Took a ride on a Tirade 5.0

[Andy]

I went to Springfield Mass last week for work and was going to post here and at mtbr.com for someone to ride with. Well, low and behold, mountainbike action had an article with the "best group rides in mass" including the phone numbers of the shops that host them. When I saw a place called the Gravity Warehouse I thought they'd be a fun group!

The owner, Seth (pictured below), invited me to join them on a very cool trail with tons of singletrack and some great drops around 5' to 7' (which is just above my comfort level - especially when away from home!)

Seth was riding a brand new '04 Tirade 5.0 loaned to him by K2 for a demo. I was delighted that he encouraged me to try it out. Although it was a medium and the seat was quite low, I had a blast on it and even caught some air. Finally, after about 2 miles of ripping-good singletrack we stopped for a quick break, and then as I fell over, still clipped in, I remembered the tons of float that Shimano pedals have and the extra effort required to exit them! I felt like a doofass!



I really like the bike but would love to have tried the proper size, and have a hopey dampener on it as well.

[numbnuts]

at last some positive comments about the Tirade. It is a good lookin bike although I don't like the seat tube. How did it compare to other FS bikes you've tried and how was the wt?

[Carbon_Angus]

glad you posted about the ride.
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hehehe i alomost tipped over in the LBS after comimg in on a Liquid.  the pedals were way too tight and, and, ans i had to grab onto a door jam to keep from falling over.  everybody there knew i couldn't get out and just left me hang and laugh!