[Closed] I have £2K to spend on a full suss with 140mm travel min. What should I get?

Can you stretch to a Norco Sight 2? Great reviews, but I've had no first hand experience.

I think they are £2500. The sight 3 is £1800 so I could look at that but I think its a downgrade in fork spec though.

Sorry this another boring 'What bike to buy thread' 😉

I've got a 2011 Ariel, great fun! Pedals ok, picks up speed quickly. Likes to pop off things. Not especially light (about 30 lbs?) but can't say that is especially noticeable. I'd guess the spesh is maybe a bit more 'all-day bike' but I'm happy going on 4h+ rides on the Saracen. I got the large, I'm 5'10 - found the meium a bit cramped.

Where have you seen 2012 stumpjumpers still for sale if you don't mind me asking?

Considering the Nerve AL+ is a very similar bike to the XC, wouldn't you want something a bit different? Nothing wrong with them (I own one) but why not look for a Zesty that comes in your price range?

Cube AMS - sub £2k take your pick! Pro, Race, etc.

If your a medium Tweeks have a Foxy R

[url= http://www.tweekscycles.com/bikes/full-suspension-mountain-bikes/mondraker-foxy-r-full-suspension-mountain-bike-2012 ]Mondraker Foxy[/url]

Zesty would be a good choice, you can pick up a 2012 314 within budget.

[url= http://www.on-one.co.uk/i/q/FBTITEGV1/titus_el_guapo_x9_lyrik_reverb_ccdb ]El Guapo?[/url]

If i was in the market for a £2k bike, this is where i'd look. CCDB, Reverb, Lyrik fork... Only 1 left in stock though (Medium) so you'd better be quick!

+1 on zesty. £1899 for 214 and bank the rest or buy wider bars and tyres of your preference.

You can upgrade bits that aren't bling as they die, great forks, great frame. The rest will work as well as the higher spec stuff

Really pleased with my stumpjumper. Considering you state 140mm upwards i'd make sure you get one without the brain. I've been using mine with the brain for bigger dh stuff and the brain is too much of a XC shock to cope with bigger hits. Have also ridden friends remedy and zesty and both are excellent bikes.

Torque EX Gapster https://www.canyon.com/_en/mountainbikes/bike.html?b=3052#tab-reiter2

I'm a large so mediums no good. Boo. I think it's wheelies that have the stumpys for 1899. In all sizes too. Yeah I know what your saying about the canyon and that's why i was just looking at the others too but Damn, it's hard to better that spec for the same money. :-). I want the bike for UK riding and taking to the alps this summer hence looking for more travel. Thanks for your posts so far.

http://www.leisurewheels.co.uk/products.php?plid=m1b3s1p9639&rs=gb&vid=33012

A tad over budget but looks a good bike?

Just checked out the Zesty 314 from last year and its a great spec. But tbh i'm really wanting a QR15 bolt thru on the front and bolt thru rear for extra stiffness. I've gone from having bolt thru's on my previous hardtails to my canyon Nerve XC 7 which only comes with a 9mm q/r and i've noticed a massive difference, especially up front.

My Canyon is a great bike dont get me wrong but i'm still kicking myself for not checking before I bought it. My fault.

Whats the main difference with the Standard Stumpy and the Evo? the spec appears the same except the forks a rock shox revelation.

Evo is slacker and 150mm travel iirc

Not sure how much help this is ? as stumpy comp evo is £2500

But I rode a stumpy Evo comp the other day (my bike is a five) It was better than the five going uphill even with a longer travel fork, not quite as good going downhill but not much in it. I found the front end a little high so the normal stumpy with a 140 mm fork at £2000 ish would be well worth a look.

EDIT. If I was looking for a new trail bike I would buy the stumpy evo in a heartbeat.

Thanks righog. I am now completely torn between the canyon and the stumpy. The Canyon edges it out on specification by having FOX performance shox and a reverb post. Otherwise the specs are almost identical.

However i can only find last years model with a standard q/r fork and i really would like the bolt thru. This years stumpy is a little out of my budget at £2500 but i could probably stretch to last years evo at £2150.

What does anyone reckon to the Mondraker Foxy RR? Just to throw that into the mix as well.

Stumpy Evo all day long.

Probably confusing the matter but I built a Rocket for a smidge over 2k. If you went 2nd hand on the forks you could do it for 2k easy. Fun bike.

I'll tell you what I reckon to a Foxy RR, you need more, much more than £2k!!

You say that face planter but I've just come across the RR on-line for £1999 - Full Kashima forks, XTR - full works. I cant remember what size it was but I think it was on an american website which i'm struggling to find. But I will and will post. I noted they would post to UK. I literally am just perusing the web, straining my eyes for the best deals. lol 😉

Here: http://www.maribikes.com/en/mondraker/71-mondraker-foxy-rr-2012-mountain-bike.html. Its in my size too. Now I am tempted 😉

Ah, further delving its an Indonesian website. So it could be a scam!? Cause its only £1660 when converted.

That site surely has to be a scam. A brand new Trek remedy 7 for £950 and £35 shipping? What sort of import tax would you pay.

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The last bit is ringing alarm bells to me. I'll pass thanks

The last bit is ringing alarm bells to me. I'll pass thanks

Because apart from that, buying a £2k bike from Indonesia makes perfect sense? What could possibly go wrong?

Have you discounted the Strive for any specific reason. The AL+ may be a little too similar to your XC.

Yeah I didn't look at the strive because for my type of riding (local xc rides, trail centres and sometimes longer epics) it would be too much travel and it would be a bit more cumbersome.

I see what your saying regarding something different but surely the canyon is. It's slacker and longer than the xc, more travel and therefore I'm assuming totally different to ride even though it looks very similar to my xc.

I guess if I could find a large one the Cannondale Jekyll 3 would be top of my list.

I've got a 2010 Stumpjumper FSR that has the benefit of an Evo RP23 shock that has slackened it a bit and given some extra travel at the back. It works great in the Lakes pedaling up and hammering down.

A Canyon is essentially the same Horst linkage as the SJ but with a different shock rocker and the spec of a £3K bike. If you don't want to have to upgrade the bike the Canyon looks the ticket to me. I believe they have made some changes from last year's version with bolt up rear and slightly slacker head angle.

However, if magazines are to be believed you should be riding a Whyte T129...

Would either a Norco Sight Killer B-3 (140mm), or Range Killer B-3 (160mm) fit the bill? I have the Range Killer B-3, and it's an absolute world apart from my old Cannondale Gemini 900!

Awesome bike, and full of 650B goodness.

bedfordrd - Member
Would either a Norco Sight Killer B-3 (140mm), or Range Killer B-3 (160mm) fit the bill? I have the Range Killer B-3, and it's an absolute world apart from my old Cannondale Gemini 900!

Awesome bike, and full of 650B goodness.

Now we're talking!
Here's my sight killer b1. I think it is possibly the best 'all round' bike I've owned/ridden in the last 16 years.

[IMG] [/IMG]
[URL= http://i366.photobucket.com/albums/oo104/foes81/499396F8-6202-4B84-88E2-E13D14AB24E3-6348-00000B2F3AB6AADC.jp g" target="_blank">http://i366.photobucket.com/albums/oo104/foes81/499396F8-6202-4B84-88E2-E13D14AB24E3-6348-00000B2F3AB6AADC.jp g"/> [/IMG][/URL]
[URL= http://i366.photobucket.com/albums/oo104/foes81/4979BE02-0A6B-44AD-BEE3-3BFD096C6EC3-6348-00000B2F5287B20D.jp g" target="_blank">http://i366.photobucket.com/albums/oo104/foes81/4979BE02-0A6B-44AD-BEE3-3BFD096C6EC3-6348-00000B2F5287B20D.jp g"/> [/IMG][/URL]
[URL= http://i366.photobucket.com/albums/oo104/foes81/1325C608-E95F-4D40-9CB9-C3DE6BF322E7-6348-00000B2F47313733.jp g" target="_blank">http://i366.photobucket.com/albums/oo104/foes81/1325C608-E95F-4D40-9CB9-C3DE6BF322E7-6348-00000B2F47313733.jp g"/> [/IMG][/URL]

That is beautiful

Beauty comes at a price I see? Lol.

Your NN's are mounted reverse on the front. Check for rotation arrow on the side of the tire. (The way currently mounted they roll better but the other way you get better cornering and braking) Nice bike tho =)

Regarding the Canyon Nerve AL+, they seem to have some slightly strange choices of wheels this year. They pitch the bike as a trail bike yet the wheels seem more xc to me. Mavic Crosstrails aren't the strongest rims around, I've written some off in the past. I wouldn't recommend them for places like Coed Y Brenin and definitely not for the alps!

I have last years model which came with Crank Bros Iodine 3's, a proper all mountain wheelset. So far they've been reliable and feel very sturdy.

I noticed that too. I have a set of hope pro 2s on 717 rims at the moment on my nerve xc. I have noticed a massive difference over the crossrides. so think I'll swap them over and maybe stick a bigger rim on. What do u think?

Depends on where you're going to be riding, how you ride and how heavy you are I guess.

If you don't need anything too serious then 717 rims are ok but they're for xc stuff really. If it were me, I'd go for something like the Stans Arch EX or if you want even beefier the Flows.

Personal preference but if I'm going to be riding where the bikes going to be taking a beating, I wouldn't want to worry about whether my wheels can take the abuse. Happy to sacrifice a few grams if it means I don't wreck them!

Whatever you run, set them up tubeless and I'd recommend Hans Dampfs, amazing tyres except when in deep mud.

I was looking at the AL +8 the other day and could of sworn it had the superior Mavic Crossmax fitted. Apparently not.

https://www.canyon.com/_en/mountainbikes/bike.html?b=3041#tab-reiter2

I don't know if this helps but I had the same dilema a couple of weeks ago. After visiting a lot of bike shops and testing a few bikes I eventually plumped for the Nerve AL+, On strength of the reviews and spec alone. I ordered on monday and It was handed over to UPS for shipping yesterday, Hopefully i'll be riding it next week. So far the the whole process has been faultless.

You'll have to let me know how you find it idris. I'm hopefully ordering mine today. As bang for buck its awesome. Which colour scheme did you go for? I like the hornet.

Already mentioned but those El Guapo complete builds are a steal. It'd be a large step up terms of Alps ability too compared with what you currently have...

How come El Guapo will improve my performance over other bikes?

If you have a Nerve XC already, then I'm assuming that you'd want something capable of more 'Gnar'? The El Guapo is much more DH orientated - low BB, slack HA. That's all I was thinking - oh, and it comes with a CCDB air.

If I was in the market for a new long travel FS it'd be first on my list as it's such a bargain - I am a bit mean though and I like the one HT I have.

Yeah something capable of more gnar but still easy to ride round my local woods and uphill. 🙂 I just rang on one as they were showing 1 large in stock on the website but alas it's an anomoly on the website. They said the guapo will not be in stock till June.

Forgot about t'Guapo. Only 10mm more travel than the AL+. I'd have bought one instead of the AL+ if they did one large enough for 6ft4 all day riding.

cspeers, I went for Black Sea only because i'm a tart and thought it would match my blue helmet. It looks good in hornet too though. From the reviews I've read for the al+ it's a lot more gravity orientated than the xc so should hopefully live up to the extra 'gnar'. The angles are very similar to the El Guapo and other 'all mountain' bikes which are much more about the downs than ups.

I'd go for something more different to your existing bike personally - around 160mm travel. You'll enjoy it in the alps and you might find you like doing uplift days etc. I don't have a problem (slowly) pedalling my Pitch with 160mm forks around trail centres or up big hills in the Lakes/Scotland, and it's amazing fun going downhill.

Gnar and easy uphill full suss doesn't really exist. Ditched my Reign as it took all of my energy on the way up. Now have a Gnar HT and love it.

HI there cspeers,

If you already have the Nerve XC in 120mm I personally would say the Canyon Strive would be a better pick from our range to get a real change in the bike's ability when pointing down from your current bike. The Nerve AL and AL+ are great trail and marathon bikes but the Strive is definitely a much more accomplished Enduro platform.

http://www.canyon.com/_en/mountainbikes/bike.html?b=3045

The Strive AL 7.0 comes in right on your budget and builds up pretty light for a 160mm travel. The pedalling platform is really impressive, I think you will find it's climbing ability is the real surprise of this bike. Riding in the hills around the Canyon factory in Germany I was always gutted to see how well the MTB product manager would keep with me on the hills (I ride a Grand Canyon CF at 9 kilos) and then absolutely rinse me on the downs.

Give us a call in our new UK office if you want to chat about your options. We'd be glad to help if we can - +44 (0) 208 5496001

Regards,
Trevor @ Canyon UK