Such thing as one mountain bike for everything??

agg25

Hey, I currently have a 100mm Cube DS that I've been using for races, marathons and the trips to Wales/Scotland/Alps. Whereas it's held up pretty good, it's not really suited for the bigger stuff so I've started looking around for a bike that can do it all.
So far test ridden a Yeti SB-66 (excellent for trails, maybe not for racing) and a Scott Genius 30 (not a bad trail bike, perhaps racing but not sure about rougher stuff). Trialling an Orange 5 later but I don't think I'd be able to race with it.
The big question is am I asking too much of one bike and would I be better off keeping my Cube and getting a bike just for the bigger trails? Obviously it will mean I miss out on the mula from the Cube and I need more space though.
Any other suggestions of bikes that I might be able to do it all on? Whyte 146? Zesty 514/714?? Cube AMS 130 SL?
Appreciate any help/opinions...

Andy B

Any bike will be a compromise between racing and all mountain riding.

Pick which type of riding you do most and go for a bike that suits that discipline

Or buy two (or n+1) bikes, one for each style of riding

nwmlarge

all mountain orientated are gonna be the best of both worlds for up's n downs.

I ride a specialized pitch pro, which with a few choice mods could be raceworthy ?

lawman

ibis mojo sl or sl-r if you can afford it, very light, versatile, and great all-rounder. the yeti asr 5 is another frame to consider, the 146 is abit too slack for racing imo

supersonic

There is no bike that excels at everything. All are a compromise - tetsting will hoepfully help you find that compromise.

John Moore

Right now I'd vote for the Spech Epic 29er with the brain on the back end.

But it won't be replacing my 5 reguar mtb's

AndyOgy

Anything pre 1990 should be fine. At least, it was back then. Before all this suspension came along and ruined things.

Briggo

What racing are we talking about here.

agg25

OK, cool will have to look at the ibis mojo sl or sl-r or the yeti asr 5, I'll probably wait till early next year to buy it, so got plenty of time. I do 1.5 -2 hour races around Swinley (west of London), but being the most southerly member of North Wales mountain bike club I get up there a bit. Do love enduros/marathons as well and might head to Canada next year for a peddle.
I'm startin to think an extra bike might be the go (I gotta get a bigger bedroom, already got 2 in there!). If thats the case, I'd get something around the 140-160mm range I'd say.

FBM.BMX

Yeti ASR5 would be my recommendation.

I think the alu version is fine with 140 fork, maybe the carbon is fine with 130. You'll have to double check though.

But racing wise, you would ant to be going down to 120-130 though. Most probably worth going with some travel adjust forks.

A carbon asr5 can easily build into a sub 25lb bike.

They're tight, pert and fast but also feel like they have more than 5" travel.

lostboysaint

The Yeti ASR 5 is a great shout. I've just moved to a slightly longer travel bike from my ASR-SL and the 5 was right at the top of the list, until I rode the Transition Bandit. A smidge more travel, same light weight and sharp angles and very, very well made. Really pleased with it, even though I now don't ride a Yeti (well, sometimes!).

agg25

Thanks for the suggestions, will definitely have to try an ASR5, been reading up on them and they sound like they'd suit my type of riding, they also happen to have one at Mountain Trax for demoing, albeit a medium size.