Please help a HT man upgrade...

Welcome to the forum and welcome to MTB.

Glad you are enjoying it and wanting to push the boundaries. I rode HT's for 20+ years and only got my first FS bike last year, so you're way ahead of me in terms of progression.

It can be a bit difficult to get a bike that suits all occasions. There are of course trail bikes that can climb well and love XC type riding but also descend quite well, but not brilliantly. An Enduro bike is obviously designed for just that, but you may have a slight weight penalty for the XC stuff if you like chugging up hills all day. Loads of bike cross over in that area so it's hard to have a clear divide.

For me, I'd focus on what you want to ride now. If you decide you like Enduro or even more DH type rding then you'll follow that path and get another bike anyway. You're still learning about MTB and what you really like. It's hard to buy a bike now if the future is unclear.

The sort of riding you say you currently do, would IMO suit a trail type bike, although the definitions are blurred at the best of times.

My FS is 140mm travel and can ride local paths/tracks, red routes, BPW, Cymcarn, Afan and the Peaks. I'm not a big jumper or airborne rider but it does drop-offs etc perfectly well. I've never exceeded what I've got and even 120/130 would probable be enough. There was a desire (blame the marketing machine) at one point for everyone to have 150/160mm bikes as `bigger was better`. Some soon found that was too much and there has been a bit of a shift towards 120/130mm bikes as a `best of both `worlds`. This is purely from people I ride with and other forum posts. A lot of them have `downsized` after 6-12 montth with a longer travel bike as they realised they didn't need it. Each to their own though and it's not Gospel.

Of the bikes you have listed, as you say. there is a big price differential. I can't really comment on the specific bikes but anything over £2k will have better components. The forks are a bit part of it as the other bits can be swapped out if needed quite easily and at lower cost. Personally, anything at SLX level upwards should work fine. You can get XT if you want (or SRAM equivalent). I have Shimano (XT & SLX) and SRAM (GX) on HT and FS respectively. Both work perfectly well.

I have ridden a Whyte T-130 and it's a great bike. Feels the same as my 140mm. Really good all-rounder. My FS is a Norco Sight 1 and has been tweaked by previous owner. Weighs just under 13kg (about 29lbs), which is pretty good. That menas it climbs well, loves single track and quite happy belting down DH (only limited by lack of rider skill). I really don't think you need more unless you really want it.

Buying a bike now is hard work. So many options. For me, work out what you'll be doing for the next 12m. Buy a bike that suits that and see where it takes you. Wierdly, my FS has given me a greater appreciation for my HT and they are both equally enjoyable in their respective environments. I still get a buzz from the HT on fast singletrack, hitting the right lines and being really smooth. If you can transition that onto a FS you'll have a blast.

Also remember that the FS bike won't make you a `better` rider. A FS is more forgiving and won't punish you like a HT, but you still need to point it in the right direction and ride it. Part of me wants to say `keep riding the HT` to build your skills and experience. I'm an old git and a big fan of cutting your teeth on a HT. It allows me to get the most out of my FS as well.

There are loads of bikes to choose from. A discounted 2018 bike will get you more bang for your buck. You do need to try some though as our favourites may not suit you. You bike needs to fit you most importantly.

As for wheel size, I do prefer a smaller wheel for XC type riding, although I'm still on 26" so what do I know. I've tried 29" for the type of riding I do, and didn't get on with it. It does excel in the right environment though.

I don't think your height should influence wheel size.

Plenty of other people will throw a few ideas at you. You'll be spoilt for choice!

Of the bikes you’ve suggested I’d skip the trance 3 - the brakes aren’t great. Not sure on the fork either.

You need to decide whether to go more trail or more Enduro. The categories are quite blurred in the middle.

£2500 will get you a great bike - although direct buy vs bike shop brands give you a variety of spec. Most bike shop brands will be on a Yari or Fox 34 around that price - but with YT / Canyon you might just be on the edge of forks like the pike and lyric.

I’d get out and test some Enduro vs trail bikes somewhere good with a mix of terrain, then line up your short list.

For example I did 50k of trail centre stuff a few Saturdays ago - a lap of Cwm Rheadr as a warm up, then combined the black and red routes at Brechfa. I did that on my Bird Aeris 145LT (170f/160r travel) and it was fine. The day before we were uplifting at Black Mountain Cycle Centre and the day after was a lighter 14k Penyhadd lap at Afan. The bike didn’t miss a beat and I wouldn’t have ridden much different as it just made all the decents amazing.

However, my mate enjoys the uphills and he was riding a Kona Process 134 which was a good compromise. 140f/134r travel - it definitely climbs a little better on he long draggy stuff and does ok on the downs (although he’s much better than me uphill anyway).

We swapped bikes for 3 runs at BMCC and he had to admit mine was more fun / faster / more capable for trust kind of riding - but he found it a bit harder work on the little bit of peddalling uphill he tried on it.

So enduro bikes are fashionable, but they’re not for everyone. Hence recommending you get yourself some demos.