Canyon Neuron 7.0 - Need Advice!

I’d look at the YT Jeffsy 29” - seems to tick more boxes for you than the Neuron. Should be better descending and has more travel (140mm), also climbs extremely well.

It’s a shame that Canyon don’t make a 29” Spectral, think they’d pinch a lot if sales from YT if they did.

It's hard when you almost want a bike that can do general trail stuff, then climb well but also descend well on `questionable` terrain (you might need to clarify what that means). Most bikes that go up really well don't go down so well and vice versa.

120/110 should be fine for general trails, climbing and certainly some descending - just depends exactly what that is.

Personally, I have a 140mm FS bike that copes with anything that I throw at it. It's not that heavy (c.13kg), climbs well and has been down BPW, Cwmcarn, Afan and very recently a very rocky trip down Jacobs Ladder and other parts of the Peaks.

It's a bit too much for general trail riding at times and I have a 90mm HT that is a great trail blitzer and winter hack. Really don't need any more than that at times.

My friend has a lovely Santa Cruz Tallboy 29'er that I thought was the bees knees. He said it covers the ground so well and is a joy to ride on fast XC. He said that when he rode it at Afan and BPW, the geometry was wrong and he keep feeling too much weight over the front wheel. Was very uncomfortable on anything DH.

That was a geometry issue rather than suspension, but it still needs to be considered on shorter travel XC bikes.

I think my FS (Norco Sight 1) would be deemed a `Trail` bike, so pretty good going up and down.

For me - 130 to 140mm might be the optimum, but it does depend what you will ride most of the time as I'd happily do a lot of stuff on 120mm, as long as the geometry was right.

Again, I think you would need to clarify "most things". There is huge disparity over what different people ride and how fast they ride it. As the others have mentioned geometry is a massive part to how the bike will feel and handle. If you were looking for a decent trail bike that will descend and climb well, then I wouldn't go over 140mm for the travel. If you are looking more XC with a bit of trail, stick to 100mm-120mm.

I've got an XC bike that has 100mm travel and it's awesome for general XC riding and winter stuff. I've actually ridden it at the Forest of Dean and Cannock. It gets slightly out of it's depth in places, but still rideable. I built up a "trail" HT last year with really slack head angle and stuck 160mm fork on it. It's a good bike, but I am going to swap the forks out for some 140s as it's a bit overkill for my general riding and I don't think adds much really, just makes the climbing a lot harder. I am going to stick those on the new FS bike I am building.

In terms of the bikes... I like the look of the Canyon and think that would make a pretty decent trail bike, but the travel could limit you on gnarlier stuff. The Jeffsy is a really nice bike. Always one I had my eye on before deciding to build my own. Over the two I would pick the Jeffsy.

If you are looking at an FS bike for good value and aren't too set on a 29er, check out the Calibre Triple B. https://www.gooutdoors.co.uk/calibre-tr ... ke-p432765 or the Bossnut https://www.gooutdoors.co.uk/calibre-bo ... ke-p431792

They represent really good value, but appreciate you might want a 29er.

From what you've described the 120mm would be fine for that, although I confess I don't know the area. I would think an upgrade to 130mm would pose any major issues with regard to the geometry.