I’ve only recently got into mountain biking and am after buying my very first decent mountain bike, mainly for trail based riding! I’ve demoed a few bikes and have decided a 29er full sus is the bike for me but the question is, which one?!?! I was about to pull the trigger on a 2013 Whyte T129s (never demoed) but they were out of stock everywhere! I’ll be getting the bike on a cycle scheme deal so the canyon 29er is out the running! My options at the mo are:

2014 Whyte T129s
2013 Scott genius 940
2013 Cube AMS 120 29er

The cube is a few hundred cheaper but I haven’t seen many people riding them or read any reviews, it does look like the bees knees tho! The whyte is probably still my fave based on specs and what I’ve read but It won’t be out until mid August 🙁

What do you guys reckon? Are there any amaizing bikes missing from my list??

I think its an ugly bike but the giant trance looks a good package. I had a quick go on the cheaper one at dalby, It rode really well.

I don’t have any of these, nor have I ridden them but when I had a look at them with the interest that you currently have of buying one a couple of months ago, all the reviews I read said go for the Whyte.

Trail bike of the year etc., Reverb on a bike under £2k etc. Whyte would be the one I’d go for. Check out BikeRadar’s review – it sounds a pretty awesome bike for £2k.

http://www.bikeradar.com/mtb/gear/category/bikes/mountain/full-suspension/product/review-whyte-t-129-s-13-47173

Didn’t the Anthem 29er get trail bike of the year? Stupid really, as it’s a race bike, not a trail bike.

Mate has a Cube AMS 29 and raves about it.

What about Canyon at £2200? Fox CTD, Crossmax ST, Full XT group, Elixir Trail brakes…..

EDIT: Pants, just read your post about C2W. Anyway, it’s still a nice bike for anyone reading the thread.

What about the Ghost bikes?

Full XT, Fox CTD fork… OK angles, 69.5 HA, 73 ST. £2200… you’d probably find it cheaper if you look around.

A mate’s just got a Spesh Camber comp for £2000 and for a start he’s alot quicker now and I’ve had a go and the geometry really feels spot on, it’s really comfy too. Got some good reviews

Don’t know if they do a cheaper but the Trek Rumblefish I tried was lovely.

Shameless plug: Im selling a 2013 Whyte T129-s in the classifieds 😉

The 2014 Trek Fuel looks nice.

I got a Trek Rumblefish about 8 weeks ago. A touch above your price but for me was way better than the Camber for what I ride. My riding buddies have really noticed the increase in pace !

@singlespeed- yea the trance 29er x1 was originally in my list but they’re all sold out! New ones are coming out in September I think

@rickon- yea it’s a shame the canyons aren’t in the c2w scheme… Also, the only 29er canyon do has 110mm travel and I think is more suited for Xc only riding… Am I wrong to think that? Gonna look into the Ghosts tho!

@Chrishc777- the spesh camber comp and the whyte 129s share a lot in common but For my money I’d rather go for the whyte seeing as they come with slightly more travel and the seatpost reverb for the same price

@Takisawa- yea I’ve just looked into them. Evans are doing a sale on the rumblefish aswell! May well be added to the list!

@twoniner- thanks for the post. I think I’m going to go for 2014 version tho. How did you get on with you whyte? Did you ever think that it felt heavy? How did you find the 2×10 gearing? Have you made any tweaks?

@ps44- I’ve just discovered the rumblefish! They look pretty sweet! which rumblefish did you go for? What kind of riding do you do? What made you go for the rumblefish over the fuel ex 29er? Do you ever feel like 120mm isn’t enough?

Thanks!

Ermm isn’t C2W £1000 limit without the option to top up, or am I missing something obvious?

@slackman99- most c2w schemes are up to 1k only, but if your employer pays a certain license fee, the limit can be set higher. At my place of work it’s 3k!

Surely you should be looking at the best full suss 29er for £3k then 🙂 ?

Haha! I just can’t justify spending that much on 2 wheels and a bit of metal in between! To be honest 2k is a rediculous amount aswell! I do wonder how much companies make per bike…

@twoniner- thanks for the post. I think I’m going to go for 2014 version tho. How did you get on with you whyte? Did you ever think that it felt heavy? How did you find the 2×10 gearing? Have you made any tweaks?

I really like the Whyte, the fit is good and it rides really well, probably one of the best trail bikes I have had. The only reason I am selling is because I have found myself in a position financially to buy (have bought) a Santa Cruz Tall Boy LT. I had considered keeping the whyte but room in the shed is at a premium.

The frame is a tad heavy but you dont notice it on the ride. To start with the 2×10 was a bit different but only because I have been used to 3×9 for so long, IMO 2×10 is all you need and I push some pretty big hills.

Only things I changed were the bars, bit too much back sweep for me and the Brakes, only because I hate Avid. I also went with grip shift over standard shifters but all the changes I made were personal preference.

My Mrs was always a 29er hater/doubter but after riding my 129s she bought the standard 129 so there must be something in it 😀

The Rumblefish is a great bike, had a Pro since start of the year. On sale at quite a few places now, should start to drop in price even more since it will be discontinued after this year. Trek is going 29er for the 2014 Fuel Ex which renders the Rumblefish obsolete.

I test rode a rumblefish… terrible bike… no wonder trek have ditched it…. I got an anthem instead, also thought the scott spark was nice as well.