I'm getting rid of my Kona Coilair Supreme (too bouncy) and my Spesh Epic (head angle too steep) so I'm after some suggestions. I mostly ride the Welsh and Scottish trail centres, but I'm doing an enduro for a laugh. I'm thinking a hardtail and at max a 5" travel susser. Budget is about £5k.
How does carbon cope with the UK trail centres with the loose stones and trees.
[i]Budget is about £5k.[/i]
😯 Clearly money isn't going to be an issue.
TBH best just get out there and do some test rides...if it was me and I couldn't decide on hardtail or up to 5" travel, I'd be trying bikes like the Rize or an Orange ST4
Mythic Pyre (or Rune if you want 6inches of travel)
Titus El Guapo
Titus Motolite
Lapierre Spicy or Zesty
Trek Remedy
To be honest many 6 inch travel bikes are as light as alot of the 5 inch bikes, particularly at your price range.
Cove Hummer hardtail
Hummer - Had it, broken it and binned it. Build quality is pants, not a fan of Ti. It's too temperamental when being welded.
I'm struggling with too much travel on the Kona. I don't know if this is normal.
Have you tried fettling the shock a little? Try sending it to TFTuned Shox to get it PUSHed. I've never ridden one myself so can't comment.
Personally, I own a 6inch travel Mythic Rune (aka Banshee) and it pedals better than my 5inch travel Titus Motolite did, purely down to a better suspension design (sort of a cross between VPP and the DW link system).
I have heard that Konas do rely on shock technology to be efficient, not sure how true this is though.
