I’m looking at getting a 170-180mm travel ‘super enduro’ bike – the two above are both on the list, but I wanted to find out any experience from owners of these,…if there are any on here?
I ride a lot of bikepark uplift stuff etc, but I also want the bike to be able to climb well enough at trail centres and local trails in my area (hilly south Wales valleys).
Any experience with the above or recommendations for alternatives are very welcome.

You tried a nicolai? A geometron with 180 forks is as good as it gets for this type of bike in my experience they climb much better than you woudld think.

I love the Nicolai, but unfortunately its out of my budget and I want to buy new. looking at £3k max and both the Radon and Propain get decent spec at that price.

THe shock position on that Propain would put me off.

Would you make do with only 160mm of travel? I imagine there’s far more choice.

Can the budget squeeze at all? You’ve got to look at the Capra for that money but unfortunately there’s not much stock left – but if you can take a medium the carbon pro with 180mm front travel is £3299.

The one down is 170mm at £2499 but sold out.

As long as you don’t expect it to fly round trail centres, the Swoop should be just the ticket. It climbs OK and it carries speed very well on flatter trails.

I’ve done a couple of epics on it as well as a lot of shorter “enduro” rides (winching and bombing down). It’s a superb descender, composed, capable, poised, predictable and – importantly – a lot of fun.

Here’s a write-up I did…
http://unduro.co.uk/mtb/first-ride-review-radon-swoop-170/

Are you after an 18″? The model I’ve written about there is now under £2,000 on Bike Discount – with a lyrik, vivid air, reverb stealth and 1×11. I don’t need to point out that is insane value.

Got the Spindrift. Pretty impressed. Was worried it wouldn’t pedal well but is good. Shock doesn’t get any muddier than my shocks have on any other bike thanks to the carbon guard it comes with. It’s a monster downhill.

Thanks for all the info guys, just what I was after, experience of riding the bikes!
I could slightly stretch the budget but I am 6′ and would want a large frame (I currently ride a large Trek Slash and its perfect). I like Capras and they are awesome value but they are just everywhere and I wanted something a bit different.
I love the look of the Propain but I’ve never seen one in the flesh and there aren’t any online test reviews. I asked Propain about this and they said there was one in Free Ride Magazine, but then they weren’t very helpful when I asked if I could get a copy to read!reviews I’ve read!
The Radon Swoop seems very highly rated from reviews I’ve read. Love your Blog review Chakaping. I think I need a 20″ frame? not sure really.
Stumpy120 – Is yours the 2017 model? How does it compare on climbs to other ‘standard’ 160mm enduro bikes you’ve ridden? Have you got a climb switch on yours? How was the customer service for you?

It’s a 2017. It climbs as well as my Saracen Ariel and the front wanders less when it gets steep. I’ve got the CCDB with the climb switch. It makes a big difference. They were good at answering my emails about the bike before I bought it and while I was waiting for it, felt like I was speaking to someone who really knew what they were talking about. Delivery was a month late though.

I have nothing to add, except that both these look great value,the propain just looks right to me.

The only thing i wonder about is whether 10mm extra travel over a 160mm bike is actually noticeable.

I currently ride a bike wih 160mm rear travel and 170mm front,and i never feel like i have too little travel.

Thanks Stumpy120. Tough decision to make! Both great bikes. I do love the way the Propain looks though and the fact I can choose my componentry on their ‘Free’ option.

Julians – I think the geometry is also a factor…the spindrift has quite a long wheelbase.

The only thing i wonder about is whether 10mm extra travel over a 160mm bike is actually noticeable.

Only a little bit noticeable over a 160mm bike, true. But it’s also only a little bit shorter than a 180mm bike, and that little bit can make a difference sometimes.

My Swoop replaced a freeride bike and an enduro bike and is honestly better at their respective jobs than either of them were.

I have a Propain Tyee which is 160mm version of the spindrift and can say the shock position is nothing to worry about. I’ve used it for everything form xc to a week in morzine and it handled everything. I wouldn’t says it’s a xc whippet but once you roll over the top of the hill it’s grin factor 10….it sticks to the ground and is very nimble. The Spindrift is on my bucket list.

I’ve ridden the spindrift. With 36mm stanchion ed x fusion metrics, xfusion coil shock and zelvy carbon wheels. It was great. Very stable and slack, yet fun to throw around still. Felt like more of a mini dh bike than my orbea rallon.

Well, it seems neither company are great at communication. I asked Radon some simple questions via email day before yesterday and no response yet.
I asked Propain about any reviews and they told me there was one in the German Freeride mag. SO I asked if they have a link or can send me a snapshot of the review…four word answer followed days later…”I cant find it”
I then asked if they could get the actual mag and post to me or scan it….no response after about a week. Puts me off totally! :S

My pal’s been getting good communication from Radon and just ordered one, try social media instead maybe?

I had good comms overall, but they did miss one email asking about shock settings.

Thanks, will try facebook!

I’ve wanted DH bike for years, y’know, just because. I would settle for a Swoop though, could still use it locally to an extent as well. Do like the 2017 grey blue 8.0. Reckon it would be different enough from my carbon stumpy 29er to justify n+1, in my head anyway

Propain are pretty good, again try facebook maybe?

I almost put it down to the language barrier withPropain, but with online translators there can be no excuse nowadays. They did answer me twice, it just seemed they couldn’t be arsed second time…or perhaps the review isn’t that good 😀 ?

I’ve never had a problem with Propain… Spoke to them on the phone and all speak very good English. http://www.mtb-news.de/forum/f/propain-bicycles.249/ I used this forum when I was looking for advice before purchasing my Tyee. Nothing better than rider feedback

what about the commencal meta v4.2?
I personally think they look great especially in the brushed aluminium.

Asked the same question myself a few weeks back. Decided on the 170mm Specialized enduro. I’ve done the German mail order thing before. This time I’m ordering from my LBS.

I bought the Swoop with the twin rings up front, more so because I wanted the shock that came with it rather than the Vivid. Was considering putting it to single ring up front to save a tiny bit of weight, but was thankfull of the granny when spinning up the Sunny Slurry Hills last w/e.

The angles (which are adjustable) are great 64.8 – 65.8. I run it mid and its OK uphill and awesome down. Pinkbike image:

More confidence on this than my S-Works Enduro

timidwheeler – Member – Block User – Quote
Asked the same question myself a few weeks back. Decided on the 170mm Specialized enduro. I’ve done the German mail order thing before. This time I’m ordering from my LBS.

My 2016 Spesh Enduro has been an absolute pain

My Canyon Torque on the other hand has only needed one bearing replaced in 4 years and has seen way more abuse and virtually no maintenance.

Propain since replied after a chase up email with…
“I’m sorry but we have no copy of that” referring to the freeride mag which is the only review of the spindrift so far! I’m afraid they have lost a potential customer.

Radon replied via facebook and have been helpful so I’m leaning heavily towards the Swoop.

I’m not a huge fan of commencal bikes, although the Meta 4.2 does look nice. They always look heavy to me, and their kids full sussers are so much heavier than equivalent 24″ full sussers.

Hi All,

Robert from Propain here! Came accross this forum topic and thought I throw in some comments.

The Spindrift is pretty much an long travel enduro bike. It will a great bike on a DH track but it also pedals reasonable well uphill. If you want to make it climb like a normal enduro make sure the shock has a lock-out (pedal plattform) and the fork should have the travel adjustment. That helps a lot on really steep long climbs.

If you are after the Spindrift test from the german freeride magazine just drop me an email under info@propain-bikes.com. I make sure it will be sent to you. Unfortunately I cannot upload it for copyright reasons.

However I translated it quickly for you guys as this makes much more sense anyways:

Propain Spindrift Race – Allrounder
They still exist: Freeride Bikes. Or they are coming back. The newest generation doesn’t have much in common with the bulky heavy freeride bikes from back in the days. The Spindrift is getting close the old dream: One bike for all. Even gnarly downhills are swallowed without complains.
The job as a freeride journalist makes you have a large selection of test bikes and there is always one perfectly matching each purpose, for singletracks I get a trailbike, for steeper technical terrain I get my enduro bike, in the bikepark I get a big bike. But a private person must probably rob a bank to be able to afford such a range of bikes. “On bike for all” is therefore quite attractive to everyone tied to a certain budget. Propain doesn’t want to put the Spindrift in a certain category. 180mm say Freeride but its pedaling performance and weight say Enduro. Freeride tested the previous version of the bike in 2015 but the new Spindrift only has the name in common with its predecessor. The frame weight dropped by 1.6kg. The shock is placed more elegantly and the geometry was modernized. The spec is flawless. Propain works with an online configurator so almost anything is possible. Even custom color and decals. We tested the Spindrift in Spicak bikepark including the DH track. As a comparison a Rose Soulfire was tested with similar amount of travel, which was 1kg heavier and had a coil shock. The Spindrift likes to be ridden in a bikepark. The setup of the Rockshocx suspension is really easy. Pushing the suspension it felt like it had slightly too much rebound and compression but that feeling went away as soon as we rode the bike. The Spindrift has an enduro heart, the suspension is firmer in comparison to the Rose soulfire which is rather a mini DH bike. The spindrift produces a lot of pop on jumps and that just screams for AIRTIME, bunny hops, dirt jumps or leaping over a fallen tree anything is possible.
Geometry is spot on. The rider position is very central and steering is very direct and the low center of gravity make cornering very easy. The Spindrift is the ultimate all-rounder. Its pedals efficiently, its even fun to use it as a trail bike and climbs without complains. Due to the shock’s climb setting the suspension didn’t move on the uphills.
The Spindrift is a playfull All-rounder giving the rider extra safety on gnarly tracks. If you are looking for a bike for alpine trails, bike park visits and gnarly descents it is probably what you are looking for.

Hope this helps! Any other questions?

Cheers
Robert

And Sorry for our previous answer via Email! We just couldn’t find the damn copy of the magazine. Found it now…all good!

Cheers
Robert

Thanks Robert, just emailed you again!
Cheers.

@Dango – how does it size up in comparison to your enduro ? im 6ft and the size calculator recommend a medium – however my other bikes are a large

@strawdog

I’m 6’1″ and long in leg. The enduro is almost too small but OK, The Swoop fits better as its a little bigger but not a gate. (20″)

Never really seen the propain before, having said that I didnt really know the Radon until about an hour of research and the press of a button. But IMO not sure thats the best placement for a shock with UK conditions.

Flame me if you want but its just an opinion

thanks for info – for comparison – what size enduro ive tried the 2015 29er version in xl and it didn’t seem overly big but I think they got longer the year after? Also if you dont mind me asking what is your inside leg !? (im 32)

2014 Large 26er and inside of about 33

If you 6ft tall you shoudl indeed get a medium Spindrift. Its rather large for a medium size frame. We did it in this way as the Spindrift only come in three different sizes. (In comparison to the Tyee which comes in 5 different sizes.) Hence the Spindrift large frame is more of an XL / large and the medium is rather a medium / large.

A lot of people have concerns with the shock position in combination with muddy conditions but we don’t have more shock warranties than any other bike company. As people who rode the bike can confirm (see above comments) the shock doesn’t get any dirt-ier than on any other bike design.

Another consideration should be the ROSE Bikes Soulfire. Seen it in action and could be a good solution. I have the Uncle Jimbo which is 165/160mm and pedals up very well but the Soulfire is a step up in DH ability.

You can demo here in UK too. https://www.rosebikes.co.uk/soulfire

Anyone got a 2016 XL Swoop that they could post some photos of? Not much on Google images