Turner 5-Spot

Fox Float 140 fork, Fox RP23 high volume shock, large frame

Simple geometry, DW Link very smooth rear travel, climbs well, consistent rear wheel tracking

Higher bottom bracket tends to give a "higher center of gravity" feeling; front end a bit loose on very steep climbs

Barton Creek Greenbelt and Rocky Hill Ranch

The 5-Spot is a great bike. It took me about 2-3 miles to really get used to the handling. The DW Link felt more familiar to my existing bike (Hammerhead 100X), but the frame size felt a bit large, even though the top tube was effectively the same length as my old bike. With the seat set up right for my leg length, getting on and off of the saddle required a little "jump" up vs. just settling back from a standing position. Once I had the bike dialed in it performed well. Startups were excellent, the bike was snappy and performed well from a standstill, whether I was on flat ground or on an incline.

Climbing was smooth and powerful, the bike performed well, grabbing the ground and scrambling across the loose rock and roots. Several of the climbs that I would normally miss on my old bike were easily cleaned on this one. The fact that the travel has increased over my old ride, I still felt that the climbing was under control, except for very steep climbs. The few very steep climbs that I encountered had a bit of drift in the fork. I could feel the front wheel rising up a bit as I exerted more pressure. Perhaps this is because I was not as familiar with the bike, but even towards the end of the second ride, I had some drifting, like on "the wall" at Rocky Hill Ranch.

I could muscle my way through rock gardens with the suspension eating up the bumps and moving me over the rocks versus around them. Descending was sweet. The 5"+ of travel made downhills a lot faster without losing any bit of control. Despite the larger frame, getting behind the seat was still easier to manage than I was expecting, but because of the higher bottom bracket, I still felt as though I was not completely behind the bike.

Climbing:  8 out of 10
Descending:  9 out of 10
Handling:  8 out of 10
Geometry:   7 out of 10
Weight:   7 out of 10
Overall:   78

Copyright 2009, John Fruehe