Which 2010 FS for the peaks?
navier_stokes
Posts: 77
I've been out of (road) cycling for a while and moutain biking even longer, but looking to get back into it as I'm moving close to the peak district soon. I've come up with a shortlist of these 2010 bikes I'm going to try and test ride; all around £2k but may be able to push up to £2.5k if the better specced models are really worth it.
Specialized Stumpjumper Elite
Trek Fuel EX 8
La Pierre Zesty 314
Orange 5 S
Coming from a mainly road background I want it to be very good up the hills, but I want to be equally good descending on typical peaks terrain; something I can ride all day and won't fatigue me. What are the pros and cons of each of the above as you see it? Which is better specced? What would you recommend?
At the moment I'm leaning towards the stumpy or Trek because they seem to be better set up as all round climbers/descenders. The Zesty looks awesome but surely that much travel at the rear can't be good for climbing? And the Orange, well it's British and should leave me with a bit of change over the others to upgrade (unless I went with the pro).
Any advice helping me narrow these choices down would be great; I notice the stumpy an trek have custom shocks - what are the advantages of these?
Cheers!
Specialized Stumpjumper Elite
Trek Fuel EX 8
La Pierre Zesty 314
Orange 5 S
Coming from a mainly road background I want it to be very good up the hills, but I want to be equally good descending on typical peaks terrain; something I can ride all day and won't fatigue me. What are the pros and cons of each of the above as you see it? Which is better specced? What would you recommend?
At the moment I'm leaning towards the stumpy or Trek because they seem to be better set up as all round climbers/descenders. The Zesty looks awesome but surely that much travel at the rear can't be good for climbing? And the Orange, well it's British and should leave me with a bit of change over the others to upgrade (unless I went with the pro).
Any advice helping me narrow these choices down would be great; I notice the stumpy an trek have custom shocks - what are the advantages of these?
Cheers!
0
Comments
-
pains me too say it but sounds like you need a stumpy. if you value climbing over descending then discount the lapierre and the orange as they will arent that well suited to climbing, they will climb well but wont have as sprightly a feeling as the stumpy or trek. personally id have a zesty anyway, but i suggest going for the trek the spec is better than the spesh and if you stretch to 2.5k you can get the ex9 which is a class ride0
-
If you are bothered about climbing ability then def the spesh or the trek - the others are more dh oriented, especially the zesty.0
-
Cheers guys, what's the differences in front and rear suspension between the Spesh elite and expert and Trek EX 8 and 9 other than the obvious travel differences?0
-
CycloRos wrote:The 09 Spesh has 140 front and 120 rear the Trek has 130 front and 120 rear IIRC.
The EX9 is lighter and slightly better spec'd should be a better climber that the EX8 and the others for that matter
Not according to their websites, Spesh is 140mm all round and Trek EX8 120mm all round.0 -
the 2010 stumpy elite has 140mm front and rear and the trek is 120mm both ends0
-
navier_stokes wrote:Not according to their websites, Spesh is 140mm all round and Trek EX8 120mm all round.
Then why ask about differences if you already know? :?
Depends whether your talking 2009 or 2010 bikes. The Stumpys for this year have gone 140mm at the rear with a completely different rear suspension configuration.0 -
I live in the Peaks and would recommend something low maintenance because the grit grinds everything to paste even when its dry (at least in the dark peak). The Orange would be good due to the single pivot.
Have you thought about looking at a santa cruz superlight? you can set it up with a 120mm fork and I know someone who can clear Jacob's ladder on his, so it seems to climb ok!
Have fun choosing anyway!0 -
CycloRos wrote:navier_stokes wrote:Not according to their websites, Spesh is 140mm all round and Trek EX8 120mm all round.
Then why ask about differences if you already know? :?
Depends whether your talking 2009 or 2010 bikes. The Stumpys for this year have gone 140mm at the rear with a completely different rear suspension configuration.
Sorry, if you re-read my post, I asked about the suspension differences "other than the obvious travel differences".
And I'm talking 2010 bikes
Cheers0 -
Can you test any?0
-
supersonic wrote:Can you test any?
I do plan to test them all when I move, but as I haven't kept up to date with the latest I'm trying to gauge what would be best for me and the peaks terrain.
I'm by no mean wanting something to keep up with a race-slim XC bike up the hills, but I don't want climbing to be a chore.0 -
Why not do a custom build with a decent frame and then upgrade the parts as you go, Santa Cruz Blur LT sounds like a good one, it'd be pretty nice for the money too0
-
Peak terrain does vary a lot, from smooth singletrack, to DH esque descents. But I think the bikes you are looking at are in the ball park for 'general' peaks riding.
To throw another 2 in the works how about the GT Idrive platform? The sensor with 120mm of travel:
http://www.tredz.co.uk/.GT-Sensor-1.0-M ... _27918.htm
or the Force with 150mm:
http://s233299868.e-shop.info/shop/arti ... -PACK.html
Both are well specced for the money, and the sus works really well when pedalling and climbing, the Idrive system keeping pedal bob and annoying pedal kickback in check.0 -
ok then in answer to your pointless and not very well constructed question then is not a lot apart from the expert Stumpy gets Spesh's rear brain technology, which now works well according to recent reviews.navier_stokes wrote:Sorry, if you re-read my post, I asked about the suspension differences "other than the obvious travel differences".
And I'm talking 2010 bikes
You can look at the specs forever though and split hairs but its all about how it feels to ride. I'm interested in the new Stumpy and I'll be slinging a leg over one as soon as I can nip down to the concept store in brum
0 -
Got an Orange Five Pro, with 819 UST rims, TALAS fork and Hope M4 brakes.
If you get the Five S model, then you could spend some wedge on the TALAS fork, leave her at 140 mm for descending and rough stuff, slam her down to 100 mm and flick the pro-pedal on and set to '3' on the RP-23 and she will climb fine.
Sometimes its hard to compare bikes clinically. I've had two Specialized bikes and both were troublesome (08 Epic and 08 Stumpy FSR), yet my Trek 8000 hardtail with the exact same brand of components was completely trouble free!
My Orange is superb and really gives me more confidence than I have ever had before, I don't notice difficulties climbing compared to the two Spec' bikes (though the Epic was snappier to accelerate - like the hardtail), but on the descents and rough stuff the Orange is noticeably better for me. For centres and 30-mile Peaks rides I use the Orange no question at all! The hardtail is now only used for riding with the wife and commuting :-(
Having said that they are all great bikes, I am a fan of the Trek EX8/9, I wen to Orange over Trek purely because I love the 'rustic' design and that its made in the UK.
Harvey0 -
harveyg77 wrote:Got an Orange Five Pro, with 819 UST rims, TALAS fork and Hope M4 brakes.
If you get the Five S model, then you could spend some wedge on the TALAS fork, leave her at 140 mm for descending and rough stuff, slam her down to 100 mm and flick the pro-pedal on and set to '3' on the RP-23 and she will climb fine.
Sometimes its hard to compare bikes clinically. I've had two Specialized bikes and both were troublesome (08 Epic and 08 Stumpy FSR), yet my Trek 8000 hardtail with the exact same brand of components was completely trouble free!
My Orange is superb and really gives me more confidence than I have ever had before, I don't notice difficulties climbing compared to the two Spec' bikes (though the Epic was snappier to accelerate - like the hardtail), but on the descents and rough stuff the Orange is noticeably better for me. For centres and 30-mile Peaks rides I use the Orange no question at all! The hardtail is now only used for riding with the wife and commuting :-(
Having said that they are all great bikes, I am a fan of the Trek EX8/9, I wen to Orange over Trek purely because I love the 'rustic' design and that its made in the UK.
Harvey
I think you've made the decision even harder
I know the only real way to decide is to go ride them all, but even with a short test ride I know it's difficult so feedback from peak riders like yourself is what I need really.
Did you compare the Ex8/9 and Orange 5?0 -
Low maintenance is good but-feelinpeaky? wrote:I live in the Peaks and would recommend something low maintenance because the grit grinds everything to paste even when its dry (at least in the dark peak). The Orange would be good due to the single pivot.
Have you thought about looking at a santa cruz superlight? you can set it up with a 120mm fork and I know someone who can clear Jacob's ladder on his, so it seems to climb ok!
Have fun choosing anyway!
My Reign whilst not the best climber (including me!) is a decent all rounder and in 12 months of ownership the bearings are still fine, but the Trance X may well be perfect for the OP...
Oh, and as for climbing Jacobs... What in one go with no dabs? I doubt it, even top XC riders couldn't do it last time any of the mags had a go no-one did it...0 -
^^^^^^^^^^^^^^
2nd that Liam Killeen failed last year and the MBR team and an ex-world champ XCer failed this summer.0 -
Funnily enough I didn't test the EX8/9. I decided early on to test the Orange, and then tge Zesty around Cannock. If they were 'duff' I would then default to testing the EX8.
But I loved the 5 so much I went in the shop and ordered one straight away and looked at nothing else! having said that I had spoken to quite a few people at centres, etc. who had various bikes, so had sort of narrowed my search down anyway. But a fruiend has an EX8 and loves it to bits. I am a Trekaholic so no doubt would have been happy with that. I just hate the long stems Trek seem to insist on fitting to their bikes at the moment.0 -
I've ridden both the Orange 5 (in Pro guise) and the Zesty in 314 mode. to be honest there's absolutley nothing between them.
As for the climbing ability, I'd personally say there's very little between the two bikes above and the slightly shorter travel Stumpy, the trek may be a bit better.
However as an overalll package I'd be looking towards the Zesty, it's nice and light and is really well specced. Handles fantastically well too.0
