Hi,

Broke my frame on saturday so need a replacement. Want a 160mm full suspension bike capable of taking a hammering but also ridable as an all day bike.

So far thinking of transition covert – anything else to consider? Need to be available as frame only and from a shop around Leeds/Harrogate.

Yes, you should consider the Covert in another ‘colourway’.

Budget?

I found the Covert a bit ‘meh’ when I spent a day on one in the Alps.

Around the £1400 for the frame.

I’ve preordered a Nukeproof Mega as it seems to tick all the right boxes for me and is quite a bit cheaper than the Covert, downside is needing to wait ’til November…

The Mega looks hard to handle for an all day riding bike.

Well you can try mine, I keep it at the shop (Crosstrax) Its a medium, i think its great. It does what you expect, its a 160mm travel bike I dont know what youd expect it to do other than be able to take a hammering and then ride back up the hill pretty well, weigh in at about 30-32lbs and thats about it,
Ive been riding the new stuff in Esholt that Ive never had the Kahoonies to ride before and have to put some of this down to the bike, i feel very confident riding it.
By the way, yes Im biased, but biased as the owner of a Covert as opposed to the owner of a bike shop.

Covert’s 150mm, rather than 160 – dunno if that makes any odds to you.

I demoed one before choosing a Spicy – I got a Spicy 516 minus brakes and wheels from my local shop for less than the price of a Covert frame & Lyriks, so it was an easy chice in the end. Did like the Covert though, felt very comfortable on it straight away, easy biek to get on with. Seemed slightly steep at the front, although the stem was a shade longer than I’m used to.

I’m going to pop into Crosstrax on saturday to speak to them about it and I need to get a quote anyway as its going through my insurance.

150mm at the back doesn’t bother me as long as it will handle places like the alps for a week.

Chumba EVO G2 with an Elka coil, £1350 🙂

Chumba EVO G2 White by srbwilson, on Flickr

The mega is a bit slacker than the covert, but I’m used to riding my old freeride bike – I wanted something with the same head angle, but a better riding position. Had a quick ride on one and it felt like what I wanted – not tried the covert though.

This might sound silly but if Chumba changed their name, then Id be a lot more tempted by them, Im sure they ride well and are made well, its just the name that puts me off.
However if they came out with a downhill bike called Wumba then Id be interested again.

However if they came out with a downhill bike called Wumba then Id be interested again.

I thought they already had.

Need to be available as frame only and from a shop around Leeds/Harrogate.

I bought my covert online from jed @ bikedirty. dun me a good deal…

As regards covert vs….. I came from a bullit so it feels amazing. It is a brilliant bike. I do love mine.
[video]http://vimeo.com/19855587[/video]

not seen a “Wumba”

My personal experience (and I’m sure there will be people who do not agree…) is that for peaks/dales riding, where you often end up braking down steep slopes on loose/rocky surfaces (ie far from smooth) the single-pivot design of the transition and nuke-proof is not ideal.

I know it does not fit your brief for being available locally, but the Da Bomb Cherry Bomb 6 meets your other requirements. I have one of the older 4″ models built up for peaks trail riding and it’s superb. The back end has huge lateral stiffness (look at the size of the chainstays for that clue) and I find mine is a superb bike for longer rides as well as being absurdly chuckable down stuff. At £810 new it’s a bit cheaper than budget.

Cove GSpot, worth throwing a leg over one before you decide if you can. Certainly seems to be able to take the punishment, it’s heavy but can be built up to 30-32lbs (mine’s 35lbs) but climbs well. The downhills are just a riot 🙂

Cove Gspot Review I’ve done a load more miles on it and will do a longer term review but I’m liking it more the more I ride it.

the single-pivot design of the transition and nuke-proof is not ideal.

Are you talking about “brake jack” or whatever? I’ve tried plenty of non single pivot full sussers and never found a difference..

I think the G Spot is about £2k for the frame – looks very nice though.

Ahhh, sorry I didn’t see the price limit.

toys19 – Like I said, different people will disagree. I certainly did experience a difference when I went from a single pivot to a 4-bar (even though my first 4-bar was rubbish for other reasons).

Mondraker Dune? Pretty sure Evans do them frame-only and shouldn’t be more than 1300 with an RP23-BV

I certainly did experience a difference when I went from a single pivot to a 4-bar (even though my first 4-bar was rubbish for other reasons).

It isn’t that I disagree – I just wonder if it was down to shock not design, as I have tried to look for it and never found a 4 bar that felt massively different under braking..

Single pivot v four bar etc, if you honestly believe it hampers your riding then you must be the best rider in the world and if you are riding at such a limit that a single pivot is causing you problems then maybe you should give Steve Peat some advice, as he didnt have any problems riding for Orange for all those years.
He probably wasnt at the limit of what a single pivot bike can do. lol

i test rode the covert on saturday,ive got a titus el gaupo and im goner test ride a mega,rode a mates for 5 mins the other day,

i love my titus ,it really climbs great for a 6 inch bike,the traction on steep loose rocky ,rooty stuff is 2nd to none but i feel as a play bike it could be better,it feels like a pumped up xc bike,if i only had 1 bike i would keep it cause you can do the miles on it and it is good going down ,not great

the covert felt really good going down ,i dont care about braking jake,im not decided about climbing or pedaling on it ,i didnt do any pedally single track,i did climb on it but i was tired before i started,it felt like a mini down hill bike

the mega felt very very effeciant,pedalled light but i had cleated shoes on flat pedals so couldnt rag the bike properly,but felt like i needed to spend some time on the bike,its got my attention for sure

did climb on it but i was tired before i started,it felt like a mini down hill bike

S’funny how perception changes things, as I came from a bullit which I used for AM duties (as in I want to be riding a DH bike but I need this to climb as there isn’t any uplift here) and the covert felt like a gazelle. 😀 I guess coming from your titus it would be harder to tell the difference? did you set the shock up right?

Single pivot v four bar etc, if you honestly believe it hampers your riding then you must be the best rider in the world and if you are riding at such a limit that a single pivot is causing you problems then maybe you should give Steve Peat some advice, as he didnt have any problems riding for Orange for all those years.

I think you’ve completely missed the point.

Steve Peat wasnt hampered by a SP bike because hes good.

If your an average rider then it may hamper your riding.

If your an average rider then it may hamper your riding.

By inference, you must think I’m amazing..

I test rode Sancho’s Covert and a Spicy 514 from his shop. Bought the Covert.

I am far from as talented as Steve Peat and I will freely admit that. It made a noticeable difference to me and that’s all I’m saying. If it doesn’t to you then fine. There’s plenty of armchair pundits out there who will debate it for hours without having ridden one or the other, but I am simply relating my experience.

Getting back to the OP’s question, another though occurs which is the Canyon range, which are getting superb reviews. My choice would probably be the Nerve AM, but at 140mm is that coming up short on travel?

By inference, you must think I’m amazing..

Almost, you do ride a hardtail….but its a Cotic BFe, the classic LT xc mincing machine.

From what I’ve seen of Steve Peat, the main reason he was unaffected by brake jack is that the **** never brakes.

Lighter on the wallet, I have a giant reign. It’s steeper in the HA than the mega etc but it doesn’t seem to hinder me. Just got back from its 2nd alps trip which it cooed with just fine with lyriks on the front. I stuck a coil shock on it for dh and its gurt lush.

I bought a transition covert a month and a half ago – absolutely love it! Ride mostly in the peaks and haven’t had any issues with single pivot on rocky stuff as mentioned above. I tried an orange 5, zesty, and reign before buying. If you fancy a demo, I can recommend 18bikes in the peaks – sorted me out a good un’ 🙂

Like the sound of a mini downhill bike!

I’ve got a NP Mega, cannot fault it. Came from an On-One 456 and I honestly find this every bit as easy to ride all day…..easier in fact due to the comfort, weight is the same-ish as the Mega has decent wheels on and feels way more agile.

Demo’d a Orange 5AM and an Alpine, the Mega out-climbs them with ease, the Alpine is ok, but felt too much for me and the 5AM feels unbalanced with 160 forks on and climbs like poop! Also tried a Spicy briefly……just felt very “squishy”.

Hope that helps?

doh had a little think..

Against the run of play, but Pronghorn LT.

I’ve got one, it’s awesome, I can come down to Leeds for you to have a go cos it gives me an excuse to see the fambleh in Sheffield.

I also know a shop that will do them for muchos dealios. As in less than a Transition. They also do Transition.

i didnt mean the bike didnt climb well i meant i had ridden 5 days last week and on friday i was doing squats and various other exercises so i was generally very tired and had sore legs,i just stuck it in the granny and spun up everything,

i wasnt in a position to judge the bikes climbing abilities,pointing down is when it felt like a d/h bike to me

i didnt mean the bike didnt climb well i meant i had ridden 5 days last week and on friday i was doing squats and various other exercises so i was generally very tired and had sore legs,i just stuck it in the granny and spun up everything,

i wasnt in a position to judge the bikes climbing abilities,pointing down is when it felt like a d/h bike to me

ah ok. Your comments did get me to thinking though, as I was comparing covert with bullit, there is always going to be a gulf, tbh I could have got on any modern 6 incher and thought wow!