Ok before i start my search I thought il ask you guys
whats the best 6 inch do it all frame only option.

Give me your thoughts and opinions

Cheers.

Mine

I really liked my Nomad, awesome long travel bike,
I’m running a Remedy at the moment another good one,Remedy has amazing grip on technical climbs, and goes down hill pretty good.

Loving my Transition Covert

God only knows, as I haven’t ridden them all – I’d be leaning toward a carbon Mojo HD at the moment though

I don’t know but I really want a Cove G-Spot at the moment.

Thats about 6″ centre to centre.You could drop the seat if you’re under 2’6″.

Depends how much of “it all” you want to do and how fast 😉

Mikey74, I’ve got a GSpot and it’s brilliant! A lot of bike and a lot of fun.

There is no best. One man’s meat is another man’s poison.

Of course, I’d recommend my own bike but like others I haven’t ridden every single 6″ bike out there.

Everyone’s criteria is going to be different, depending on what they want the bike to do. If it were me, I’d probably be taking a long look at the Spesh Enduro or the Spicy.

A year ago, I bought a Marin Wolf Ridge which I thoroughly enjoy, but it’s not exactly a mile muncher. But then I have a 5″ xc bike for that.

Loving my Pitch at the moment.

Orange 6

I love my Hemlock, haven’t found anything else to match it… If I had to get something else, Orange Alpine has been the best of the rest though… Though I’d be doing an awful lot of testing as there’s loads of new and revised models I’ve never tried. i’d definately want a go on a new Spicy and a Nukeproof Mega.

Loved my 2010 Enduro in the alps a few weeks back.

better then my 2006 Enduro, even with its coil shock.

I would look at

Cove gspot (the new one)
Chumba hx2 or what ever it’s called
Orange alpine
Lap spicey
Ibis mojo hd
Wait a bit for the intense carbide
Nicolai helius am
Nukeproof mega
Santa cruz carbon nomad

I am on my second Marin Wolf Ridge which is great, in my opinion, a real do it all kind of bike. No its not a xc race machine but it will do xc very well but comes into its own on a more challenging trail. A strong capable frame that is really quite versatile.

Also had a Spesh Pitch Pro which was very nice, just felt so capable, a little heavy but not ott , able to ride xc on it all be a little slower. Would have another though.

They’re all very good and near enough the same. The best one is the one you own.

I reckon what Davidtaylforth above says is correct.

I’ve had an enduro and now have a mojo HD, the mojo is better than the enduro, but not by a huge margin. Its better because it climbs better.

I’d be looking for a 2010 enduro if I was on a budget, or a mojo hd (or maybe a nomad carbon) if I wasnt

Santa Cruz Heckler – cheap, easy to maintain, looks good & great to ride.
Had mine since 2007 & just done a 5 day lakeland epic tour on it & it was faultless!!

All the Maverick ML8 owners are too busy riding/stroking their frames to answer.

I’m typing one handed.

Went for a mega here. If it was money no object and I lived somewhere where it would get some serious use, then i’d be having a good look at the yeti SB66, especially when the carbon one turns up.

Usually people just say whatever they are currently riding….

For me, it’s an alpine 160 with a coil shock. Over past 2 years I’ve owned an orange 5am, mojo Sl, Santa cruz Blur LTc and nothing I’ve ridden before is as good as my Alpine.

It just feels right. Mines currently built up burly with coil shock, 1×10, 2.5″ DH tyres and a reverb as I’ve just got back from Les Arcs, so weighs 33lbs. I’m not changing anything now I’m back home as it just pedals so well. If I didn’t own more uk orientated bikes I’d try and drop some weight but I like how its riding currently- I’d describe it as a uk mini DH bike that can be ridden uphill.

does the best 6 inch pedalling up bike made a not so good going down hill bike,?

then you got price does a£1600 plus frames ride that much than a £1000 frames,

im in the market for a new 6 inch bike and i look for effeciant pedalling,im going to enjoy test riding a few,

im riding a titus el gaupo at the mo and cant thought it,just want a change

im actually looking for a 5inch travel bike aswell

im goner be looking at the

mega
zesty/spicy
transition bandit/covert
and asr5/575

oxnop – Member
Usually people just say whatever they are currently riding….

For me, it’s an alpine 160 with a coil shock. Over past 2 years I’ve owned an orange 5am, mojo Sl, Santa cruz Blur LTc and nothing I’ve ridden before is as good as my Alpine.

It just feels right. Mines currently built up burly with coil shock, 1×10, 2.5″ DH tyres and a reverb as I’ve just got back from Les Arcs, so weighs 33lbs. I’m not changing anything now I’m back home as it just pedals so well. If I didn’t own more uk orientated bikes I’d try and drop some weight but I like how its riding currently- I’d describe it as a uk mini DH bike that can be ridden uphill.

Interesting has i have a Orange 5AM and can’t get on with the un-balance up front with the 160 fork especially on single track and tight corners.

So hence why i am looking at a complete 6 inch framed bike and seems more so the Alpine 160 and
Spicy, which most people here have, Test time next week.

Thank you keep inputs flowing, and also why you like the bike and the dreaded weight of the bike.

Covert vid.
[video]http://vimeo.com/19855587[/video]

so many and i have owned a few, as above compromise twixt uphill and downhill, enduro riding to full on downhillishness

Maverick ML8 a great enduro bike aka goes up really really well and great on singletrack and general pointy down riding. For me a real gem of a bike

Yeti ASR 7, daughter who is riding in east coast USA reckons this is the bike to have, before she left UK for the summer, she timed several usual rides comparing to the turner flux dw model she rode before and was getting quicker uphill times.Hugley capapble on long long downhills A vastly underrated bike and possibly the best Lakes Yorkshire Dales and Peaks bike needs some thought in how to set up.

Turner 5 spot I am not a fan of dw link rode the flux dw for a while a was never really happy with it but these are great bikes, if you like the suspension feel.Owned the HL rfx and that was great but meant be blinded by memories

Titus el Guapo, I had the supermoto and that was a monster bike too much for me and UK the el gap is lighter quicker and a horst link, well worth a look.

Santa Cruz heckler owned and liked simple and straightforward, but i think there are better bikes out there.

DAvinci Hetick, looks great and is cheap, i would be looking at this if i wanted a sub 1k frame

Cube Fritzz, Giant reign, Spicy, Ventana terramoto so wanted one of these, are all alternatives.

enjoy

oh had the santa cruz blur lt mk 2 thought that was the one for me…..hated it sizing felt wrong and suspension did not like one bit,

I’ve not ridden an Alpine but have tried a Spicy (and own a Zesty). I haven’t ridden the Zesty for ages, I’m not really a big fan. It’s easier to pedal than the big GSpot purely because it’s a lot lighter but, to me, it feels like the geometry writes cheques that the frame can’t cash. I mean it feels like it wants to be ragged but when you do the frame starts feeling really flexy. Also what is noticable with the Zesty and Spicy is that they sit into their travel when you’re climing, (they bob a bit but not much), and that sitting into the travel really slackens them out and affects the climbing. I can climb stuff on my GSpot (with unadjustable Fox Vans) that I can’t get up on the Zesty with it’s wound down pikes.

What I like about the GSpot – v. efficient pedalling. It sits high in its travel and doesn’t seem to bob at all, just gives loads of traction at the back wheel. DH is a blast, it’s just up for anything I can throw at it. It likes to go fast but is is really poppy and nimble in a way my STD just isn’t. Mine is built up to 35lbs so it’s about 1lb heavier than my old Hustler. I built bikes heavy to last a season guiding and 32lbs is possible. (In fact I have a guy arriving just now who has one at 32lbs so I’m interested to see how it feels).

I’ve had a carpark test of the Mega and it seemed nice. Stiff and I’ve heard good feedback. I would probably have bought one if they were out sooner. The bandit / covert look sweet, I’ve not tried them out though but would like to throw a leg over one sometime.

I think there’s loads of good bikes out there but they’re all a compromise somewhere. The trick is to decide where you’re happy to compromise. For me I’m happy to add a bit of weight (so long as it climbs efficiently) in return for bombproof DH fun.

oh Knolly endo morphin …car park tested one these would really like to have a long term go

Further to my list, id like to remove the lap spicey, as it’s not frame only, but add the transition covert.

Yeti 575 or the new Yeti SB66

i recently bought a Mega after narrowing my choices down to a Mythic Rune/Covert/Mega. not much difference between the three of them, although the linkage on the Rune is supposedly supposed to be better. in the end, it came down to price…and the mega won this hands down – simply hundreds of pounds cheaper than the other two and i don’t think you can beat that for value.

i’m coming from an FSR (norco six) so obviously all of my comparisons are generally directly against that frame. the geometry on the mega is definitely very different. the steep seat angle in particular is brilliant for climbing and virtually no wandering of the front wheel with 160 forks that i can’t adjust the travel on. it climbs really well but does suffer from some pedal feedback, of which the old norco had none. going down it’s brilliant. the slack HA handles steep and technical stuff really well, and it likes to go fast. must say that on tighter, weavy singletrack the slackness works against itself. the 68.5 degree HA on the Norco was better than 66 on the Mega.the sus design gives quite a bit of pop but i sometimes feel like i could do with speeding up the rebound a touch.

overall, it’s pretty damn good. i’m sure it will serve me well over the next two or so years, but after that i’m going to be going back to FSR or similar. it’s simply the best IMO.

i’d like to try one of these:

ROCKY MOUNTAIN SLAYER

Interesting has i have a Orange 5AM and can’t get on with the un-balance up front with the 160 fork especially on single track and tight corners.

I’d agree with this – I put some 160mm foks on my 2006 5 and it was horrible (vague, wandery, didn’t turn well into fast sweeping corners), yet didn’t feel any more capable on the down hills, alps etc. I bought a 2011 5 at the end of last year – this really didn’t do anything for me at all. Now I’m a big fan of Orange, and don’t get me wrong it was a perfectly adequate bike that does everything without any real faults, its just didn’t make me grin like the old one did.

Why 6 inch? I’m not going to bang on about quality over quantity (someone else has said that most suspension designs etc. pretty much perform as well as the next), but the reason I ask is that I got a Nicolai Helius cc as a replacement for the 5.

It has slightly less travel, but feels a lot stiffer, sure footed, and just more capable. It also has that lively fun feel that I recall from my older 5. I’d say this is the best kept secret of the Nicolai range – it seems to be overlooked for bikes such as the AC or AM version, but is much closer in feel to what some companies are flogging as all-mountain. Just my thoughts really.

I’ll echo Peachos re the Mega.
The geometry is different but works. The steep seat tube gets you in a good position for climbing. The slack head angle coupled with 160mm forks means that the weight is distributed more forward compared to steeper bikes, helping to keep the nose down. Unless it’s a very long climb I don’t bother to wind down my U-tuns. My old 575 with Revs was a nightmare to keep the front end down.
I opted for 1.5 steerer forks and gained access to the world of very cheap stems. I currently have 4 of them, all different lengths and I’m experimenting to see which feels best. I might actually keep them all and swap stems depending on the ride! Currently got a 45mm Thomson 4x Elite (20 quid!).
Heading downhill the Mega just blasts through everything. I am genuinely considering wearing goggles as the speed increase is making my eyes water and I can’t see to pick lines!
The price is awesome and I think another 50 quid has just been hacked off remaining stocks in some internet price war. If you need a large frame size you’ll have to wait until November unfortunately.
My only criticisms are the weight and the toughness of the finish of the black anodising. The Peaks grit on cables will saw through the frame pretty quickly – get the heli tape on immediately!. I sort of wish I’d got the yellow painted one. I think for 2012 they should just paint the black one. I suppose I could just powder coat it at a later date.

Heckler with Coil or Air shock and a U-Turn/Talas fork….perfect IMO.

Rather partial to my Mondraker Dune. I got mine complete but it is available frame-only. Suspension design works fine for uphill, probably slightly better than my Trance as I never bother with propedal.

The answer is to get out there and test as much as you can. A decent bike shop will happily loan you a demo bike and let the riding experience speak for itself.

atlaz – I read a review of the Dune that said it bobbed badly in the granny ring, is that something you have experienced?

I sort of wish I’d got the yellow painted one

tbh, the yellow paintjob is a bit pants as well – got loads of chips through the pain already. doesn’t really bother me that much, but it’s certainly not great. the raw finish would be the best choice i reckon.

Covert.

No one’s mention Intense Tracers yet.

One “dialled” in its an awesome bike, exceptionally good uphill, and able to fly downhill as well.

You get the option to tighten up the back end into a trail like feel by running it in 5.5 mode as well….

Loads of VP’s for sale, not least at Jenson USA for $899.