It must be my ongoing roadie tendencies but I’m more and more drawn to the idea that I should sell off my hardcore hardtail (C456) and get a race bred 29er hardtail. Something like a Canyon Grand Canyon CF or a Scott Scale or a Spec’ Stumpy etc…

It would need to be suitable for local XC (mendips/quantocks/maybe a race), trail centres (on the very odd occasion i get to one) and days out in bigger hills

Anyone done similar and regretted it or vice versa?

It’s all I’ve got.

Only had 1 MTB for a number of years now, was a 26″ FS XC race bike, now just a 29er XC hardtail. I don’t feel the need for more, the bike is still more capable than me, I don’t find it holds me back.

I did it for a long time. GIant XTC29er… was a great bike. Just fancied a change, but I’m certainly no quicker in 99% of occasions.

Yes, did that last year. Bought myself a Whyte C29er. Not regretted it one bit. In truth I’m not a very good rider 🙂 but I’m fit, enjoy going up hill, like travelling high and fast – moorland bridleways, grassy tracks and such. Realised that a racier carbon bike would be the ticket and so it is!

Do they still have “pop” – i.e. fun to do little jumps off small natural features etc.?

I’ve got a cx bike that is the opposite of pop – long and stable but doesn’t like to get off the ground at all.

One MTB for me now – Giant Anthem 29er. Good at most stuff and more capable than me.

Do they still have “pop”

I only pop by accident: my bike is slower in the air than on the ground. But, yes you can get them the air if you want to.

I guess I’ll have to try one – getting a demo seems to be a touch tricky though!

My only mountain bike is a Yeti ARCc and it is fine for the Chilterns, Quantocks, Exmoor etc. It does quick blasts and days out, will certainly be fine if I were to race it and a trail centre is easier to ride than the real world of Dartmoor etc, so it will not be a problem there if I ever go back to one.

I’m running 1×10 so we shall see how it copes with a week in the Basque Country in the summer, but given I’ve ridden around Chamonix and Tour de Mont Blanc on 100mm hardtails, I can’t see it really being an issue either.

Not sure it’s ‘racey’ but only bike in my stable is a Scandal.

Great do it all bike.

Race 29er as my only MTB here (well, I say only, I have my old 26″ race bike as well but never ride it any more), I live in the Peaks. The only concession to that is that I’m really uncool and run a 24/38 double to get a better gearing spread for non-race duties.
Works fine for me.

Had a scandal for ages, which has been fully rigid singlespeed or 100mm-forked 1×10. Great for local XC or racing. However it did feel a bit like hard work on more trail oriented stuff. -It was OK at Swinley whihc is pretty smooth, but limiting on welsh trails.

This is my new bike: carbon goodness

Not wholly racy, as it’s 120mm front/110mm back, but shorter travel/lighter builds are available.

It ate everything the new Blade trail at Afan had to offer last weekend, and i’m planning to race Gorrick on it this weekend, so we shall see if it’s sufficiently ‘racey’.

Both as a descender and a climber, it’s proving to be a waaay better bike than i am a rider!

Back in the day, XC race MTBs were MTBs, just more expensive. I did it for years, all over the place – mountains, woods etc.

The new idea of different bikes for different riding is just a nicety. You can ride most stuff on most bikes, it’s just that some are a bit better than others at certain things.

Ye definitely, you have just as much fun, just go a little slower and shit yourself, I mean work a bit harder.

All depends on your definitions of riding really. Someone mentioned a bike was fine for local XC but not much good for more trail-orientated stuff!? Whats the bl88dy difference? 😀 There isn’t much you couldn’t do on a racey 29er HT, but you probably wouldn’t want to be ripping down world cup DH courses regularly or dropping 6ft to flat on it.

I’ve done all my local trails on a 63mm XC bike and a 7″ Patriot. The one was slower up hill, the other slower on rough stuff. Both were fun 🙂

I’ve got a couple of bikes, but pretty much the only one I ride now is my scale 29er. Its brilliant fun, much better than a winch and plummet type bike and for the most part I’m much quicker on it, even the descents (they still usually have some pedalling in the uk….)

Descents are definitely scarier though and require more concentration than on a 6″ full suss.

Thanks all, I too started back in the olden days on a Orange Clockwork with bars [=====] that wide and rock hard 1.9 tyres etc. It wasn’t exactly a confidence inspiring bike but in the wilds of Hampshire you didn’t need much added confidence!

My riding went much more towards drops, jumps and steep stuff – culminating in a v.squishy Marin which was fun for anything dh but lame on anything else.

So yeah, a bikes a bike and all that but there are differences which become clear in terms of confidence and fun.

also the race bikes look cool too 🙂

This is sort of persuading me to sell my FS Camber and just keep my hardtail. Been thinking about it for ages, changing my mind and then changing it back again. My HT (rigid actually) is fine around here and if I kept the forks from my Camber would be pretty much as quick over the rougher stuff. Hmmm…

I’ve a couple of bikes – but over the last year I find myself reaching for the Race 29er more often than the FS. For general XC duties it just flies. I don’t find it that much less capable downhill than my FS! If I am heading somewhere a little more DH orientated, then I still pull out the Zesty…

Great question! I am thinking exactly the same at the moment.

Last year was toying between anthem and trance 29ers then put off by all the giant 27.5 stuff. This year have been thinking hard about camber evo 29er which I enjoyed riding. But testing epic at the same time made me realise how much going uphill quickly is important to me.

On demo day hated how the HT XC riders were overtaking me (except when I was in the epic). So seriously coming back to either XC HT (XTC advanced in sale) or anthem/epic FS.

Only question is my back. I like long rides so would FS be much better in the back?

Ridden anthem and epic down trails like Eric etc on pitch and I dont tend to do stuff much harder than that.

Only question is my back. I like long rides so would FS be much better in the back?

Dunno how long long is, but we obviously have the same local trails and I regularly do 40 miles with no ill effects. Id expected to find it tough on my back after FS, but not had any such issues. FS 29er would be veritably sofa like, even in a racey format!

Njee, I have only ever had a basic XC HT (trek 6500) that I have ridden all over SH, Lakes and the odd duathlon/XTT tri etc. Copes with most trails that I ride (W’fold farourites etc). But now pretty clapped out. Generally ride for 4 hours plus. Hate getting sweaty and dirty for much less. 2 hours is def the minimum.

Last demo day was quite telling for me. Hated the fact that on trail bikes (2 x Whtyes) others were overtaking me and ride felt so bouncy on the way up. Loved the epic for the hidden motor in contrast!

No real difference riding standard trails (Yog Pots, tel road etc) but slightly steeper stuff next to secret squirrel I did notice the difference between the epic and the camber evo geometry. Quite tempted by the camber evo as a do-it-all as it was ok uphill and may help me with my bogey runs like Northern monkey where I tend to OTB regularly on my XC set up!

Very tempted my lovely looking XTC advanced 29er in the sale though. And anthem is a great all rounder too IMO.

To be fair, if you find an entry level 26″ alu hardtail adequately comfy for what you do you won’t struggle with any of the sort of bike you’re looking at – hardtail or not.

njee20 – Member
To be fair, if you find an entry level 26″ alu hardtail adequately comfy…

Unfortunately (1) pandoras box has been opened now and (2) I don’t find it comfy after 2-3 hours. Damn, need two bikes!!

I’ll throw my 2p in. I’ve got an Anthem 29 and its fantastic as an all rounder, my other MTB is a Fortitude Race (steel rigid 29er) and that gets ridden in winter round the local woods as the sandy mud destroys everything.

I’ve had an FF29 and that too was fantastic, but the anthem is better.

I do however have a hankering for a carbon 100mm XC 29er, just cos they’re there and I can basically.

I have been looking at FF29. Why is the anthem better IYO?

Ditto on the last line!

I have a lightweight carbon xc 29er as my only mtb and its fine for everything except the obvious “DH, dirt jumps etc” However, it has no real character when doing anything other than going flat out on the sort of riding you find in an xc race…… Not surprising I know, as its made/designed for that purpose. In the past, ive had bikes like, santa cruz superlight, whyte t120 and On one 456 that have been far better all rounder’s and have heaps of character (ability to jump, take wild lines, regain control of when things get out of shape) So I guess I’m saying, if your into energy gels and high HR readings or just going flat out, get an XC 29er. If your into being a jack of all but master of none then don’t. For the record, I’m keeping mine but getting a second bike for trail centre and fun/chilled rides.