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On-One's Lynskey-fabricated 456Ti.
Ibis.
Consistently producing some of the most desirable bikes in steel, titanium, aluminium and plastic over the last 30 years.
Yeti ASR 5C - still one of the best bikes I have ever ridden.
In best tradition of recommending your own bike, I'm going to vote for the Ion 16. Just sneaked in before 650, and it's bloody ace.
Cannondale CAAD5 hardtail frames are pretty special imo.
And in terms of full sus, Spesh Enduro has evolved since the dawn of time and always been pretty close to the mark.
Supermarket BSO's 26" and proud, Still going strong.
Best 26"er?
Fat Chance Yo Eddy
Or
Klein Attitude
Pace RC200, in red. thread closed 🙂
One bike to cover it all from DH to ultra mincecore XC? Nomad.
Santa Cruz Superlight of yesteryear and now Ibis Mojo
None of my 26"ers are dead
and I'd like to nominate each and every one of them in the best 26"er category:
456 EVO Ti
Liteville 301 Mk11 (although admittedly it does have a 27.5" front wheel and fork)
Orange Patriot (2012 model)
another one here for the ibis mojo 🙂
first the mojo classic then the sl/slr then the HD and now the HDR
My old cove Stiffee was my best ever 26" bike, I don't think I've ever regretted selling a bike except it
who won at 26" wheels?
mavic 819 on hope proII.
Is there a prize for heavy, narrow, noisy, and poorly sealed then? 😀
26" is dead. 26" remains dead. Gullible fools who believe what they are told have killed it. And yet it's shadow looms.
I feel better about having just spunked a grand on 26 inch parts, Zumbi just let me know they've no plans to stop making 26 inch F11s. If I needed a new frame, that was already my first 26 inch choice. Futureproofed.
(though, tbh it'll be hard to resist a carbon remedy 29)
Turner 5 Spot Horst link.
Cant believe no one has mentioned 90's era's Orange P7. De rigueur xc race bike. Superb frame.
[u][b]IF[/b][/u] then
(i) according to STW, Inbred
(ii) according to my wishlist Ibis Mojo
(iii) according to aesthetics, Cotic Soul
(iv) according to a sensible pro / con list, Santa Cruz Chameleon
A special mention to recent Gary Fisher who, besides Brant (IMO), seemed to influence bike design for the better. Slack geom for longer forks whilst keeping a reasonable 'stretch' with top tube length.
*edit - having seen zoo's post below, a Zaskar is a bike I'd by tomorrow, if I had the cash. I haven't ridden one, but it was my poster-bike growing up... does it come with Hans Rey and a Mint Sauce comic strip?
GT Zaskar
Klein Attitude
Cotic Soul
Stanton Slackline
Carrera Fury - genuinely one of the best bikes I've owned and i have a lot of Exotica
[i]In best tradition of recommending your own bike..[/i]
Yeti 575.
Is there a winner yet?
Again, with the tradition of recommending what you own, I'm going to say the Specialized Pitch.
Virtually unchanged for four model years, it retailed for less than it should have given its capabilities. Build it light as a long-travel trail bike or stick Lyriks on it as a mini-DH tool. Size it small as a slopestyle bike if you like.
Standard shock mounting, standard headset, standard 73mm BB, ISCG tabs and dropper post cable clips (on the last version). Only thing it needs is a tapered head tube.
I love mine..
what he ^ said.
a quiver-killer, for a grand, old now but by no means out-dated.
Specialized Pitch - they had to stop making it as it made their other bikes look like poor value for money.
Forgot to add: standard(ish) 30.9mm seatpost, forward facing seat clamp, full-length outers, standard QR rear dropouts...
Plus Spesh were running the long, low and slack geo a couple of years before most others. How many good-handling bikes have just copied Specialized's geometry?
This thread topic does drift close being a wheel size discussion
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Don't force me now...
I did like my Trailstar(s) but I'll always have a soft spot for a 90s steel Kona, so Explosif FTW?
makecoldplayhistory - MemberIF then
(i) according to STW, Inbred
(ii) according to my wishlist Ibis Mojo
(iii) according to aesthetics, Cotic Soul
(iv) according to a sensible pro / con list, Santa Cruz Chameleon
I like your thinking, if only because I own (ii) and (iv) and have owned a (iii). 🙂
Everyone who's suggested a bike they wouldn't still buy today, at modern price equivalents- GTFO.
Pitch is a good un but does it beat the stumpy evo and late enduro? Not sure. Value is a bit unfair as Specialized were all over the place, it was heavily discounted at some points as it didn't sell at full price.
I will second the cannondale prophet, a bike which saved the company and was so far ahead of its time, if you compare it's geometry to a similar bike now it was already there in 2004 ! It went practically unchanged aside for tough versions, and in it's final incarnation gate crashed WMTB's bike of the year with a killer value build (still a USA built frame set) . A 27.4 mm seatpost limits dropper choice, 1.5" head tube doesn't.
I just bought one to build up, just wished I'd have plumped for one instead of a blingy scott nitrous in 2005
Are mbr still maintaining that the 2005ish Spesh Enduro is the best bike of all time?
I'm hoping the answer is a blur 4X as I've just bought a frame to build up.... 😀
So yeah, 26 is alive and well!
ChrisL
It was a spectacular bike, well ahead of its time though. My only ever full sus.
In the spirit of money where your mouth is, these are the bikes I voted for and the bikes I own.
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Still love them but I accept their time is over, will be mine til they're dead.
Are mbr still maintaining that the 2005ish Spesh Enduro is the best bike of all time?
the 2005 enduro IS the best bike of all time.
I'd vote for that or the Ibis Mojo HD.
Purely co-incidentally I own both.
If I had to choose one, its got to be the 2005 enduro ,and its succesors, except for 2007-2009 models, they were gash. This bike set the template for all other 'enduro' bikes that followed.
I thought everyone owned an Orange 5 yet nobody is willing to nominate it. Mondeo class maybe?
I've only really known* the bikes i've owned, of which there were five. All winners in my eyes but if i had to pick one ultimate winner, it'll have to be the Stumpy Evo. It does all the things a great all-rounder should but it's not perfect (is any bike?). It's a bitch to manual long distances but on the flip side, the way it lets you pump and slide through corners is something that i've never experience before on any bike and has me laughing like a loon. Such a well balanced bicycle.
* I have ridden others but not for as long or as eagerly as my own.
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p.s. When was 26" pronounced dead? I don't think i got that memo.
Here's one no one but me will understand,but for me the best would be the only one I actually wore out rather retired, the Azonic Propulsion with a whole 80mm of rear travel.
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(Not my image)
I still have it in the loft along with a MK1 Stiffee, a Pipe dream Ti HT that had the same geo as the MK1 Stiffee & an original Turner Burner that I bought to replace the Azonic but never gelled with so only ever had a few outings, I'm hoping that the Turner will become a classic & return me some of the money I paid for it one day, dream on...
Being SS it won't tick many peoples' boxes, but my 2008 Avanti KISS 26 has got to be my favourite bike. It's pretty, it handles well, it fits me absolutely perfectly and it just puts the biggest smile on my face every time I ride it. It always makes me want to play. Climbs far better than its weight suggests and descends like an absolute demon
Dunno about 26" being dead but I've been getting some bargins on 26" Maxxis Advantage tyres, thank you everyone who's converted, I'm stocked up for life!
So, if you accept that 26 Is Dead...
Can't answer that question as I don't. No plans to ever change wheel size on my MTBs
Can't answer that question as I don't. No plans to ever change wheel size on my MTBs
All the OP's MTBs have 26" wheels. 🙂 However it does seem like development of 26" wheeled MTBs has slowed down a lot in the last year or two, so we the pinnacle of the type may well already be out there...
Round tube Mount Vision. Mine is 14 years old,still going strong and doesn't look old.
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2011 Giant Anthem....
Phenomenal bike....
ChrisL - MemberAll the OP's MTBs have 26" wheels.
Nuh uh, one of them has a 20 inch and a 19 inch.