All rounder mtb.

japower1990

Hi people,

I'm looking to try out more and more technical trails as well as some downhill biking.

Can anyone recommend a bike that I could use all round?

Ive been looking at the canyon strive as it has that shape shifter but I wondered what else is out there.

James

poah

shapeshiter is a gimmik and prone to breaking. what is your budget?

Danieljephcott

I would suggest looking between a 140-160mm travel suspension if you want and all rounder. Defo full suspension.

Really need to know your budget as that will make all the difference.

japower1990

Hi, thanks for the feedback, I did honk that about the shape shifter. my budget is around £2500-£3000.

James

Danieljephcott

I've just got this:

http://www.chainreactioncycles.com/mobi ... prod153225

I've got to tell you it's amazing and with the British cycling discount it's under £1800 which is a bargain. Front is 160mm with rear 200mm gives you plenty for down kill. Suspension can be locked out for climbs as well so to me it's a good All rounder.

I can't find anything else with that spec at that price.

kyle17290

Danieljephcott wrote:

I've just got this:

http://www.chainreactioncycles.com/mobi ... prod153225

I've got to tell you it's amazing and with the British cycling discount it's under £1800 which is a bargain. Front is 160mm with rear 200mm gives you plenty for down kill. Suspension can be locked out for climbs as well so to me it's a good All rounder.

I can't find anything else with that spec at that price.

200mm will be the shock length not the available travel.

Danieljephcott

kyle17290 wrote:

Danieljephcott wrote:

I've just got this:

http://www.chainreactioncycles.com/mobi ... prod153225

I've got to tell you it's amazing and with the British cycling discount it's under £1800 which is a bargain. Front is 160mm with rear 200mm gives you plenty for down kill. Suspension can be locked out for climbs as well so to me it's a good All rounder.

I can't find anything else with that spec at that price.

200mm will be the shock length not the available travel.

If you check the spec it says rear travel 200mm, but then thinking about it 200mm is quite a lot

kyle17290

Danieljephcott wrote:

kyle17290 wrote:

Danieljephcott wrote:

I've just got this:

http://www.chainreactioncycles.com/mobi ... prod153225

I've got to tell you it's amazing and with the British cycling discount it's under £1800 which is a bargain. Front is 160mm with rear 200mm gives you plenty for down kill. Suspension can be locked out for climbs as well so to me it's a good All rounder.

I can't find anything else with that spec at that price.

200mm will be the shock length not the available travel.

If you check the spec it says rear travel 200mm, but then thinking about it 200mm is quite a lot

Yep it does in a way. 200x57. 200 being the overall length of the shock (eye to eye) the 57 being the stroke ( visible shaft). The leverage ratio etc will dictate how much travel the rear wheel has. Like your bike by the way, love the colour.

Nukeproof mega could be worth a look too.

japower1990

I do have a stereo 120 at the moment and I can't fault that to be honest, it's an awesome bike, just wish I went for 27.5 rather than the 29er .

Danieljephcott

The. Go for the bike I have. You love the stereo so get the newer version. It's 27.5 and an amazing spec

The Rookie

Rear travel is 160.
https://www.cube.eu/en/products/fullsus ... ange-2016/

Typical CRC copy and paste error!

AlShack

Could get a nice Whyte for £2.5-3k. http://www.whyte.bike/g160s or http://www.whyte.bike/t130rs

pigglet

japower1990 wrote:

Hi people,

I'm looking to try out more and more technical trails as well as some downhill biking.

Can anyone recommend a bike that I could use all round?

Ive been looking at the canyon strive as it has that shape shifter but I wondered what else is out there.

James

Depends very much on your idea of "all rounder"
How much flat riding and climbing do you do versus downhill? How long is your average ride? Not really possible to comment what may or may not be suitable without that info. By downhill what do you mean? Have a play on a downhill track now and again or be competitive in Enduro's that encompass DH tracks?

A mate had a strive and he had no problems with the shapeshifter. He had a YT Capra before that which he preferred for alpine uplift riding so has bought another as he felt it was more composed on the DH stuff. His new capra feels like it peddles better than the old BOS equipped version to both of us.

re the Cube, one of the guys who goes to the alps bought a stereo 160 and all the linkage bearings had play in after a week. He is now in dispute with the bike shop over it as they say cube won't warranty it and they want about £200 to sort it out! Read into that what you want.

Have you had a look at a transition patrol? YT Jeffsy? No point lugging a 170mm enduro sled around if you or the terrain you ride don't actually need it. Weight and geometry have as much impact on what a bike can be capable of as suspension travel. I was faster in a local enduro on a 135mm 29er than most people were on 160/170mm dedicated enduro bikes plus I peddled up all the climbs on the transitions unlike most who pushed. If you have a bike with more travel than you actually need it will probably feel heavy and a bit numb in comparison to a shorter travel bike on which you may be fine.

Also, try before you buy is an absolute golden rule unless you know exactly what you NEED in terms of geometry and suspension.
Sizing guidelines are just that, a guide and by no means accurate. Torso length, inseam, where you carry your weight and riding style all have an impact on what size bike will work best for you. The more bikes you can demo, the better a picture of what works for you you will be able to build up. Bar widths and stem length also have a big impact. Just because you can now get 800mm bars doesn't mean you need them. Bars that are too wide for YOU can make a bike feel unwieldy.
I've just bought a new bike that is considerably longer than anything I've had before and I'm faster both uphill and down on it, I've spent 6 months demoing all sorts before taking the plunge. As soon as I rode it this bike just felt right and better than anything else I demo'd including both longer and shorter travel bikes. Don't be afraid to try upsizing and downsizing on the manufacturers guidelines on their demo bikes to get a fell for how longer or shorter works and don't take what the bloke trying to flog you the bike says as gospel.

Also bear in mind that it is unlikely you will be able to get the rear suspension of any bike set up properly for you in a 20 minute ride. I've got about 30 hours on my new bike and I'm still tweaking but 95% happy with it.

Take your time, find the right bike for you and it will take your riding to another level.

Good luck and may the force be with you!

japower1990

Wow, ,cheers for all the input ,and that is some great advice pigglet.

Unfortunately I live on what seems to be the flattest part on earth (Suffolk) so a majority of my riding is on flat trails . I'm venturing out to different places each weekend now and last weekend I tried the hadleigh bike park. I'm just not finding anything daring at the moment and want to take myself up some pretty big jumps etc , fingers crossed on the outcome.

I usually ride for between 3-4 hours at a time.

I guess I'm still very new to everything and I seem to have got tied up in all the tech and want to have a better bike all the time.

I'll definitely try some demo bikes out before taking the plunge, im sure I know what feels right when I've tried a few.

On another note... I seem to get a bit of lower back pain after a while riding, is this bad genes or have I more likely got bike set up issues (stem length and height etc)?

Thanks again

ade555

Your pain could be down to something as simply as overdoing or just not setup for your self, feels right when you sit on it but after hour ride you can start to feel maybe is not right, as for Bike please don't get this wrong but maybe you looking for better bike then you need. First find something that your current bike can't do then think if you actually need another bike. Everyone is different and don't get drawn in to this I need the best, I haven't been riding long my self but I have seen it few times ( all the gear but no idea) type about, like I said find your limit and your bike limit first.

pigglet

japower1990 wrote:

Wow, ,cheers for all the input ,and that is some great advice pigglet.

Unfortunately I live on what seems to be the flattest part on earth (Suffolk) so a majority of my riding is on flat trails . I'm venturing out to different places each weekend now and last weekend I tried the hadleigh bike park. I'm just not finding anything daring at the moment and want to take myself up some pretty big jumps etc , fingers crossed on the outcome.

I usually ride for between 3-4 hours at a time.

I guess I'm still very new to everything and I seem to have got tied up in all the tech and want to have a better bike all the time.

I'll definitely try some demo bikes out before taking the plunge, im sure I know what feels right when I've tried a few.

On another note... I seem to get a bit of lower back pain after a while riding, is this bad genes or have I more likely got bike set up issues (stem length and height etc)?

Thanks again

No worries.

Re back pain, it could be any number of issues. I get lower back pain when my hamstrings get tight so try spending 15-20 minutes on hamstring/leg, torso and ITB stretches before and after riding. Works for me, may not work for you but it's sensible to rule out the stuff that costs nothing before changing parts on your bike.

I find that too short a bike aggravates my back as does a slack seat tube which puts my pelvis behind the BB. I also find that having the seat too high and or tilted slightly up tends to aggravate my back too. Putting a longer stem on to increase reach will be at the expense of handling if going much over 60mm so if you find you need more reach, try riding something that incorporates that extra length in the top tube to see how that works for you.

Re getting caught up in the tech, you want to focus on conquering terrain and obstacles and not on what you are riding them on. There will always be a better bike out there than the one you are riding but it doesn't mean you would be having any more fun if you were riding it. Thinking that you would have cleared that gap on a better bike is usually just a cop out for being rubbish!
Be aware that every bike is compromise unless you limit your riding to one very narrow discipline. Look at the type of bike that excels at flat XC riding, it'll be poor in a bike park. Look at a dirt jump bike, it'll be poor at all day XC riding. One mans idea of his perfect all-rounder may be significantly different to anothers depending on the proportion of time they spend on different disciplines. I've done more riding on a hardtail than a full susser. I've been able to ride everything I currently ride on my full susser on a hardtail. I prefer a full susser but I can have just as much fun on my regular rides on a well sorted hard tail. Actually just going to build up a last fast forward for winter abuse which I'll probably ride more than the full susser in the coming months due to the amount of mud on my rides and it's effect on velocity and bearings.
A lot of my mates are totally over biked for 90-95% of the riding we do. Being honest about what you actual need versus want isn't always easy though is it?

Weight and in particular rotational mass have a huge impact on how a bike feels, handles and accelerates. Tyresplay a huge part in that. Take a light weight carbon mid travel bike with carbon rims shod with racing ralphs and it will (should) accelerate really well, climb easily and feel really light and nimble. Put a set of burly alloy rims and a set of Maxxis Shorties on the same bike and it will feel heavy draggy and slow by comparison. Something to bear in mind when demoing bikes.