I could run this past the wife but would get – whatever makes you happy!
Which in itself is good but not advice.

I bought a Cube Stereo May 2011 and love the thing, changed to reverb, wide bars, short stem etc etc

The plan was to gain confidence at Sherwood Pines and move on to bigger and better things like Wales, Scotland , Peaks etc.

I have now realised I am a big OLD (35) wuss an not sure I will ever go bigger! and have little time to travel further afield.

I am now thinking about swapping it for a 100-120 29er like the Solaris, FF29, Pace, or Charge Cooker as this will do for the Pines, Cannock and local trails.

Wadda ya think?

Unless you are really unhappy with the Cube (and you don’t seem to be) why change at all?

If you decide to change, remember that you’ll save a fair bit by using the kit off the Stereo and fitting it to a replacement frame. That being the case, you might want to consider which is the most compatible with the kit you have.

it’s an interesting question, I share your situation some.

Live in Switzerland, good access to alps and lots of bike park stuff, as well as lots of natural trail riding. Built myself a Mega as a mini DH bike, with the aim to get bigger and bigger.

37yrs and 3 kids, + only income play on my mind somewhat when on some horrific narrow rocky bit of trail that is trying to pitch me over the bars, or flying off a jump and getting it a bit wrong with feet flying off the pedals.

Other bike is a El Capitan (29er full sus), which is bob on for pretty much everything, so thought about getting rid of the mega. But, it does have a role, and is great in the alps, sooooo…

My advice, based on my situation (and did you really have to ask) – have both! (and he other bikes… ahem).

You want the ideal fun bike for local stuff, and if you are going bigger-ish, you will regret getting rid of the stereo.

HTH!

Kev

Come on I’m 43 and have a evil sovereign and a bottlerocket and both bikes help to encourage me to be a little more adventurous. If you enjoy it keep doing it and buy another bike!

ideal number of bikes = n + 1

The rule is the rule!

Kev

There’s no reason you couldn’t change and still ride the Peaks, Wales etc. I’ve ridden both on my Soul with 120mm forks and see lots of other people doing so on similar bikes.

Though n plus 1 is a great idea 😀

I have now realised I am a big OLD (35) wuss an not sure I will ever go bigger! and have little time to travel further afield.

OLD! 35 is not old. I didn’t start MTBing until I was 40!

But tbh just ride it and stop worrying.

Whilst it’s a bit over-biked for what you might need now unless it’s holding you back (struggling to keep up with mates on all-day XC rides etc.) then not much point changing it IMO.

You say your a big wuss but you will be surprised at what you can achieve without risking serious injury.
I’m 46, I got my son into mountain biking 2 years ago (he’s now 20), I started off on a 100mm full sus and have now progressed onto a 150mm Enduro just to keep up with the little shit and I absolutely love it, railing berms, drop offs, techy descents. There is no going back for me now. Give it a go.

Keep the bike you have. Reverbs are not “big forks” and are fine for all round riding. You are young. I’m close to my half century and still progressing and enjoying it. If lack of experience/ need to improve skill is holding you back it’s much better to have a bit more comfort and travel than you actually need. Leave the short travel super light bikes to the racers. I find my body appreciates multi day rides on full sussers much more than onmy hard tail. For mere mortals the extra travel helps progression by giving extra confidence. I started in the 80s on rubbish rigid 6 speeds. The improvements in suspension have made the sport much more fun, and I would suggest staying with your old bike. I do however like a hard tail for muddy winter rides, plus they are great fun on smooth jumps. One idea is to persuade the wife you need a hard tail “winter”bike and buy a frame second hand and build it up that might be a good idea to save “winter wear ” on the full susser anyway.

Also, the second great truism of STW (first is n + 1 for bikes), that of “get some coaching”, can also be of great help.

3 things for me have been revelations this year, and I know this sounds completely mong but really putting these into practice have profoundly positive impact (I know there is more to learn, but these are good so far)

1) Look where you are going, as far down the trail as possible, not what you want to avoid (i remember this from MBUK back in the day, but it is easy to forget, esp in the gnar)
2) to turn left, push down with left hand, raise right elbow (and vice-versa) – keeping body centred, outisde pedal down
3) heels down

But mainly my advice is just go buy more bikes, and then spares, then tools and shit, then obviously some kind of fixing station, then a proper way to store multiple bikes, then a man cave, then…. 😆