My regular riding mate (who isn’t on here, hence this post) has convinced himself his XL Meta is too small, so is looking for a new bike. Requirements are for a reach of at least 500 and the ability to run a coil rear shock (due to issues with air shocks being at very high pressures to support his weight. He’s 6’6″ and at least 105kg.)

Looking for something for enduro races, bike parks and some technical natural stuff – 150 -180 travel depending on wheel size. We’ve narrowed it down to the following bikes. Any real world experience would be appreciated.

Geometron G1 or G16 – these look pretty good, but I’m not sure that they’re great for a lot of the riding we do – the jump lines at Wind Hill comprise about 50% of our winter and spring riding.

YT Capra – XXLs are out of stock in the 29er. 27.5 is not a deal killer, but I’ve heard of quite a few frames with issues (particularly carbon) and also problems with customer service.

Nukeproof Mega – this is what I’ve got and I really rate it, but the 29er doesn’t seem to get as good reviews as the 27.5, which I have.

Budget is ample, but doesn’t stretch to Yeti/Santa Cruz carbon (he doesn’t want to spend 5K on a bike and for it not to have a Lyrik or equivalent, so the cheaper builds from those brands are out).

Cheers,

JP

Raaw Madonna? XL hits the size just about and the full build is surprisingly good value.

Bird AM9 in XL is a maybe big enough.

Last Glen, 140mm rear but can take a 160mm fork. 520mm+ reach, progressive suspension designed to suit Air or Coil.

On their website they say a 650lb spring should suit up to a 120kg rider!

Its on my radar to replace my Smuggler at some point!

Large AM9 is 500 reach so XL would work. MRP Hazzard (or just one of the MRP progressive springs) might open up other options

Bird is an option – forgot about that.

JP

XL Cotic rocketmax is 515mm reach, I’m 6’4” and really liked it on a brief downhill demo.

Is it worth checking MAXX FAB4?

Airdrop Edit XL is 500 reach and works well with a coil. Great bikes and well priced too.

Love my XL Mega 290, feels great and handles enduro, natural tech with ease.
It does struggle a bit with the tighter berms of some bike parks type riding, when compared with my mates smaller 27.5…. Having said that I found I was faster on natural/techy bits than they were.

Came from an XL 27.5 capra and immediately felt more comfortable on the mega.

As already mentioned, Cotic RocketMax? Great outfit to deal with, who are very helpful when it comes to demos. A couple of my riding pals who are both big guys (6’2″ & 6’5″, both 15 stone plus) have the older version, and the new one is longer/slacker/etc etc

XL Stanton Switch9er FS is 500mm reach. Absolutely beast of a bike. Some options to customise between frame sizes and paint but I think they will cost extra if the first 100 have been sold.

Rocketmax!

I think he’s right to swerve the Mega 29. Had one myself and while the geometry was good, I didn’t like the pedal bob and lack of urgency on flatter trails.

Another vote for Bird. I do have one so maybe biased. AM160 might be a good shout if you do a lot of jumping. 506 reach on L or 528 on XL. Best thing is you can spec the bike however you want, and for £5k or a even a lot less you would get a seriously good build that would blow any other bike away spec wise for the price.

I’m a good few years into G16 ownership and the bike still blows me away – it’s incredibly well built, pedals really well, and goes downhill like nothing else I’ve ridden. Can’t see my next bike being anything other than a G1

Another vote for the RocketMAX – I’m a serial bike swapper, but this one’s a keeper.  Alternatively, Specialized Enduro fitted with Ohlins coil.  I think it’s still possible to buy a lower model aluminium and upspec the shock to coil – put some sturdy wheels on and they are superb bikes.  I’ve owned both Alu and Carbon Enduro 29’s, and IME, the Alu framed bike was definitely the better descender (with exactly same build); I think the extra pound or two in weight made the Alu frame feel less ‘pingy’ on fast rough descents. Oh, and annoyingly, I’ve gotta admit that the Enduro’s are better climbers than the RocketMAX.

Cheers all.

Looks like he’s going with a Commencal Clash, which is 497 reach and comes with a coil and a Fox 36 in top spec.

JP