Money no object, lung bustingly fast XC race machine? What would it be? and why?

I decided to build a shop Rohloff demo bike 5 years ago, and ended up with this – the frame was (relatively) cheap on CRC:

Tomac Revolver Ti, Rohloff, USE SUB, USE bars and seatpost, Pace retro stem, prototype Brooks Swallow saddle. Just a hoot to ride 😉

Preferably short travel full sus like an anthem but if it’s gonna be the perfect bike then I will be spending a lot of time demoing bikes I’ve never ridden before to see if there’s one that suits me more

what’s your dream XC race bike?

My God, I really am so so so different from you in every way…. 😯

or

and this one is ace for enduros and I love it to bits

Tall boy carbon

My God, I really am so so so different from you in every way….

Seeing that I am an XC racer, I can only take that as a good thing Loddrik!

Tall boy carbon

ooo yeh forgot that one, ’tis a jolly bike as well

Current cannondale flash or cannondale scalpel are serious business, HT or ST as you prefer.

Cannondale scalpel 29er (not released yet AFAIK). Je. sus. Christ. Three lungs required.

Look 920. Sram xx group set all round. Enve wheels.
I would want it to compliment my current 986. And because the above bike would probably be nuts. Mostly likely under 20lbs and stupidly fast.

Bike I have now but with sexy enve rims 🙂

Cannondale scalpel 29er (not released yet AFAIK). Je. sus. Christ. Three lungs required.

Rode it at the Breck Epic this year for a couple hours – one hell of a bicycle, but didn’t feel much faster or smoother than my current 26 inch Scalpel. Maybe more than 2 hours of testing would be needed to find the differences though

Cotic Soda, but would need a better motor!

do rather like the superfly as well

I don’t know much about race bikes, but something like this:

But in raw carbon, with white everything, including tyres ‘cos that’s fastest. No half measures, like.

The giant anthem is the most podiummy bike I’ve seen on these shores in 26in format. Rode a lot of bikes to decide this but it is the fastest. Also, apart from maybe the full sus niner and the fisher, it’s the only proper XC racer pictured in this thread.

If I had all the money in the world we’d have the carbon frame, tune hubs, xtr drivetrain and carbon bits but as it is it’s not cost me mad money and it’s got me to the podium in just about every endurance race in Scotland. Weight is 22lbs without pedals.

I thought XC was carbon hardtail, 80mm of travel, 600mm bars, bar ends (with hidden stabby spikes), and a road cassette… what’s all this malarky with the 29ers?

Always been a bit impartial to the confuser: The Whyte 19c, om nom nom.

My ideal race bike would probably be something like a lamb ceylon, pilau rice, pashwari naan and aloo gobi.

The Top Fuel that’s sat in my spare room I reckon.

Maybe some crazy light carbon wheels for it, but that’s all.

16lb.

very nice sir, very nice

I love the look of edge/enve stuff