Have you ever had an MTB that felt 100% right?

Yes of course, and I should bloody hope so with the time and money spent on my bikes!

Most of it depends on me. 95% of the time my Sov feels like the best bike I’ve ever owned; nothing needs changing. Then the other 5% of the time I’m just not in the mood for something so demanding.

think any bike can be perfect for what you ask it to do but ther eis no off road terrain where any one bike will be the best fit

TBH I dont really get the “perfect” bike – they all ride differently and if you cannot adapt to accomodate the difference I would question the rider
IME the serial swappers swap because they like to swap rather than because they think they will achieve the “perfect” bike

Happy with my bikes and in no desire to change but it all depends

For example I have an Orange 5 and IMHO single pivot is far superior going downhill. that said I would rather ride up hill with VPP /Horst Link /DW etc but you loose something in the downhill hence you can always search for the perfect bike
I suspect the perfect bike weight 21 lbs uphill and 41 lbs downhill

One made-to-measure steel HT by Roberts, built with a tall head tube for my bad back. Just recently it’s returned to original comfort levels by addition of a riser bar.

My cannondale scalpel feels pretty much perfect after swapping to xx gripshift.
It’s a truly great frame and the fit is bang on.

Does being 100% happy with bike negate N+1 of universe theory ?

My ST4 was damn near spot on I thought, the only change was to have 5mm more in top tube. The Sanderson now has that, just is not boingy at the back…

Love my rocket… but perfect it isn’t, although thats not the frames fault… shock needs shim stacking or something and my HT needs its drivetrain back. I honestly think I can get it to be perfect though, should only take another £500 😳 🙄

perfection not yet but several in the 90%

1)Litespeed Kitsuma Ti hardtail
2) Dialled price Albert Mk 1

realised my back would not take hardtail subtlety so sold

regret my litespeed going….

3)Mk 1 Giant trance with pikes and big tyres….really capable bike sold to fund light weight xc bike that was a flexy noodle…WHY

4) current 29er rocky mountain about 80% feels right just need too……………….

see never gonna get perfection

shermer75 – Member
ChunkyMTB, what frame is that?
POSTED 9 HOURS AGO # REPORT-POST

Frame is direct from China, Carbonal.

Way better in finish than some branded frames I’ve had.

Many bikes have been the perfect bike on a given day on a given trail. That is of course until I face plant around the next corner. A few moments stand out…

My Sunn Tox once it had a set of Mozo Pro 3.5s and a Hope Mini on the front. With a riser bar and bar ends obviously.

First run down a hill on my first full sus (original SC blur)

First DH race on my 224 realising how much you can get away with on a big bike.

Orange Blood with CCDB at last years mega until I broke my shoulder and then my saddle fell off (bit sore from that point on)

Think the blood is the bike that over the years I regret the demise of the most. Perfect?????…. There will always be the next new and shiny upgrade waiting round the corner lust after.

an Orange clockwork [original BITD] which I bought 2nd hand . It gave that immediate yeehah moment which even bikes I have really liked didn’t on first ride. Unfortunately it was nicked a few months later so I never got to fall out with it

My Speshi Camber Expert 2012, perfect for me, bike looks big but fits just right, 120mm travel spot on for my type of riding.

Only when I’ve only had one bike. If you have one bike and ride it lots then it tends to feel perfect (or, at least, you don’t consider that there might be anything better). But as soon as you have more than on you realise that this bike feels better here and that biker feels better there and the futile search for the perfect bike begins.

A bike is only 100% right when you stop trying to make it better.

Plenty, but then I am good at liking what I have.

My 5 is bang on now. Took a while to get it sorted, but that’s mainly stuff like adjusting saddle position, stem height, shock pressures and so on.

Looking for the perfect bike is like looking for the perfect film, or dish. There’s no such thing as perfect, there are loads of really good ones though.

100% = impossible. For my bike to be 100% i’d like a set of forks as stiff as some 40’s but which weigh the same as some 80mm travel 32’s. I’d like a 1×11 drivetrain which has a “wider” range than 3×10, I’d like a brake system where the lever feel and position is absolutely consistent as the pads wear / heat up etc. I’d like wheels, that weigh nothing, but are as strong as a dowhhill set.

So, no, 100% cannot be done.

However, i think that within what is currently technically possible, and averagely affordable, my bike is pretty much where it can be.

The limiting factor is definitely me still though 😉

Yep, my Karate Monkey. I put it together with bits I had except I had a wheel built, spot on, first ride. Still love it….

This is before I put the new wheels on, now run with a v brake, love rly……

I’ll never get rid of this…..

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004[/url] by jimmyg352[/url], on Flickr

So that says to me it must be 100% spot on. It’s actually made out of old school chair legs & I call it ‘Trusty Rusty’. I can’t think of anything I’d change on it really apart from brand new bits, but there’s nowt wrong with the bits that are on!

My Orange 5 needs a dropper post to make it 100% for me. (& a better rear tyre)

My 1997 kona lava dome with some z2 bombers up front and a disc brake. Perfect bike for having fun on.

this fella ticks all the boxes..

still up for sale although some parts already gone (I’m not trying very hard to sell it.. 😐 )

Both of my main ones… I mean, they could be better, but they couldn’t be any more right.

My first proper mountain bike, a 2007 Marin Wildcat Trail, was pretty perfect. Going for adventures, jumping about and (what i though was) DH and it lapped it up. It was light, had gears and brakes that worked, suspension bouncy forks and was a blast to ride. Perfect. My wallet and i wish we could be that easily pleased again.

On a good day, any bike. It’s not about the bike. On a good day, the bike disappears.

LMT – Member
My Speshi Camber Expert 2012, perfect for me, bike looks big but fits just right, 120mm travel spot on for my type of riding.

I have the same and I’d pretty much say the same.

Perhaps a slightly shorter stem might be the final touch.

Most ‘right’ feeling bike since a Fisher I bought in 1990.

Depends…even little things like getting the bar or seat post position wrong have a significant effect on the feel.

But when the gears engage perfectly, the suspension feels just right and there are no creaks at all, it’s a very good day indeed.

The £4k spesh epic that I demoed last year felt close to 100% but beyond what I am prepared to pay for a bike to ride down hills! Then the Trance 29er seemed close this year until Giant hinted that there is something wrong with their 29ers!!!

So for now, old faithful is as close to 100% as I will ever get!!!!!

My current build fits and feels perfect for me. 2005 specialised fsr XC with mostly XT, 115mm Rebas and hope hoops. Dreading the day I have to change it if/when it snaps or cracks beyond repair.

1999 Orange C16-R (Clockwork) 21″ Bombers and C’2’s via a No2 C2
Never have i found anything as good a fit.,though i did ride it near daily for 8 years.
current ride is a 20.5″ and im quite happy with that. Feels short if anything and even then by a fraction 😕 Mind you I am 6’3″ which doesnt help.

My old Santa Cruz Bullit was pretty much spot on, I rode everything on it. Ok so it had a pretty slack seat angle, high BB and front end, but it was just so much fun that you didn’t really care. Really regret selling it, although my Voltage is a better ride it’s just not the same somehow. halfway up snowdon

2 for me ….
Intense 5.5 evp …… loved it but sold it regratably ….. then spent the next 3 years trying to find one that felt as good. Finally settled with my Rocky Element 70 msl which feels perfect for me with everything
…… so far!

I had a 2009 Specialized Epic and it was perfect for me. Rear suspension kicked in when needed. Bike climbed and was great descending too. Was a great bike. Stupidly sold it and still regret it a couple of years later. I do search for them on ebay every now and again to see if I could get another, but they do seem to hold their money.

On a good day, any bike. It’s not about the bike. On a good day, the bike disappears.

Winner.

My Jones disappears more easily than most bikes, until something happens that makes me think ‘f-me this bike is amazing!’ and it re-appears for a moment.
On road my Equilibrium feels spot on.

The bike only disappears if you are not fighting it. I had a bike where the weight was too far forward, and you ended up with aching shoulders and being dumped over the bars on every small drop. A change of bars and stem fixed it, but it was an issue regardless of how good you felt that day!

I have had 2!
The one on the left. Was replaced by the one on the right, cos I wanted more travel, but it was never as good. And it cracked. My brother is still using the Instinct regularly.

Then my 575. On most days it feels perfect, s’why I’ve still got it 7 years later.

my old 2004 spec enduro sx. spot on for everything

Wow! How much self-justification is on this thread?

If your riding has the least bit of variation in it, then there is no such thing as a 100% perfect bike.

There may be a 100% perfect bike for you and a particular place you ride but that doesn’t make the bike perfect for you. if you took your bike thats perfect for you and and your local riding in say Thetford, and transplanted rider and bike to the top of Jacob’s Ladder in Peaks, you’d probably agree that the bike wasn’t 100% perfect.

I personally prefer a bike that’s a good for most stuff. Not so lumpen it’s a massive pain on tamer stuff but not so steep and fragile that it holds me back when things get gnarly.

Yep, the 26″ Orange Five I’ve just built up for all-round trail duties in Hebden and the Pennines – everything from 30+ milers to steep, techie cheeky trails and full-on rock gardens. Done about 40+ hours riding in 3 weeks and the bike is blowing me away with how capable it is and – even more importantly for me – how fun it is to ride. Best bike I’ve owned so far, and I wouldn’t change a thing.

Yeah I reckon my old BFe was 100% spot on, still regret selling it, but circumstance’s were what they were 🙁

My new Clockwork 29er comes close, just not happy with the forks or brakes right now.

Never.

I’ve have plenty of bikes I’ve really liked, but there’s always been a moment I’ve wanted something different…

was almost there with an 09 cannondale rush carbon with a 130m revelation, but the toptube was 10 or 20mm too short, 70mm stem felt great going down but the 80 or 90mm it needed for climbing meant it lost the fun handling

2011 fsr carbon I have now can’t be far off now I’ve swapped the fox 32 for a 34 and changed the brain shock to a custom rp2, reverb hopefully by the end of the week. Just felt great from the first ride and should in theory we perfect now

I’m sure it’ll be for sale next week………

Yeah – my Alva 180. Dropped down to a small from a medium on my previous bike, feels so much more manouevrable, I can manual it much easier too. Shorter stays make it feel much snappier than my old bike too, and having spent quite a bit of time spec’ing it exactly to my needs, I’m a lot faster on it than I was on the Edison. It’s fun to ride but more importantly fast to ride and allows me to carry a lot more speed than before, and just feels that bit more planted. 🙂