2011 Turner DHR Reviewed by Tim Coleman

It's really disturbing to see people disdain consumer advocacy to the lengths seen in this thread. I don't understand what benefit it is to anyone in the market for a $6000+ bike to write reviews that don't focus on its shortcomings. Why would anyone take such pride in their consumer purchases that they should feel the need to speak up and defend the honour of Dave Turner/Weagle? How are your hard earned dollars protected in this regard? If Tim thinks the bike isn't that good, it's not meant as a personal insult to anyone who disagrees and decides to spend the money on the DHR regardless.

i think you misunderstood me….i don't take any personal insult whatsoever, and i realize that nothing is infallible, and serious scrutiny results in a better product in the end…what annoyed me is that this "review" wasn't very technically based, and it was very misinforming….

Tim complained about the fork hurting his hands so he switched to his "beloved" 888, then slammed the frame that he was supposed to be reviewing because he couldn't set the shock up to work favorably….just as he didn't take the time to set the fork up(he wrote it off instead) he also probably didn't take much time trying different shock setups, and also misinformed readers about compatibility with certain shocks…

if anyone else reviewing this frame had similar findings, then maybe there would be some merit in his review, but all in all the DHR has had nothing but rave reviews, particularly regarding the rear suspensions performance….it's not about the fact that he thinks it "isn't that good" it's that he didn't do his job correctly in reviewing it and testing it, and he made some hasty conclusions….

he also said "the DHR was harsher over high speed terrain than any of the DH bikes I’ve ridden recently" ….to me, that's pretty vague….he should enlighten us and go into detail if he wants to retain any credibility…

anyhow, i'm not personally bent, i just think it was a pretty lame review….

this thread is finally getting interesting!
ian, tim is a good rider and a pretty bright guy.
you may also be surprised what we ride up here on hardtails.

if that frame broke on the little schleyer drop, even landed flat (about 8 feet as i recall), well that's just scary.

yeah i was yanking your chain - but i was also being serious about ripping that on the xc bike. i'm sure i'm not the only one either. then again, it might be the video doesn't do the trail justice, kinda like the pic of tim you were talking about.

from my perspective i have ridden harder shit on my xc bike, with the seat half way up. the bike is a med kona explosif with marz mx comp 4" air fork on the front, sun ditch with rims and hayes nines with 6" rotors in case you were wondering.

yeah, who cares, so can i, but …you can't ride it FAST on a hardtail….period….that's like saying you can drive through a rally course in a stock honda civic….no one gives a shit if you can get through it….it's not about whether it's doable or not…what the hell do xc bikes and your kewl 6" rotors have to do with this discussion?

edit: thanks for clarifying what size your frame is…that's super important….and yes, it's the same exact trail

this thread is finally getting interesting!
ian, tim is a good rider and a pretty bright guy.
you may also be surprised what we ride up here on hardtails.

if that frame broke on the little schleyer drop, even landed flat (about 8 feet as i recall), well that's just scary.

i'm not doubting his skills as a rider, i'm just a weary of his skills as a credible bike reviewer….

as for the north shore, i know what people do on hardtails there, i grew up riding plattekill NY and i've ridden the steepest gnarliest trails there on a hardtail, it doesn't make it cool OR fun though…we're discussing the merits of DH suspension, not getting involved in a dick waving match and talking about how cool denying technology is(riding HT's on DH terrain)

as far as the bike breaking, i know nothing about it other than the fact that the fork is twisted and bent to hell, and it takes alot more than an 8 foot drop to do that to that fork….

anyway, i just wanted to point out some of the ridiculous statements made in this review…here's a video of me on my DHR riding a pretty rocky local trail and managing to carry speed through the rough haggard sections just fine….the last 45 seconds is where it gets rowdy…

http://vimeo.com/24808491

cool video bro, can you sign my mousepad?

yeah, who cares, so can i, but …you can't ride it FAST on a hardtail….period….that's like saying you can drive through a rally course in a stock honda civic….no one gives a shit if you can get through it….it's not about whether it's doable or not…what the hell do xc bikes and your kewl 6" rotors have to do with this discussion?

it has to do with you basing a large part of your argument on one shot of tim's riding. the point is that the one shot provides little context as to what's happening on the trail. this is just like your helmet cam vid of the trail you're riding.

you call the trail rowdy and use it to prop up your argument about how great the dhr is, yet from your video the trail looks quite smooth and rideable at speed on a hardtail. based on that, your evidence provides no suitable basis to say how well the dhr handles rough terrain.

perspective my friend, perspective.

right now my perspective says you look like an ass.

i've ridden the steepest gnarliest trails there on a hardtail, it doesn't make it cool OR fun though…

i disagree. i like riding steep gnarly trails on a hardtail because it's a very different type of challenge and i find it a lot of fun. i don't really care whether people think it's cool or not.

again, it's about persepctive and from the perspective your argument was presented it failed.

it has to do with you basing a large part of your argument on one shot of tim's riding. the point is that the one shot provides little context as to what's happening on the trail.

from my perspective i think you took that ONE comment about that ONE picture a little too seriously, and you probably didn't get the point i was trying to make….overall the review misinforms people in more than one way, end of story.

i think you misunderstood me….i don't take any personal insult whatsoever, and i realize that nothing is infallible, and serious scrutiny results in a better product in the end…what annoyed me is that this "review" wasn't very technically based, and it was very misinforming….

Tim complained about the fork hurting his hands so he switched to his "beloved" 888, then slammed the frame that he was supposed to be reviewing because he couldn't set the shock up to work favorably….just as he didn't take the time to set the fork up(he wrote it off instead) he also probably didn't take much time trying different shock setups, and also misinformed readers about compatibility with certain shocks…

if anyone else reviewing this frame had similar findings, then maybe there would be some merit in his review, but all in all the DHR has had nothing but rave reviews, particularly regarding the rear suspensions performance….it's not about the fact that he thinks it "isn't that good" it's that he didn't do his job correctly in reviewing it and testing it, and he made some hasty conclusions….

he also said "the DHR was harsher over high speed terrain than any of the DH bikes I’ve ridden recently" ….to me, that's pretty vague….he should enlighten us and go into detail if he wants to retain any credibility…

anyhow, i'm not personally bent, i just think it was a pretty lame review….

Im the kind of guy that builds his own damping assemblies for forks and shocks.

That being said,tim s one of the few riders who seems to have a good idea of what is going on underneath him.

In short,as someone who designs and builds hydraulic systems,I trust and value his judgement.

I suspect he ended up with a clapped out shock and fork. The kids at Turner have been refining great designs for years,,,,there's no way they would build a dh bike that is a turd.

Hope the review part 2 is much better

I trust and value his judgement.

I suspect he ended up with a clapped out shock and fork.

well, the reason i jumped in is because if he's a discerning tester/rider he should have known this and made more of an effort to give the bike a shot with different suspension rather than hastily write a review that slams it….if he is a sharp guy, he should have known better, that's all

edit, i can also tell you with absolute conviction that if he called turner and said, hey ya know, this fork and shock feel a little whacky, they would have mailed him new suspension right away

from my perspective i think you took that ONE comment about that ONE picture a little too seriously, and you probably didn't get the point i was trying to make….overall the review misinforms people in more than one way, end of story.

i will partially agree with you here because as i read tim's review i also found it to be soft. for me, the fact that he took the time to test the shock cleared up some of the doubt. the fact that he tried different settings, incl those recommended by weagle also cleared up some of the doubt.

for you the dhr might be a great bike, for other's their riding style and preference may make it less desirable. imo differing opinions of a product only benefit the consumer to be able to make an informed decision about their prospective purchase.

well, the reason i jumped in is because if he's a discerning tester/rider he should have known this and made more of an effort to give the bike a shot with different suspension rather than hastily write a review that slams it….if he is a sharp guy, he should have known better, that's all

edit, i can also tell you with absolute conviction that if he called turner and said, hey ya know, this fork and shock feel a little whacky, they would have mailed him new suspension right away

A tester also plays the role of consumer,the product should be ready to rock when set to the manufacturers specs.

If it isnt,Turne and his distributer need to set a meeting….

A tester also plays the role of consumer,the product should be ready to rock when set to the manufacturers specs.

If it isnt,Turne and his distributer need to set a meeting….

agreed, but by the looks of the bike i think it was a demo bike and the overall feel of the review was that he didn't put much effort into setting the suspension up, and he made vague comparisons to un named bikes…pretty weak if you ask me

from my perspective i think you took that ONE comment about that ONE picture a little too seriously, and you probably didn't get the point i was trying to make….overall the review misinforms people in more than one way, end of story.

just to clarify what you wrote:

it may not look like much to the casual observer, but to me this picture is screaming bad suspension setup. Tim is braking on what looks like a mildly steep section, and there is only an inch and a half of stanchion showing. If his fork was set up properly it would be sitting up higher in the stroke, not diving from the effects of mild braking(running more low speed compression helps prevent this)…if I was braking down that section with my properly tuned compression settings i would have about 5 inches of stanchion showing….

seeing this picture made me really question the validity of his statements regarding the BIKES ability to handle rough terrain…

so uhhmmm, yeah, from your comments it appears that you use that one picture and those two comments about it to solidify your entire argument that tim doesn't know how to set-up the suspension on his bikes and therefore is unable to effectively offer a review the dhr.

or am i getting that completely wrong here?