Measure up a decent second hand evo against a new Vitus Sentier as a second bike.

Anyone got experience, reviews seem to be scarce?  I’d really like it to have 2.6 Mary’s on the stock wheels, would that work?

I tried a normal Clockwork when I bought my Marin. Cracking bike, really nice all rounder.
The one reason I didn’t buy was lack of tyre clearance in the back. Comrie Croft had an Evo in recently and I’m still not sure it had huge clearance. That said, the Marin can’t fit a 2.4 in the back without running on corners.

The Sentier has better rear tyre clearance as it supposedly has enough room for a 2.8” tyre. I run mine with a 2.3 in there and there’s loads of mud room which is great. I had a quick look at a Clockwork 137 and not so much room.

That said if the Sentier frame hadn’t been such a blinding bargain I’d have got either the 137 or a Sonder Transmitter frame (which has loads of clearance) as they both look nicer I think.

I would say the Sentier is going to be more playful than the other 2 I mentioned, but they’d be more stable on fast rocky stuff and a bit better probably on steep tech.

So I think it depends what you plan to use it for. Mine is mostly dicking about on pump tracks / riding on flat but twisty stuff at Ashton Court and Leigh woods in bristol and some of the steep tech sort of stuff in Leigh Woods during the winter when I’d prefer to abuse a hardtail rather than my fs.

I find the Vitus hilarious – it’s got really short seatstays and I went medium at 5’9 so it was really chuckable- it just wants to manual and jump off any little feature on the trail. I took it to Flyup 417 just after Christmas on an uplift morning with a couple of mates (they were on a Kona Process 134 / Orange Alpine 6 / Whyte G179) and on the blue trails it was so fast on the berms I was the quickest. On the reds I held my own but by lunchtime my legs were mashed by the rockier bits.

That mint green 137 frame colour though – I’d have loved one of those!

Thats interesting feedback thanks.   The clockwork I’m looking at is indeed Mountain Mint Green and is so close to stock build it looks like an ex demo.   But it has 2.4s on it and a wtb riddler at that which would need changing.  I wanted some 2.6 Marys on the bike but wonder if im hung up on tyres, so maybe a 2.6 up front and 2.3 Mary out back.

It looks gorgeous, lighter than a p7 and not has harsh as a crush.

The Sentier though is ready to go out of the box albeit a lower spec.

And also my skillset sounds lower than yours, id be more wheels on the ground…

And also my skillset sounds lower than yours, id be more wheels on the ground…

Don’t get me wrong, my jumping isn’t brilliant by any stretch, trying to improve it bit by bit. I found the Vitus just corners so well –
Flyup has loads of smooth but reasonably tight berms on the blue trails and I was getting faster and faster round them and still didn’t find the limit of the bike / tyres.

If the 137 has a higher spec and is in good condition and prices are similar I’d probably go with that option. Especially if you’re looking at the one with a 35mm stanchion revelation fork on and the Sentier has a recon.

I wouldn’t get that hung up about fitting on a 2.6” tyre – I’ve currently got a 2.35 Magic Mary on the front and a 2.3 Maxxis DHR2 on the back and the bike doesn’t want for grip. Over the summer I was running a 2.4 chunky monkey front and a 2.25 Smog on the back and it was really quick (if a bit bumpier than the current combo).

Not as harsh as the crush?? I rode my mates Crush 29 the other day, he runs 2.35 Nobby Nics (awful tyres) but for an alloy hardtail I thought it was incredibly smooth!  I was expecting it to be harsh as hell.   That was rising down some of the rougher trails in FOD.  Even pedalling sat down I was surprised by its traction and how smooth it was.

Also isn’t a 2.6 Mary front and rear going to be bloody hard work? I’m currently running a 2.6 Mary on the front of my whyte and a Maxxis Forekaster 2.6 rear.

which leads me on nicely, if you want a 650b aggro hardtail with mud clearance look at the whyte 901/905/909.  I am simply blown away with how good mine is.  Let down slightly by a crappy fork, you can pick them up cheap enough used to change a few bits.  I am made up with it and it means my Ibis is warmly tucked away nice and clean for best.

I have a clockwork 129 (29 evo by another name). Don’t think you’ll get a 2.6 in the back. Can’t confirm as I’m waiting for my dad to return our calipers. I’ll see if he’s brought them back tonight. Mines still got the stock wtb rubber on it which is holding it back. I’m just about to buy a 2.6 butcher for the front and likely a 2.3 eliminator for the back.

Hth

129 here too. Can’t help on tyre clearance but colour should make up for that. Kore saddle is horrid and Kore dropper definitely at the basic end of the spectrum.

Been riding a 2018 clockwork 137 for about 16 months. Lovely to ride on 7stanes reds and cheeky stuff at Ae. The bottom bracket is LOW and I’ve had quite a few pedal strikes. The Revelations seem to suffer from quite a bit of stiction, ok once moving but not butter smooth. The kore saddle went sharpish as it was a right pain in the a**e. Dropper been fine. Race Face cranks need some serious torque to stop them from working loose.

Got to love the mountain mint colour.

Guess who has a medium 137s frame for sale? Yes it’s me. Lovey condition aswell, leaving the dropper on.. details in classifieds.. stealthy ad plug or what!

seriously though, really nice bike to ride and fairly light for the build. Mine came in at just under 27lbs. Can’t fault it really, only selling as I got a great deal on a 4 month old Cotic Soul and I just love them.