Standard issue "Which bike?" question - Choice of 2

stuart_c-2

Hi all,

Standard issue question, time for new MTB on cyclescheme (shh, don’t mention that the Scale is a little over the £1000 limit) and think I’m down to a choice of 2:

http://www.boardmanbikes.com/products/913-mtb-pro-29er.html

http://www.scott-sports.com/global/en/products/241277/scott-scale-750-bike/

Firstly, I assure you it is NOT just because they are both green!

So, previous MTB is/was a 2009 Scale 50, must admit at times it felt a little unnerving but was often told “Well it is a race bike”. Would want something that is more forgiving, most riding is typical XC and the occasional Swinley style trip. Having had some discussions in a few shops I’ve come away with the following thoughts/concerns/ramblings:

Wheel size – Summary I got was “If you ever want to race get a 29, if you’re only going to muck about get a 27.5” “29 just rolls over everything and smooths it all out, but not as chuckable” Now, without riding both bikes on same terrain I can’t really make my own judgement on how smooth or boring each would be. Is the difference between the 2 wheel sizes that big that it dominates all other decisions? Like the idea that 29 will just “go” but are they barge like?

Travel – Boardman 120 which for me reads “relaxed and fun”, Scale 100 which for me reads “Race bike and not as forgiving”.

1x11 – The maths say the lowest gear is low enough for me, but then have heard stories that in the real world it is more limiting than you realise. The concept of nice tidy and less complex drivetrain looks lovely, but is the 2x10 a better “day in day out” setup. Bike would be used for all dayers from time to time.

Maxle/12x142 v QR – Completely new standard for me, is everything moving this way anyway?

I’m leaning towards the Boardman, but is the 1x a compromise on the “day in day out”? The Scale is race bred but guy in shop reckons it’s a “forgiving” race bred.

Or, are both options rubbish and I have missed something completely obvious??

Thanks

oodboo

I think you might be over thinking things. Go with your gut and get the boardman.

supersonic

The wheel summary is more or less in the ball park, but it does depend on other factors too. The Boardman's head angle is quite slack for an XC hardtail - without knowing what fork offset they are using, I would say the Scale is going to feel a fair bit quicker in the steering department. But the Boardman has a little more travel, and it is a better fork than the basic Fox.

You can of course tweak the Boardmans gearing with a smaller chainring to give you a smaller gear, and you still may have a usefully high gear with the 10t, but no doubt the Scott has a wider range (420% compared 535%).

Things are moving the way of screw thru axles, but it is only one factor in stiffness - it certainly gives a better interface with the frame, but the internal axle of a hub could be quite wide anyway on qr, and with some big standard dropouts with good contact area they may be as stiffer or even stiffer than a poorly executed screw thru and flexy stays. Many people can't tell a difference anyway! It certainly wouldn't affect my choice of xc hardtail.

If you can test them then by all means do. But also take a look at the OnOne Parkwood:

http://www.on-one.co.uk/i/q/CBOOPW27GX1 ... #customise

Website is atrocious, is hard to see what the basic spec is without clicking lots of stuff, but it hides a good bike. The Revelation RL gets a better version of the Motion Control damper, the head angle is a little slacker than the Scott so will be a bit more stable (or slower if you like), nice wheelset, GX again (and you can choose your ring at point of sale - though remember that wheel size affects actual gear) and various other options to customise. Oh, and it's green ;-)

spr000

Will half a degree make a big difference?

The Rookie

I would expect so, I slackened the HA on my Niota by 1.1 degrees nominal and it was noticeably more stable at speed (70.5 to 69.4 - in reality slightly less as the new shock runs better with a little less sag).

supersonic

It's not just the half a degree, which can be nopticable isolated - 68.5 on a 29er xc bike is pretty slow handling for a bike of this type. Unless they have increased fork offset, but they don't say.

spr000

OK, makes sense. The Boardman has a 51mm fork offset according to the link above, or is that not what you're referring to?

The Rookie

He is, the increased 51mm offset was introduced on 29ers to speed up the steering and to take away some of the slightly cumbersome feel compared to a 26er.

stuart_c-2

Guys, thanks for your responses and help. I think the first response probably summed it up though, just go with the Boardman.

SS, unfortunately the parkwood is the wrong shade of green!

Voucher ordered, will leave it a while before I move on to the stupid tubeless conversion questions...