Chapter 3 of 13thfloormonk’s ‘What Winter Bike Saga’ 8)

Had been contemplating either a winter roadie or a CX bike so far, but a wee hike up the Pentlands on Monday had me thinking how much I might enjoy a winter of short sharp night rides instead of endless Arthur’s Seat Laps.

So after some brief research I came up with a shortlist of three fast 29ers with suspension (the crucial distinction, otherwise I’d just go CX).

Trek Superfly 5

Orange Clockwork 100

Whyte 629

I’m basically looking for something as close to the fast and mad experience of rattling about on a CX bike sliding round every corner, but with some suspension to save my feeble wrists which are still twingeing from last winter’s efforts on a rigid bike 😕

I’d think I’d want to test ride a Clockwork vs a Superfly as the spec is so similar, instinctively though I’d think the the Superfly would feel faster, I always associate Orange with more ‘trail’ oriented bikes.

I liked my last Whyte but the spec on the 629 is a distant 3rd to the Trek and the Whyte.

What would it take to go 1×10 on these bikes, a narrow-wide ring?

on one parkwood

Trek have been in the 29er game longer than most and really have the Superfly sorted, I’d go with that.

I’d get the Orange, but then I like Orange bikes.

Depends on your height but there are some of these left and this is what I was going to buy before I committed to a cross bike. Better fork than anything else (Reba), better drivetrain (XT/SLX cranks) and lighter. The alternative was a Superfly but the spec was awfully stingy.

http://www.rutlandcycling.com/287713/products/cube-2015-ltd-pro-29-yellow-mountain-bike.aspx?origin=pla&kwd=&currency=GBP&gclid=CjwKEAjwkK6wBRCcoK_tiOT-zFASJAC7RAri3sXWNrC7CO5uI3jpj0oyE8U6Y_rY7bh9qFHMIavsuxoCAiTw_wcB

http://www.chainreactioncycles.com/cube-ltd-pro-29-hardtail-bike-2015/rp-prod127837

Whyte 729 2015 can be had for £999 in the sale at Winstanleys. Seems like a good deal

If you know anyone who lives in France then you can currently get a Superfly 6 for under £800

http://www.alltricks.com/mtb/bikes/trek-2015-hardtail-bike-29-superfly-6-blue-193-191990.html?id_country_selected=22

Based on riding a Clockwork 27.5″ hire bike, I’d certainly look at its bigger wheeled brother

Wow, those Cubes do look good spec, I’d want to find a local bricks n’ mortar store to buy in though (Cyclescheme and old school principles 8) ) so would have to look at stock 2016 models probably, the Ltd Pro is now Recons instead of Rebas but otherwise better specced than the Superfly…

The Parkwood looks awesome but definitely more ‘Trail’ than I wanted, I’m basically looking for a CX bike with front suspension…

The Whyte 729 looks much better specced than the 629 but same problem with local store/Cyclescheme, can’t really take advantage of online discounts.

So… revised shortlist to include Cube Ltd, Superfly and Clockwork 100 as outsider.

Think I can test ride 2 out of 3 in Edinburgh at least…

I bought a Trek Superfly 6 last year, one up from the model you are considering. I absolutely love it. It is my first foray into big wheels and as I am only 5′ 7″ the Trek geometry was a better fit than most 17.5in frames that the competitors had on offer.

For £1200, I do wonder why I have been willing to pay up to £3k in the past. I would consider a Cube depending on fit.

If you can stretch for another £100:
Great bike, awezum spec

You can buy my orange clockwork 100 brand new never ridden for only £715…its for sale on here

FWIW just ordered myself a Whyte 629 for the same reason as the OP. The parts will wear out on any of them soon enough, and the specs are much of a muchness really, but the Whyte geometry is more agressive with slacker head angle and longer reach for a given size, and Whyte always major on mud clearance on their HT’s when compared to just about all of the competition. Would rule the Orange out instantly for overly long chainstays myself anyway.

Would rule the Orange out instantly for overly long chainstays myself anyway.

I have a 27.5 Clockwork and this put me off purchasing for ages. Orange seem to be in a chainstay length dimension of their own when compared with most other modern geometries. I finally took the plunge and coming from a 140mm Cove Handjob, the front end certainly wasn’t as popable, but, you can adapt to it and get used to it, just a bit more input required. On the plus side, @ 440mm on a 27.5 they do aid steep climbs, and dig in without slippage in arduous conditions (dig in like a whore on crack). I’d buy another and am trying to upgrade to a 2016 frame which is longer and slacker. Pretty stable off (small) drops too.

I own a Ss Superfly and it’s great – frame in particular. Orange and Whyte slightly more trail orientated?

Review here(same frame):

Superfly review

I’d go for one with nice short chain stays.

This cannondale F29er 5 is a grand at Pauls – £600 if you get your fellow tax-payers to chip in.

That is basically a CX bike with a suspension fork – seen a few raced in our local cx league here.

Oof! That could be a winner Garry! Lets just hope they’re still in stock in one month’s time…

Pinnacle Ramin ?

Ive got a scott scale 940 and me mate got the 950,can fault them,and i think they are on sale at the minute. Had a clockwork and liked that ,also demoed a superfly,the superfly and scale are very similar fast xc,the clockwork is more relaxed trail bike.all good bikes

Pinnacle Ramin

Yeah, nice call, I looked at them and the spec seems good, again though, they seem more trail or ‘playful’* oriented, think they’re slightly slacker and run 120mm forks instead of 100mm. I’m looking for something that handles as twitchily as possible 😀

I’d looked at Scales too, can’t remember why I dismissed them but will have another look.

*from the Pinnacle blurb at least

http://www.ebay.co.uk/itm/New-Orange-Clockwork-large-/301729941432?hash=item46408187b8:g:e4EAAOSwVL1WEpEh

I’m looking at Fast 29ers at the moment, can’t look beyond Canyon tbh. They are releasing an AL SLX model which has a slightly slacker HA (68.5) which is what my money will be going on I reckon.

Having hired a fairly low spec Trex X-Caliber at Coed-Y-Brenin at the weekend for my first folly on a 29’er, I’ve been completely sold on the idea of slotting one neatly into the fleet.

It was too big, brakes were a bit wooden, coil fork was heavy and clunky and the gears kinda changed when they wanted, not I. But it was the best fun I’ve had on two wheels in yonks – what a bloody hoot!!

So – had been eyeing up higher spec X-Calibers (can pick up a 9 for about £850ish), along with the other suspects mentioned above (Orange, Superfly, Whyte).

I hated the shape of my briefly owned Canyon Nerve a couple of years ago, so have discounted their Grand Canyon purely on that alone.

Then I casually stumbled upon this.

http://www.halfords.com/cycling/bikes/mountain-bikes/boardman-mountain-bike-pro-hardtail-29er

Spec-wise, it’s on par, if not higher, than anything on offer elsewhere. Reviews are on par, if not better, than anything else in the category. And, I can probably get it via Cycle2Work.

Having spent most of my teenage years fixing Halford’s bodgy build jobs at the wee cycle shop I worked at, the idea of essentially rebuilding it when it arrives doesn’t worry me too much.

Erm… I’m struggling here guys.

The guilt pangs of not buying from an independent local bike shop aside (which does hold a significant amount of weight for me) is there any reason why one of these shouldn’t be added to the stable as a matter of urgency?

Then I casually stumbled upon this.

http://www.halfords.com/cycling/bikes/mountain-bikes/boardman-mountain-bike-pro-hardtail-29er

Don’t forget you’ll get 10% off the price with your British Cycling membership card and that will be on top of any discount either in store or online (click and collect)

£190ish off made it impossible for me to consider any other bike. It’s a super bike, light and fast too.

I was going to say Boardman but got to this thread too late. Great vfm and they regularly have flash sales taking 10% off.

Don’t forget you’ll get 10% off the price with your British Cycling membership card

flash sales taking 10% off

Bear in mind for my purposes and Superstu’s, I don’t think anyone offers discounts on Cyclescheme/Biketowork purchases.

However, for the Cannondale up above, Paul’s will honour the discount price but only by applying an admin fee to make up for the money they lose to Cyclescheme (10% apparently).

That Boardman does look lovely, and a Reba RLT at that price is awesome.

I’m still sold on the Cannondale though, because I could finally own a Lefty! 😀