On the lookout for a new bike.
27.5
1x11
130mm is travel, maybe more
Dropper
Budget is £2k to £3k
I have booking at the the Specialised Stumpjumper or Camber as the fit seem pretty good.
What else do people recommend looking at?
Hit me with what bikes you love.
Whyte T130 S or RS, depends on spec preference.
Fantastic bikes- just read the countless threads on here or the numerous other articles online that praise the T130. I can't even rememeber the last time I read about the Stumpjumper or Camber.
The T130 won the STW readers award for this price point too- http://singletrackworld.com/wp-content/uploads/2016/09/singletrack-readers-awards-the-winners/
All that said, I'd go out and test ride a few- the Spec, Whyte, Bird, Orange, Giant & others. Pick the one your heart tells you to.
Bird Aeris 120?
Cube Stereo 140 HPA SL? well within budget
https://www.evanscycles.com/cube-stereo-140-hpa-sl-2016-mountain-bike-EV264262
i'm looking for something similar (although I'd happily take 29er)
test ridden whyte g-160 & t-130. bird aeris and specialized stumppy 650 & 29er.
g-160 bit too much bike for me. not sure the t-130 was set up right but it felt unforgiving & harsh. although i'd like another/ longer crack at it.
aeris was great - couldn't fault it - top of my list ATM.
stumpy 650 felt small, little bit unstable. 29er stumpy felt much better, stability from the big wheels seems similar to the stability of the bird. neither climbed that well - bit too perched on top for my liking.
See I find 29er just to big even though I ride a L or XL frame. I have a 29er hardtail and just can't get my head around 29er wheels on a trail bike.
Another vote for the T130 here, had a couple of weeks on my 2017 T130 Carbon RS and it's been spot on so far. It is not a plush bike but more of a feedback rich type of bike. Think rally car rather than Chelsea tractor! It's an awesome bike and can see why its winning awards hand over fist.
Be mad not to try the latest Five, especially if you ride lots, up north, all year round. Fantastic all-rounder by all accounts, with subtle improvements where it counts.
T130s looks good but seems to a bit of a heavy weight at 14.2kg according to their website
Orange Five, yes but for the money the spec is terrible.
Canyon Spectral is on the list but sizing might be a bit odd for me.
Bar the Canyon nothing seems to have beaten the Specialized Stumpjumper Comp for spec and price at £2300. In the shop the sizing felt right, but just need to get one out not the trail.
Gotta say, I love my T-130.
I've not ridden a full suss since 2009, so this is a bit of a new venture to me.
But yeah, its lovely.
if you're ever up North West way Woody, and you fit a Large, you're more than welcome to try it..
As for it being heavy?
Well, I'm about 90kgs, so It's not really that relevant to me... 😳
I'm currently demoing similar bikes. My list is;
T130
Cotic Flare
Bird Arial
Santa Cruz 5010 alloy
Possible;
Banshee Spitfire
I'm saving for a new bike and have the exact same wish list as the OP. I've considered these:
Orange 4
Santa Cruz 5010 alloy
Cotic Flare
Transition Scout
Whyte T130
Bird Aeris 120
I think cost is likely to rule out the Orange, 5010, Transition, Cotic so it's likely to be a shoot out between the T130 and the Aeris 120. I'll be demoing both but if I couldn't, I'd be leaning towards the Aeris 120. Just looks sorted and you can spec one better than an equivalent costing T130 e.g. For about the same cost as a T130 S Yari, you can spec a Pike and Guide RS brakes on the Bird.
Looking forward to testing them soon once I can fit in some demo time.
T130 is a cracking bike. Never noticed the weight too much. I've got 2016 yari and changed the tyres and will change the brakes from the sram db5's soon (though tbh initially they weren't great but I've become more used to them recently)
you say maybe more than 130mm travel....how about a top of the range Trek Slash 9., 16 month old...
Whyte T-130
STW style, recommend what you have: Orange Four 😀
Only 120mm rear, but didn't feel like it on the demo, tried similar bikes (5010c, Five, Stumpy) but the Four just hit the mark.
More smiles per mile than any of the bikes I've ridden recently, hence a Cyan Blue frame is sitting in the corner of the living room waiting to be built 🙂
Habit
Winstanleys have t-130 2015 model for 1400 squids atm. Some people up there ^ seem to rate them.
I'm looking for similar but am not in a rush so I'll probably wait for a Bird demo.
Have you thought of last years stumpjumper 6fattie? Plus size wheels, 1x11 gx, fox34's and a decent dropper. Bikescene has large and xl for less than 1900. I bought one as it rolled much better than I thought it would and preferred the ride to the standard ones.
Chris
Transition Scout, can do 25% off 2016 model which will leave some room in your budget for upgrades.
Have a small number of Pyga OneTwenty framesets which we can do some deals on too.
I think a 2017 29 Trek Fuel EX or Transition Smuggler would be my choice for a trail bike. But I own a Transition Scout and they are awesome. Just now that I have a BMC Trailfox which is 160mm 29er I wouldn't want anything other than a 29er.