[Closed] Best AM bike/frame

best AM bike! the vagueness here is crippling.

slight thread highjack, but can someone recommend me the best bike for riding everywhere 😉

What about a Trans Covert? Amazingly spec'd for the price. Light as. Great customer service.

If I ever decided to get bouncy back again.. it'd be the Covert. hands down.

Love my covert!

The Covert is by no means light at 7.74lbs for the frame only.

Nomad Carbon and Mojo HD Carbon should be on your list.

Budget? Where do you ride?

Jockhaggis considering you must have looked that up you got it wrong..

7.74 lbs / 3.51 kg (Medium Frame With Rear Shock)

from [url= http://www.transitionbikes.com/Bikes_Covert.cfm ]transitions website[/url]

as a complete bike with what it comes with it comes in pretty light considering its capapbility.

Nomad is

Frame weight with Fox RP23 Kashima Shock (Medium) - approx 6.97lbs.

Frame weight with Fox Float RP23 Kashima Shock (Medium) - Approx 6.06lbs.

But then Transition say they build their bikes to last and we have seen a few failed nomad frames on here.

there was a problem with the seatstays snapping on the megas, but nukeproof have now sorted this and sent anyone who brought a mk1 brandnew set of seatstays. which i think is fantastic customer service.

Personally id opt for the tracer, simply because i love my mk1 and i can only see the mk2 just being even better. it takes everything you throw at it and more.

On the Nomad carbon road.. Why would you want a 6 inch travel bike that's completely carbon? That's too much heartbreak waiting to happen.

I was in love with the Nomads when the mk2's came out. But, they are significantly overpriced for what they come with. And.. kind of look like a rainbow.
Plus, VPP may be a total pain to deal with in the peaks.

It all boils down to what the OP wants out of his bike.
Personally, I'd rather haul around 10 more ounces of frame and the 2k difference in my pocket.
So I shall still suggest. "Have you checked out the covert?"

What is it about the cube fritzz you don't like? You seem to be thinking of pretty similiar bikes

On the Nomad carbon road.. Why would you want a 6 inch travel bike that's completely carbon? That's too much heartbreak waiting to happen.

Why wouldn't you?

There is no "best" only a best for [i]you[/i]. We all have our preferences.
The only way to find out is to ride them all.

>Why would you want a 6 inch travel bike that's completely carbon? <

This. If you're big enough to need 6" going down you should be big enough to crank another .91 lb up the hill.

I've got a Fritzz - it's no better or worse than all the other bikes mentioned above and I doubt there's hellish much real world riding difference between them all anyway.

Look at the Canyon Strive - very similar to the Fritzz but better value.

It's pretty hard to buy a bad bike these days, at any level of travel. So many of them seem to work so well, have great specs and warranty support etc, that you could pretty much boil your choice down to what you particularly like the look of.

My own recommendation would be the bike I ride, obviously.

A Nicolai Helius AM. It is very neutral in its ride characteristic; it's not the plushest ride around, but it is the least obtrusive. By that I mean it has no strange quirks and behaviours in the way its suspension works.

I've spent time on both the Carbon Nomad and Ibis Mojo HD.

The Nomad works slightly better to isolate you from big inputs; the Mojo HD pedals better and both (in carbon guise) are 1lb lighter than the AM.

The Yeti 575 is light, well balanced and the suspension works very well, but it's a little less planted at speed than the Helius AM.

Having seen what an Orange Five/Alpine can do first hand and in the right hands, I cana also say there is something intrinsically right about those bikes.

The idea that a multi pivot/bearing bike isn't going to hold up as well in the Peak I think is nonsense. My AM has been all over the place and through equally as corrosive winters here in the SE as in the NW and apart from one service a year, it's pretty much faultless.

What I like most about the AM is its versatility.

You can set it to travel anywhere between 142mm and 172mm (it can go shorter, but I don't think it works at all well in that guise) and with prudence it can be built sub 30lbs.

Mine weighs 28lbs 11ozs with air front and rear. I also run it coil front and rear for the Alps and Peak/Welsh rides.

If you would like a test ride, I can offer you one on mine, depending on where you're located.

[img] [/img]

I've just bought a Titus El Guapo (see links) and am currently building it up...

Bargain at 799 including shock. My large frame including the shock weighed in at 7lb on the nose

Review included too...

http://www.on-one.co.uk/i/q/FRTITELGUV2/titus_el_guapo_frame_and_monarch_shock

http://www.bikeradar.com/gear/category/bikes/mountain/product/el-guapo-frame-10-36835

Get 'em while they're hot!

i'm never bothered by frame weight. my bike rides light due to the light wheels/tyres 🙂

Spoilt for choice in todays market especially at Nomad price range.

I have a covert built up with X9, SLX, Saint brakes (200mm rotors), Hope Hoops, Lyriks Solo Air. No idea how heavy it is but it copes fine with 50km xc in the dales. 2011 frames can be had for around £1k if you shop around, only difference in 2012 is the 12mm rear and colours.

Please don't get one though as they are becoming too common!

I'd also look at the Trek Slash.

If you're on a bit more of a budget, have a look at a YT Wicked 150
[url= http://www.yt-industries.com/shop/index.php?page=product&info=162&xb0ac7=pabh3elcraj416538q9ocrd5aa7f270r ]YT Industries[/url]
£1450 for a complete bike with really good spec and weighs in about 30lb. I've only done a couple of rides so far but very impressed.

Canyon Strive - great price & outstanding spec. I have the ES8 and love it

i'm never bothered by frame weight. my bike rides light due to the light wheels/tyres

Plus, VPP may be a total pain to deal with in the peaks.

Why ? I have a TRc and Nomad C and both are fantastic in the Peak... I did have an original blur that had issues with bearings but no such problems now.

i find my Fritzz goes through the travel way to fast on the first stroke. iv had the shox serviced and tinkered with the air pressure,i do really enjoy how it descends BUT it climbs very slugish. another reason is that have snapped the rear chainstay once and dont have much faith in it along with snapping bolts twice on the drive side.

i ride in south wales by the way mainly do natural trail but might do cwmcarn as its on my doorstep

what about that new cotic?

[img] [/img]

will be suitably rare when it comes out

I had a Fritzz and couldn't get the suspension right either.

Went to a Foxy, which turned out to be wrong size for me and I missed the Fox 36, so then got a Dune.

Obvs I'm recommending the bike I own so you need a pinch of salt, but I reckon it's a really underrated gem.

Very light, amazing geometry that climbs fine and does actually descend a bit like a DH bike. Feels balanced front and rear and has very composed suspension - my main problem with the Fritzz was how it would pitch and yaw after any little drop, messing me up for the next section.

BTW Nukeproof have recalled the dodgy chainstays on the Mega now, so not a concern if buying new.

Trek Slash and Orange Alpine and maybe Spesh Enduro would all be on my list if buying again now and Dune was unavailable.

not really fussed on them

i dont like single pivot rode my brothers enduro, i just want to transfer the parts off my cube to a new frame

Umm, the mega and covert are single pivots 😆

yeah i ruled the mega out

what you were feeling is probably more to do with shock setup than suspension design itself - sounds like your shock was softer than his so your bike climbed worse and blew through its travel too quickly?

if you liked the enduro, just get an enduro

i dont want another off the shelf bike hence the choice of frames

Never properly rode a single pivot bike before the mega, thought they'd all be horribly bobby. It's actually really good. There can be a lot of difference between seemingly similar suspension designs too based on location of pivots, types of shock, etc. I now wouldn't rule a bike out just based on suspension design.

[url=[url= http://farm7.staticflickr.com/6102/6230112858_11fd38fb78.jp g" target="_blank">http://farm7.staticflickr.com/6102/6230112858_11fd38fb78.jp g"/> [/img][/url]][/url]150mm El Ciclon

@geetee1972

Love the nicolai - Looks long and low.

Is that an off the shelf stock size?

Zesty/Spicy depending how much you will use it in Britain/ Alps. Won countless AM/Enduro races and ride really well both up and down.

i would stick to my Fritzz rather than have a Lap sorry

Happy to reccomend what I have...

[img] [/img]

This is a Medium frame from 2010 with 1.5" Headtube and HammerSchmidt mounts. Free options... no Nicolai's are stock since you get to spec things for free.

I run air or coil shocks on it depending on what the ride deserves (or if I can be bothered changing them).

I've had it nearly two years and it's an extremely nice bike. I have nothing to complain about, as Geetee says above there are no bad habits and hence nothing about the frame I would change.

Is that an off the shelf stock size?

Sort of. It's a stock large, just with the seat tube cut down to 15"

Another Nicolai fan here. "only" a Helius CC in my case (approx 140 travel f+r) but more than capable of what I get up to.

If you dont mind me asking how tall are you?

looking to get one myself .

thanks

Who, me?

6' 1" and ride a large. If anything I could do with it being slightly longer in the top tube but stand over height is about spot on. They are similar in dimensions to a Heckler, if that's any use.

Sorry i meant - geetee1972

If you dont mind me asking how tall are you?

looking to get one myself .

thanks

Not a problem - I am just under 6ft tall, but I am really long in the, ahem, torso and have short legs. I have a mate who is about an inch shorter than me and every time we swap bikes I still have to put his saddle down.

For that reason I ride the large with the short seat tube but other people around the 5ft 10" to 6ft mark might well prefer a medium.

Where are you located? I always like to offer a test ride if possible and could arrange this if you were either in the Peak or SE.

I recommend the bike I own, obviously.

Though, if I was to take this seriously, I really would- love my Hemlock, it's a kind of archetypal AM bike- race downhill, ride XC, feel good doing both.

Closest equivalents I've found are the Alpine- which achieves similiar descending with more travel but loses out a wee bit everywhere else- and the Helius AM, which felt better on silly rough stuff but didn't climb that well, as the one I rode didn't have a rear mech or chain. But, might be better at that stuff if it did.

Wouldn't mind a shot of a Covert and a Reign X.

on of thems,
[img] [/img]

Get over to France and buy one of these, thats what Im considering

[img] http://s7d5.scene7.com/is/image/Specialized/7606?$Display$ [/img]

In relation to the Nicolai's, which I would also recommend. I have a medium, but I I was speccing or looking now I'd get a large. In fact if speccing new I'd go large top tube, med seat tube. The reasoning is I like to run 760 bars and a 50mm stem. The TT on a med is just shy of 23", the large just over 23".

On my med I have to have the saddle further back on a layback post than I'd prefer, I'm 5'10.5"

Either fits fine, the large has about 0.5" higher seat tube, same stand over.

I echo other comments on the bike, just works, great, love it, mashing gnarr of pedalling. mine is 31lbs with a hammerschmidt, 12mm Maxle rear and dropper post. Easy 29lbs 1x10 or 1x9, 30lbs without a

I've raced mine in a number of SuperEnduros and done 75mile a day hikes across the lakes, takes it all in it's stride.

Speak to Rich at gravity sports if you want to look for one s/h or new.