Full Sus Trail for Up to £3k

scravid

Hi All,

I've had a good read around and just devoured the latest "What Mountain Bike" magazine, but I'm no closer to a decision.

I ride pretty well every day on my Spesh Rockhopper, but I'm looking to get back to some decent trails after a few years break with mainly road riding and wanted a reasonable FS to help

My ideas thus far include the following:

Zesty 514
Whyte 146 or T120s
Stumpy Expert EVO

I like the EVO a lot,but as I already own a Spesh, I'd sooner get something else in the stable. I really like the look of the Whytes, but I'm not a huge fan of the SRAM group sets (sorry all, please don't shout!). With this in mind, I considered the T120 with an upgrade, but it's less than ideal...

Any thoughts guys?

Scravid.

lawman

by the sounds of it, a T120 would be perfect for your needs, you'd probably feel like the 146 or evo would have too much travel, even tho the 146 is a stunning bike to ride.

im personally not a fan of specialized bikes, they look boring, and having ridden a few stumpjumpers, i just cant see what people rave about, rides very averagely imo.

the T120 is a fantastic bike, one of the best i rode at Bikeradar live last year, along with the 146 and the ibis mojo, which if you stretch your budget slightly would be a very nice bike

http://www.moosecycles.com/products.php ... 1037&rs=gb

that build comes with a 20 speed sram x9 build, but if you shop around im sure someone could do an slx groupset for abit less than that, i cant recommend the mojo enough and it always comes up in threads like this 8)

scravid

Thanks a lot for the swift reply!

Do you think the extra 6cm will make a difference to my ride - Looking at the 146, it's pretty similar to the Mojo you've recommend, but quite a bit cheaper.

I know I'm not comparing apples with apples since they're different frames altogether, but I'm really interested to know?

By the way, I mentioned the EVO because it was held up as the choice around this budget...

Any other options out there?

thel33ter

I'd go for one of the Whytes, is a test ride a option? They are stunning looking, and the 146 uses identical suspension geometry as one of these, but without the weight.

http://www.bikeradar.com/gear/category/ ... 7-09-34045

The Zesty is huge fun, when I rode a 314, it felt like it just wanted to jump off every little bump.

Haven't ridden the Evo, but it seems like a good idea.
I know what Lawman means about the Spesh suspension, my 160mm travel Enduro makes stuff almost boring, 4ft drops are almost unnoticeable now

lawman

It's not so much how the spesh design takes the bumps, it's how it bobs under power like most other four bar bike out there, IMO twin like bikes like the 146, mojo or a santa cruz for example are much better pedalling bikes and seem better overall designs.

The 146 and mojo ride very differently despite there only being 6mm difference in travel. The 146 is a fair bit slacker than the mojo, and quite abit stiffer too, buts also slightly heavier and IMO doesnt climb as well. The Mojo would perhaps lose out on the downhills ever so slightly, but 90% of the time the mojo is just as good, if not better. There's also no denying the mojo is far better looking than the 146 and being a custom build, you can make it as you want, with whatever components you fancy. Whyte have had issues with supply of the 146 as well, I work in my lbs, spoke directly to whyte themselves and even I couldn't get hold of one. The Mojo has been available for a few years now, so it's not an issue there, if you can stretch to a mojo do it

Stevo_666

Mondraker Foxy R? There are some fans on here.

supersonic

lawman

Twin link bikes are four bar!

scravid

Hi All,

Doing a little looking around, I happened upon the Whyte E120 XT which apparently is still available (just) at some good stockists.

As a 2010 model is can be had for £2400 (a £600 saving).

What are the feelings on this one?

By the way, like the Mojo a lot, but don't think I can stretch to it...

popstar

lawman wrote:

It's not so much how the spesh design takes the bumps, it's how it bobs under power like most other four bar bike out there, IMO twin like bikes like the 146, mojo or a santa cruz for example are much better pedalling bikes and seem better overall designs.

It sounds as if your rear shock wasn't set up properly, or that shock was just awful. Poorly set up shock will kill first expectations of any super duper bike. Fact.

diy

For me a decent rear shock is probably more important than the front forks. It makes or breaks the bike as a ride. I can set my enduro frame up to ride like an XC bike, just with a few changes to the RP23 rear. I've ridden better lighter frames with lower spec shocks and the feel like jelly by comparison.

lawman

supersonic wrote:

lawman

Twin link bikes are four bar!

you know what i mean though, non FSR designs

thel33ter

popstar wrote:

lawman wrote:

It's not so much how the spesh design takes the bumps, it's how it bobs under power like most other four bar bike out there, IMO twin like bikes like the 146, mojo or a santa cruz for example are much better pedalling bikes and seem better overall designs.

It sounds as if your rear shock wasn't set up properly, or that shock was just awful. Poorly set up shock will kill first expectations of any super duper bike. Fact.

To be fair, even with my shimmed out DHX I still get about 50% bob with propedal off

scravid

OK, so lets say I'm beginning to decide the 146 is the right option (subject to a good test ride), what are my options to avoid the SRAM shifters? After having a ride with some, i think the shifters are my main objection.

Can I run SRAM dérailleurs with XT shifters?

Suggestions?

thel33ter

If you are buying from a local shop, you could probably get them to switch the drivetrain out for Shimano, or sell the Sram stuff, and replace it.

I would at least try it out a bit. After years of Shimano, I got a bike with multi-release Shimano shifters, which work both ways, and after a while, I was using my thumbs for both naturally, just like Sram.

And no, you would have to change the rear mech too. Front mech's are normally interchangeable.

scravid

Nice one - I considered the first option, but wasn't sure if your average bike shop would swap it for me. I'll make a few calls...

Cheers fella

thel33ter

They will be making a big profit on the bike, and will be able to sell the new bits off the bike anyway. Depends on the shop though.