[Closed] The best full sus XC bike – advice needed

It's a Giant Anthem you want.

Anthem, stupid quick

Yep, they're right. Anthem.

Fast as a fast thing, and always feel like they've got a little more travel than they actually have!

Very much recommended.

These may be of interest:

Canyon Lux?

I've got my 29er Anthem set up quite 'trailly' - reverb and 120mm forks, biggish tyres, wide bars. It's a beast. Far more capable than me.

Having had an Anthem SX for 3 weeks I have to agree with above 😀 Still love my Soul but on my local stuff - tight techy singletrack, very rooty, the Anthem is miles faster and a good deal smoother !

They weigh the same and the Anthem climbs a treat. It is very forgiving even though same travel upfront

Good to hear, Ian! 😀

Carbon Spearfish!

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Love my anthem 29er.
You will never regret it

Specialized camber evo, short travel,29er fast

Epic if you want a light and fast Spesh, not Camber.

Superfly FS
Spark
Anthem

Try a few, buy the one you like. XX1 or M9000 group set, carbon wheels, light finishing kit. 20lbs or so on any of those if you spend enough.

Thanks... njee20 is closer to the mark ie lighter and with less travel. I very much like the S Works Epic; it's a bit expensive tho 🙂

You could do worse than read the test of the anthem and spearfish in our host mag.

If you are contemplating expensive also look at the Turner Czar - seems to get very favourable comments, whereas the Sultan has been critised for its longer chainstays.

Plus the bushings on Turners are rock solid and very maintenance friendly.

I race xc on a Trek superfly sl full sus, very happy with it. However if wasn't racing and wanted a fast cross country bike, and had the money, I would get a ibis ripley frame and pimp it. Took one for a test ride and loved it.

You could do worse than read the test of the anthem and spearfish in our host mag.

Say what? Where?

Tis an Anthem you seek btw. Lighter than a spearfish, very capable, very fast so I'm told despite the fact I have one...

Epic then Anthem IME

Thanks... njee20 is closer to the mark ie lighter and with less travel. I very much like the S Works Epic; it's a bit expensive tho

So what is the budget? Your OP implied it wasn't an issue.

Njee20 – the budget is £6k. I did the recent Scott Marathon and wished that I had a light FS bike hence a bit of soul-searching.

Buy the Epic Elite, sell bits you don't want, buy new bits. I'd change wheels, cranks, bar, stem, seat post as a starting point.

Or look at other options where you could do that sort of thing.

I used to have an ali Anthem and rode regularly with a mate on carbon Epic. Epic was lighter though obviously not a like for like comparison. Epic was faster climbing and on flats, feeling very solid like a hard tail. I found the Anthem had too much pedal bob unless locked out. Anthem was probably the better of the two downhill and more suited to trail centres where you may want something a bit less racy. Also expect to see several Anthems every time you leave the house. A mate raves about his Spark, which I would say is getting to the 'trail' end of the spectrum.

Another vote for an anthem. You don't even need a super expensive one to be fast. I had an unfashionable 26er for a couple of years. I didn't have a problem with pedal bob, was very fast up and down. Only issue I had with it used to get through shock bushes relatively fast and I had to do a full rebuild on the shock twice. I reckon this was because I was riding downhill just as fast as on my 6"FS.

I'd get a cheaper one, then replace the bits when they wear out.

Another vote for an [s]anthem[/s]any 100mm 29r XC bike. You don't even need a super expensive one to be fast.

Fast comes from the rider 🙂 Coming from longer travel 26" FS to 29" XC bikes I noticed a nice pick up in pace.

I'm amazed someone got pedal bob they couldn't cope with on an anthem. That's a setup issue. And even with the shock setup soft the current CTD setting in T eliminates any bob for me, even when sprinting off a start.

£6k though gets you a lot of bike. If it's a raw race bike go with NJEE's advice. If - like me - you also want a trail bike stick with the Anthem IMO and keep the OEM wheels for training and playing on.

Giant Anthem advanced then £5500 - carbon & SID's you'll find your limit WAY before its limit

http://www.giant-bicycles.com/en-gb/bikes/model/anthem.advanced.27.5.0.team/19236/77327/#features

As above though, get the one though thats feels right to ride, oh and matches the paint job on your (im guessing) Q7 or Toureg? 😆 (just joshing its your money spend it as you see fit!)

Imagine spending 5.5k and ending up with a Giant?. I'd be gutted!. 😆

especially as it doesn't have proper XC wheels....

😳

gits! 😆

Mine does 🙂

Ive just bought a secondhand anthem 29, really like it.

For £5/6k id go for something more boutique/custom build, a carbon tallboy or czar or similar.

Carbon Tallboy or Carbon Spearfish.

If you can get over the looks, you'd have to try very hard to beat one of these:
[url= http://www.icanbike.dk/shop/eng/pronghorn-pr7xc-carbon-552p.html ]http://www.icanbike.dk/shop/eng/pronghorn-pr7xc-carbon-552p.html[/url]
I've got one of their older 26" carbon bikes and it still amazes me now how light and agile it is. The handling was a bit "razor's edge" for my liking with the original DT Swiss 100mm fork so I stuck a 120mm on and it's been tamed slightly, but still a total xc weapon.

On the cheap Anthem front, mine is the 27.5 SX model, which retails at 2K and can be had for a bit less. A capable and fast, light bike for the money, full SLX groupset

Rocky Mountain Element always get good reviews.

I was going to avoid the what I have thing but the element is a very nice bike and I've only got the 950 half/half

The Anthem is 27.5 and I deffo want a 29er. My riding is more XC-based than anything and the Anthem seems more trail-biased. Any thoughts on the Santa Cruz Tallboy (normal travel)? Thanks for the input so far.

Do they not make these any more then?

http://www.giant-bicycles.com/en-gb/bikes/model/2014.giant.anthem.x.29er.1/14998/66602/

http://www.giant-bicycles.com/en-gb/bikes/model/2013.giant.anthem.x.advanced.29er.1/11845/56847/

Fork is only 100mm too - makes it sound more XC to me at least.

You could do worse than read the test of the anthem and spearfish in our host mag.

Say what? Where?

Issue 89 - summary page 124.

Anthem fastest, Spearfish most popular with testers. I got my spearfish for long distance at which it's sublime and it's none too shabby on XC either.

Okay... but they are circa 13kg and I'm after something much lighter (as I really like climbing). Really not keen on the looks either – which matters to me.

I'm 4500 miles into my Turner Czar and the GF similar.

I've had it 18 months, and I can't imagine a better ride for long distance, bumpy xc and moderate trail.

Fast, comfortable and durable.

However, I've owned and older Spearfish and that was great value. I can only imagine the Carbon one is terrific too.

http://www.evanscycles.com/products/cannondale/scalpel-29er-black-inc-2015-mountain-bike-ec071418

Dale Scapel - dont know if its any good, spensive though! 😯

Maybe some main use clarification is in order. Long distance or racing or both. Having had a razor sharp XC FS that threatened to throw me off unless given full concentration I would caution against the lightest XC weapon for long distance less technical riding when you may be tired and need some forgiveness.

Use clarification... MTB marathons... fast trail centre blasts... Peak District 'epics'... possibly a race or two. I currently have a pretty light HT but want something with a little more give. I love the zippy nature of my current bike but want the bumps to be smoothed out by rear suspension.

I'm going to suggest that "fast" comes from 4 main things (in order of importance)

1) The rider
2) The wheel & tyre package
3) The bikes geometry / travel / setup
4) The bikes mass

Assuming we can't change 1) 😉 and that we stick with wagon wheels, then the primary concern is how "XC race" a bike do you want.

If you are actually racing, then you forgo comfort for speed, and get a superlight weight, skinny tyred short travel, steep angled machine, that will be fast as ****, but frankly bone breaking to ride

If you aren't racing, then the primary choice is the amount of travel you get. Pretty much everything scales with suspension travel, be that mass, angles/geo. Anything below about 110mm will be pretty racy, the mid field XC stuff falling into 110 to 130mm, and anything over 130mm edging into ALL Mountain.

Considering your high budget, and use of the word "best" we can assume value for money is not that important to you, so building custom bike up from a frame is going to deliver you a "better" bike that suits you the most.

Where are you planning to ride this bike ie, what sort of terrain? In effect, the less travel you opt for, the faster the bike will be, but it's ultimate capability will be lower.

Maybe some main use clarification is in order. Long distance or racing or both. Having had a razor sharp XC FS that threatened to throw me off unless given full concentration I would caution against the lightest XC weapon for long distance less technical riding when you may be tired and need some forgiveness.

I'd want the lighter, faster bike for just that use. They're not [i]that[/i] hard to ride.

As I mentioned, I have a hardtail (circa 9kg) with short travel and steep head angle – I ride this everywhere and it's a hoot. I can live with having to concentrate most of the time as that's just how I ride. But, I'm getting older and I want more rear comfort. I'm a pretty capable and pacy XC rider (for my age) so don't really need lots of travel. For example, I'm 46 out of 1705 on the Cannock Dog / Monkey https://www.strava.com/segments/8001834. I'm 49 next birthday and am looking for some comfort for the rear end.

Specialized Epic. That's what I would get. Any of the versions would be ideal, but the more you pay, the lighter they get. Much faster bike than a tallboy I would think (Santa Cruz make bikes tough - more trail than xc).

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Edit:

I'd go for this one -

[img] [/img]

http://www.edinburghbicycle.com/products/specialized-epic-fsr-expert-carbon-world-cup-29-15

The two bottle cages of the Epic are a good feature for me. I'm not really a backpack kind of rider and tend to carry all of my stuff in my pockets.

Try going to the specialised concept store. They may do you a good deal on an S-works if you want the full bling version?

I'd want the lighter, faster bike for just that use. They're not that hard to ride.

Until you're wet, cold, knackered and fighting giving up 12hours in. My Merida 96 would have killed me on the Manx 100 - doubt there's a 29er as sharp but long distance geo doesn't have to compromise weight.

i am lucky enough to have a tallboy2 c... 120mm fork, xt drivetrain, dropper post flavour at the moment. i don't see it as a xc bike, personally, more a trail bike. the rocks haven't got any bigger and the trails haven't got any steeper than 5 years ago. frame was a warranty replacement due to that trouble they had with the bonded pivot bearings cracking the carbon :o| stif and jungle took very good care of that side of things and no trouble at all since.

no experience of any other 29er full sus, but the tallboy is in my view almost like cheating. fast, fun, angles suit me, fits me well, will climb up 'anything', and is a hoot coming down. it doesn't feel out of it's depth on much, if anything, incl Lakes and local steeps. came from 26er single pivot, with some FSR in my distant past and the VPP feels fine, but takes some thinking and setting up to feel right. i have run it too stiff and kind of negated the whole point of the suspension to an extent!

i have always liked the look of the anthem, but for me the tallboy ticks every box i wanted, aesthetically and on the trail, is fast enough for xc races (dropper taken off), have done 12hrs of exposure on it and it properly 'looked after me' if that makes sense, and can be straight lined as happily as thrown around stuff- all relative of course, thrown around as much as a 6ft3 bloke on a 29er can manage, not kidding myself here.

i'll sometimes not ride it on my local trails as it seems to have a tendency to make them too easy!

extended test ride with opportunity to fiddle with suspension set up a must in my view.

The Epic is looking favourite due to the bottle cages. The Tallboy is also interesting. Are there any Epic riders out there who can give their thoughts?

Until you're wet, cold, knackered and fighting giving up 12hours in. My Merida 96 would have killed me on the Manx 100 - doubt there's a 29er as sharp but long distance geo doesn't have to compromise weight.

Yep, it's why all endurance races are won on 140mm slack FS bikes. Oh... Wait! you make out like an XC race bike is some untamed stallion that's trying to throw you off! No matter how many hours in or whatever they're still not that hard to ride, and that exact moment is when I'd take the lighter, quicker bike that required less effort to pedal!

my mate went from a carbon epic to carbon tallboy on lightbike rims. Strava times for the tallboy all slightly up on the epic (whatever that means).

I've ridden them both, the tallboy seems a bit like cheating to me, it's that fast. Light enough for xc and strong enough for bike park wales. It's also beautifully made and free bearings for life.

I'd like a go on a Ripley but in real life a tallboy is a lovely lovely bike, wish I could afford one and that it fitted a bottle cage better.

Doesn't have a bottle mount, but what about the SB5c?
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BOING!!!!

I'm about to do the South Downs Way Double Double on a 100mm travel Tallboy with plastic wheels - I just rode it from Portsmouth to the Lakes and then around the Grizedale and surrounding trails for three days. It is light, comfortable and reliable. I'm not sponsored by SC. Its simply a mighty fine, capable and versatile machine.

Any loving for the Whyte M109C?

I was all set to buy a 29C then they dropped the price of this to the same (lower spec bits I guess though - 3K list) and it seems a bit good to pass up?

What's the spec on the Tallboy?

for 6k its should be ASR..

Liking my Whyte M109s 2014. It is the alloy version, but has the carbon wheels. It rides great and the carbon one must be light too.

if having 2 water bottles is a big issue you can get a double water bottle cage http://www.wiggle.co.uk/profile-aqua-rear-mount-bottle-cage-system/?lang=en&curr=GBP&dest=1&kpid=5360302614&sku=5360302614&ci_src=18615224&ci_sku=5360302614uk&utm_source=google&utm_term&utm_campaign=Accessories&utm_medium=base&utm_content=s7DIiRlrW_dc%7cpcrid%7c%7cpkw%7c%7cpmt%7c%7cprd%7c5360302614uk

I love my 29'er Anthem, toying with getting a Whtye T-129 though.

You could buy the brand new Merida Big99 Team edition I'm about to put on the classifieds (although it's 21" so may be too big)?

Oops saw you're after a complete bike. If only there were a similar thread where somebody was after a frame only.

Whyte M109C - might have a little bit of an issue with their large frames....

I got a Whyte M109C Team 2014 at a good discount last October.

I came from a 10 year old 2005 Turner Flux running a PUSHed shock, which was a singletrack speedster with Roval carbon wheels and Reba World Cup forks. I had it set up super stiff so it would climb fast. Sadly, it cracked and died. RIP.

Looked at great reviews of M109C Team online, then demo'd one for a long weekend and fell for it.

http://www.bikeradar.com/mtb/gear/category/bikes/mountain-bikes/full-suspension/product/review-whyte-m109c-team-14-48106/

The front end is carbon, the rear end is aluminium. Fox Float 32 Factory CTD FIT 15mm, Fox Factory shock with boost valve, carbon wheels, XTR trail brakes and shifters, FSA SL-K bars and seatpost, XT crankset 40-30-22 with 11-36 cassette (all gears needed round it's home in South Shropshire for me). Weight is 25.5lb with all standard kit on there, no upgrades. The cassette and chain are much lower spec so that would save some. The standard tires are Ikons running tubeless and they have been fine in super dry and slightly damp.

It's been revolutionary for me so far. Hadn't been on a 29er and I was really happy when I got it set up right with pressures. Very stable, very flickable (nearly as much as the 04 Flux), with that great rollover ability of a 29er. Fast smooth downhill with little steering change is excellent - Long Mynd wide double track 30-40mph descents. Tight, tech downhill is really good, too, and I'm just learning the difference of body position for cornering. 15mm axle and tapered headset made so much difference up front for stability and bigger hits, I felt I'd been in the dark ages on the Flux.

It's not fully locked on the shock C setting, but it's firm enough (with the right pressure) to attack out of the saddle and get some speed up very fast with light wheels. The T setting is fine most of the time, especially accelerating hard over stutter bumps, and the D setting is good for anything rougher or steeper tech.

For me the front end is a little high, but compared to an 05 Flux that's not surprising because it was very low. That means that I'm still getting the cockpit setup right for steep uphill climbing (lots of that round here) and I've gone from a 60mm stem (way too short) to a 90mm stem (way too long) and currently on an 80mm stem with 6deg inverted. The stem is still above horizontal so it doesn't look too crazy yet, either.

The BB height compared to the Flux is higher, and I'm getting less pedal bashes which is helping me keep riding.

I bought the bike for super long distances - I don't ride super hard or fast but I like to really keep going and this is a great bike for that, no doubt.

Water bottle cage position is an issue that means I struggle to get a large bottle in there, but a 600ml Podium goes fine in a side entry Specialized cage. It's cramped compared to the Flux, but then the frame design is completely different. There were some interesting reviews of Cape Epic full sus bikes on BikeRadar recently that looked at Marathon full suss bikes and showed bottle cages clamped to seatpost so that might be needed for longer rides.