At least a few of you like XC and pedalling yourself.
What are you riding and do you recommend it?
Depends what you mean by modern, I'm still loving my vitus rapide fs I got cheap from crc. Has the right geo and components. Rides well and is quick so I'm happy
I'm really enjoying my specialized chisel and its proving to be quite capable and handling stuff I used to ride only on the enduro bike, albeit slightly slower, but its really made me realise I am way overbiked for 60% of my riding!
My XC bike is an 11 year old Ti hardtail - is that "modern"? For me it bridges the gap between Gravel and "Trail", both of which are already represented by other bikes in my garage.
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This ^^. Specialized Chisel Comp (2024)
Bought at near enough half price (at which point it was good value for money).
Plus points: it rides really nicely, good geometry, very capable
Negatives: some of the spec is really quite basic and therefore heavy. None of it is "bad" - it's all perfectly functional stuff, it's just a shame that there's at least a couple of extra kilos of heft on there.
Early changes - an immediate swap to tubeless with Vittoria AirLiner inserts. A change from the heavy (and very uncomfortable) alu bars to some lovely carbon ones, bought in the dying days of the CRC firesale for £15 instead of £180(!). And I got rid of the frankly shit SRAM brakes for some XT ones at which point the bike became WAY more capable. And a dropper post (bought S/H off here).
I can't justify much more than that; I don't ride often enough and I'm not good enough to be going out spending £££ on SIDs and carbon wheels and a SRAM XX AXS groupset so, short of a lottery win, it's going to have to stay as it is!
But it is really nice.
I picked up a Trek Procaliber 9.7 second-hand just over a year ago for less than half price. It was mint, only been ridden a few times and barely 1.5 years old. Gone back to my roots, where my first proper mtb was a Fisher Sugar 1.
Scalpel HT. It's just fast.
Transition Spur here. More towards the trail end of geometry but XC light. Built it from the frame up so has a nice mix of bits which are XC biased and is far more capable than it should be. Highly recommended.
Another Chisel here (FS). Had it a grand total of one week and loving it so far!
I've got an Epic Evo from when every other person on the forum seemed to be buying one of the half price ones they were selling off before the 8 came out.
It's very nice, didn't see myself buying something with electronic shifting but have been so impressed with it that I've opted for it on my gravel bike
It's very nice, didn't see myself buying something with electronic shifting but have been so impressed with it that I've opted for it on my gravel bike
I thought long and hard about buying an Epic instead of the Chisel then decided I simply couldn't justify it. But now that every other bike I own has electronic shifting, I often think it'd be a nice-to-have on the MTB too!
My XC bike is an 11 year old Ti hardtail - is that "modern"? For me it bridges the gap between Gravel and "Trail", both of which are already represented by other bikes in my garage
I'm with you. 2013 Salsa El Mariachi Ti. Still being raced regularly and still getting good results (albeit in the singlespeed category rather than overall) Bits of various ages on it, forks and brakes from 2024, hubs and cranks from 2009 and various other bits in-between.
I got a cheap BMC fourstroke from paulscycles.co.uk, it seems fast to me!
2022 Procaliber 9.6 here. Had it almost 5 years so not new but really can't think what I'd rather have. Test rode a brand new 9.7 AXS a couple of weeks ago and it was very nice but I prefer my rear pivot rather than the carbon flex. I think I might upgrade my forks to 120 but I don't feel the need to upgrade the bike.
2020 Epic Evo, NX/SLX - no funky additions, it's still great and properly quick, goes uphill well with the Brain and good on the downs too. More modern than some here, less so than the chisels and Epic 7/8s.
Lapierre XR 7.9, now with xtr and lighter DT wheels I built. Also upped the fork to a fox 34 at 120mm (like the xrm version has on the same frame).
Daughter is on a chisel HT (10.5kg!) but as she is now getting a bit big for that will.be moving to a chisel FS I got at a really good price.
I've got an Epic Evo from when every other person on the forum seemed to be buying one of the half price ones they were selling off before the 8 came out.
I've been living in hope we'd see the same thing with the Epic 8... still waiting for a bargain on them though.
First generation Canyon Lux trail here (I know - it was marketed as a 'down country' bike). Great for the Lakes riding I do. Nice and light for hike-a-bike 😂
Orbea Oiz here, and Chisel HT for the winter. Can't stop riding the Oiz since I took it down from the attic in April. So fast and fun. But I think my Silt carbon wheels and Barzo/Mezcal tyres are massively contributing to this feeling.
Santa Cruz Highball. It's light, fast and gravel friendly. Does the gravel and singletrack commuting but i'm so used to slacker bikes that it feels sketchy on anything tech or jumpy. I know this is just me because I had an older and possibly steeper version that I did all my riding on which felt fine then.
I thought long and hard about buying an Epic instead of the Chisel then decided I simply couldn't justify it. But now that every other bike I own has electronic shifting, I often think it'd be a nice-to-have on the MTB too!
I too was caught on what to buy out of the two to suit my budget, I opted to skip the epic with SRAM AXS and went Chisel FS but picked up some Roval Carbon wheels (inc: X01 cassette and X01 chain) which came in roughly £500 less then the epic.
Will pick up an AXS upgrade kit when the current drivetrain wears out.
I'm very excited about modern XC bikes, I'm transitioning back from gravel to XC I think (because most of my gravel routes ended up needing an MTB anyway 😆 ). Loving what's available out there.
Anyone got a sort of fast and light long distance full suss build they could share? That's the dream, a Scalpel or something...
Epic 8 Expert (non Evo, and it's the only bike I've ever paid full rrp for). Amazing bike; very light and efficient yet fast and capable on descents. Very happy with it.
Back on my own computer now so here's a picture of my Spur. I was very tempted by the Epic Evo but was left a bit underwhelmed when I went to look at one for some reason? When I researched it a year or so ago only really the Epic and Spur matched my XC light but not old XC riding position criteria. Don't know if that's changed since?
Epic evo owner here too...!
made it nice and light with Hunt proven wheelset, Fox Transfer SL dropper (with a coil spring in it!!), and GX AXS T-type... love it! proper fast, proper capable.
Gonna give the SIDs a service and fit low-friction seals this weekend as haven't had them apart in FAAAR too long and they're a bit sticky!
DrP
2024 Scott Spark here. It is a much better bike than I deserve and I love it.
The new models have just been released and they look lovely.
A new BMC Fourstroke for me, came with SLX & alloy hoops, quickly got changed to XTR and carbon hoops, bloody good, slack front end and steep seat angle so climbs really well and descends equally well.
The eldest is on an Spesh' Epic WC with GX AXS T-Type and the like along with a fancy Roval cockpit, absolute flying machine for UK style XC.
Are the Aluminium rims on those BMC"s not the best?
Are the Aluminium rims on those BMC"s not the best?
They're perfectly decent DT Swiss X1900 hoops on the Four stroke 3 and X1700's on the Four Stroke 2, I just happened to have a set of Hunt Proven XC Carbons
Decent weight saving to be had swapping either x1900 or x1700's out.
Following with interest.
This is my "XC" bike.
I'd like to try a short travel full squish XC bike next. If Pauls had an XL version of that BMC ^^ I would have been all over it!
I'd like to try a short travel full squish XC bike next. If Pauls had an XL version of that BMC ^^ I would have been all over it!
i know a few people like that, if you're over 6'1" an XL is definitely required.
Chisel FS here, 130 fork, 110 rear. Seems fast and efficient. Quite capable too, only tyres hold it back on steeper techier stuff.
I put a cargo cage on downtube and small front triangle bag for longer rides (like this without the bigger bags https://bikepacking.com/bikes/specialized-chisel-review-full-suspension/ )
Weighed 12.6kg on my scales but will prob get heavier, i'm not doing xc races, just xc rides.
I have an emtb but I ride it a lot less now.
More ‘down country’ than XC but picked up a 2022 Trek Top Fuel frame a while back and built it up with middling some of components. Only ridden it a few times due to a back issue, but it felt super fast vs my Sentinel - but still capable on a few little steeps I tried it down.
Mine’s now running 130mm 34 Performance elites, xm421/481 wheels with fastish tyres (Forekaster v2 / rekon), SLX drivetrain, long dropper post and Code brakes. I think it weighs almost bang on 30lbs.
My on one whippet is modern compared to the rock lobster 853 it replaced!!
Another BMC Fourstroke from the recent sales. Faster than my LLS hardtail and more comfy than my gravel bike and not much slower on the road.
Scott Scale and Orbea Oiz Alloy.
The Oiz is like a grand tourer, the Scale a go kart.
