First bike upgrade to 29er full suspension

Paulf1566

12 months ago, I bought a Decathlon Rockrider 8.1, based on helpful advice from this forum, and I love it. Trouble is I've now well and truly got the mtb bug and I have been going out approx 3 times a week ever since through the winter and in the dark. I have surprised myself and the wifey!

I would love to "invest" in something more serious and capable of rougher terrain than the RR hard tail. Looking at a full Susser 29" but the choice is bewildering. I need a good all rounder but as light as possible. Budget circa £2k.

I have been drooling over a Santa Cruz Tallboy Ltc but too expensive so also considering a Giant Trance X1, Whyte T129s and m109 and also a Canyon Nerve. Any advice really appreciated, have I missed any others?

supersonic

A full suss 29er, even at this price, might be heavier than what you have. So it depends where you want to see gains in performance.

Paulf1566

Yes, bit concerned about the weight. I really want to go on routes that perhaps the RR would prove inadequate, not looking for downhill or out and out speed but something that can cope with much rougher terrain.

supersonic

What shops do you have locally? Also check the deals out at Paul's Cycles.

Paulf1566

Chevin Cycles in Otley, JD's in Ilkley and All Terrain cycles in Saltaire.

supersonic

This is quite racy, but the light weight would be a benefit:

http://www.paulscycles.co.uk/products.p ... Suspension

Hell of a spec!

Paulf1566

Ooooo! The Scott looks fantastic but the Cube is great value. What are the thoughts on the ones I originally suggested too please?

supersonic

Nothing wrong with them, but 26ers tend to be better specced and lighter which can make more of a difference to some.

Sheppy

I have an Anthem X1 29er (last years model) and it's damn fast and very light in my opinion. Handles everything I used to throw at my old Trance. I'd done small jumps (couple of feet high) on it and it's stood up to, may not be designed for it but I'm sure it can take it.... Whether it is hardcore enough for you though I'm not sure. I tried a Trek Rumblefish which is a little more hardcore (and heavy) if that's what your after. I really liked that too.

I am being a little precious with mud on my Anthem though and reserve it for dry weather (don't want to make the nice shiny white paint dirty :oops: ). So I kept my old Trance for wet weather/night riding and I have to say I've very tempted to sell it and get one of these as my wet weather bike:
http://www.canyon.com/_en/mountainbikes ... tml?b=3035
Very very good looking bike in my view, of course you can't try it though and I read somewhere there is a month or two until it's available.

Paulf1566

For a few hundred pounds more, I could get an aluminium Santa Cruz Tallboy. Does not get the rave reviews of the Carbon version but is it worth the extra budget?

Sheppy

I've always thought of Santa Cruz as over priced and never really seriously considered them. Can you get one for less than £2500 then? I thought they were more to be honest. What kind of component spec do you get for that kind of money?

pilch

I have a Titus Rockstar, worth considering.... a great all round trail bike, really excels on rough terrain

Paulf1566

Sheppy wrote:

I've always thought of Santa Cruz as over priced and never really seriously considered them. Can you get one for less than £2500 then? I thought they were more to be honest. What kind of component spec do you get for that kind of money?

Thanks Sheppy. It is £2500, please see link below. Hope that works. There are othe web sites too with same offer, and I think there is some haggling to be had to save a few £'s

http://www.biketart.com/67823/products/ ... -29er.aspx

Is this low spec then in comparison to others?

Sheppy

I would say it's lower spec than the Anthem X1 29er or the Canyons at equivalent price levels. Can't see what the fork is but looks like a Rockshox but can't tell the model. Looks like QR only, I prefer thru-axle mainly because when I take the front wheel off and on I always get brake rub with QR skewers and have to re-adjust the brake alignment (simple I know but a pain in the a$$), with thru-axle I've never had it but maybe that's just me doing something stupid...

I guess with Santa Cruz you are getting the frame to build upon. It's easy to say try them all out, but I struggled to find places where I could try these bikes out, I could only really get hold of mainstream makes like Giant and Trek. It's obviously a personal choice, but then if I were blindfolded and rode a selection of 29er bikes around the same price point and travel level, other than crashing into something, I suspect I'd find it hard to tell them apart!

Also I keep noticing that in WMB they often use a Giant Anthem X1 29er just like mine on the suggested rides so I take that as the ultimate praise

Paulf1566

There are so many to choose from, but it has made me think more carefully about what I will use the bike for. It is not for extreme fast downhill or racing but en route to the rough forest trails I regularly use, there are some climbs and descents of note, involving rocky terrain and narrow drops of about 30 to 50 cm. Sorry I am a novice and this is not easy for me, crashed on a couple of occasions on my RR! I am 45, slim, 5 ft 10" but 12 months ago realised I was seriously unfit but this has seen steady if not dramatic improvement. Sounds like a dating post! The point is, I am not a big strong fit youth so do I need to seriously consider the weight of the bike as a major factor?

Would a cheaper end carbon frame be worth considering? Any recommendations please?

Sheppy

Wow, this is an old mans club, I'm also 40+ Maybe 40+ year olds are drawn to 29ers...

I have had bikes a varying weights, only time I really notice the difference is when I'm lifting the damn things over a fence/onto the car roof or something similar. I had a Specialized Rockhopper that must have been made of lead... I really didn't get on well with it, didn't like the geometry of it either. I had a Gary Fisher Marlin and loved the geometry of that, I guess the morale of the story is to try them if you can. Biggest thing I noticed when riding a 29er the first time was "my my, isn't the front tyre a lot closer to my face"

Paulf1566

Thanks again Sheppy. Yeah, definitely old mans club. Think I have narrowed down to two Giant Trance x 29 re 1 or Whyte T-129 S. not sure why the other Whyte, the M109 S is £1000 dearer!

Paulf1566

Or make that, narrowed down to 3, the Scott Spark 950. Help!

Paulf1566

Still not decided! What do you folks think about the Specialized Stumpjumper Fsr Carbon 29er, is it worth an extra ground over the Trance?

RYANESQ

I feel the pain here..

I am stuck on what to buy!

Anthem X 29er 1
Trance X29er 1
Spark 950
Camber

Although been offered a Epic Carbon for £2,600

I am leaning to the Anthem for the weight over the Trance, I I cannot imagine the difference in travel will be that much! I am only 75kg and could never get my XC pro shocks to bottom out...

andy_welch

Have you ridden them both? The difference between the Trance and Anthem isn't just the travel. The Trance geometry is more relaxed and some people prefer that for general trail riding. Others don't of course.

RYANESQ

I havent no, although the Trance geometry is very similar to my XC Pro..

http://www.evanscycles.com/products/spe ... e-ec020336

I would probably prefer something more akin to a HT feel?