---

10.25.2004

Built up a planet X pitbull after my Cove Stiffee FR snapped in two. This was my first experience with a chromolly frame. Picked the pitbull for a couple reasons... first, it looked beefy and the descriptions I read all indicated strength with no regard for saving weight and second, for the type of riding I do, the modified trials geometry seemed a nice fit. I set it up with a 4" DJ III and a 24" double wide in the rear, so it is slack enough for steeps, but the longer top tube length makes it more than ride-able and comfortable in the air and on drops. Despite its weight the short chain stay and overall geometry make it exceptionally nimble... bunny hopping takes a little extra effort.

full frame shot, top angle
full frame shot, side profile
drop outs
rear stays, top
chain stay, bb
chain stay, bb, top
headtube
headtube, side profile
pitbull built up

---

11.07.2004

The more I ride this pitbull the more I love it... it is suprisingly versatile. Today I had it out for a 2.5 hour XC, single track ride. I love the chromolly - it is super smooth compared to aluminum, sucks up all the vibrations. You wouldn't think to look at this bike that it was a great trail bike, but it is definitely turning out to be... since the seat tube is only about 13" I have to use a super long seat post, planetX probe - 350mm, so I can get full leg extension... when riding XC I have the post at maximum extension and it does flex a little... but despite what you might consider non-trail friendly geometry, being damn heavy and flex in the seat post, this bike climbs well - especially on steep technical climbs... the short slack rear end provides incredibly responsive acceleration and handling, allowing you to deal with real technical climbs.

As far as single track, this bike is amazing. On long "flowy" sections it rails and on tight, twisty technical sections it is nimble and responsive despite it's heft... fast, technical single track may actually be this bike's number one riding quality.

pitbull, seatpost full extension
pitbull, xc mode

---

11.14.2004

Today I went to the dirt jumps. I am not a dirt jumper... in fact I have only been to dirt jumps a handful of times in my life. The pitbull performed masterfully. It is well balanced and maneuverable in the air. Again despite the fact that this bike is heavy and I have it built up with heavy components - tips the scales at 42lbs - it is incredibly responsive in the air. It also accelerates on the dime, so it is so easy to get up to speed fast, even in between jumps if you don't clean the landing enough to maintain speed.

before a ride

---

01.22.2005

The snow is flying here... probably not much riding unless I road trip or go indoors until spring, so it is time to rebuild and upgrade. The funny thing is that I bought this pitbull frame to get me by while I decided on a replacement for my stiffee FR... you know a thrasher frame to huck and beat, thinking it would be worthless on the trail... however, it has turned out to be an excellent trail bike - rips singletrack and even climbs well, especially on technical climbs... I think this is going to be my all around freeride hardtail bike for a while...

---

03.16.2005

Still about 6" to 12" of snow on the trails here... I decided to try an indoor skate/bmx park to get some time on my bike and try a relatively new experience - park riding. I hit East Coast Terminal which is about 15 minutes from where I live.

I am not particularly into park type riding and have only been to a skate park a couple times in my riding life... but I have found that the pitbull inspires confidence. I have it built heavy freeride - tips the scales at 42lbs, but it is incredibly agile. I have noticed this a ton of times on the trail, especially on tight, rough single track and certainly in the air on technical drops... yesterday I had the same experience on the park stunts. So much so that I found myself attempting stuff I would have never thought about doing on my stiffee FR.

...I really love this bike so far... kind of funny, since after the way planetX handled the bar snap issue, I had written them off... I am not counting on them for customer support, but I do love this pitbull.