[Closed] Best all round MTB (sort of a "if you had one bike" question)

In true STW tradition I'd say steel 29er HT as that's what I've got.

Why steel is it just flex?

My Blur LTc, perfect bike raced XC/Marathon/Multiday to Enduro/Gravity what could be better???

Honestly it just appealed go the 'retro' side of me.

depending on the state of your bridleway trails... my only mtb would be a short travel 29er fs... Like my Giant Anthem 29er. Definitely my go to bike.

A hardtail, probably a 29er, 130mm fork, dropper post.

Something like a Banshee phantom, or maybe similar but lighter.
Basically a slack short travel 29er FS.

If you believe my lbs what you want is a specialised Enduro, which will not leave you overbiked.

I have my doubts (partly because I am not that gnar) so looking at short travel 29fs, steel or alloy 29HT and stooge at the minute. The 29fs is current favourite...

slack short travel 29er FS.

For bridleways?

I'm not sure such a beast exists, but if I had to contemplate such horror I'd consider a HT 29er with two sets of wheels. Light 29er wheels (with light tyres) for summer, tamer trails even a bit of road and 27.5x2.8" wheels/tyres for winter and rougher trails (or any time that fun or comfort is more important than speed).

ibis mojo 650b because I've got one, mine has fox talas 130/150 forks and I've used it for trails and a three day xc race with lots of fire roads and it was ace - I am not a gnarl merchant though

roverpig - Member
I'm not sure such a beast exists, but if I had to contemplate such horror I'd consider a HT 29er with two sets of wheels. Light 29er wheels (with light tyres) for summer, tamer trails even a bit of road and 27.5x2.8" wheels/tyres for winter and rougher trails (or any time that fun or comfort is more important than speed).

Please Sir, pick me Sir! I know the answer!
Sir! Sir!

8)

A steel hardtail of some variety. If you are mainly riding bridleways you don't need rear suspension.

A steel hardtail of some variety. If you are mainly riding bridleways you don't need rear suspension.

A 160mm FS trail bike. The only bike your average joe can ride everything on.

As above, HT, 29 or 659something wheels depending on your height, full Deore kit, good wheels (hand built) on Hope hubs. A couple of sets of tyres, one for summer, one for clag.

Whichever you can afford/already own and enjoy riding?

I have just had this very quandary myself.

My Karate Monkey, Krampus and a bunch of my 26in parts(intention was to build up another slacker 26er for BPW etc) got nicked about 10 days ago.

I have just ordered parts and frame for a Chromag Rootdown.
Steel 29er hardtail, 140mm Pikes, Reverb, Hope Hubs, Stans Flow rims, Chromag finishing kit etc...

Should be a good jack of all (applicable to me) trades!

Well it depends what your bridleways are like 🙄 If you live in the Lakes then you might want a FS, somewhere like the Dales then with a couple of exceptions a FS is a bit like having a Ferrari to nip down to the shops, yes it does the job but it's way over the top.

So true to (STW) form: a 29er HT will do most if not all of what you require.

Hadn't heard of the Rootdown before so had to go look it up.
Really nice looking bike BillOddie.

I was originally going to say a carbon 160mm bike ala nomad or sb6c as it's the only style of bike that can handle all day epics and make it's way down dh tracks reasonably fast.

Re-reading the question a light short travel carbon 29er full suss would be best for trail centres and bridleways assuming money isn't an issue. Would be just as light as a steel ht and a lot faster and less tiring over rough terrain. The new trek fuel, ibis ripley, spesh camber etc would fit the bill.

Well it depends what your bridleways are like

Yeah, if they're so dangerously steep you couldn't ride a horse down them you'll be need a slack bike.

Edit: 🙄

Best all round MTB (sort of a "if you had one bike" question)

Think I've just built it.

Top of Bealach na Ba

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Near top of Fyrish

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Basically a TD-1 29er running Big Apple fat slicks and dropbars like the old Great North Road bar.

It's intended as a general purpose bike. Able to ride 20 to 30 miles on the road and then go for a long ride on a trail.

It's working perfectly. The steep HA of the TD-1 makes it good for this.

Cross bike?

The perfect Canal Cruiser i hear you ask:

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Short(ish) travel FS in your choice of wheel size I'd say. My old man rides a 100mm Anthem and probably does similar types of riding to you, trail centre blues, reds, blacks and forest road/bridleway type stuff. A 120mm-140mm job like a Norco Sight, Specialized Camber etc would be grand too if you ever wanted to ride bigger things but wouldn't slow you down much on the other stuff.

My QH is the most capable bike I've ever thrown a leg over, steel 29 hardtail. 140mm pikes, LB rims, 1 x 11.
It's so good I may get one for the boy to stop him stealing mine

Harry_the_Spider - Member
Cross bike?

I've tried that again recently. You really need to concentrate more on the surface conditions on a CX bike compared to riding with fatter mtb tyres,. I spent most of my time worrying about my rims or splitting a tyre.

Even though in my youth it was what I rode in the mountains (pre mtb).

It is fun though. 🙂

Whyte 901

Personally, I'd rather be overbiked than underbiked. A FS being overbiked for smoother bridleways, but perfect for most trail centres. A HT will be perfect for most bridleways, but you may feel the need for suspension on some trail centres. Obviously depends on bridleways/trail centres.

With only 1 bike, there will always be a compromise.

For low maintenance and comfort I'd say a large tyred 29er in the Krampus, Stooge, Jones, etc. mould. Maybe add a hub gear for extra low maintenance and ease of use.

The 29+ wheels give plenty of comfort on bridleways and trail centres. In fact I use my Krampus everywhere, and have never found it wanting.

The perfect all year round and all weather bike IMO.

Think Rob Hilton needs to get himself down Rossett Gill/Mitredale/Easedale etc etc. Edit: sounds a bit knobbish: a lot of the bridleways in the hills are old packhorse routes, so they were never there for people to ride over.

120-130mm forked 29er hardtail would be the one I'd plumb for

I have had one bike for about a year now. It is a 150mm forked, 650b steel hardtail.

This certainly involves compromises, but they are manageable.

The main reason for needing/wanting another bike is that it isn't quick enough to ride with quick people who ride bigger bikes. If I only ever rode by myself, with other people on hardtails or with people who are slow enough that the handicap didn't matter then it would be 100% fine for all purposes.

🙂

I have had one bike for about a year now. It is a 150mm forked, 650b steel hardtail.

This certainly involves compromises, but they are manageable.

The main reason for needing/wanting another bike is that it isn't quick enough to ride with quick people who ride bigger bikes. If I only ever rode by myself, with other people on hardtails or with people who are slow enough that the handicap didn't matter then it would be 100% fine for all purposes.

All that is is an argument for N+1!
It's the rider not the bike - if you can't keep up with people on a 150mm forked hardtail, then I doubt a 'bigger' bike is going to help much.

I'm fast enough on the Krampus to ride with a pretty fast bunch of riders on a variety of bikes. I'm barely faster on my Dialled alpine with 140mm forks, and on my full sus I'm no faster than the Alpine, just a bit more comfortable!

I do only have one bike and use it for a mix of fire roads, bridle ways and single-track.

As the compromise of one bike is not enough for me I have also chosen to use singlespeed, rigid and 26" wheels.

But I don't waste a second on whether I have the right bike, I just ride it and enjoy it as it is the type of bike I like best.

thestabiliser - Member
Think Rob Hilton needs to get himself down Rossett Gill/Mitredale/Easedale

Rob agrees Rob loves riding stuff like that

It depends totally on what you personally find fun.
I wouldn't want a hardtail as my only bike any more (I'd put up with it though).
I wouldn't want any of the 29ers I've ridden (I'd put up with them though).

YMMV so much that it's very difficult to generalise.

If you are mainly riding bridleways you don't need rear suspension.

A bridleway, recently.
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Comments like Rob Hilton's make me really grateful I live in the Peaks (I did consciously move here).
Jacob's Ladder is a good example of a Bridleway where a hardtail wouldn't by my first choice.

I took my "Best all round bike" for another test run yesterday.

About 18 miles on road, followed by around 30 offroad, and another 7 on road.

Route was from Strathrusdale to Glen Calvie where I hooked up with the portion used on the HT550 (easy bit 🙂 ), and from Glen Calvie across the mountains to Glascarnoch, then by road to Garve.

The first bit of offroad was the trickiest because of the deterioration of the tracks. I managed them ok on the slicks, but some big lugs would have been better. Much of it was worse than singletrack because the deep ruts made it far harder to ride.

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Conclusion? A 29er hardtail is the best allrounder.