[Closed] Mid travel FS 29r - what to add to my list

Transition Smuggler would be at the top of my list...

Stumpjumper 29er

/thread

Ooh good suggestion, big fan of horst link suspension, will add to the list.

New models out now as well, so can get a low-ish spec carbon one for 3k or a higher specced ally one for 3.5k

Rocky Mountain Instinct

Salsa Horsethief

+1 Smuggler, love mine

I have an Orange Gyro with a -2 angleset. So its v like a segment. There are deals to be had and its a great bike.

Banshee Phantom

Pyga one ten 29.

Stumpjumper +1 here. Had a go on a friends. Super poppy for a big bike, well impressed

2nd the Salsa Horsethief.

Turner Sultan?

Dont forget the Hammerhead Thumper for cheapness, Evil Following at the other end if the scale..
Kona's Satori (old stock admittedly but cheap), BMC trailfox, & On One Codine seem to slip into your 'mid range'

+1 for the Rock Mountain Instinct. I love mine.

Niner RIP9

Camber or Stumpy evo

Cannondale trigger from Paul's cycles.

There's a one ride old Yeti SB95C on ebay for about £1350 - frame only.

I've had a browser window open all weekend on the Canyon website. The Spectral 29 looks great.

On-One Codeine? Quite a lot under budget... spare cash to take it on holiday somewhere?

You could build an awesome Thumper or Codeine for £2k, let alone £3k.

And it'd probably be higher spec and have less annoying "standards" than a Stumpy or whatever.

Turner Sultan. recently test rode a Stumpy Evo and it was a great bike. I then got straight on my 6 year old Sultan and removed the urge to buy the Evo because my bike was still as good on most fronts.

Thanks all a few more to add to my pros/cons list, luckily I'm in an area with a multitude of bike shops to visit and my face is known in most of them which is handy when it comes to negotiations.

You could build an awesome Thumper or Codeine for £2k

You certainly can 🙂 http://singletrackworld.com/forum/topic/new-bike-87 (URL insert tool not working on iPad tonight)

Please get in touch for any PYGA related questions or check out www.r53sport.com for further information

Ibis Ripley.

If it were me I'd make them bikes damn well fit inside the car 🙂 safer for those motorway pitstops, a good bit cheaper on diesel, less to worry about, quieter and faster.

Intense Spider Comp ain't too rough and if you happen to fit those at crc you'd still have £1340 to spend on pikes, new xt group, wheels, etc.

Even better if you join British cycling you'd get another 10% off and have enough back for a reverb:)

Love mine, its snappy enough to be xc like in short travel mode and it'll tackle plenty of rocks in long travel mode with those big wheels and pikes fitted.

Cube Stereo ?

Thanks all keep em coming, I'm currently compiling them all in one big list with pros cons price etc then it'll be time for test rides and haggling.

+1 for Banshee Phantom.

[url= http://singletrackworld.com/forum/topic/first-banshee-phantom-in-the-wild-new-29er-content ]But then I would say that[/url]

Specialized Camber Evo is worth checking out.

codeine again,

Devinci atlas. Great bike, I've had one for 3 months now and completely love it...

Codeine isn't really mid travel though is it.

Hard to say really.

Spesh Enduro 29 is definitely long at 160 Codeine is 140 so same as a Trek Remedy 29er.

I guess I would normally say a mid travel 29er is 120-130 but would you really discount a bike because of 10mm front travel? Especially one that pedals so well like the codeine.

would you really discount a bike because of 10mm front travel?

Yep, I did in choosing my latest frame, otherwise I had a stupid amount to choose from.. needed to filter them somehow.
Mid travel is 120-130mm, 140+ is long travel in my book.

@TooTall - (should you check back in on this thread) - what are the differences between the stumpy and the Sultan? I have an urge to have a go on a stumpy as I keep hearing how good they are but I love my Sultan. Angles don't seem that different, chainstays are only a bit longer on the Turner. Mine is a 2012 DW, is yours one of the TNT links? Thinking of offset bushings for mine.

OP -Sultan is a good shout. Turner are knocking them out for a good price at the moment

would you really discount a bike because of 10mm front travel?
Yep, I did in choosing my latest frame, otherwise I had a stupid amount to choose from.. needed to filter them somehow.
Mid travel is 120-130mm, 140+ is long travel in my book.

Which means the Tallboy LT comes off the list at 140mm of travel.

+1 Smuggler. Difficulty will be getting hold of one.

I think there's an important difference between travel and geometry with 29ers now - for instance a Tallboy LT is 135mm travel with a 69.4 deg HA whilst a Banshee Phantom is 105mm rear travel (120-140 front) with 66.5-68.5 deg HA (depending on fork length and dropout setting).

3 rides in, and this has genuinely blown me away so far...

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I'm fully aware that this will sound like a serious case of new bike justification and/or The Emperors New Clothes, but I can guarantee you it's not. I was going to post a 1st ride report, but then decided against it as people would want to pick holes in it. I rode it for the 2nd time the day after, similar trails, similar length, different venue, all stuff I know well like the first ride, and it just reinforced my initial thoughts on the bike. 3rd ride on it was last night, slightly shorter ride (I've still done almost 70 offroad miles on it in 3 rides in 5 days though!), and again it has increased the feeling of infatuation!

Why?

Genuinely, in 20 years of riding, I don't think that I've ridden a better bike. I'll qualify that by saying "for the type of riding I do" and "for me personally" etc. but I really don't think I have. I've ridden bikes that were better purely for going downhill (but only very marginally), and I've ridden bikes that are better at going uphill (all bar one have been hardtails, and the one was a Maverick which I owned for years and were known for their climbing prowess).

The thing is though, for ages I've really been looking for that Holy Grail of a Swiss Army Knife of a bike that genuinely is really bloody good at everything. I've ridden bikes that claim to be, but have had some serious shortcomings sadly, and I've ridden a few "nearly but not quite" bikes too. I've also written far too many off without even trying them, which sounds wrong, but when you've been riding as long as I have, you will have a VERY long checklist that any new bike has to conform to before the purchase is made. Fortunately for the case of this thread, one of those check boxes is for 29er wheels (normally I'm at pains with people to explain why I like 29ers!), but that did make the search a bit tougher initially.

Anyway, I have the bike, I've ridden it enough already to know that it genuinely is as good (if not better) than all the American website reviews, that I've had to satisfy myself with for many months now, say it is. For me, the fact that most people will write it off just because it's a 29er puts a big grin on my face, though it has to be said some 29er sceptics I know have already been making big noises about wanting to get a go on it!

I think there's an important difference between travel and geometry with 29ers now - for instance a Tallboy LT is 135mm travel with a 69.4 deg HA whilst a Banshee Phantom is 105mm rear travel (120-140 front) with 66.5-68.5 deg HA (depending on fork length and dropout setting).

Couldn't agree more. My Following with the link in its low setting and a 140mm fork has a 66deg HA. Not long ago that was the preserve of DH bikes only, but I can tell you it really works on this bike...

What is it?