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I’m currently torn between holding off for a ‘new’ Longshot rocket max or jumping in for a Longshot FlareMax.
I currently ride a transition patrol and love it but prefer the feel of my Solaris in size and fit. Pretty sure a 29er trail bike is the way forward but torn between the flare max with 120mm rear travel or holding off for the new RocketMAX. My only concern is the rocket might be too much for 90% of the riding I do but perfect for when I’m clumsy, feeling enthusiastic or visit bpw. The other way is the flare looks perfect for 90% but does it have a buffer for the bigger stuff?
Any owners out there got real world opinions of either or ideally both, I realise the rocket max would be the old version.
I've a Rocket Max and my mate has a Flare Max. Not sure about the new longer geo. I test rode my Rocket, wanted one then the Longshot bikes were announced. I decided to wait for the Longshot Rocket because I just wanted the latest and greatest, but then they knocked £500 off the price of the Rocket Max frames so I jumped on it at that price. I'm not disappointed. I suspect the longer geo will suit certain type of riding at the expense of other areas of the bikes performance and for my riding which is varied, the non-longshot geo probably works better for me. In any case it's an awesome bike whatever.
As for Flare Max vs Rocket Max I don't really think it matters. My mate has a Flare max with 130mm forks, I've 150mm forks on my Rocket Max we both ride the same trails, and of similar levels. Both do a mixed amount of riding including DH uplift days. We're no super hero's but then again don't hang about either. I suspect we're mostly over biked, but so what. Better than being underbiked - like you say I'm form the camp that prefers a bit of buffer.
I went for the Rocket Max because when I test rode them on a demo day the Rocket just felt the more stable platform under me...cant really describe it and it is pretty marginal in any case, but I just preferred the feeling of it - probably as much to do with suspension set up than anything. My mate has no regrets about his Flare Max and I've got none about my Rocket Max. And at the end of the day is 20mm of rear suspension really going to make that much difference?
Real world weight difference is negligible - you really can't tell when lifting both the bikes up together.
Both great bikes and I'm sure you won't be disssapointed with either. Having said that I think the Flare Max's are currently sold out so if you're looking to buy soon-ish it might have to be a Rocket Max.
I really can't help you compare them but I love my FlareMax so far. Longshot geo feels very natural for me.
Thankyou to both of you, gut feeling is the flare but like you say what’s 20mm between friends lol.
maybe I should be wondering if I want to hold off till November (i think) for the rocket or get that fantastic flare in the blue orange now, luckily I’ll need an xl so I think they’re still stocked in farm gates at the mo.
I love my FlareMax, but I also love to climb and never get close to the limits of any bike on the way down. To my mind the RocketMax is just a slightly heavier slightly less efficient version of the FlareMax so would be a worse option for me. But it could be perfect for you of course.
I would say that the FlareMax is easily the most confidence inspiring bike I've ever ridden I'm riding tougher stuff and much faster than ever, but still not getting close to its limits. It's all relative though and what I think is tough you may think is trivial.
Not 'max', but I've had both a Flare (small) and Rocket (medium). The Flare was the better bike for most of what I did and managed a couple of local DHs without dying as well. The Rocket was just too much and it felt a bit baggy compared to the Flare, the fact it felt too long didn't help either mind- maybe a small would've been better but the lack of useable bottle cage mounts meant a 'no' from me and aaaaahm oot. I punted the Flare on for the same reason.
I took a chance on buying a flaremax without riding one and it's turned out to be one of the most playful bikes I've had in years, running it on 29ers with 140mm pikes up front. It flys down any rocky dh in the lakes with confidence yet still nimble enough for trail centres and singletrack...soooo much fun.
The playful nature was a big surprise to me. It's long and slack with long chainstays, yet still manages to feel "playful" somehow. Initially I though it was just because I was coming from a 5" fatbike, so anything would feel playful. But the more I ride it the more I think the stability actually helps in a perverse way. On paper (and in the car park) it's not as easy to move about as a shorter bike. But when you are barelling down a trail a less stable bike can make you (or me at least) tense up and just hang on. With the extra stability of the FlareMax I feel noticably more relaxed on the descents, so I'm much more comfortable throwing my weight around and having fun rather than just trying to survive to the bottom.
Sorry, that's not much help with the original question.
its a good answer though, playful is good. Getting out of it’s depth not so much but it doesn’t sound like the FlareMax does that.
Aaaargh indecision!
Hi, I came from a string of 150mm full sussers to a Flare max and love it. Its 120mm rear, I dont think i have used all of the travel, not noticed anyway. I run 140 pikes up front and it is as much bike as I need for 95% of my riding i reckon. It climbs great, geometry is inspiring yet its still good in tight stuff. I took it to the Swiss Alps earlier, and to be fair, it dealt with my ability just fine. Reckon a good rider would take more advantage from more rear travel, but, coupled with climbing was fine. You really should try to demo one first though as the sizing is not as straightforward as we are all used to. My mates had a new Solaris max small, and it feels like a medium, again, great bike though. I've since grabbed a Solaris max as well and love the all round ability of the hardtail. Both are being run as 27.5 plus with 2.8 tyres...tis brilliant.
Cheers Snakebite, at 6’5” I’m a bit taller than Cy so fairly comfortable the xl is the frame for me (like most things).
torn between waiting to demo in November and risk them being out of stock of the flare max or strike whilst the iron is hot.
also need to break the subject to the boss, that is probably more of a concern 😜
in the blue orange now, luckily I’ll need an xl so I think they’re still stocked in farm gates at the mo.
@lummox, there is one left of that option, with three more coming later in the year.
Longshot FlareMAX feels as capable as the standard previous gen Rocket 275 (my bike), to me, but with more confidence inspiring geom, so up for anything I'd be up for. I'd swap onto one tomorrow, if it wasn't for the cost of new fork/shock/wheels. I can't speak about the longshot RocketMAX, as I've not ridden the prototypes.
For those worried about the longshot geom:
- demo one
- sIze down, in the unlikely event that it doesn't click
I've got a Rocket max (not longshot) Great bike, fast and stable and more capable than I'm brave enough to attempt. I was certainly 'over-biked'.
Recently got a Stanton and have been really impressed at how playful it is, twitchy compared with the Cotic, but 'poppy' and engaging.
I'd suggest you test ride the Cotic
When I went for a demo; I'd narrowed down my choices to a FlareMax or a Whyte T-130. I immediately knew the FlareMax was right for me; and at 6'2" felt instantly at home on the XL; despite coming from a medium Whyte PRST-4. Talk about chalk and cheese 🙂
Didn't even bother testing the Whyte; ;just spent 24 hours agonising over my spec then pressed the order button 🙂
For me; it's incredibly confidence inspiring. I'd get my old Whyte down most things; but I didn't realise just how much I was having to work the bike to make it do what I wanted. The FlareMax is ridiculous the way it encourages you to go faster than you thought possible.
I've only two complaints (just for balance)...
1 - it's taking me a while to learn to weight up the front wheel on fast corners; I'm so used to being right off the back of the bike and then you don't have the traction you'd expect.
2- I'm suffering from pedal strikes a bit more; but that's improving as I get used to it - BB is lower than my old bike and I'm being a bit more aggresive/ambitious about where I'm riding too. I'm not averse to a few war wounds though so no biggie 🙂
If you already have a 29er hardtail, I'd be getting the 160mm 29er full suss - the 120mm bike is probably too close to the Solaris. Assuming you're keeping both.
As for Geometry, I found that owning one long slack bike very quickly makes your regular geo bike feel cramped (as you found with your Patrol). I'd be looking at having both bikes with the longshot geo
Edit - bit late with the reply, I see. Enjoy the bike 🙂
Trigger pulled, hopefully one flaremax frameset in the post tomorrow #excited
Awesome looking forward to seeing the pictures!!