Can my bike be bettered?

lochussie

My alu SC Nomad mk2 with Van 36 160s and a tough build is brilliant at the kind of riding I like the most: blasting down rough rocky mountains. However, I also use it for more sedate stuff (trail centres, local woods) and here I feel it is a bit sluggish in the corners and in all the little hops and manuals etc. Certainly, my HT is in some ways more fun on this stuff, but I like to have the rear sus for comfort, traction and increased line choice.

So, are there bikes out there that will be as good/amost as good in the really rough stuff but significantly more lively on the singletrack?

lostboysaint

http://www.bikeradar.com/mtb/gear/category/bikes/mountain/product/review-transition-bandit-2-12-46429

Yes there are.

supersonic

Depends what you mean by lively really. Often hard to get the best of both worlds. To me lively is a sub 25lbs bike with a 71 degree head angle.

The Rookie

You can have my Carrera for a grand then SS!
Pivot Mach4, really does feel like an HT, not to slack (68.5) yet has enough compliance at the rear to pedal over the chattery stuff seated.

Really impressed at the NEC Demo, hoped to ride at Rutland but got an injury.

EH_Rob

supersonic wrote:

Often hard to get the best of both worlds.

I'd say impossible. There is always a compromise.

The Bandit, for instance, looks like an amazing bike, and will do the things your Nomad doesn't do so well better, but the 32s and reduced travel mean that compared to the 36s on the Nomad means it probably won't deal with the properly rough stuff as well.

Having said that, N+1 applies, so I'd get the Bandit.