Help me choose a bike.

I think I am in a similar bracket. I read a review of the Giant Trance 29 on theradavist this week which made me consider it without ever having done so before. This message is in the interest of ignoring your shortlist.

You're in to downcountry territory now, lots of lovely fast and capable bikes....

Is there anything that's a deal breaker for you?

FYI the Meridas FS bikes have headset cable routing do they not? This only moderately infuriates me from a maintenance perspective but likely was incompatible with the MacRide child seat we use a lot.

Rocky Element A50.

Given what you've said about how good your sons rm is, isn't this the answer?

Or you could push budget a bit and get a special build cotic jeht for £2.5k. some spec compromises but a class frame climbs and descends well.

FYI the Meridas FS bikes have headset cable routing do they not?

Mrs_oabs Merida eSpeeder has that system. It's not quite the full on pain in the arse system some have, more a 'sneak past the steerer using a plastic doofer/guide system' so I'm not too upset.

GT sensor ST ? 2K at pauls cycles

Given what you’ve said about how good your sons rm is, isn’t this the answer?

I think so.
I feel bad for not spending with LBS, and gutted I missed the carbon ones....conflicted, moi? ?

One of the £900 Orange Stage Evo frames and get it built up to your spec? Merlin were knocking out half price SLX group sets inc brakes recently.

Ariel 30? https://www.freewheel.co.uk/saracen-ariel-30-pro-lg-used-sample-rn21710lgsp002

Ariel 30?

They couldn't even be bothered to clean it?

And it's almost as ugly as that Ripmo in the other thread. Not quite though

What about the Trek Fuel Ex 8 that’s also on sale at the same place as the Top Fuel?

Still efficient for pedalling but same travel as the instinct. You get the Fox 34 Rhythm rather than a Lyrik select and you get 4 pot brakes rather than 2 pot. Maybe the Bontrager wheels are slightly better than Rocky Mountain own brand hubs with Wtb rims on the RM too.

That Ariel 30 isn’t really down-country is it? Long reaches / slack / heavy and unless they’ve changed them they have stupid super boost rear hubs. I Looked at them a few years ago and rules them out. Was comparing them to a Bird Aether 9 which sadly turned out to be out of stock at the time. Happily a local shop had a Transition Sentinel which I bought and loved it (but I’m no way what should be recommended for Matt in this thread!)

Geometron/ on one hello Dave.

You can thank me later :  )

More helpful

If you are after a medium or XL £2200 for an ibis ripmo from melin. 

https://www.merlincycles.com/ibis-ripmo-af-deore-mountain-bike-2023-280117.html

Geometry and handling above all else. Tick

I think I want a shorter travel, maybe 120/130mm FS, but I do like a nice HT … ? Not quite there

Decent damping – my current MoCo Yari’s annoy me, I think I prefer Fox cheaper dampers over cheaper RS dampers. Tick

Decent brakes. Tick

Durable & serviceable.tick

29er.

Don’t mind Deore level gears, they only wear out anyway. Tick

Prefer Shimano.tick

Bird Zero 29. I love mine, lots of fun but versatile. I ride mine in at the Golfie etc and do long xc rides on it. You could maybe test one at Laggan? I see they have some of their original frames for only £275.

My 2nd hand XL Danny Macaskill era Bronson. Going for a song. Well, you did ask.

It's not even a 29er or anything you've described, but it is a flipping good bike.

Hardtails - loads of choice out there. Personally I’ve found that I like shorter chainstays so something like the stif squatch although think you’d build something better for £2k than their builds.

Full suss the Rocky Mountain you mentioned would obviously be great. What about canyon neuron? Sub 30lbs, 140/120, carbon frame, fox shocks and shimano drivetrain. slightly over budget but…

https://www.canyon.com/en-gb/mountain-bikes/trail-bikes/neuron/cf/neuron-cf-8/3170.html?dwvar_3170_pv_rahmenfarbe=RD%2FBK

You can have my Ti HT frame for half that and build it up...not sure about postage and duty!

Surely these days it just comes down to whatever the craziest bargain, clearance job you can find online or maybe something on eBay or Pinkbike claiming "only ridden twice before my accident/I only ride my ebike anyway"

Failing that, continuing the old tradition of recommend what you have, get an Aether 9c frame for £500 and I reckon you could definitely find the rest via bargains and the odd wise used purchase for the other £1500.

Actually, that Canyon Neuron CF8 for just over budget is a fair shout. I think superstu has found the winner!

My brother is in a very similar situation and has narrowed it down to the Neuron linked above, the Specialized Chisel and the Cotic Flaremax (although Cotic don’t currently have any cheap deals on those, they’re on the Jeht). I’m a bit of a Spesh and Cotic fan but out of those I’ve advised him to get the Canyon Neuron - seems a great deal. Rocky Mountain bikes are nice but I’m always put off when it’s NBD by their 5 year warranty on alloy frames. As you say, you keep bikes a long time (I do too) so that might need thinking about - carbon and steel can be repaired after the warranty period, but alloy usually can’t be.

I'm not really into the Canyon - the reviews suggest relatively nervous descender, and despite being carbonz it's the same weight as the Rocky....

I'd recommending parking the budget TBH and look for a 0%/low interest deal - £2k isn't much for an FS without compromising on suspension and as you pointed out, cheaper forks don't make a nice ride.

Under the suggest what I have, my Cotic Flare Max is in it's 7th year (nearly 6k miles & well-over 1m feet of descending with the 99% of it in Scotland) and I can see it lasting far, far longer - probably due a bearing change but still rides wonderfully.

They've currently a good deal on a Jeht and you can demo every bike of theirs in every size to just get it right.

You mention the Roscoe 9, which is what I recently bought to replace a 2012 NukeProof Mega.

It ticks all your HT boxes and I honestly can't say enough good things about it. Sorted geometry, decent spec and rides like dream even with the basic Fox 36 Rhythm. After a small period of rider adjustment it definitely feels much more capable than the old Mega due to the bigger wheels, longer reach and modern geo. It's the type of bike that seems to encourage you to let loose going downhill, yet is surprisingly happy to pedal back up too. My only complaints are the stock tyres aren't the best and the grips are the cheapest and nastiest things I've ever laid hands on, but those things are an easy fix.

I was wary about moving to a HT after so many years of riding full sus bikes but I really don't miss them now.

Shop around though, as I got mine for a bawhair under £1400 from my LBS (Alpine Bikes).

Also, if you're anywhere near Aberdeen when you're out and about you'd be welcome to take mine for spin.

Fair enough re the Canyon, I haven’t ridden one but thought the reviews were good.

@intheborders - with Cotic, don’t you need to change the bearings at least once a year to keep your warranty valid? Sure I’ve read that and it always puts me off - I use my full suss in summer and a hardtail in winter, so I’d not want the hassle and expense of unnecessary bearing changes just to keep my warranty. Are they particularly heavy on bearings or something? Or is just a small print way of avoiding warrantying a broken frame (which I admit seems at odds with their reputation for being great with customer service)?

Deore spec Ibis Ripley AF? There have been sale examples on a few UK sites for around £2,200 I think which come with reasonable spec Fox forks and shocks.  Looks a solid DW link bike for the money.

https://www.tradeinn.com/bikeinn/en/ibis-ripley-af-29-kit-deore-2022-mtb-bike/138610131/p?utm_source=google_products&utm_medium=merchant&id_producte=15172201&country=uk&srsltid=AfmBOoovgtEAkEm4CkuOdL2xXfWIxjQPVX_LlXbM511dagPlm7WL6zErWSY

Do a bit of research on the current model Elements & their appetite for linkage bearings.

The back end is very flexy, unbraced & transmits all the load into a collection of the smallest bearings I have ever seen in a linkage.

There has been some example of some impressive failures, which have damaged frames. With Rocky’s lack of support in the UK, it will be a headache to resolve.

EDIT: not sure what happened with the code there?

Element or Top Fuel would be perfect choices but I have read that there have been a few issues with premature bearing wear on some Element frames.

Good point. I needed a bolt for my Slayer when i owned it last year, lets just say it wasn't a cheap or simple resolution. It took 3-4 weeks and about £35 for a single bolt as it had to come from Canada.  So yeah maybe something that's a bit simpler should you need bit would be a good idea.

I've never waited more than 3 days for anything for a Trek for example.

Any reason not to go for the used market? Loads of options within those criteria on the usual places.

Contextually, 30secs searching on Pinkbike turned up this lovely Flaremax for example: https://www.pinkbike.com/buysell/3907970/ (not affiliated with the seller)

In the recommend-what-you-have theme -

https://www.commencal.com/uk/en/22METAHTAME.html

I have Fox 36s on mine. I wish I could ride it more!

Any reason not to go for the used market?

I'm usually the first to suggest that, I had started looking, but maybe need to look more...

with Cotic, don’t you need to change the bearings at least once a year to keep your warranty valid? Sure I’ve read that and it always puts me off 

Never heard of this, and suspect it's bollox - but happy for you to link to something that says otherwise (although won't impact me as mine's been running an overlong fork for years including on Cotic Owners rides with Sam 🙂 ).

with Cotic, don’t you need to change the bearings at least once a year to keep your warranty valid? Sure I’ve read that and it always puts me off

As a FlareMax owner, I thought this sounded borderline insane, then I looked at the website and it says:

For droplink frames, you must replace the bearings at least once per year and have proof of the work to comply with your warranty. If you fail to do this, your warranty is void as not replacing the bearings regularly constitutes neglect. Bearings are available from us, or we can fit them for you with a Factory Service. - https://www.cotic.co.uk/terms/

I'm not sure this really has much application in the real world. My personal experience of Cotic's customer service is that they went above and beyond their strict liability when I had issues with the shock on my bike. But yes, it seems odd. I suspect it's there to potentially sidestep claims arising from serious maintenance neglect, but no idea if it's ever implemented. I've certainly never seen a thread about it.

I was looking for similar and ending up going way over budget for the carbon raze, but beforehand I was seriously considering the reduced Izzos and the aluminium version of the raze which are both around your budget.

Core 2 Izzo for £2300

https://uk.yt-industries.com/products/bikes/izzo/core-2/660/izzo-29-core-2/

Alu Mondraker Raze for £2250

https://www.freeborn.co.uk/mondraker-raze-2024-trail-bike

BadlyWiredDogFull

I suspect it’s there to potentially sidestep claims arising from serious maintenance neglect, but no idea if it’s ever implemented. I’ve certainly never seen a thread about it.

Cotic in the past also had text stating your warranty was void if you fitted a different shock - as you say, they'd probably look after you regardless, but it reads badly.

Cotic in the past also had text stating your warranty was void if you fitted a different shock

I was gonna mention that too, seems someone there is a bit of a control freak eh.

That Mondraker is a very pretty bike, shame it's got the rubbish 35 fork on it.

Cracking value short travel 29r for £1,500.00

https://alpkit.com/products/sonder-cortex-sx-eagle?variant=31684381605993

Failing that, continuing the old tradition of recommend what you have, get an Aether 9c frame for £500

I was about to suggest the aether 9c which can be built with Deore spec for around £2500 but most sizes out of stock by the look of it

Cracking value short travel 29r for £1,500.00

Cortex SX Eagle

Hmm, that's without dropper, heavier basic wheels and a Recon Silver....Add in spec to match others and it's well over £2k.

It's a no here.

I'm surprised this hasn't been asked already but what do you mean when you say

Geometry and handling above all else.

?

@intheborders - I was going to but badwireddog beat me to it. As you say, not relevant to you just a factor maybe for the OP (equally might not be!) Just sounds a bit ‘Gianty’ to me, which as I said seems at odds with their great reputation.

Geometry and handling above all else.

I would accept cheaper kit, less of a bargain, a bit more weight etc etc for a really nice handling bike.

Talk to me about Nukeproof Reactor 290's...

Re the Reactor…other FS nukeproof seem to be a bit snappy judging from the owners groups I’m on (ex happy scout owner). I would also worry about spares in the post CRC world.