nice jumper.


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## todd_freeride (Aug 9, 2005)

Vinny A said:


> To me it looks like its dusty from a ride. Everything looks to be in very good condition on it.
> 
> I'd take the assault, and if you don't take it I'll probably sell my 20" and get it.


normally I would say dust, but if you look at the seat, its suppost to be black, but it looks faded purple. to me the bike REALLY looks like it was just left on the side of the house.


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## XSL_WiLL (Nov 2, 2004)

Vinny A said:


> To me it looks like its dusty from a ride. Everything looks to be in very good condition on it.
> 
> I'd take the assault, and if you don't take it I'll probably sell my 20" and get it.


My thoughts exactly. If it were left outside, that chain would be bright orange.

The seatpost looks silver to me. And the anodizing on most seatposts suck. not to mention they did produce that seatpost in a dark gunmetal silver.


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## XSL_WiLL (Nov 2, 2004)

Frankenschwinn said:


> I loved my loki. Def. not a freeride frame. It is DJ/4X specific. Reduce the travel on the Sherman and you have a really nice jumper.


Just saying that the build on it looks more like it was built for freeride.


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## boyfromthelak (Feb 16, 2004)

i would lean towards that sould cycles its a great frame and no one really has them. i had one for about a month until i got my planet x and the ride is very comparable just no horizontal drop outs and a higher top tube and a litttle longer.I also ran mine with 24's it was awesome the bike was ver flickable and turned on a dime. if you would like any close up pics of say drops welds etcon the loki let me kno and i will take them as the frame is on my desk above my computer


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## Vinny A (Oct 8, 2006)

todd_freeride said:


> normally I would say dust, but if you look at the seat, its suppost to be black, but it looks faded purple. to me the bike REALLY looks like it was just left on the side of the house.


The seat is a almost a grey for me, must be your monitor settings. Once again it is probably just dust from a ride, my Haro seat looks like that after I ride on some dusty trails.


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## xKREDx (Aug 8, 2006)

p.2:cornut: :cornut: :cornut: :cornut: :cornut:


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