looking for @ 5inch travel 2010 new bike.
most of my local riding is cotswolds but do occasionally go up to the peaks but not often. will use for enduros and all day rides, nothing to hardcore (i am 43 for gods sake) just handed my house keys over to will young and his sister (strange claim to fame for the grand children in years to come) and walked away with my tiny share of the settlement for the sale with my wife. she gets enough to buy a small principality, i have hung on to enough for a few beers and a new bike to help me feel better.THE GOOD news is, i can now actually buy one!
looked at the yeti for months last year and would have probably bought the arl carbon but not so sure now with the 5 coming out, turner looks nice. i need a TT length of 22.5 inch and standover no more than 29inches which these all kinda fit into….ish.
recommendations out of these listed or others?

What ya wanna spend?

World is literally your Oyster, Sooooooo much choice on the market…

To add confusion to the matter, on top of those that you've suggested, add in the following…

Whyte E120
Maverick Durance
Trek Fuel EX
Cannondale Rize
Specialized Stumpjumper FSR
Santa Cruz Blur
Lapierre Zesty
Intense Spider

To name a few!

Mainly depends on your budget, and if you wanna go boutique or are happy to buy off the shelf… Personally would suggest that a Trek Fuel EX will give you the best bang for your buck, and best ride would be the Maverick (but then I'm biased and love Mavericks!)… Try a few and see!

P.S. If you wanna try a Maverick out, let me know… I'm not far up the road from the Cotswolds…

Ibis Mojo

Nicolai Helius AC

Intense Tracer?

that Ibis looks lovely.

All the above are top bikes
Test ride and go from there.

The Nicolai AC is a great frame; if you fancy one have a chat with Richard at Gravity sports in Scotland as he is the Nicolai man!

Don't forgot the Chumba Vf2 🙂 5" travel, torsionally very stiff, carbon rear end and beautifully made 😉

i'm demo'ing an AC soon, i'll be buying with help from richard from gravity sports, he is a top bloke!

I am biased, but the Santa Cruz Blur LT is the dogs as a complete all rounder. Sort of controllable hooligan. It just makes me keep pushing the limits of what I can do, and is very forgiving. Oh, and seems pretty indestructible when you push it too far

thanks guys but all of those are not options, look at the sizing,
i need to get min 22.5inch ideally slightly more in top tube length but maintain a 28.5inch or lower standover, not many options! 🙄

For Cotswolds trails a Flux w/120mm fork would be hard to beat.

no one mentioned a Hustler? its not pretty, but its a pure xc machine.

There are lots to choose from, but you can divide them into two groups based upon rear suspension. Single pivot, or not. They will feel a little different to ride. See which type you get on with more. That will narrow the choice down a bit.

Then look for an importer/distributor with a good reputation for service.

Try to think about your style – its unlikey to change, so make sure the bike suits you. Get some test rides.

thanks guys but all of those are not options, look at the sizing,
i need to get min 22.5inch ideally slightly more in top tube length but maintain a 28.5inch or lower standover, not many options!

On a medium sized Maverick Durance, the TT is 23.3" long and the Standover is bang on 29"… Which is pretty low for a Medium sized bike!

On the small Durance, the TT is 22.2", and the standover is still 29"…

Only 5" travel frame I can think of with more standover clearance is the 2002-04 model Specialized Enduro. They had LOADS of standover clearance. For what's available currently, pretty much nothing else is close to the Maverick for standover clearance to be fair. Like I say, you're more than welcome to have a go on mine (I'm in Worcester) if you like!

Or wear some platform shoes! 😉

Knolly Endorphin.

Speak to Chris @ Riding High UK

Love mine

sbo, the Blur LT sounds spot on
Medium – 22.5" top tube, standover 28.0"
Large – 23.5" top tube, standover 28.6"

I have short legs and long body so standover was key for me.

Having said that, apart from standover which is a physical given, you should not be making your shortlist from paper dimensions as they give very little indication of what the bike will be like. The feel of a bike is the product of so many different dimensions and suspension design you cannot know until you go and test ride.

Nick,

Just buy that Exogrid you were drooling over at Mayhem last year. As you know Av has an XS Motolite and it really is tiny.

I'm just a bit taller than you, about 30" inside leg, and have just enough standover clearance on my Zesty. Don't know whether the current frame has changed. Personally don't find it a problem as with a bike like that I just ride over things. Urgent dabs don't really happen. I've got loads of clearance on my Inbred for when I want to stand around a lot. 🙂

Paul

hi paul
like zesty, or look of them, but thought they were like gates
did like the ftm i test rode although i did feel like it was gonna chuck me over the bars at one point. just had a really good offer from someoe for me to buy a brand new 09 yeti carbon asl but its a medium rather than a small and 4inch travel not 5, more of a racing weapon i think but can get for under 2k saving 600 over new price and it is brand new.
standover is fine, top tube an inch longer at 23.5, but is all carbon and i have heard of the 09 ones breaking a bit hence yeti beefing up the rear triangle for 2010 models
decisions decisions….

At a saving of over 600 quid, it may sound a bargain…

But if it's too big (and a 23.5" top tube is long enough to be considered "large" in most bike maker's sizing), it won't be a bargain at all as you'll realise it doesn't fit, then have to sell it at a significant loss only to then fund one in the correct size…

Whatever you buy, test ride it before hand, especially if you've got some real specific size requirements such as a short standover height (fortunately for me, for my height I've got very long legs which has never caused me an issue in that respect!).