There is a space in my garage for a short travel, lightweight FS bike for long rides (….or short rides made quicker). Will be complementing a carbon hardtail, and Stumpjumper Evo (both 29ers). Love the stumpy (especially for trips to Lakes etc), but it is ~30lbs and more bike/longer travel than I ‘need’ for local Chiltern rides, when I don’t want to use my hardtail.

Thus, the new bike needs to be well under 25lbs to be different enough to warrant it’s existence (I realise I’m convincing myself here). Has to be a 29er, and has to be full suss. Will spend £4K, maybe up to £5K if I really have to. No need to tell me this is a lot of money on something I don’t need…lucky enough to have a bit of spare cash for this purpose.

Looking at Spec Epic and Canyon Lux (may wait until 2016 bikes, no real rush). Discounted the Anthem advance as 27.5 only. Any personal experience on these bikes, and what else should I be considering? Santa Cruz Tallboy builds look poor value compared to the above, especially the Canyon. Thanks in advance.

M109 (CS or C Team depending on funds) ?

Good call roverpig, but…weight was pushing it a bit close or beyond 25lbs on the M109 on the reviews I’ve seen. I know ride quality is more important than weight overall, but it is a key factor in this purchase.

Think I heard the M109 was being discontinued?

Spearfish

I should add, bike is for long ‘marathon’ rides, and quick short blasts, not XC racing, if that makes a difference.

Spearfish looks interesting, but also expensive to get under 25lbs….

I had a m109c. It rode well but I snapped it twice in one summer. Both frames went in the same place (between bb and bb pivot) while riding fairly tame stuff. I wouldn’t trust one again.

Pyga Stage, Ibis Ripley, Turner Czar, Pivot Mach429, Bianchi Methanol, Felt Edict ??

What about Lapierre XR £3500 and at 23.5 lb, or even the Lapierre X control 727 in at 24lb?
But as you got a little bit more cash spare I would look at the Lapierre Ultimate program, basically you can cherry pick what you want & custom build your bike! 😈

I have a tall boy built up mega light.
If you want pics and more detail, my email is in my profile.

It’s light enough to race, and I’ve won races it on it, so it definitely is light and fast.

There’s a pivot mach 429c for sale in the classifieds. Just saying.

Just got a Trek top fuel frame (alu version), not built up yet let alone ridden, so can’t say how it rides, but another to consider

Thanks for all the suggestions….few more bikes to look at.
New only, no classified thanks.

I think the epic would be too similar to a 29er racy hardtail.

Id go for a tallboy or czar, but for longer distances ive found that weight isnt the be all.

Does it have to be Carbon? Pedalon are selling Anthem 29ers for £1399, and the rest of your budget will get it well under 25lb easily.

I’m in the same situation. Was going to go for new top fuel 9.8 sl (24.00lb).i eliminated the whyte coz of weight too. Cube stereo hpc slt looks good but was told by lbs they fall to bits!. ( and he sells them). At the mo its between the trek and the 2016 Orbea Occam TR. Its 120mm but m-ltd spec is really good. Have a look at the orbea oiz?.

or as advertised on the left a Merida 96. I’ve got a 26er but its very ‘racy’.

I have no experience of them, but what about a Niner Jet 9 RDO or Jet 9 Carbon?

Spearfish looks interesting, but also expensive to get under 25lbs….

Spearfish is great. I’ve got one and it’s equally at home doing 175miles in one hit on the Ridgeway Double as it is on XC (8hrs yesterday) The suspension is very good indeed.

Weight – my alloy is 24.1 pounds with XTR 1×10, 1400g wheels, heavy tyres and the usual light but not boutique kit. The carbon is 0.5lb lighter but will leave you less money for the kit.

Key for me was a suspension that didn’t need fiddling with but could be left fully open. Only criticism is that it has only one set of bottle mounts.

If I had the cash I’d love an Epic but the cheaper ones are notthat light.

adsh – was yours a green one? I saw you if so, if I’d have known I would have said hello.

Turner Czar. Mine is 23lbs.
Amazing bike that leads me to believe the hype about DW suspension could well be true.
Very quick and the grip in technical uphill riding is still shocking me.

Alloy Anthem 29 is very good for alloy.
Unless u can find an older advanced one or from the states?
If it was carbon I would be all over a Turner Czar,especially the blue one!
Thanks,
Max

Interesting shout on the Anthem 29er, but I probably won’t be going down that route as I’ve just got rid of my 26er Anthem X1. I used to enjoy it but went off it completely as I switched to 29ers. I fear the 29er Anthem might feel a bit too much like my old bike. Undeniably good value though. It’s also not been updated by Giant to include internal cable routing etc which puts me off slightly.

Overall, the Canyon Lux looks tough to beat spec and weight wise for the money. Unfortunately, unlike the Epic, I don’t know anyone with one, and I won’t be able to try before I buy, which is always risky.

It’s also not been updated by Giant to include internal cable routing

A positive, surely!

A positive, surely!

Well yes, there are pros and cons. Pity Giant are slowly giving up on 29ers.

Scott Spark?

Yeti ASRc??

Chucking in the what I have… Rocky Mountain element. Used for blasty xc, fun trails, multi day racing etc. Very capable and for your budget light enough.

adsh – was yours a green one? I saw you if so, if I’d have known I would have said hello.

Indeed twas me. I did look out for an anthem but didn’t see you. Did you overtake me?

Another vote here for the Turner Czar. Mine is built around 23.5lb and feels like it would take a knock or two rather than the super light race frames. I run mine with 120 forks, 180 brakes, wide bars and occasionally a reverb. It will take 2.35 tyres so can cope with a bit of hammer whilst pedalling really nicely.

Are you guys with the turner czar’s building them or buying full bikes?.

Cannondale Scalpel? Scalpel 1 is in budget if you shop around and will be circa 23lb off the shelf.

Goes like stink as well!

I bought mine as a frame when Silverfish was still importing.

Blazin-saddles – Member

I bought mine as a frame when Silverfish was still importing

Are Silverfish no longer importing Turner?

Surely the scott fs has to be worth considering. Maybe not super exotic, but if I was buying a fs that would be it

Surely the scott fs has to be worth considering. Maybe not super exotic, but if I was buying a fs that would be it

On this note I have seen a good deal on a new Spark frame. Bit concerned about the ‘twin lock’ feature – can this be taken off if building up to own spec?

Feedback on the Epic… I have recently bought one and it has exceeded my expectations. I have a racy hardtail and was getting a bit fed up of being thrown all over the place on 40+ mile rides. I bought an Epic without a test ride but genned-up as much as I could before I found one that I wanted to buy.
Now that I am getting used to it – about six weeks in – I am loving it more and more, especially that I can push it far past what I thought it would be capable of. The rear Brain gives some of the spirit of a hardtail but with the benefit of suspension when you need it. The twin bottle cage mounts was a big draw for me but in hindsight it wasn’t the thing that made me want one; I loved the look of the bike (important to me).
It has the ‘dreaded’ RS-1 fork which so far has been much much better than the SID on my hardtail (and easily as good as the Fox RLC Kashima on my last bike). I did two identical loops of Hope Valley last week on different days and it completely ploughed through the really rocky downhills. Also, it finds traction at all times so I’m finding that my climbing has got faster (I was already fairly decent). Where I’m enjoying it most is over flatish ground as it just rockets along. I love it… but you will have gathered that already.
What’s in the minus column? Nothing that I can think of other than it was very expensive (it’s an S Works) and I had to buy it from Denmark to get the colour that I wanted… but it’s been worth it.
I’m guessing that most of these bikes will all be pretty amazing at the £4k mark with very little between them. You may well even find a Marathon in the sale for around the budget that you have.
There are probably 10 or so contenders ranging from the Epic (not great VFM) to the Canyon (big savings). My shortlist contained the Czar (loved its hardtail looks); Tallboy CC (the close second) and the Epic.

Thanks for all the feedback.

What’s notable so far is that there is no personal experience on the Canyon Lux. Anyone know someone with one?

http://flowmountainbike.com/tests/flows-first-bite-norco-revolver-9-2-fs/

Are Silverfish no longer importing Turner?

As far as I’m aware, no. Think Turner sell direct now, willing to be proved wrong however