I’m looking at getting a new fs bike to replace my aging Orange hardtail and not sure what I need/want! Living in the middle of Hampshire it’s not exactly extreme but still sheepish and rough at times.

I initially thought trek ex8 but told too much of a ‘trail bike’ for what I need and now I’m drawn/shown to the Cube ams 110 and anthem x; but having read up on them I’m worried they may be too ‘race’ like – I’m unlikely to race properly but do want something light and efficient, but that take some stick as and when (although fit, @6ft 4 and 105kg I’m no lightweight!).

I will test ride the shorlist but trying to narrow down the options! I suspect it is the obsession in magazines to pigeonhole things and I’d be happy with any of the above, just wanted to see what the greater view on things is……

Tbh, 100mm xc race bikes are rather quite rideable these days. Stick some chunkier tyres, shorter stem, wider bar on them and they’re really quite the rippers!

That said, depending on your budget Trek EXs are hardly “big” trail bikes and probably quite ideal for your needs.

as above +1

go for 120mm forks – should comfortably handle most things and still climb.

What a load of shite all this marketing stuff is.

Get whatever you like, you need a burly bike as your not svelte, it needs decent wheels and a reasonably strong frame and so on.
I think the Trek looks great or a SC nickel or a 100 other bikes.

In my mind you can always run suspension a bit stiffer if you want a more racey feel but you can’t add more travel to a short T bike.

I have 125mm at both ends and it seems enough.

I’d second the Fuel Ex… I managed to keep up, 15 miles ON-ROAD with a mate on his 100mm XC Hardtail. They’re pretty fast and light, but they can also take the pounding. I’ve done Cwm Carn Twrch trail (up and down) a few times with no issues.

Test ride the bikes and buy whatever feels the best to you, don’t worry about what category the bike falls into.

Test ride. The marketing blurb will never tell you what you need to know. Bikes marketed as racey may be fine and equally those marketed as “All mountain” etc. may be fine.

FWIW I ride a Stumpy FS Elite with about 5″ at each end. It rides up and down very well. Takes a lot of the difficulty out but then that is what FS is designed to do. Fuel Ex range is very similar and an 8 would be a good all round bike allowing long days out over not very difficult terrain through to pushing your limits over big distances or individual features.

Biggest changes I noticed were putting on fat tyres or thin racey tyres and changing to lighter wheels.

“Test ride the bikes and buy whatever feels the best to you, don’t worry about what category the bike falls into.”

Unfortunately that can be very difficult. There are so many bikes out there to choose from you could end up testing 20+ and when bike shops charge £20+ a time to do it then its going to cost you a fortune.

Personally I think you have to do a bit of reading magazine reports, test as many mates bikes as you can, and then pick your shortlist favourates that way. Although I would recommend test one very short travel one medium travel and one long travel bike.

From what the OP is saying he would be best on a shortish travel 100-120 FS. However he needs to decide if he wants a racey feeling bike or relaxed cruiser etc etc.

When moving from HT to FS I wish I had taken more time to consider how the bikes climbed and handled rather than thinking about suspension travel & decending. Especially moving from a HT you want to pick a bike that you think climbs well rather than the one tha downhills the best.. if you get what I mean.

Oh meant to say as well they dont tell you about Pivots wearing out on FS bikes. Your used to a hardtail never having ‘a wobbly backend’ but at some point your FS will develop it and need bearings replacing… whoch isnt cheap. Some systems last longer than others.

Whyte T-120 could be worth a look. Lifetime warranty on bearings.

Also the giant trance fits the bill as well

Thanks for all the input – it’s given me more to think about which’ll hopefully help me to focus on what I’m after from it, rather than where I am/what I ride (if you see what i mean).

It also confirms my reaction to the blurb I’ve seen in the marketing and some magazine tests!

I’d second the Fuel Ex… I managed to keep up, 15 miles ON-ROAD with a mate on his 100mm XC Hardtail. They’re pretty fast and light, but they can also take the pounding. I’ve done Cwm Carn Twrch trail (up and down) a few times with no issues.

You sound like a marketing department’s dream! If you’re pleased that your mountain bike has survived a trip around an XC trail you must have very low expectations. I’d be pretty annoyed if any half decent MTB couldn’t survive the DH course (with the possible exception of the road gap!), let alone the XC course. Bikes aren’t exactly flimsy.

Echo what people have said about testing bikes and buying what you like. Fuel Exs are great bikes, I had a 2007 9.5 as a play bike, was very nice indeed. Had a couple of Top Fuel race bikes too, and they’re also rather nice.

If you are large (5ft 10+) then this is a stella deal for an XC bike:

http://www.merlincycles.co.uk/Bike+Shop/Bikes/Mountain+Bikes/Turner+Bikes/Turner+Flux+Custom+Build+Bike_FLUX-BIKE.htm

Having ridden down south many years myself (being a former softy southerner), if Hampshire / Home Counties were the sort of riding you’d want to do, I’d want er on the side of ‘XC’ rather than anything ‘trail’.

Most of today’s ‘trail’ bikes are designed to be chucked down mountains and ridden back up them again, which is very admirable indeed. Except. You just don’t need that sort of kit for riding southern trails. If anything, IMHO, those sorts of bikes would simply detract from the experience.

In order to make it a vaguely challenging, engaging experience down south, I think you’d be best off going for (as I did/do!) a 100mm hardtail of some form. Quick, fast, lively, responsive – and a joy to chuck about on twisty, turny, woody singletrack.

If, however, you think you might consider leaving the south and heading somewhere vaguely rocky, gnarly and steep at some point – go for something boingy at both ends, with a bit more travel. In this instance, I don’t think you’d go wrong with an Anthem X – perfectly capable of most things, despite the ‘race’ tag that is possibly associated with it. Otherwise, if you fancy more of a rocky trail skill compensator and will definitely be riding on proper rocky mountain trails a lot, the Trek’s probably a good bet too.

I just don’t think it’s ever worth – exclusively – combining a modern longer-travel ‘trail’ bike with gentler southern trails, despite what you will see many people riding there.

Dont get too much bike……for general UK riding 120mm forks are plenty, probably more than you need 95% of the time. Def have a think about a Titanium hardtail, On-One 456 one of many great frames. Dead easy to live with (watch those bearings on FS as above), light, fast and comfortable. I’m a big lad like you, just bought a susser specifically for XC racing but my go anywhere bike is a Ti456 with Talas forks, thats what comes to the Lakes and Spanish mountains.

Not easy this bike buying malarky. The Trek Fuel EX8 looks nice but only get full suss if you really plan on hitting trails hard. Otherwise you dont need it.

The On-one 456 looks like a great bike (the carbon more so which is now on offer) which you can stick a broad variety of forks on. Something like a U-turn fork would really compliment the geometry and versatility.

The technology has come a long way, be sure not to be pulled in by gimmicks. Post up what you’re considering and I’m sure you’ll get lots of feedback on here!

Ex is a great trail bike – but I broke mine 🙁
Trek haven’t confirmed the warrantee is gonna cover it yet 🙁

😳

You said fs! Sorry.

I really rate my Commencal Meta 5.5. It’s got 5.5″ of travel and seems beefier than an xc bike but not as gnarly as a freeride/dh setup so suits me (and probably a majority of recreational riders) quite well. The air fork/rear shock (Rockshox Revelation dual air fork, Fox Float R shock) are very easy to tune to your weight too. I’m on the lowest settings due to my skinniness, but you could easily just stick a little more air in than stock.

It’s more of as descender, but still climbs great and the sizing seems a little conservative. I’m 5’11 and just on the brink of medium.

Get an ST4.

If you don’t intend to race I’d go for a 120mm – 140mm FS bike, with a bolt through front axle if possible (bearing in mind your weight).

The new Boardman FS bike might be worth a look, or even try to grab one of the outgoing models cheap.