Long time lurker, first time poster

18 months ago I upgraded my 29er hardtail to a Whyte G170S. Which is a thing of beauty and an amazing bike (apart from the guide R brakes)

However increasingly I feel I may be overbiked and am unsure what to do, wondering if anyone else in the same position and what they did.

I mostly ride Cornish singletrack, with the odd trip to a local Uplift centre (which I mainly ride the blue or occ red lines), small jumps and gaps only.

I much prefer tech and trails to jumps, and ride accordingly.

The G170s is more than I need for this; and is due some love. My other bike is a cube gravel bike and is perfect for the rest of my riding.

I am considering what to do

Option 1- Full service G170s. New brakes. Consider new shock to aid with pedal bob etc Accept I am overbiked and have to haul a bit of extra bike around. Get new track pump with air can so I can swap between trail and enduro tyres for bike parks.(probably ~1-1.2k)

Option 2- Part ex bike towards a short travel 29er which might be more appropriate for what I ride. New cyclescheme might allow this at a stretch (depending upon what I find). Definitely cost more. Will it be more enjoyable on trails??

TIA
Chris

No such thing. Ride what you like.

Riding a 170mm bike round typical UK stuff is miles over biked, yes – wallowing around 95% of your ride like a beached whale when you could be zipping along like a Boss on something fast. But it would be nice to keep the whyte for bike park riding – Could you stretch to a short travel FS on cyclescheme and keep the whyte? Say a low spec anthem or spark would be about 1500 I think (the 1000 limit has now gone) and you might find a discounted one from last year etc.

Modern LTFS bikes do not wallow, unless it’s set up like a bag of shite.

Are you having fun? Yes. Carry on.

Ride what you have and enjoy.

I’ll ride a hard tail round the same trails.

Whoever has the most fun wins.

Having watched eldest_oab on a 170mm 29er Enduro bike for the last 6 weeks, he ain’t overbiked. He now rides even more tech lines, even faster. Like properly faster than his 27.5″ 150mm bike. But then he is nuts. But he does enjoy…see

This

Modern LTFS bikes do not wallow, unless it’s set up like a bag of shite.

and this

Are you having fun? Yes. Carry on.

is about all you really need to know 🙂 I don’t think a 170mm is overbiked really. You might not need it, but properly set up it’ll be capable of everything you do and doing it well. If you want to splash some cash anyway look at suspension upgrades or tuning and getting it properly tweaked – borrow a suss my bike or something.

despite all the willy waving comments I reckon you can be over-biked. it’s all very personal and down to what the individual wants and enjoys.

personally I’ve done longer travel and DH bikes and enjoyed them, I’ve done HTs and and love them still, but now I’m ready for a 4-5″ travel 29er.

we’re all different, and often the best judges of our own needs, if you think less travel will suit you better OP then you’re probably right.

I’m definitely overbiked for 90% of my usual riding. I just find I try different lines, go off-piste to increase the fun/danger aspect of it.

Replace the Guide brakes, I just picked up some Code RSCs and they are so much nicer than my Guide RS’s. I would consider not buying a new shock but maybe send it for a service and tune, I think the G170 comes with a rockshox air shock so you could put some bands in it to make it more progressive? or alternatively play with adding more air in it. when I had an airshock I used to run less SAG at flatter places and more SAG at rougher steeper place. I think your £1k to £1.2 is quite over, prob get new brakes and a tune for £500.

Modern LTFS bikes do not wallow, unless it’s set up like a bag of shite.

Absolutely true, but there’s more to a 170mm bike than the suspension travel. It’s likely to be LLS, which is fantastic on steep, tech stuff, but less interesting on flatter trails. Indeed, it can make easier trails boring – that’s why people own hard tails or gravel bikes as second bikes. Of course he can ride 170mm everywhere but it doesn’t mean that another bike wouldn’t suit his local trails far more than the Whyte.

get another shorter travel bike and keep the whyte for bikeparks, maybe do some uplift days too. That’s if you can afford it and have space for another. If not just keep the same.

But he does enjoy…see

Probably wind.

best way to test if over biked is to ride a regular route on current bike and short travel bike and see which is fastest / most comfortable / most fun (then pick 2)

i had an old spectral 150mm/140mm it was overbiked for me, fun on descents but climbed like a dog,
upgraded to a 130mm full sus, and recently upped the fork to 140mm its now perfect.
cant imagine a better bike

You of course can ride whatever you like wherever you like, but IMO any bike is best ridden on the trails and in the style for which it was designed. There’s plenty in the UK that a long travel bike will be good for, if ridden fast enough, but if you aren’t doing that then it’s not the bike for your riding.

Thanks all

Guess there isnt a definite right answer
May hold on and try and sneak another short travel FS into the garage next year.

Cost to service and upgrade the brakes is higher as I am not mechanical in anyway so will be supporting my lbs, which is good but more expensive.

Thanks again

Will stop designing my custom orbea

Is a shorter travel 29″ really going to be that much different?
Might feel like it climbs a bit better but probably not.

The obvious answer is that you need a third bike

For those of you who think being overbiked is a thing…..what do you drive, because I’m sure not all of you pootle around in a supermini just about able to reach 70mph?

No such thing

‘Over-biked’ is always subjective but there is such thing as the feeling that a big bike is sapping the feeling or feedback from riding. The bigger the travel and slacker the angles, the more speed (and ability) you need to get it ‘up and planing’ in the way that it’s working at it’s best. IMO little more ride-killing than a big Enduro bike used to pedal XC. Others may like them, all good.

what do you drive, because I’m sure not all of you pootle around in a supermini just about able to reach 70mph?

An original Mini is a hoot at 45-50mph on lanes. Awful on a long motorway drive. Not about the speed, it’s about the handling response or feel on the terrain at the speed you’re going most of the time. And it’s subjective.

You of course can ride whatever you like wherever you like, but IMO any bike is best ridden on the trails and in the style for which it was designed.

Agree (although I don’t actually practice what I preach and go for the under biked approach as I enjoy it more for reasons I cannot really explain)

Put it up for swaps and see what you get offered?

Packet of Hob Nobs and an orange Chewit (with pocket fluff)?

That Chewit must be getting on a bit.
Can you still buy them?
Used to love Chewits…….and Pacers.

That Chewit must be getting on a bit.

They take even longer than banana skins to biodegrade

Option 2- Part ex bike towards a short travel 29er which might be more appropriate for what I ride. New cyclescheme might allow this at a stretch (depending upon what I find). Definitely cost more. Will it be more enjoyable on trails??

It’s a totally subjective question IMO. Any chance of doing a demo day somewhere local to you to try a couple such 29er beasts on the sort of terrain you ride?

Highly subjective question.
I’m overbiked for about 70% of my riding. But those 70% only mean 20% of my enjoyment in mountain biking.

Also, like others said, travel only means so much in terms of bike feel. Going from Exo to Doubledown or DH casing tyres or vice versa can have a much bigger effect than switching to 20 or 30mm different travel bike.

I swapped the downhill tyres to specialised butcher/slaughter and it feels much more like a trail bike. Will demo some 29ers as suggested and might get the rear shock tuned.
Next year will have spare cash enuff to invest in bike 3 hopefully.
Thanks again

Will stop designing my custom orbea

Don’t. I have the Oiz Trail and it is brilliant 🙂

Totally agree with jameso

I don’t actually practice what I preach and go for the under biked approach as I enjoy it more for reasons I cannot really explain)

I’m in the same boat. Hardtails for years, went full suspension for a bit and now have a rigid. Wish I could have two bikes though

I’ve always been overbiked. Any bike I’ve ever owned has been capable of more than I can do. I suspect it’s the same for most people.

Life’s too short to ride a bike that doesn’t feel right for you or for the type of riding you’re doing.

Sell it or swap it for a shorter travel bike.

Try some other bikes out, it’s all part of the fun.

Of course you can be over biked. If the bike makes your trails seem a bit duller and less engaging for you to ride as it smooths out the features and adds more weight, then you are over biked. But that is a personal preference.

I’d be tempted to keep the Whyte and maybe get another hardtail so at least you have noticeably different options. If you just get a mid travel bike you may miss the Whyte on the uplift days you like.

I know 3 people who had G170s, all of them felt the bike was great for pointing fast downhill but felt a bit ‘dead’ for anything else. None of them have them anymore and are far more happy with their shorter travel FS bikes.

‘Overbiked’ is just one of those terms that triggers people on here. If the OP had asked the same question without using the O-word, it would all have looked quite different and we’d all have been spared the ‘I ride my World Cup downhill bike to work on the road and have never felt overbiked’ stuff 😉

ps: sorry if that seemed a bit snarky, but it does seem to be one of those terms that colours discussions in a disproportionate way. Not sure why, it just seems to press buttons.

This is true. STW can be a bit like this though.

Bottom line is, if you like it but think you might like something else more, then the rational approach is demo days and/or small changes. Agree that a good shock tune plus different tyres could result in a very different bike but there’s a lot of suck it and see there and if you aren’t doing the work yourself it’ll turn into a moneypit quickly. If you’re even seriously considering dropping £1200 on changes to a bike you’re unsure about that you can’t know the outcome of before riding after spending and can’t/won’t tweak the results without more shop time and money then while it would be the wrong answer for a lot on STW you might actually be better off cutting your losses and buying again.

A quick eBay search seems to indicate you’ve probably got at least £1500 of bike to sell, so that’s £2700 you could spend on a new bike without changing your plans greatly.

I’d honestly step back from the till and have a think about what you really want and probably demo some bikes before going any further. You may typically spend £50 on a demo ride, but you get it back if you buy, and it’s much cheaper than the depreciation on another bike you aren’t completely happy with.

Usual nonsense about being overbiked by some above. Just ride faster or ride harder trails. It’s absolute rubbish to say most UK trails don’t need a 160/170/180mm bike – unless you live in Norfolk you can always find technical stuff if you look hard enough.

Of course, there are loads of pootlers on STW who think that we all ride on gentle bridleways that are suitable for gravel bikes; don’t listen to them.

I’d rather have a bike that’s fun to ride on the descents and doesn’t feel like its holding me back, than one that’s great uphill but hopeless downhill.

JP