Yt industries Wicked. About £1400.

The second best thing you could do is by my Large prophet frame with matching white talas 150s for £490

I’d have a long hard look at a 2011 Specialized Camber (20% if you’re 5′ 11″ or thereabouts from the CycleCentre)

“Trail bike” is a pretty subjective moniker, but if you want something that will do most things very well, then in my experience, the Camber works beautifully. They’ve got the 2012 Elite for a whisker less too.

Of course, you won’t go far wrong with a Trance / Anthem X and as above, lots of options with 2011 models to get a bargain. I had an Anthem X running 120mm forks before the Camber, and they’re both very good in their own ways. I do prefer the Camber though – the slacker head angle is what I wanted and that’s what I got.

I’ve got a 2010 Stumpjumper FSR. It’s not got the double & bash 20 speed set-up that the 2011 has, and comes with a TALAS fork which I don’t think the 2011 has.
But, it is an excellent bike. It’s seen me down some stuff at speeds far faster than I have been down them before and had me riding stuff that I wouldn’t have attempted on my old bike.
My old bike was quite an XC oriented old knacker though, so perhaps it was more to do with that than the new bike….not sure.

The Brain works fine, I find. It took a while to get used to it, but now I find it really good. It is pretty solid when you want it to be, but then opens up when you need it.
It climbs really well, although on really steep stuff I do find myself winding down the TALAS fork to keep my weight over the front. To be honest, it’s rarely essential but does make it more comfortable when climbing.
The 2011 colours look pretty nice too – that white/black contrast looks pretty smart.

Finally, I guess is the Specialized customer service. My original Stumpjumper elite had an issue with lacquer peeling. It was sent off to Specialized for a look-see and they said that there were no more aluminium frames left in stock for 2010, but I could have the carbon version for £50 or wait for the 2011 stock to come in. I went for the carbon frame and they had it all sorted out very quickly.

I’m 5’6 and went for a medium – but I was right on the edge of s/m sizing according to Specialized. I tested a medium & it was fine apart from a slight lack of standover height.

I think at 6′ you would be too tall for a medium, so reckon that large would be the way to go…

Get a YT Wicked.

Mine worked out about £1450 delivered and it’s amazing, good geometry and great parts. You won’t regret it. Mine’s a large (I’m 6’1″), I used the size calculator on the YT website and it’s spot on.

The Stumpjumper with £750 off is a great deal and they are solid bikes. But plenty of other end of season offers at PedalOn and others.