A new Stumpy?

May I second the Nicolai Helius CC option, having just built mine up from a frame I got off my mate it’s bloody fantastic (so far).

First ride last night, a 3 hour blast through the Northants countryside and it was great, really nice and responsive, pedals really well, turns in well, climbs (as much elevation as you can find in Northamptonshire) well and does the opposite well.

Mines not built light by any means:
1, Need to drop the 203mm front rotor and fit a 180mm one
2, Drop the 180mm rotor adn fit a 160mm one
3, SLX/X7 Gearing
4, Sunline V2 wide-ass bars

Looks like this:

Would second the Helius CC. Excellent bike.

Titus Motolite or FTM – pimpy in a subtle way – perfect for those of us approaching 40!!

What about a Lapierre Zesty 514 or 714?
Look really nice, good spec, ride well but not too ‘niche’.

Or a Pace RC405, I’m really happy with mine, and think it looks nice from the point of view that it looks like a fairly standard bike, the rear triangle looks almost like a standard double diamond, and the linkages are quite discreet. Can’t be a mid-life crisis bike, I’m several years past that!

I’d be tempted by a 514 though.

Trance X won’t give you much street cred, but if it’s anywhere near as good as the Trance (4in) or Reign (6in) it’ll be a cracking bike.

I’ve been riding both the Trance and Reign today and they both constantly impress me.

Meta

Hustler

If you want real cred, buy what the hell you want and don’t worry what image it may or may not portray.

Personally I’d get a mainstream, big-on-value FS like spesh or marin…its gonna be out of date in 3 years time so whats the point in spending more, its just a tool for the job.

liteville 301.

Have a little play around….

130mm at the rear. some i know run lyriks and use it for freeride. built up around 13kg. also retains the look of a hardtail. nice bikes.

lettuce know if your are interested and i can put you in touch with a dealer in germany – possible discount.

Well put Dr D.

Take the stickers off your bike – very few people have any idea what a bike is if they can’t read it off the frame, and unlike on STW, many don’t care what you’re riding anyway. It does confuse the more superficial though and they’re the only ones judging you.

iamstuckupmyownarse

Marin Mount Vision…admittedly it is still very new, but compared to my original Trance, it seems much more capable – also a half pound lighter.

I’m still getting used to it but so far it has climbed up the same stuff, ridden over the same stuff and descended much quicker than the Trance…

So far it seems to be a great bike – not boutique in any way but it seems to do the job*.

* Only issue is how to transport it (and this depends on the model – if you have one with a thru-axle this is appropriate) – if going by roof rack then you are somewhat stuck as the downtube is too large for most clamp-type carriers (a Thule Freeride only grips it by the very ends so isn’t a very secure hold) and the Proride fits the hole below the shock mounting but the chainrings foul the clamp closure so it isn’t held in securely. You need to resort of a fork mounted clamp and so far the only 1 you can buy in the UK is the Pendle Single Bike roof bar with 15QR adapter. Rear mounted probably not such a problem as the top tube has plenty space for the bars to fit through. Towbar is probably the best option for transporting it.

Ellsworth Epiphany trick it out and who gives a f*ck what anyone thinks!

i was going to say ellsworth epiphany as well. top stuff.

I don’t give a toss what people think, but I just want somthing a little different so I know exactly what the poster means. I just wouldn’t want to own a specialized/trek/giant etc etc, regardless of how good it is, if that makes people sneer, that is just fine by me….

Logic fail/self-delusion

Do you sneer at people for riding a Spesh/ Giant/ Trek?