Hi guys,
Im currently riding a Giant Anthem 29er X2 and it’s been perfect for me on trails and all but i feel ready to move on to bigger things 😀
After asking around i found that 140mm is the max i can get for a 29er (within my budget at least ~3k).
I was looking at these for now:
http://www.cube.eu/en/full/allmountain/stereo-super-hpc-140-race/
http://www.evanscycles.com/products/norco/shinobi-1-2013-mountain-bike-ec041192

Im leaning more towards the Shinobi because:
-cheaper
-id rather get it from a bike shop than online
-can trade in my old commuter and get another 100 pounds off 😀
-also nicer colors

What do you guys think, is this bike enough for all mountain?
Im looking to start getting more air and after i buy a car plan on vising some friends in Germany and take it to the Alps. Do you think this bike can take it? Is 140mm enough?
If not, im thinking of going back to 26ers just for the extra travel though i fell in love with big wheels and my last 3 bikes were all 29ers.
Any help is much appreciated guys,
Thanks.

Why not a 650b Norco? I currently have a Shinobi (to review) and a Norco Range-b. The Shinobi is a great bike but nowhere near as dh friendly as the Range.

I have that exact Cube. Rode in the Sierra Nevada in March and it’s far more capable than I am.

Got it from a shop, too! (Tredz in Cardiff – other bike shops are available)

If you like the Giant, how about just stepping up to the Trance X 29er?

I really had to restrain myself from grabbing one of the cheap horsetheif frames earlier this year, if you can wait for a bit id be tempted to see if they do the same offer again…

Alternatively Tallboy LT can be had for around that price ^^

What he said ^^^

Santa Cruz Tallboy LT – link

If not, the Cube and the Shinobi both seem well regarded and fit for the job.

Sorry for late reply, been stuck doing night shifts.
To answer a few suggestions, the Trance is just 120mm so i don’t feel it’s much of an improvement over what i have. Also i really dislike this years colors. (except for the x1)
The Tallboy, i’ve thought about it but find them more expensive then other brands for what they offer.
Specialized S-Works, quite the price on that beauty, isn’t it?
Looked at the Norco Range but it seems discontinued on evans website. Only size small left.

I do have some questions about the travel, rear and front 120/140mm.
What does it allow you in terms of drops, jumps, aggressive terrain?

That’s a pic of the new 2014 Specialized Enduro 29er, 155 rear travel but more importantly 430mm chainstays. That bike has set a new standard for fs 29ers regardless of travel.
Watch and wait as other manufacturers hit the drawing boards and come up with their own versions using srams new front de.
ps Lenz has been there but they are a small US brand.

That’s a pic of the new 2014 Specialized Enduro 29er, 155 rear travel but more importantly 430mm chainstays. That bike has set a new standard for fs 29ers regardless of travel.
Watch and wait as other manufacturers hit the drawing boards and come up with their own versions using srams new front de.
ps Lenz has been there but they are a small US brand.

430mm chainstays on FS29ers isn’t new, the 2014 Enduro is significant primarily because of the travel they’ve achieved with such short chainstays.

You could pop longer forks on the Trance? I’m planning on putting some 140mm revs on my X29. I agree that they are gopping-they are awesome to ride though!

If you’re ever Cannuck way, give me a shout if you fancy a test ride.

430mm chainstays on FS29ers isn’t new, the 2014 Enduro is significant primarily because of the travel they’ve achieved with such short chainstays.

List please.

The Banshee Prime looks bang on, if 29ers are your thing.

A 650b Rune would be worth a look as well.

That swurks there is giving me improper thoughts.

Try a Five 29er if you can, there’s some bad spec shortcuts for a £3000 bike but it rides well.

I love my Salsa Horsetheif, pretty cheap too.

[/quote]List please.

My names not google, but I’ll start you off with the Divinci Atlas

Stumpy Evo 29 is what you want. Makes a Bronson feel like a toy 🙂

I’ve got a Banshee Prime after testing a shinobi and a santa cruz lt. It is awesome – I prefer it to my 2010 Enduro that it replaced. I’m taking mine to the alps later in the summer and I think it’s well up to the job, just make sure you get good tyres.

Get a test ride if you can (think distributor has a large demo bike), you’ won’t regret it.

Other options I looked at are Orange 5 29er (not in my size at the mo), yeti sb95 (wasn’t convinced that bearings would survive my laziness) and an intense tracer (couldn’t find one to demo). Hope that helps.

dexter – how did the shinobi, santa cruz and Prime compare? Obviously the Prime was best.

I’m having a lot of fun on my Nicolai Helius AC 29er. 145mm travel frame with 140mm Fox 34 Floats at the front which I am about to increase to 150mm. I built mine for close to your budget but I had to use parts off my old bike to keep the build cost reasonable.

Hi
I have a 2012 Transition Bandit 29er which I love.
140 front and 130 rear. It’s definitely AM
For 2013 its only 120 rear but the Covert 29er is 130.
Had a quick ride round the block on one and it was nice.
Maybe worth a look
Cheers
Steve

I thought the santa cruz and shinobi felt steep and short – but then again the XL prime is very long and slack. I really like my bikes like that might be down to personal preference. The shinobi was really stiff and well put together though. Try and get a spin on the top of the range fox version, it was worth the extra cash over the RS one imho.

If you’re looking at the prime, def get the cane creek shock. It’s not much more expensive but and it’s well worth it. There’s nothing that I’ve yet ridden on my prime that I haven’t managed to do quicker than on my enduro – but I haven’t taken it to the alps yet…

Stumpy Evo 29 is what you want. Makes a Bronson feel like a toy

Just finished building mine – first ride tomorrow! Sub 26lbs for this…..

Dirt 100 Review

From these guys……

Spesh Frames at Bike Scene

Niner WFO

[video]www.youtube.com/watch?v=2N2hZzY67L4[/video]

Oh wow, some of these bikes look amazing!
Though it might sound lazy, im not the kind to buy a frame and chase around the rest of the parts. I’ll end up spending more than i should this way. Will have a look for the prices of what you guys suggested and come back. Thanks!

After a lot of consideration i think l will settle on the Shinobi.Maybe after a year or two i can just buy a WFO frame or Nicolai Helius after my skills pick up and transfer the parts over. otherwise its hard for me to justify Spending over £4k for a bike Considering my level.
Really appreciate the input guys.
Thanks again!

Just stick with what you’ve got!

Wobbem, 430mm stays is possible with a seat angle like that and adjustments to the wheel path and others could have built it, albeit with Spesh the only ones to have enough money to persuade Sram to build a new FD mount.But 1×0 has ben useable for a couple of years now.

It also compromises the bike in other ways as Spesh designers have admitted in video, climbing for one. With the seat angle which is extremely steep and then the change to a much much slacker angle to give some semblance of an acceptable final effective angle, and your arse is so far over the rear axle you could almost pop a manual if you looked up 😉 It also looks like, as they have felt the need to effectively introduce a propedal lever on the CCDBair, that the suspension curve may not benefit climbing either. This is borne out by intial rides suggesting talas forks will be very handy indeed….

It is indeed short which negates some of the stability advantages AM 29ers have, but it will roll like a 29. So if you want to make a 29 ride like a 26 (Which was Spesh’s goal) then this is your bike, but not everyone wants that. Its also pretty steep for an AM bike and short in the TT…
IF you want a really stable bike with the 29 attributes of rollover, good pedalling that also climbs really well then look elsewhere..The Prime, Shinobi and Covert all being good examples of that as is the Nicolai (A custom version of which I have with shorter stays, longer travel and other changes)The Nicolai is somewhat slacker than the others listed with more rear travel. The Orange is slacker still.

SO the ENduro is really a bike for those who want a 26 with bigger wheels. For the rest of us who want a 29er and the advatages they offer not just ‘pop’ look elsewhere…especially in the UK I gather…

So horses for courses really…much the same as 26″ wheeled bikes, they are the sum of their parts not just the odd headline figure

With the seat angle which is extremely steep and then the change to a much much slacker angle to give some semblance of an acceptable final effective angle

http://www.pinkbike.com/news/First-Look-Specialized-S—Works-Enduro-29-S-E.html

69 degree seat tube on the top bit. Not massively radical, the same as my old 2008 Commencal Meta for example, I used to run that with a 410mm layback seat post.

Most figures you see quoted for seat tube angles are the effective values and 29ers these days generally have the curvy tubes. Take the Tallboy LT for example, bet that’s a very similar number.

Bought one of the Bikescene cheapy Stumpjumper FSR 29er frames myself, just came today 🙂 £800 frame + headset, 130mm both ends, looks lovely, they had the Evo one in too and I took about a week to decide between the two.

http://www.bikescene.co.uk/Specialized-Stumpjumper-FSR-Expert-Evo-29-Frame-6013-0-0.html

Bought one of the Bikescene cheapy Stumpjumper FSR 29er frames myself, just came today £800 frame + headset, 130mm both ends, looks lovely, they had the Evo one in too and I took about a week to decide between the two.

Rode my carbon Evo from Bikescene for the first time on Sunday and was blown away by it! Awesome!!

Best trail bike on the market.

Toasty, 69 deg is a pretty slack seat angle. Most quoted values are effective I agree. Generally modern seat angles are around the 71/72 range particularly for anything that’s intended to go uphill too. The bike rumour tester noted it was hard to get over the front enough to keep it down and stable whilst climbing…but it’s not its raisin d’être so I’m not banging on about it. If you look at the relative position of your backside within the wheelbase on that bike it introduces compromises, but that’s true for everything. And the publicity has been great for them…the message being ‘we did what others couldn’t’ but that’s horseshit, they have done what others have chosen not too..my custom Nic could have had another 8mm of travel but then I couldn’t run a 2.5 in the rear without modifying the axel path and having a 75deg seat tube (same as the Spesh) well that was something I didn’t want to do, in my experience it compromises pedalling efficiency and cockpit if you want a long TT and short stem. The Spesh was given to testers with a 70mm stem!! Christ that’s a road bike stem 😉

Anyway…it’s off topic, my point was that it isn’t the holy grail but it is being touted as such, there are reasons other builders/designers have not done it that way.

A better review is now out on the Specialized Enduro. I want but frame only.
clicky

Just a slight correction to what Fatgit said above – the Transition Covert 29 is 140mm travel front and rear, not 130mm, and is a brilliant bike – but i’m a bit biased.

Decent review. What I said then :lol:…doesn’t climb too great (needs some platform, short stays & sat over the back), needs a setback post cos of the seat angle to give a decent pedalling position, which makes it manual if you roll your eyes back on a climb, which is fun, sometimes, rides like a slack poppy 26, which is fun most of the time, except it’s occasionally worrying on really steep techy stuff cos its a) a bit short and b) 1 deg too steep in the HA for proper gnarr… 😀

Seriously, It looks great for what it’s meant for. BUT going really fast, on steeper rough tracks,and for better climbing & pedaling a longer (but not freight train long) at the back yet slacker (not silly slack) may be better compromise.

I think Curtis could surprise a few people on it, which is great.

Kudos for Spesh for putting it out there, but not for claiming others couldn’t do it..

anyway..back to the thread 😳

I agree. If it was 10mm longer in the stays and a degree and a half slacker I would be mega excite.

Why is the biggest size these long travel 29ers come in a 20″? (Spesh, convert for example). Could get away with the 21″ prime but quite a bit of seat post would be needed.
Am i also on my own wating a bottle cage?

No cage is a deal breaker for me too. 20.5″ the 29″ Enduro large seat tube.

Trek Remedy 29er

Horsetheif is available in 22″ http://salsacycles.com/bikes/horsethief

Thought people stopped using bottle cages decades ago but it has room for one 😀

Here is my 20″, 120mm rear, 140mm front, just over 29lbs with flats, more like 29 dead with spds and a chunk more when I run my hans dampf on the front as they are silly heavy 🙂

https://lh3.googleusercontent.com/-cnMPHBxR8lY/USjgBPmS2qI/AAAAAAAABxQ/-xUeSAPt8E4/w958-h719-no/20130223_120225.jpg