What is "too much bike"?

[reevil]

But no-one has responded to the weight aspect; maybe its not as important a factor as I thought.

For me it's not important. All my bikes weigh (around) the same - give or take a lb or two, so I don't really have anything to compare with.

My inbred feels like it's made from solid lead, but rides like a carbon bike. Prob because of the geometry.

If you're talking around 10lb difference then, yes, I'd rather have the lighter bike, regardless of suspension length.
If they're all within the same ballpark, then I'd rather have what suits 90% of what I'm riding.

There's a cheeky dh(ish) run on my local loop which would be bl00dy great on the Mega, but it's only about 10 minutes on a 3 hour ride. It's fun on the inbred, and the inbred copes with the rest of the loop much better(probably-based on supposition as I haven't ridden it on the Mega yet)

[Hobo]

I don't focus on the weight of the bike as much as I used to. Nomad is around 29/30lb depending on tyres, Love/Hate surprisingly not much lighter at about 27lb. L/H is a lot quicker through tight single track though and that's all down to the geometry and lower front end. And I can probably rule out HT vs FS power losses to the suspension due to the Nomads design which has very little pedal induced bob (doesn't need pro-pedal or lock-out for climbs)

[m65]

''What is "too much bike"?''

Anything over £2,500 is too much for a bike.

[SLB07]

When I had my 714 I found it sucked the life out of trails like Sherwood Pines etc, it was just too much. The io I had at the same time was loads better despite being a very similar weight.

Some bikes feel nippy without actually being that capable and some much more capable bikes only come to life under certain conditions.

I bought my butcher a couple of months ago after some fairly extensive demos of a lot of bikes and I knew it would be underwhelming on flatter, easier terrain. Hence I ordered it's opposite number a couple of weeks later and I don't expect this to be blasting down Lakeland passes every weekend - it wouldn't be "enough" bike...

[DaMilkyBarKid]

My 5 is my only bike at the moment for offroad. At ~29lbs (and falling) it pedals good enough on canal paths ( just flick the rear propedal on a bit) and also descends like hell. I can get it up most climbs without feeling it's holding me back (usually get front-end lift first), so your idea of a 140mm FS at 28lbs seems about right. Definitely suits me and my riding.

Mind you, my commuter bike weighs 32lbs (the wheels are bloody heavy) and flies along, providing the surface isn't too rough. Maybe after a few more years I might think differently

[Tango]

My 5 is my only bike at the moment for offroad. At ~29lbs (and falling) it pedals good enough on canal paths ( just flick the rear propedal on a bit) and also descends like hell. I can get it up most climbs without feeling it's holding me back (usually get front-end lift first), so your idea of a 140mm FS at 28lbs seems about right. Definitely suits me and my riding.

Ditto

[SLB07]

Orange owners = easily pleased!

(Edit: or just have low expectations)

[Tango]

Orange owners = easily pleased!

(Edit: or just have low expectations)

Miserable SLBastard

[Kevolution]

My 5Am custom proto kicks ass pretty much everywhere. I change the tyres and suspension settings to change the feel of the bike. If I rode it in fr setup on trails I'd be over biked but some small changes tune the bike to the trail. Works for me. I guess Orange owners are easily pleased because we can use the pure feel of the suspension platform to alter the attitude of the bike in different situations. Linkage actuated bikes tend to feel the same regardless of body position. Mw motocross bike had a single pivot design and that's where I learned to ride, tune and use suspension to my advantage.

[randomist]

Too much bike: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=vGGlODF7_RY

Too much bike: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=StqjuAZfJj8