Five Bikes This Downhiller Owns

August 31, 2008 by Dan Tisser
Filed under Miscellaneous, Newbies

I call my self a downhiller because it is the type of riding that I most identify with. However, I am a lover of all bikes and riding. I will never participate in the argument of which type of rider is better, (except maybe the fixie, indie rock, mustache clad hipsters; but they are an easy target). We riders on a fundamental level are all the same. We love to get out with our two wheels on the ground, and enjoy the world around us.

My Downhill Rig- It is the most ridiculous bike I own. It is the most expensive, time consuming and has an incredible appetite for parts and tires. This type of bike has put me on the operating table and has knocked me out twice. It has 9 inches suspension of travel in the rear and 8 in the front. This is my baby that I only get to ride maybe 20 times during the course of the year. Every day on this bike feels like a vacation (if there are no major crashes). It is a 2006 Foes Racing Fly with a Marzocchi 888 RC2X.

Cross Country Mountain Bike- I use the term cross country loosely. I don’t care how long it takes me to get to the top just as long as I get to ride down. My XC bike is heavy, with 2.35 wide tires, short stem and wide riser bar identical to my DH bike. It has six inches of travel front and rear. Despite the weight this bike is the one that I ride most. Trails are dry almost year round here, and Moab is a short drive away. The more time that I spend on this bike, the better off I am when the mountains dry out and I can take out my rig. It is a 2006 Trek Remedy 6.

Urban Hard Tail- As the name suggests, this bike never leaves the city. It is mandatory to own because it becomes the dumping ground for all the parts that I go through on my XC and DH bike. It started out as a cheap bike but has slowly accumulated some top shelf parts that have a little life left in them. The bike technically is two sizes too small for me, it feels like a grown up’s version of a BMX. This is also the bike that I practice the minimal trials skills that I have. This is also the closest thing that I have to a “townie” bike. It is the only one that I will lock up outside a bar, restaurant, or grocery store. Despite all of the nice parts on it, it is the cheapest bike I own. It is a 2005 Specialized Hard Rock, with nothing stock including the paint job.

Full Suspension 4 Cross- This bike is the same height as my urban hard tail, for the same reason. This is the bike I use to practice all of my cornering techniques, body position and dirt jumping when I am cross training for downhill. Despite the huge weight difference between the two they feel very similar, due to their slacker head tube angels and frame sizes (short in height and long in top tube). This bike really blends my XC, urban hard tail, and downhill rig nicely. It is a 2006 Santa Cruz Blur 4X.

Road Bike- I know, this is a mountain bike blog, and I am a downhiller, but I love my road bike. I even like road bike culture and know the difference between The Giro and The Vuelta. This bike is special to me because with out it I would have never been a downhiller. Many years ago I was training to be a road racer; I had logged over 2,000 miles between January and March. I was way over trained, under weight, and caught a virus that kept me off the bike for almost six weeks. Knowing that my year was shot for road racing, I took my tax return and bought my first full suspension freeride bike and started racing it immediately.

This is also the first bike I road after two knee surgeries. Without it I would not have recovered as quickly. It is a 1999 Lemond Alpe d’Huez.

Bio- Dan Tisser has raced and ridden downhill since 2001, lives in Denver, and works as an account executive at an advertising agency.

How many bikes do you own? What are they?