As I get *ahem* a bit older I’ve realised I’m not as bold a rider as I want to be or used to be, nor do I ride stuff that is as big or technical as my ego wants it to be. I also realise time is precious and it would be good to get more miles done, quicker.

So, I want to move quicker on terrain that isn’t *that* technical. In the meantime XC courses (and hence bikes) are getting more technical. Ergo, shouldn’t I be riding an XC bike?

yes

Ergo, shouldn’t I be riding an XC bike?

Personally I’d go for the slightly bigger but not big versions.
XC bikes are getting more technical but from my experience they are still a bit steep and twitchy, responding to being ridding hard and confidently.

Tallboys, Rocky Thunderbolt/Instinct, Spec Camber etc. 120mm forks forks and a bit of a slacker angle but still light and zippy

Fast rolling tyres makes the biggest single difference. There’s nothing wrong with wanting an XC bike though… I want one, just know it would get used about twice a year if it was lucky! I settled for a more all rounder HT with 120mm fork, that I have faster rolling tyres for when the occasion requires (such as Wild Boar Chase yesterday).

it would be good to get more miles done, quicker.

My CX bike fulfils this aspect for me. YMMV

Depends on budget (and what bike you’re riding now) – in my experience getting a full sus xc bike to actually be significantly quicker isn’t as straightforward as it seems. Tyres can make most of the difference.

Yes. A proper xc bike will get you in the right position to get the best out of your power. No big slack front ends – nice, lower and steeper instead. Steeper, but not very twitchy anymore compared to xc bikes of yore.

I got rid of my Orange five for a Grand Canyon 29er xc flying machine for similar reasons, I have to say I am very impressed how capable it is over tech stuff. Do it!!

A CX bike is very tempting to be honest and may be just what I need. I’ve always thought my Bandit was the perfect “do anything” MTB for me, but when I did a couple of longs days where the riding was rarely technical (and there was quite a bit of quiet country lane) I realised it’s not as perfect as I thought and I’d definitely like something that I can stomp on the pedals with a bit more urgency and propulsion.

Put some 120mm forks and a dropper on a f/s xc bike. Great for mile munching and lets you have a bit of fun on rougher sections as well.
Don’t listen to the cyclocross crowd, their very much a compromise of road on all but the smoothest trails.

Parkwood?

another yes vote over here. I’m another grand canyon owner, its fast, light, not overly twitchy and pretty damn comfortable for long rides. It also deals with the techy stuff better than I thought it would. Only changes I’ve made to the spec are wider tubeless tyres and a wider low rise bar plus shorter stem.

I suppose we were riding the same trails a decade ago with steepish head angles and 100mm forks. It was still fun then right?

My XC 650b…..

Life in the old dog yet.

Loads of cheap Anthems at Pauls Cycles…

+1 re mboys comments about faster rolling tyres.

Last week I changed my tyre combo to a faster rolling combo…rode my local loop and beat all my Strava (dowhill) PB’s without even trying. I was really surprised it’d make that much of a difference. Edit. I’m never trying to go super fast downhill so my PB’s have never been worked for , if that makes sense.

Realistically I’m not going to buy a new bike, but have my eye on some different tyres. I’ve got a Spesh Purgatory on the back at the moment which is very draggy. Thinking of replacing it with a Ground Control or the new Slaughter which gets rave reviews.

Lightweight XC bikes are great…and very capable compared to those of the past!

I’m more than happy riding my 29er hard tail fast through the rock gardens, Purgatory 29 x 2.3″ on the front and Ground Control 29 x 2.1″ on the rear, both setup tubeless with stans sealant, pressure around 30psi

I’m more than happy riding my 29er hard tail fast through the rock gardens

I would be too, landed some decent drops on it too BUT if I wasn’t racing it I’d go for something just a little more relaxed that got you 95% of the speed and a little more relax and fun

Yes – a mate and I were recently riding Afan Masts DH trails in the rain, him on a Pivot 429, me on my Anthem X29, both with 120mm forks and droppers. Were they the most suitable bikes? No… Where they ridable and fun… Yes…

Similarly BPW – had amazing fun smashing down their trails on our short travel full sussers.

The organic thing driving is the biggest difference, but you can make changes to tyres, geo (angle sets, offset bushes, fork travel), stem/bar height etc to tune a bike towards your preferences…

Modern XC bikes (especially full sussers) are pretty damn competent…

[video]http://vimeo.com/40560345[/video]
This is my XC bike (obviously not ridden by me) with a 120mm fork over 100mm and a dropper, just a bit more relaxed but just as fast

I’m loving my Scott Scale 960 29er right now. Stuck some Jones Loop bars on, some Hope Tech XC hoops and some fast tyres (set up tubeless Maxxis Ardent Race EXO TR 29×2.2 and a Continental Race King 29×2.2 rear).
It absolutely flys and is super comfy.

Have got a Specialized S-Works Renegade 2BR tyre coming for the rear this week as i’m getting a bit of tyre rub on the chanstay when I lean the bike over but that should be even faster than the Race King. Bargain price of £20 delivered from Sigma Sport too…..

I hear what others have said about a fast CX bike but having both, a CX is way twitchier downhill off road and I find I need to be on the brakes more. I can just let the 29er go and it feels really planted.

Transition would claim the Bandit (my bike) *is* their XC bike in their range. At the time they did nothing more XC than that 😆

my experience they are still a bit steep and twitchy,

See I love the fact that XC race bikes are twitchy it part of what makes them fun, it’s like they are asking you to go faster. I guess it’s like driving a race car, for doing the daily commute in then it’s going to stress you out, but for fun times then 😀

Is the big tide starting to turn back, I wonder?

Fast. Twitchy. Fun. Like a race car.

Whoooo d’ thunk it eh? 😀

Is the big tide starting to turn back, I wonder?

My thoughts too. It’s telling that the mag had a review of XC bikes recently and I have a knack of being ahead of the curve in my thinking a sheep waiting to be manipulated by the market trends

[edit] part of me – the roadie part – is tempted to do a bit of racing and I can’t help but feel I’d need a better tool to do so

This has cheered me up no end-DEFINITELY going to hang on to my old skool 26’er with 120 forks, will be worth an absolute mint when the tide does turn and everyone realises that what they rode back in the day was good fun then and nothing has changed, perhaps the trails are more alive now but I’m not so sure

perhaps the trails are more alive now

?

People are turning to CX and adventure road to get out and about in the countryside. But when the terrain is too technical and their enduro bike too heavy maybe they do need to be sold an xc bike.

XC is a weird one anyway it covers everything from short race circuits to long all day epics. From what I can tell most people by Enduro “rigs” because they want to focus on the down, if you want a more rounded ride then an XC bike will get you there, you might need to up your game or drop your speed on some bits but generally if the rider is good he bikes are fine.

I have been a year on a gravel bike and just this week came to the same conclusion a light weight XC bike or dare I say it a of road oriented hybrid would be better my trails are to rutted for a gravel bike, and to be honest gravel here is not like gravel/dirt roads in the USA to much water damage makes for really poor surfaces deeply rutted and bloody dangerous when on a head down ass up drop bar bike, My gravel bike will get guards and slicks for winter and I have resurrected my old inbred for the gravel and trails.

I am soo dumb I fall for the marketing hype at my age.

Great idea in my mind, I’ve got a 100mm travel 29’er FS and it’s ace, to be honest it’s made my 29’er 100mm travel HT a bit redundant.

I haven’t found anything yet that I would’ve ridden on my Five that I wouldn’t ride on my Epic.

And the Epic is faster, much faster.

I’ve gone from a tallboy to an Open – even with a lack of fitness I’ve hammered some local Strava times (poor comparison I know) reckon it would be out of its depths on a peaks ride

^ Holy crap. That looks faaaaaaast! 😯

I think maybe you want a ‘mountain bike’.

Although exactly what that means has changed over the last couple of decades, today I would say that today it’s a 100-120mm (FS or not) 29’er. With slacker than a race bike but not quite ‘enduro’ angles.

Something you can ‘leck about on on t’moors’ as Brant would say. Ride it all day, ride the odd race for fun, do the odd drop/jump but nothing with too high a penalty for failure.

I thought I had a ‘mountain bike’ 🙂

When I bought my current bike (3 years ago), 650b was but a twinkle in the eye of the bike brands with only Scott getting bikes in the showrooms. I went with a 140mm up front, 130mm out back 26er because I thought it would be the ideal jack-of-all-trades. It probably still is, but it’s a steady sit-down-and-pedal machine rather than a feisty up-and-at-them mile muncher. Maybe I’m just getting less fit and blaming the bike 😆

From the off, I’ll admit I’m a cannondale fan and my 2004 model Jekyll still is my only bike.
All that clamour for the deals at Pauls cycles had me thinking (hypothetically of course, in case Mrs rock finds out) that I’d fancy a new carbon Jekyll 2.
For some reason, I came to the realisation it might be too much bike for me and my abilities…..oh, but look, there’s a trigger. Yep, definitely that one.
Now, I’m even erring off the trigger and if funds would allow it, I’d probably buy a habit.
I “think” I’d just like a nice new shiny bike, that takes the stings, but is simple and suits my level of riding.
#unduro

Yup I am definitely unduroing 😆

Well Im in Spain and the main riding out here is mountainous XC, most bikes in the shops are XC hardtails, I was looking for something to ease my ageing back and shelved my OnOne C456, Ive so far resisted the wheelsize increase and plumped for a Scott Spark 610m, one of the last production carbon 26ers. I have some Easton EC70 carbon trail wheels on it and a RS Monarch RCT3 shock, weighing just over 11Kg it isnt really a porker nor a flyweight and it can hammer down anything fast n rough we come accross, on the techie stuff its still really agile. The couple of chicos that have more enduro bikes really pay the penalty around here on the long hills climbing, and on the flatter coast roads coming back home they just can`t push them fast enough.
Echoing the above sentiments a good FS XC bike will fullfil most anyones needs. although the better shock changed the bike no end!

Use the apostrophe, not the thingy top left and it won’t **** up your text.

Glad my bike’s coming back into fashion!

Thought I’d throw my personal feelings in as seem to be going through this dilemma currently.

Myself, my brother and mate have been riding non stop since the 90’s and only ever don ‘our thing’ but you can’t help but get caught up with the latest trends and tech.

Our rigid old Kona’s have done the job for a while up to a few years ago when we decided to try out full sus.
We jumped on some short travel ‘xc’ full bouncers and found them great, but within a year or so we wanted to move up/follow the trend a little and ended up on some 160 rigs.
Myself riding an orange alpine. Don’t get me wrong it was great, but sometimes for the local trails, just felt too cumbersome and i was always switching tyres to make sure i didn’t have a heart attack climbing to the top.
(my fitness isn’t amazing so always looked for an easier way to get by).

I was never fully settled so dug out the Kona and the fun just came flooding back. Ok on some of the more rooty down’s I was having trouble seeing where I was going and suffering death grip with that nervous laugh, but getting the bottom I couldn’t get rid of the smile.

I recently rode my brothers Focus Mares CX bike on the same loop and was marginally faster and gave me the same feeling as the Kona.

Because o f my fitness and the local trails, a 160 ‘Endure’ rig is just too big and hard work so I myself have gone to a CX bike (plus the odd outing with the retro kona) as i find it perfect.

A lightweight XC machine I’m sure would give you the same enjoyment.
I just think it all comes down to fitness, local trails and what you want from the ride.

Its easy to follow the trend and be made to believe you need a big rig, but forget what others say/market.
Its just about getting out and getting that feeling of enjoyment we all get from riding bikes.

Sorry this has turned into an essay.

tony

Some very humble folks in this thread, refreshing to see.

I had a similar realisation a few weeks ago; I was convinced I NEEDED a long travel FS and was squirreling a bit of money away to pay for one.

While saving I thought about what to buy and realised that at least 80% of my riding is local loops straight from my door and a beefy trail FS would be overkill for our local woodland and bridleways.

I guess it was more about trying to be the type of rider I wanted to be, rather than simply accepting reality. We’ve 2yr old and 6mth old children so I really can’t get away for a full day away every weekend to justify a posh aspirational bike purchase!

So, I’ve splurged my bike fund on a Parkwood 27.5 frame, a decent midrange Reba and some 2nd hand SLX/Raceface components.

Can’t wait to get it built up!