29er

wellbeloved747

So I'm a full road rider, and have just cleared out a few bikes, I used to ride a bit of cross country and then went full roadie.
I keep going on this really nice walk by my house (Onto Dartmoor) and it looks like a great cycle route, now it's pretty steep in places and there a lot of rocks so I think the bike best suited would be a specialized camber 29er (Whatever sort of bike this is) as the 29er is best for claiming and the full suss will help on the way down. However I don't want to spend like £1000 on a new bike I've seen you can get a camber for about £500 used and that my top budget I know that you also pay for the specilized brand a little (Currently owning 5 of their bike) so what else is available? Is this bike best for the sort of riding? And advice would be ideal.

Thanks
Matt

wellbeloved747

Sorry iPad isn't great //

So I'm a full road rider currently and have just cleared out a few bikes bike and therefore creating some new bike money, I used to ride a bit of cross country and then went full roadie and am now looking to get back into it.

I keep going on this really nice walk by my house (Onto Dartmoor) and it looks like a great cycle route, it's pretty steep in places and there a lot of rocks so I think the bike best suited would be a specialized camber 29er (Whatever sort of bike this is 29er enduro?) the reason for this choice is as the 29er is best for climbing and the full suss will help on the way down due to the large rocks. However I don't want to spend like £1000 on a new bike that I will only ride once a week or so, I've seen you can get a camber for about £500 used and that my top budget, I know that you also pay for the specilized brand a little (Currently owning 5 of their bikes) so what else is available? Is there a track or giant alternative? Is this bike best for the sort of riding or would a hard tail be better? Any advice would be ideal.

Thanks
Matt

rockmonkeysc

29ers aren't necessarily better, some are, some aren't. Cambers are ok, Giant Anthem or Trance would be my choice.
You're not going to get a good one much under a grand and any of these bikes for £500 is either stolen or farked.

iLukeKendall

Hi Matt,

I think I know what you're describing - is this between Princetown and Burrator? If so, it's a descent known as the Widowmaker and it's bumpy as hell!

I ride it frequently on my Trek Mamba 29er Hardtail (£700 new) and it copes fine. It's not exactly the most comfortable ride, and you could probably attack it much faster on a full sus rig, but if budget is an issue, then a hardtail with reasonable forks would be fine.

Personally I started riding a 29er and love it. I can't really compare it to a 26er or 650b bike, as I've not properly ridden them, however I seem to be able to overtake other riders on smaller wheeled bikes with ease, climb well and attack rocks which I feel I'd struggle to on a smaller wheeled bike.

As for the Specialized brand, I can't really say much, as the Mamba is my first and currently only bike.