MTB Newbie - Stumpjumper / Mondraker / Capra?

braidfinger

Hello everyone. I am relatively new to mountain biking despite being a keen cyclist for years. I have been looking and saving my money for the last year whilst trying to get better acquainted with the huge range of MTB's available before financially committing. After much research, I have got my list down to three bikes; the Stumpjumper EVO, Mondraker Foxy, and YT Industries Capra, but cannot decide for the life of me which one to invest in. The only model I have been able to see in person is the Stumpjumper the other two have been elusive. Any feedback, advice or unbiased recommendations regarding these bikes would really be appreciated. Many regards Braidfinger.

rockmonkeysc

What sort of riding are you planning on doing, they're all bikes which will reward hard, aggressive riding.
Out of those the Stumpjumper Evo would be my choice although I'm not a fan of FSR rear suspension. Mondraker frame build quality can be roper, failures aren't uncommon and the cable routing is terrible plus it comes with a fairly poor fork.
The Capra is a fairly hardcore bike, 170mm suspension is not going to make for easy miles but when you're really pushing hard downhill it will work nicely.

braidfinger

Hello Rockmonkey
In terms of riding predominantly single track / cross country (surrey hills) and occasional visits to bike parks in Wales. My biggest dilemma has been the choice of MTB's vs the day to day riding I realistically will be doing.I have been looking for the perfect full sus "all rounder", if there is such a thing, and realise that the bikes I have listed may be "too much bike" and slightly overkill for the riding that is available in my back yard and dare I say it most of England. I really like the look of the SPEC Camber Evo with 120mm of travel and felt that maybe that was more suitable for my day to day riding? The majority of reviews I have read have been mostly favourable. Many thanks for the reply by the way

lostboysaint

Transition Bandit or similar (Lapierre Zesty etc.). Think shorter on travel. If you're riding Surrey Hills then go and see the guys at Pedal and Spoke and ride a few bikes.

benpinnick

I couldnt possibly offer you an unbiased opinion, but if you're struggling to find bikes to test and you're in the Surrey area you should try a Bird Aeris

Angus Young

RockmonkeySC wrote:

Mondraker frame build quality can be roper, failures aren't uncommon...

Can you point to lots of reports of Foxys breaking?

lawman

Angus Young wrote:

RockmonkeySC wrote:

Mondraker frame build quality can be roper, failures aren't uncommon...

Can you point to lots of reports of Foxys breaking?

My thoughts exactly, and the comment about cable routing is equally daft, I've seen far, far worse from other brands, tbh I think it's pretty good on the Foxy compared to others I've seen. The Mondraker Crafty is also worth a look, had a quick spin on one the other day and was thoroughly impressed, I'm not usually a 29er fan but the crafty felt great. The Cube Stereo is also worth a look imo, great spec for the money and they ride really well. The stereo 140 should be landing in the UK and it looks like a riot of a bike.

rockmonkeysc

Just google Mondraker Foxy cracked. I know two people who have cracked Mondrakers and one who has bent a Mondraker Summum. The cable routing can pull the rear mech cable tight on full compression and the cable can cut in to the BB shell, Giant used to have the same routing.

For your riding I would go for a nice trail bike. Something like a Stumpjumper (not evo) or a Camber Evo. The Nukeproof Mega TR is a great all rounder and pretty solid although it needs professionally heli taping to protect the paint. The Transition Scout should be a similar ride but much better built.
I ride a Nukeproof Mega TR for everything from long distance XC epics to blasting blasting black trails at Bikepark Wales and enduro racing.

kajjal

The Stumpjumper or Camber would both be fine. They will handle all day xc riding easily enough and normally get very good reviews. If you are spending that much on a bike I would be sure to do more than just a "round the car park" test on it to make sure it fits you and is what you want.

Also you may want to give a hardtail a try to see if you prefer them. I tried an FS bike for a while but it was not for me so I went back to an XC hardtail. I just found the HT gave me more feel from the trail and I could control it better. The FS was faster and smooth but took the fun out of it for me

lostboysaint

Oh yes, forgot the new names! The Scout is the one to go for. After all, it's built on this pedigree - http://www.bikeradar.com/mtb/gear/category/bikes/mountain-bikes/product/review-transition-bandit-2-12-46429/

Having said that I still quite like doing the Surrey Hills on my Solaris HT.

As has been suggested, you really need to ride a few rather than just look at the online stuff.

Angus Young

RockmonkeySC wrote:

Just google Mondraker Foxy cracked.

For the most part all the hits seem to be referring to past generation Foxys (and the first hit is a guy talking about "I nearly cracked..."). That's like saying the Focus is a bad handling car because the Escort used to be.

rockmonkeysc

http://www.test-ride.co.uk For Giant demo bikes, worth trying a Trance 27.5.
Bikepark Wales have a fleet of Trek demo bikes, worth trying the Fuel and Remedy for half a day each but try riding the climb as well as the descents.
Worth try to find a Transition Scout demo bike, I quite fancy trying one myself but I'm very worried I would buy it.

Angus Young

RockmonkeySC wrote:

Bikepark Wales have a fleet of Trek demo bikes, worth trying the Fuel and Remedy for half a day each but try riding the climb as well as the descents.

Rode a Remedy back to back with my Kona at BPW. So, so glad I bought the Kona and not the Remedy! My friend who also rode both back to back agreed without hesitation.

rockmonkeysc

I have also ridden both. I can see why some people would prefer the Remedy, it has good rear suspension and the geometry suited me well but I also preferred the Process, it just encouraged hard riding but that rear suspension that allows you to carry speed in to nasty trails could get a beginner in to trouble. The Remedy is possibly better for a less experienced rider although slightly less rewarding for more experienced riders.

Angus Young

The Remedy felt like riding a hard tail compared to the Process. My friend rode it first and complained about it and I told him it was probably poor technique on his part (yeah, like I know! Lol!). Then I tried it. It wasn't his technique.

poah

consider a canyon spectral

rockmonkeysc

Could have been poor set up, I found it a bit soft and lacking compression damping but easy to ride without thinking about technique. Being used to a Cane Creek DBinline shock does make anything else feel rubbish though :-(

The Rookie

Pivot Mach5? Not a cheap option though but pedal really well and then have supple suspension when needed (that's a DW for you).

BloggingFit

Angus Young wrote:

The Remedy felt like riding a hard tail compared to the Process. My friend rode it first and complained about it and I told him it was probably poor technique on his part (yeah, like I know! Lol!). Then I tried it. It wasn't his technique.

The problem with the new Remedy is that is feels more like a Fuel to ride and initially felt a little weird to me coming from the 26" version with 10mm more travel. Once I got my head around that it needed a little more finesse to ride it is a very quick and capable bike but needs a less direct approach in standard guise. Popping a 150mm fork on it made all the difference for me and made it more direct but I can see why the stock bike would feel the way it did for you.