[Closed] What are the "do it all" bikes these days?

jambalaya - Member
@honourablegeorge an @igrf

I am a fully paid up Transition fan and Covert owner. I just thought I'd seen press that the Bandit was going 29 only, I'm glad to see that's not the case as confirmed by yourselves and the company website.

@igrf - not sure why you think Surrey Hill's 'mob' prefer Bandits over Coverts, seems pretty even to me. Nirvana (Transition dealer) had Covert's in stock and on demo before getting the 29er Bandit.

Bit of an 'in' joke, a couple of windsurfing mates and posters on here are Surrey hills [s]botherers[/s] riders both favour the Bandit (and wax stupidly poetic about it), whereas all my local 'pals' ride Coverts, the Covert did of course pre date the Bandit by a year, I've ridden both can't see what they're going on about they're both great bikes, but imv the Bandit doesn't stand that clear of the Covert, it's horses for courses and to my mind you can take the Covert places the Bandit wont go, but not vice versa.
As to 29ers we still have stock of Bandit & Transam 29ers whereas 26's blew through fairly early on, so in our world 29ers aint happening so the thought of Covert 29 is a subject of debate even though we have a lot of trade interest.

Blur LT frames reduced

http://www.bikescene.co.uk/Santa-Cruz-Blur-LT-Frame-4332-109-0.html

roverpig +2, depends where you want to make your sacrifices. I'd rather have a bike that excelled on the big trips than the local stuff, I might ride local more often than in big mountains, but its on the trips that memories are made.
Consequently I ride an Alpine 160 with CCDB, 55RC3Tis and loads of heavy stuff (Saint cranks etc). Any grief dragging around gnarr chilterns XC loops is down to my lack of fitness rather than the bike's excessive travel/weight.

A riding buddy really rates his Covert and they are a bargain for a nichey US brand (compare with rrp of equivalent Santa Cruz or Yeti frame) and if I was in the market for a single do-it-all I'd be giving one a test ride.

Roverpig, I see where you're going with that argument but there are compromises I want to make and those I don't want to make. My Whyte 46 was a great "all rounder" and I can't imagine a better bike for sit down technical pedalling up and across, partly due to a high BB that allowed pedalling over almost anything. When I've tried bikes with lower BBs I've had pedal strikes galore but they've been much more stable downhill and in the corners. That's a compromise I don't mind making.

I've got a carbon Zesty 514 and did have an alloy 214 before that. Both fantastic bikes, and the current one can be fitted with a longer shock to get 160mm travel from the rear and make it essentially a "Spicy-lite". Never felt over biked or under biked, just plain good fun to ride.

And they look pretty good value for 2013, 150mm Fox forks and Fox shock, SLX kit for £1800:

[img] [/img]

Whyte 46 was a great "all rounder" and I can't imagine a better bike

can i then suggest another whyte.... 😀

v666ern, that's a very cheeky response, taking my comment totally our of context by forgetting the "but"
😆

When I've tried bikes with lower BBs I've had pedal strikes galore but they've been [b]much more stable downhill and in the corners[/b]

TBh there's lots of all-rounders, as long as you limit your idea of "all". There's no bike that's a good downhill bike, XC race bike, and dirt jumper.

So I'd be very happy with a Stumpy Evo or similiar for, oh, 95% of my riding but I wouldnt' want to race the endurance downhill on it. And I could use my Hemlock for 95% of my riding including the downhill stuff (have done in fact) but it'd be gash at the occasional XC races/long distance stuff I do.

couldnt resist! 😀

if your happy with whyte though, do they do a different model that would apply to you?

Insurance all OK about this, but they deal with a company called Wheelies who will arrange replacements. THey've offered a Zesty 414 for the Whyte, but really anything on [url= http://www.bikereplacement.co.uk ]here[/url] is OK. It's been a while since I've shopped for a new bike. Wish me luck 🙂

[b]rewski[/b] - Member
Nirvana might, they stock lapierre too, got my zesty there. Demo both on them there Surrey Hills. My bro got his bandit direct from surf sale in folkestone, they've got this ex demo bottlerocket for a bargain £1000 off

Nirvana has various bikes/demos in the budget range La Pierre's and Cube's - both would be good choices for the OP

[b]stilltortoise[/b] - Member
Insurance all OK about this, but they deal with a company called Wheelies who will arrange replacements. THey've offered a Zesty 414 for the Whyte, but really anything on here is OK. It's been a while since I've shopped for a new bike. Wish me luck

Bandit might be within reach to be honest

This wheelies/insurance thing drives bike shops crazy, you should not ask or take any demos for free if you are going to buy from wheelies. Pay for the demo if you are not going to buy from the shop. Expect to pay £50 perhaps more.

More than happy to pay for a demo. I think it would be disgraceful to get a free demo from a shop then buy elsewhere. I'd have no qualms going to a manufacturer's demo day and trying a few for free tho'

{EDIT} - also, Wheelies did day that if they can't get the frame I want I can buy it elsewhere then let them fit it out

why not ride a steel hardtail with adjustable travel forks, eg something from Cotic, Dialled etc ? You'd get a really nice one for that budget. A slight compromise wrt DH but how much of a compromise vs a medium travel FS I'm not sure.

You're not sure but I am, my Pitch is hugely faster than the 456 it replace. I've still got rigid and HT bikes, but there's no way they're faster!

Zesty's are very nice, although the suspension feels even stiffer than spesh. I'd get a 29er though personaly, I just like them more and they're generaly faster.

Stumpy Evo or Camber 29".

Trance X LTD at £1300 online, sell wheels / brakes & drivetrain on, upgrade to a decent set of wheels / tyres / brakes drivetrain for £700 with some more online action, if you can run to a dropper seatpost youve got a fairly light competent 5" trail bike, thats great fun..

Don't ask me to rationalise it, but I don't want a Giant. Not sure I want a Trek or Spesh for similar - perhaps silly - reasons

Canyon Strive. Can't get much more bike for the money.

I should add Canyon to my irrational dislike list 😆

Current faves are Zesty 514 and Bandit and maybe Blur LT. Tomorrow I might change my mind and by the weekend I'll be wanting a shopper bike instead 🙂

BANDIT!

I saw some new Spesh carbon Enduros the other day - they looked mint and were seriously light for pedalling.

Rocket 😀

My old TranceX tarts up to a reasonable AM-lite spec.

[img] [/img]

In a similar vein I rather like my yeti asr5 carbon. Should build up as light as 23-24lb but is low and slack (67 deg)so will comfortably take on most things. Adjustable forks would also add another level of flexibility tho prefer a more fixed front end. Running forks at 140mm the bike is a hoon. Currently trying 130 with similar results tho it likes climbing a little more.
You should be able to pick up an ally asr5 frame for £1k ish leaving another £1k for the build.

As already said the bandit looks similarly great too!.

I've just bought a Camber frame and I run it with Revelations wound down to 130mm travel and it feels ace, spot on for 99% of the time. It's nice and light too.

It's possibly a little skinny for a do it all type bike, so I also run a Wolf Ridge with 160mm forks and a chain device that feels unstoppable most of the time. At 33lb it's a teeny bit heavy for all day rides, but I do frequently commute into London on it. With an extra 20psi in the tyres it copes with a twenty mile road ride just fine, plus I don't have to ride around pot holes like my roadie fellow commuters, I just plough on through.

That's what I call a "dot it all bike"!