This idea gets mentioned a lot but people want something different out of it.
Hardtail but in full suspension form, maybe I mean a trail hardtail with a slight comfort. I had a cotic soul, then briefly a stanton slackline but that got stolen. So want something to take the sting out of a trail so 100-120mm rear and 140 max front.
Once had a giant trance with 100mm rear and 130-140 front and that was perfect if a bit heavy. Tough as old boots, could handle some light FoD dh. Just a bit too heavy for any real xc style riding.
Mega tr will be the first response I guess. Ghost Riot is perfect but too expensive, wish they did alloy version. Transition double is too heavy duty.
So what other options are there? Second hand is fine. Probably stay 26“ on this one, not 29"as it'll head down a 4x track a good few times.
Trance x? Bit more travel but lighter
Commencal Meta Hip Hop? 120mm rear 140mm Front travel
Yeti ASR5 = awesome ride 127mm rear and 140/120mm up front. Frames reduced at the moment too.
Meta Hip Hop would fit your bill. Very slack for a 120mm frame. Or do what I did and get an old Kona Howler, get the seat tube reamed so you can fit a dropper, fit a 190mm shock in place of the standard 200mm eye to eye so that it gets lowered and slackened and away you razz, off round the woods. Great fun and cheap too.
Specialized epic. Light enough for full on Xc racing (admittedly with the right bits!), but tough enough for some enduro abuse. Highly recommended.
Blur tr or asr5. Cambers and epics are waaaay to steep to be considered anything other than out and out XC bikes.
Camber @ 68.5 HA on 120mm fork, slacker on 140mm no?
Transition Bandit or Nukeproof Mega TR
Yeti ASR5
Bought this for the very same reason and dam fine it is, too.
ahhhh the asr5 yes. forgot about that one. where are they reduced? would love one of those, not sure if I can stretch to that even second hand.
Thought about the blur tr after posting too.
Dunno about the camber, does seem a bit steep on the HA.
good ideas though, thanks.
Cotic hemlock mk1.
[url= http://www.pinkbike.com/news/Banshee-Phantom-29er-Sea-Otter-2013.html ]Banshee Phantom[/url] looks like what you describe - slack, shortish travel trail FS, but still only in prototype form IIRC.
Whyte T129s I reckon it could be ridden harder than most.
+1 for an ASR5
Go here if you are a medium http://www.bikegoo.co.uk/product.php/1127/0?gclid=CImKp4arzLsCFakBwwodYhkANA
Shirley a Scott spark is what the man needs?
Hardtail but in full suspension form + 100-120mm rear and 140 max front + FoD dh + 26“ + 4x
= Banshee Rampant?
I know someone who had pretty much the same requirements as you and got one after doing LOTS of research. It was me 🙂
Turner DW Flux - 100mm rear with 120mm up front. A 2011 frameset recently made £350 on ebay.
Gt distortion by a mile. I've lusted after one since they first came out. Slack, short travel (110mm) and can take up to a 160mm fork.
Here is a vid of Tyler Mccaul tearing it up on one:
http://www.pinkbike.com/news/GT-Bicycles-Kyle-Strait-Tyler-McCaul-video-1-2012.html
Yeti asr5.. got one with talas 100-140mm up front. Awesome bike 🙂
Pyga OneTen29
Had a fetish for this ever since I first saw it, sheer beauty. Also comes in 27.5 wheels with 120mm travel. Some good reviews:
[url= http://bikemagic.com/gear/pyga-oneten.html ]http://bikemagic.com/gear/pyga-oneten.html[/url]
[url= http://www.bikeradar.com/mtb/gear/category/bikes/mountain-bikes/product/review-pyga-industries-oneten29-46488/ ]http://www.bikeradar.com/mtb/gear/category/bikes/mountain-bikes/product/review-pyga-industries-oneten29-46488/[/url]
[url= http://www.bikeradar.com/mtb/gear/category/bikes/mountain-bikes/full-suspension/product/review-pyga-industries-onetwenty650-frame-only-13-47641/ ]http://www.bikeradar.com/mtb/gear/category/bikes/mountain-bikes/full-suspension/product/review-pyga-industries-onetwenty650-frame-only-13-47641/[/url]
I appreciate you guys trying to push some great 29ers but they're not going to cut it on the riding I want to do. I prefer playful feeling bikes and I don't want a 29er for that stuff, I went to a stanton after the cotic after all. I could stretch to 650 but the number of amazing 26" frames still out there...
The ASR might be a bit pricy, the GT Distortion would be good if you could find one, Blur 4X would fit the bill but they're quite heavy. I'd imagine that unless you're very light stuff like a Flux wouldn't cope and you'd need to be short (or at least not mind short frames) to get away with the usual crop of full sus 4X bikes. Most of what should be on your radar has probably been mentioned here, so get out the geometry charts and set your budget and enjoy the search and speculation. Choosing a bike or frame is half the fun for me.
Try to find a Nicolai Helius CC second hand. Surprisingly affordable now and built like tanks and have adjustable rear travel. With the rear travel at 100 mm and a 140 fork I reckon it would feel plenty slack enough I run mine at 135mm with a 140 fork and its around 68 degrees.
Banshee Rampant
they are new now at £650...
I have one with 140mm up front. great fun little bike.
Forgot the DMR Bolt, but it weighs about 10 pounds!
Santa cruz superlight? How much wonga you got?
Been mentioned already but Blur TR, Mega TR or The Bandit fit the bill.
I wanted similar and went for the Bandit, 130mm at the back, can peddle it all day but strong for light DH stuff.
Spitfire? I understand they've had a good sorting.
Shirley a Scott spark is what the man needs?
Doubt it, possibly the crappest bike I have ever ridden.
If you were thinking of the transition double, what about the YT play?
http://www.yt-industries.com/shop/en/Bikes/Dirt/Play-Dirtjump
Commencal Meta 4x? In any of its incarnations. 2013 model half price direct from Andorra at the moment. There's an old model on ebay for 300 quid. Ask on the commencal owners forum, but I don't think there was a cracking problem with the 4x.
My 2008 Spesh Stumpjumper expert now weighs 11.7kg with some upgrades, and I changed the rear shock to an RP23 - 120mm front & rear travel, I always seem to keep up with my hardtail mates uphill and I love long bumpy descents, and high speed + airtime whenever possible. Never felt like I needed any more travel, I am light though at 65kgs.
There have been several Flux frames around that don't seem to sell.
105mm at the rear but feels more, especially if you push the RP23.
Super solid frame and super efficient suspension - with pushed rp23, needle bearing shock mount and push bushes you aren't really aware of the suspension, it feels like a HT with extra kick out of corners, like a nice pair of skis.
*cough*
My Kona Howler now for sale.
http://www.pinkbike.com/buysell/1489913/
May be a biased there as it's mine.
Had a yeti asr5 before with 120mm forks and then later 140mm forks and before that a turner flux with 120mm forks.
The Titus feels a lot like the yeti but is much lighter and feels a little more 'fluid'. Much cheaper too... If he build in the above ad was done with a new asr5 frame, i would be asking another £600 or so more.
Soon selling my FSR xc, 120mm front (reba bolt thru), 100mm rear (fox) if you're interested?