Hi,

Looking to replace my 2005 Cove Hustler, the majority of my riding is UK natural trails, with some trail center work. My research so far has me looking at 650b wheels, 120mm to 150mm travel, and a preference of 2×10 drive chain. Would like XT brakes, but may consider Guides or similar.

a) Transistion Scout with Pikes, Full 2×10 XT and Raceface/Mavic finishing kit.
b) Trek Remedy 9
c) Yeti 575 – Pike and XT again

Others maybe Orange 5 or Norco Sight Carbon 7.2.

What do people think?

Thanks,

I’d give the transistion a go!

I am thinking that too.

yeti.. the answer is always yeti… i may be somewhat blind to anything else however!

Cube Stereo 140 650b is what you want. Or a whyte T130.

Ridden both and both great

Scout or Remedy – apparently the 650b yeti 575 is a disappointment.

apparently the 650b yeti 575 is a disappointment.

Utter bollocks. It’s a fantastic bike. I’ve ridden one, and was pleasantly surprised at how good it was, for such an understated bike.

apparently the 650b yeti 575 is a disappointment.

I have also read this, Cube could be an option, although the Whyte is UK…..

Too many options hence the original conundrum. Test on the Scout coming up.

Test rode a couple of those and ended up buying a Bird Aeris after a demo around Cannock.
Should be here next week, so a little excited!

Didn’t get chance to ride the new Transitions as they were barely announced when I pre-ordered the Aeris, but the other bikes I liked were the Banshee Spitfire and the Santa Cruz Solo

The Aeris rode as well as those at a much cheaper price, but what really swung it for me was chatting to and meeting co-owner Ben Pinnick (who posts on here from time-to-time). I get a really good vibe from them.

Had a go on the norco,really nice bike, ended up getting a bmc trailfox but it was a close call

I bloody love Yetis. I have two. But I’d still be tempted by that Transition if I had to choose one of those three. Ultimately, only a test ride is the answer.

i picked up a scout last week, it rides really, really well!

Remedy is a great bike am on my third in 8 years.Handle excellently.

Just got my remedy 9, took it for a downhill day at aston hill on saturday and xc day round the surrey hills on sunday. Very nice, climbs and descends well, the suspension works incredibly well. Mine was a warranty replacement from a gary fisher roscoe so is a custom build.
A mate had a 575 (2 years old model) and snapped the chainstay about every 2 months until they replaced it with an sb66 after about 5/6 times

I demo’d a bunch of bikes at the end of last year including the Aeris, Remedy 9, Kona Process……
Would have gone for the Trek except I couldn’t afford it, but was the best handling bike.
Aeris was next on the list, although if I’m honest I was a bit worried about resale value on a small niche manufacturer, as I rely on my bikes holding reasonable value so I can afford to trade up every couple of years.

Anyhow… a Cube Stereo 140 carbon came up at a price I couldn’t refuse (29er, rather than 650b), but
I bloody love it so far.

If I was you I’d get your leg over a Remedy 9 and take that as the benchmark

Also, The on-one codeine 27.5 will be coming out soon by the looks of things…

A mate had a 575 (2 years old model) and snapped the chainstay about every 2 months until they replaced it with an sb66 after about 5/6 times

hope they are tougher than the new sb6c

http://www.pinkbike.com/news/yeti-sb6c-review-2015.html

http://www.bikemag.com/videos/yeti-sb6c-2015-bible-bike-tests-roundtable-reels/

Just bought an Orange 5. First ride was Drum Mountain on Sunday. It’s worth every penny. Have just bought it for big hills though.

Pyga OneTwenty650

Clicky Linky – Review

if your looking at those specs at the top, I would definitely cast an eye over the Pivot Mach 6C. amazing in whichever direction you point it

That Pyga is very heavy. 14.2kg in that spec and hardly cheap?

There are great deals to be had with 2014 PYGA frames.

The OneTwenty frame weight 3.1KG (including axle seat clamp ect)

Any questions please email: info@r53sport.com

I didn’t really like the 650b Remedy (fun, but slow) but the 29er is fantastic, worth checking out. Consistently reviews better, won the EWS…

UPDATE:

Had further conversations about the Yeti with friend of a friend, who is also a Yeti dealer, and we concluded that the Yeti is excellent, but not as playful as I wanted. He said it was an all day epic rider with very neutral characteristics, which would of suited, but with the young family at home, the all day epics are not as common as they should be. The quick ride out locally, very early morning and 1/2 day at a trail center, and a ride whilst away visiting friends are where it’s at. So on that note I booked a test ride on the Transition.

I took a Scout out for a ride, and initially I was horrified. It was dead and unresponsive. However after resetting the sag (30%), centering all the damping, and getting tire pressures sorted and saddle in the right place the bike really came together. It really does encourage you to go much faster than a 125mm figure would suggest. Tracked really well on small and medium bumps, and large impacts didn’t overly worry it. It didn’t skitter about, and really likes being hurled and thrown at and over obstacles. Makes my (10 yr old) Cove Hustler feel flexy and hesitant. However the bike is not a climber. Sure you can sit and grind, letting the pedal damping work, but on the technical sections you need to shift your weight a long way forwards to keep it from wandering. Fire roads where not bobby, if you flicked the shock over, so that’s good for the majority of my rides, and as for the tech sections, it’s more about adapting my (lazy) technique and more time on the bike.

In Summary: Huge Fun and Playful nature once setup to taste. Climbing not its natural habitat, but will get you to the top relatively efficiently. Deposit placed.

Having popped into Tamed Earth on Sun and seen/poked the Scout they have, if I didn’t have a 4 month old Bandit I’d be having one in a flash. Colours are awesomz too.

if I didn’t have my Whyte T130, the transition scout is what I’d buy. Short (ish) travel with semi gnar, but playful angles and like the scout and t130 are so much fun.

I too have moved from my third Hustler to a Transition Smuggler. Yet to be built, still waiting on some parts. The Hustler was short travel I suppose but I’m not too fussed about going even shorter due to the big wheels and Pikes up front.
Look forward to seeing your build.

Try before you buy.

A neighbour of mine came in to my shop asking “what’s the best road bike for £1K?”…

…showrooming as it turned out, I saw him test riding his internet bought Giant (they win all the reviews and the spec is great you know) and it’s 1-2 sizes too big.

Advice from internet strangers can help, it can also be as helpful as those magazine tests.

Try before you buy.

Of this I agree, tested an ABP Trek as well now, and yes it is very good, but the Scout had a bigger smile factor. Next time the Trek may win, but at the moment it’s a clear victory to the Scout on feel factor, being able to customize the spec for my riding, and making me smile, which is why we do this sport. (In fact the Trek may of “ridden” better, but the Scout wants you to have fun)

As for internet reviews and strangers, always remember an opinion is just that. Although my internet bought Rose Pro SL2000 road bike is excellent, and the fit is perfect, although i did have all the dimensions from my bike fit on the last road bike to get the size.

Arrived!!

Now that looks like a good way to spend money – have fun!