First time FS - Need help with shortlist to demo?

ram_145

Hi - after three years on a Boardman hardtail 26", I'm toying with the idea of venturing into full suss land. Having spent some time at local bike shops chatting through options ...I'm lost.... too many options too many variables! Not to mention everyone wants to sell what they've got in stock !! (Surprise!)

Most of my riding is bridlepaths / free-form tracks in woods with no real super technical routes. Do spend quite a lot of time climbing and then charging down the other side, so want something that climbs well and with enough bounce to help with the faster downhills. Legs are getting to old to do all the work! I spent a few days in Surrey Hills this year and loved it but don’t think I'll be getting much more technical than that. Plus have to do sections on-road (4/5miles each way) to get to nice tracks and trails, so ideally would like a rear lock out or similar.

So I have focused on shorter travel FS.

I like the look of the Camber Evo - but would want to add a dropper.
£1600-£1800 for the 2015 But struggling to find a large locally to me... http://www.bikescene.co.uk/Specialized-Camber-EVO-7684-0-0.html
£2k for the 2016 Comp http://www.specialized.com/gb/gb/bikes/mountain/camber/camber-comp-650b#specs
(Or a '16 Stumpy - just because it's green!)

Or at £2300 the Whyte 130 looks nice - http://whyte.bike/gb/models/trail/t-130-trail-suspension-27-5-650b/t-130-s/

The local Evans store recommended a Norco (£2k) or a Remedy (2k);
http://www.evanscycles.com/products/norco/sight-carbon-74-2015-mountain-bike-ec073041
http://www.evanscycles.com/products/trek/remedy-7-275-2016-mountain-bike-ec120417

Or a Bird2 seems to get nice comments here, no link needed I'm sure!
£2275 with a dropper and Pikes.

To be honest I don’t really understand the differences between the parts, aside from lengths of travel which I can just about glean from the specs!

So am looking for some help to get down to a short-list that so I can try to avoid demo'ing every bike under the sun, so coming here for some advice / pointers to things to think about if you could make any recommendations?

Thanks for helping!

rockmonkeysc

I would add the Giant Trance to your list, great climbing and descending and good value.
The Trek Fuel may suit your requirements better than the Remedy, it climbs better and unless you're going enduro racing it's pretty good going down as well.

HenryTheHoover

Earlier this year the Whyte was originally my first choice after a few car park demo's until I rode one on a proper off road demo day. For some reason it felt heavier than than the sum of its parts and for me seemed to wander a bit going uphill and lacked a bit of pop.

The 2015 Trance 2 was great fun but had a wallowy back end which unbalanced the bike considerably and made it like peddaling an xmas pudding ( also backed up by reviews ) This years model has a much better shock and forks which should eradicate that. It might be too much bike though. I thought it was for 90%+ of my trails around Sheffield and the Peaks which sound a bit gnarlier than your typical trails.

I supprised myself slightly at the time by getting the Anthem Sx ( 100mm back / 120mm front ) which climbs superbly well, feels almost like a hardtail out of the saddle and is very fast and capable coming down apart from the big rock type descents.

I might not be able to descend as fast as on a long travel bike but I still get enjoyment from the miles of easier trails I ride that the big bikes iron out too much.

Would also ditto looking at the Fuel.

ram_145

thanks for the tips and suggestions, really appreciated. Time to go and stop buying magazines and start demo riding!

paul.skibum

[url=http://www.bikeradar.com/forums/viewtopic.php?p=19737416#p19737416]ram_145[/url] wrote:

thanks for the tips and suggestions, really appreciated. Time to go and stop buying magazines and start demo riding!

I have tried a mate's basic Trance and anothers Sight. Both are the lower spec Alloy versions from 2013 and I didn't like either. The Sight in particular felt a little lardy and both felt compromised by too many components. I have tried a mates 2013 Carbon trance with top of the line kit on it and that is a great feeling bike - he thinks its too short on travel for him but he is pretty balls out in his riding style and this is Whistler which trumps most everyday riding in the UK for travel requirements! To me it felt a very well balanced bike, perhaps just a shade too light (its 26lbs) for truly rowdy trails.

Another mate has the 150 travel Whyte with 1x11 gearing - he loves it and based on riding with him makes it work in both directions.

Another friend just got a Remedy and loves it, coming of a Fuel EX which she also loved. She can smash me uphill and keeps close on the downs on either ride.