Right, i've narrowed it down to these two but i can't decide. Can anyone help me make my mind up?
Tallboy - Rides well, good at 100 or 120mm, bit heavy in alu (can't afford carbon), VPP easier to set up?
Sultan - Good with 120mm forks but i like to reduce them to 100mm for climbing, don't know what the Sultan is like with shorter forks. DW link a bit more sensitive to set up? Good build quality, aftersales from Turner, just feels like it will last longer...
I need to get this right as money is tight with 2 kids...
Anyone help?
Chris
Everyone I've ever heard talk about the Tallboy has raved about it.
Go for the Turner. Bomb proof and will last for years and years. And customer service second to none.
The DW link will anti-squat so you probably won't need to wind down the forks for climbing anyway. Sensitive to set up? Not really, just get the sag spot on and go.
And get it in Raw!
I'd love a sultan! F34's and crossmax!,...mmmmmmmmmmmmm... 8)
Unfortunately I'm not the chairman of bp... 😥
I have a an '11 Sultan and am really pleased with it. I'm in Berks if you want to try it?
Everyone i've spoken to seems to like both bikes!!
I used to have a 5spot and always felt as though i wanted a Flux really. I was hoping that the Sultan would be like a 29er Flux but it seems more 'trail' than 'xc' to me, hence thinking about the Tallboy.
Aaarrrggghhhh
I'm just going round in circles here! 😕
Depends what you want it for. The Tallboy will make a better 'all day' bike or if you build it light, have the potential to be a racer. I own a Sultan that is 140mm at the front and whilst it climbs superbly, it definitely feels biased towards bigger stuff and less towards speed. FWIW, I wouldn't want to run it with a 100mm fork at the front.
In summary, I would get a Tallboy if its going to be your only bike, I suspect it would be a better all rounder.
Edit: ikimbunza, I replaced a DW spot with the sultan and dont regret it for a minute, the sultan is more like a 29er spot than flux.
The Sultan will still climb brilliantly with 120mm forks. Mine does.
At the risk of being exiled... I didn't really like the Tallboy when I tested it, good but not great.
Anyone got any experience of the top tube lengths?
I'd be getting a medium and they both say they are 23 inches. But then i read somewhere that the Tallboy has a 'short' top tube. I'd like to run a shorter stem so need a 'true' 23 inch top tube.
Hope this makes sense...!
Turner has a far, far better reputation when it comes to customer service (warranty issues) than Jungle has if that matters to you.
I loved the Tallboy I tried, 18 Bikes in Hope have a large demo bike if you're ever up this way. I was the first person ever to ride it so stuff was still bedding in (forks/shock) and it was still very plush on the bumpy stuff but somehow very firm when I needed it to be. I have no idea how VPP works, but it was superb, really impressed. That had 100mm Rebas and I reckon it was as fast down as my 120/140mm forked Specialized FSR XC. Matt at 18 Bikes has the carbon one if you need someone to ask.
Spot on Wrecker!
If this is going to be the last bike i buy for 5+ years then things like Turner's aftersales support is important.
I'm just looking for that final reason to push the button on one of these...
Personally I would forget both and get a Spesh Camber, you will save a few bob, get a great riding bike AND excellent after sales support.
I've got everything for the bike bar the frame so frame-only is best option for me. I have a habit of looking at complete bikes and finding things i want to change...
Strip what you dont need and sell 😉
OK ikimbunza (cool name!) the next reason is the bushings. SC bikes are well known for eating bearings. Turners use bushings which can be lubed through ports at regular intervals without having to strip anything off the bike (just undo the screws in the ports). The 2012 sultan has a bolt through rear, 44mm Head tube which can take any fork steerer and comes in raw. ChunkyMTB is dot on, raw is the way to go; never worry about scratches or scrapes again AND looks great.
I wouldn't worry that the tallboy is supposed to be more all-day. I ride my 5 spot with 36s all day, DW is very efficient indeed.
Wrecker
'ikimbunza' means 'foolish work' in some obscure african dialect. Had some chaps from a tribe in Nigeria come to the UK. Took them cycling and as they don't have a word for 'sport' it was the best they could come up with. 8)
That's ace!
Foolish work indeed 😀
EDIT: you didn't just make that up did you?
I have the carbon tallboy and love it to bits. It has grease ports so I don't know what wrecker is going on about. It HAS eaten a shock bushing in not a lot of time which annoyed me a bit but I have a Nomad also and have never had to replace bushings on that so again, I suspect wrecker has an anti SC agenda. I would try a camber as suggested. I would have but my nearest demo was Glasgow and that wasn't happening once I'd tried the Tallboy, which is, quite simply, a superb ride in just about all conditions. And that's a Scottish "all conditions" so everything from flat dusty trails to much tougher than Laggan black, brown pants, natural DH trails in the snow.
Ha ha, swear i didn't honest!! No idea if its the right spelling but it was what they said... 😯
I suspect wrecker has an anti SC agenda
You suspect wrong. ikimbunza wanted some help in pointing out the advantages of either bike, so I did.
I thought that the SC only had ports in the lower linkage and the uppers were just bearings? That's what I was going on about.
The Camber looks good but there are little things about it that really annoy me. Why does it have a QR fork (unless i'm not looking properly) for instance?
Erm, I thought you were after frame only?
Turner frame with 25% off on Merlin (and a further 10% as well?)
In case you hadn't seen it.
Just to be different I didn't like the Talboy (too twitchy) or the Sultan (goes through travel too quick, dreadful pedalling out of the saddle). If you're not in a hurry wait to try some of the newer offerings. Yeti, Transition etc.
It all depends on whether your racing, taking long day out ec, etc
Ok I'm not sure what Jungle are like generally on warranty, but the service I've had from them has been really good. Silverfish on the other hand have been awful with myself and 3 friends, one with a Cove, one with a Turner and the other with a Yeti.
I bought a Santa Cruz Tallboy after nearly a year of trying bikes in different places. I went for a Tallboy in the end as it suited my riding style and had the most involving ride. The Sultan felt more like riding my 5 Spot than my XC bike which I had and the Tallboy feels more XC orientated which is what I wanted. It is more for day rides and marathon enduro events with the odd trip to the Lakes, Peaks and Scotland.
I would suggest you try and get some test rides on the bikes.
Nicolai helius ac 29er here...... Once it arrives....
Outstanding ride and phenomenal build quality... Worth a look.....
Had a Tallboy for just over 2 years and coming up 5000kms of riding. Has gone through 2 shock bushings in that time and still works fine. I 5'11" and like a roomy TT so have a 90mm stem and a layback post. They defintiely ride 'short'. Mine has been horrifically abused and hasn't sustained any real damage apart from the chain suck plate coming off a few times. Runs 100mm Fox forks. Been used for short course XC races, expedition adventure races, riding around on, Fleger DH course (OK it was a wee bit undertravelled for that perhaps...). Been riding a new Trek/GF Superfly - much nicer than the original so maybe try that as well. Can;t fault the Tallboy though. If they did a TB LT that would be EPIC.
sorry to add more bikes into the mix but if ur looking for a 29er 100 mm full sus can recomend the specialized epic having demo'd one and i can say it is the fastest bike i have riden (until i rode the trek superfly which i later purchase) the epic is winning world cup races so its proven that it works n it realli does. also trek superfly is 100 mm 29er both full sus and hard tail and they are simply awesome. u have to try them to see the difference
Why anyone would bother with silverfish when they could deal directly with turner I not know.
Jungle certainly won't get anywhere close to turner on CS. I'm sure I've seen a few threads on here by unhappy jungle customers.
I'm sure you'll be happy with either bike though.
For the same reason you don't bother with the brilliant internet provider based in the same home town as Turner to enable you to post such comments.