Help with purchase Spectral vs Strive

jadof

Hi I'm 41, not an expert rider who doesn't want to risk breaking bones at anytime. Based on my riding it seems that the Spectral CF8 would be my best bet for a bike, unfortunately it's not in stock and I'm considering a Strive CF8 with better components at a little above price point than the Spectral which I can't get at the moment. Would it be a good choice? Or if I'm not going to be a downhiller it's not worth getting this bike and wait for the spectral to become available? Thanks for whoever reads this time.

steve_sordy

The Strive is a heavier bike with longer travel and a slacker seat tube angle. It is more biased towards heading down. There is no doubt that you could ride it as a trail bike, but it won't be as much fun as the Spectral.
What about a YT Jeffsy? The Spectral is a fine looking bike, but the Jeffsy will blow it out of the water.

Whichever bike you buy, are you sure that the bike will fit you? How do you know? Have you ridden one? If not, have you done a comparative analysis of the geometry with a bike that you know fits you?

Best of luck and please let us know what you get in the end.

jadof

Thanks, for your reply. I haven't ridden any of the bikes except for an Aluminum Strive, but to be honest I come from a Rocky Mountain 29'r Hardtail Trailhead 940 with 100 travel, so I'm guessing anything above that will feel like and upgrade, so thats why I'm relying on a lot of reviews before buying. I thought about Canyon because it seems awesome quality and great bang for the buck.

jadof

Thanks, for your reply. I haven't ridden any of the bikes except for an Aluminum Strive, but to be honest I come from a Rocky Mountain 29'r Hardtail Trailhead 940 with 100 travel, so I'm guessing anything above that will feel like and upgrade, so thats why I'm relying on a lot of reviews before buying. I thought about Canyon because it seems awesome quality and great bang for the buck.

JGTR

I have a YT Jeffsy 29er CF Pro - I’m 40 and dont want to break any bones either! Love my Jeffsy, really is a bike that does it all - from all day rides, climbing mountains to BPW. Looked at a Spectral but Canyon’s customer service at that time was shocking, and I wanted a 29er.

jadof

Thanks for your reply, I've been looking at that bike and looks really great. I'm a short 5'5 guy, heavy not fat though and love 29 wheels would you say that the CF Pro has got more than what I need or would you consider going to the PRO RACE version which is at the very limit of what I would be able to pay. I don't want overkills but want just one bike that would help me for all my riding even if I go a "little crazy" later on downhills because I don't want any nervous bike at all.

JGTR

I went with the CF Pro as I wanted 12 speed and the Pro Race was 11 speed (in 2017 - think it’s all 11 speed now?). The other difference was the Pro Race had a longer travel 36 Fox Fork (v 34 on CF Pro) which to be honest at my age and skill level I didn’t think I’d need but having done Wales a couple of times now I would certainly consider.

jadof

I'm leaning towards the CF P Race, but I've read reviews that it gets a little nervous going downhill, so don't know if I should go with the Capra which is sold out. Also I don't see any 12x, would you still go with Shimano vs Sram Eagle?

eric_draven

The Jeffsy this year is running an E*Thirteen 11sp cassette 9-46t,gives you the same range as the Sram Eagle 12sp 10-50t

steve_sordy

eric draven wrote:

The Jeffsy this year is running an E*Thirteen 11sp cassette 9-46t,gives you the same range as the Sram Eagle 12sp 10-50t

Sorry if this seems picky, but it is actually bigger!

e13 9-46 is a 5.11 range
Eagle 10-50 is a 5.00 range

The e13 has 2.2% bigger range.

That 9t gear might feel a bit lumpy though. It is getting close (maybe beyond) where half inch pitch gears ought to go.

JGTR

jadof wrote:

I'm leaning towards the CF P Race, but I've read reviews that it gets a little nervous going downhill, so don't know if I should go with the Capra which is sold out. Also I don't see any 12x, would you still go with Shimano vs Sram Eagle?

Depends on what you want, if it’s more downhill/jump orientated then go Capra, if not go Jeffsy. I wanted an all rounder which is exactly what the Jeffsy is.

I don’t think you get a choice between SRAM
& Shimano on the 2018 YT range? They use a mix and match of Shimano, e13 & Raceface. It works but there is an issue with the casette which is an easy fix and it’s reportedly not as smooth as 12 speed. The e13 casette may have more range but it’s still 11 speed with larger gaps between the gears so will never be as smooth/nice as 12 speed.

Either way, YT bikes are awesome and no major issues.

jadof

Thanks for you help, I want a fun bike but one that also has that little extra if I want to go downhill. Is there something in this terrain in which the Jeffsy falls short compared to the Spectral CF 8 which seems to have that extra on an all around bike? Also, do you know how the Jeffsy is rated 3 or 4 and if the 27 wheel choice is better for my needs?

steve_sordy

You can buy a 27.5 Jeffsy or a 29er.

The Jeffsy is a fantastic bike, probably as close to a "one bike that does it all", well most of it at least.

I'm 6'1" and I would get the 27.5 version. You get extra travel and the bike is better proportioned in the medium size and below than in Large and above, than is the 29er.

JGTR

Both are great bikes, you won’t go wrong with either. I went with the Jeffsy as I wanted a 29er.

The only issue is that the seat tube is quite high so I had to swap the 150mm dropper for a 125mm, which is a common complaint.

Both at some point have been voted 10/10 or trail Bike of the year by someone somewhere. Bear in mind that the Jeffsy is a couple of years old now and is due a refresh for 2019 whereas Spectral is a new design for 2018.

jadof

So finally do you think the Jeffsy 27.5 CF Pro or Pro Race would leave me wanting something more that the Spectral CF8 has?

robertpb

These bikes are so close in which one is best for you it ends up as which one you like the colour of.

Have a look at this might make your mind up, https://enduro-mtb.com/en/seven-trail-b ... 00-review/

einriba

No idea if it's any help now, but I went through almost the same questions you're going through.

I wanted a more DH / Jump bike so opted for a 27.5 Capra. It's a beast! It loves going with gravity and chews up anything in its path - the limiter is me - the bike is far more capable than I am. I've ridden Gawton / Windhill etc and it's been perfect

I've also ridden XC on it. It's not the most efficient at this - but it'll do it, no problems (e.g. Dartmoor, Haldon, Cardinham). I've got the lower end of the spec. I suspect that if you're looking at the carbon range, and put different tyres on it (I run high rollers at 20 psi) it'll ride perfectly fine.

YT are a lot of bike for the money.