What mtb itches do you still need to scratch?

At the OP; I built up the very type of bike you mentioned, with the hope that my skill level would grow and develop into it’s capabilities! (Spoilers, it hasn’t yet..). But that said, it’s my daily driver and I love it. So I still want to cross feeling confident on drops and jumps off my mtb list.

And then a trip to the Alps or Whistler.

Never owned a light carbon trail bike. Always had more enduro-y bikes. Might fix that.

@honourablegeorge – definitely worth trying. My full suss is the previous gen carbon Stumpjumper (the 14 going by Specialized’s latest nomenclature) and it’s probably the perfect UK trail bike unless you live in some of the rarer more extreme environs of the country like northern Scotland or the Lake District. Really light frame that can be moved closer to the Epic Evo with a 130mm fork and light wheels or closer to the Stumpy Evo with a 150mm fork and burly wheels / tyres. I wouldn’t get rid as it’s perfect for most of my rides and love its adjustability. Shame the Evo stole a lot of its limelight really and has pretty much replaced it for the 15 generation.
I just need a metal 170mm bike to sit alongside it now….

Still not taken a bike to North America. I mean the continent, not the bit of track near Cut Gate.

So much legendary riding out there that I’d like to try. Whistler, Moab, Colorado.

Bikewise, the only thing I lust after is a skinniest of skinny tubed steel frame, either touring or bikepacking 29er – comfort and distance.

And of course to do some trips on that; Danube and Germany / Austria / Scandinavian touring, or any of Europe provided not too hot!

Would also like a return to Les Arcs trails before I’m over the hill enough not to enjoy it.

Still not taken a bike to North America. I mean the continent, not the bit of track near Cut Gate

Ooh, that reminds me. Really want to clean Cut Gate north side. Have got pretty close ( two stops) but TBH “pretty close” is actually miles away from actually doing it

My chances of doing it are getting slimmer each year….

I have always wanted a super light weight weenie xc hardtail, something like a top end cannondale – just to feel the sense of progress and efficiency. Alas that itch started best part of 3 stone ago so the sensation probably wouldn’t be so obvious now I think.

Also an Orange.

Long travel full sus, along with time, weather and location to ride it.

It’d probably kill me, but what a way to go.

Torridon trip.

HT550 group start

Land’s End to John o’ Groats off-road.

Want to swap my commute bike for a compact cargo bike.

Seriously…. So this. Essentially replaces the car for 80% of uses.

Break a frame doing something gnar.

Preferably walking away but I accept a price may need to be paid.

Buy a Cannondale?

Snapped three of their frames without dying. Fortunately they weren’t mine… I was guiding at the time and was given bikes to ride. Ended up using my DB Alpine hardtail for most of the tours as it was a little more robust.

Full suss fatbike, and maybe a fat 29er, but that’s about it. Never had a singlespeed but that’s the sort of itch you treat with antibiotics not scratching

Fairly mundane but I’d like to do a proper 3-4 day bike packing trip in Scotland with wild camping/bivying with a road trip up/back through some of England’s riding spots on the way.  I’ve never been but whenever I see pictures North of the border it just looks big and beautiful country.  I love travelling by bike and lightweight camping but I’m loathe to lug kit between continents for environmental/hassle reasons.  .

Kit wise these are probably my next ten years of bike buying:

A modern geo, lightweight (ish) hardtail for bike packing and general trail use (with the ability to switch between XC and bikepack).

A 140/150 travel trail 29r.  Just a bit burlier than what I have and is probably as much bike as my skill and mass will ever need.

I suspect that I am headed into my last 15 years or so of riding proper rough stuff (sad face) before I have to start reigning it in to more xc / bridleway bashing so I just want to make the best of that riding window.

Bigger bike with a coil shock.

Overkill for more than half what I do, but the other half it will probably be a hoot.

Can always put an air shock on if I need to, right?

Ticked most of mine, DH Racing, Alps trips in France, Italy, Switzerland, Heli-biking and touring in NZ, bikepacking in Nepal, riding and bikepacking all over UK, lots of enduro in Southern Spain.

I’d like a made to measure frame for me in a gravel bike but will stick with off the shelf ones and do more trips.

Oh a tour of Japan and buy those Orange 5’s brilliant fun bikes I regret selling mine to my mate who takes it out every time we go out for stupid fast downhill days.

Got big travel bikes, niche bikes, ti bikes, weightweenie bikes, can get custom made as and when I need, still fancy a ti 36er gravel bike for a laugh, so that’s the next project, as 29+ gallops past folk as it is, so a mad contraption with monster hoops would be a giggle and create a suitable and sufficient attention vortex, to keep me amused

A superlight responsive xc full sus bike,

I think this will be the next trend ….. as its so great for gravel riding too!

Wouldn’t mind trying a DH race some time if I can ever get myself back up to how I used to ride at my peak. Something like Steel City DH looks fun and not too serious. I’d probably be shit but it looks like it could be fun at least.

electronic shifting and an upside down fork like an Intend and maybe an Onyx rear hub to go really stealth

I’d like to try a Stooge Scrambler and a Swift and a Sunliner… to carry on addiction to rigid bikes. Or maybe a Pinion Clandestine…

A Brompton… I had one and sold when I worked abroad and I want to buy a new one with more gears… or get one of Ben’s conversions.

I have Tern cargo bike but I’d love a front loader box bike… I don’t need one but I really want one.

lastly, one day I will overcome my Luddite tendencies and properly try a full sus bike.

Wouldn’t mind trying a DH race some time if I can ever get myself back up to how I used to ride at my peak. Something like Steel City DH looks fun and not too serious. I’d probably be shit but it looks like it could be fun at least.

The Northern Downhill guys put on great grassroots events. Not serious and you be smoked by 12year olds, but good fun. Doable on a trail bike too.

Off the top of my head:

-Down Hill bike

-Gearbox bike

-Titanium frame

-Steel frame

Mullet & Ti frame, that’s about it.

I have a lovely ti HT frame for sale. As good as new … but a long way from you.

a fat bike

An mtb Cargo eBike with most of the cargo as spare batteries for big range luxury bike packing.

So for those talking fat bikes. Has this gone too far?

https://surlybikes.com/bikes/moonlander-v2 It is as far to the other side of my Pugsley as my Pusley is to my 29er…

I’ve never owned a full suspension bike.

I had a shot of one once. Hardtails my whole life so hopefully when I can’t manage anymore a leccy full suspension thing I reckon that would be pretty good.

Mmmm, for me it’s a Pinion gearbox – there’s a Ti one for sale currently that I can’t really afford but…..

A proper single speed frame so no need for a chain tensioner. Ideally carbon, not steel.

Bike wise:

1 – A Surly 1×1 (An early one) to build up like this:

2 – A nice slack mid 80’s 531 lugged MTB – I’ve had a couple but late 80’s

3 – A proper XC full squish bike

To be able to pull a manual at will then hold it.

No MTB itches right now, but a silly impractical ~7kg for a 58cm mamil carbon road bike is very scratchy

Feel like I’ve got all the bikes I’ll need – I’m the limiting factor. OK, maybe a proper XC hardtail, although I’ve got a light XC FS, which would probably be quicker.

All my itches are route-based. I want to do an imperial Lakes century off-road, Great North Trail, Southern Way maybe.

I’ve owned/done DH bikes don’t want another now and ‘Big’ Enduro bikes 150mm+ travel don’t really appeal anymore. Currently I have a 130mm trail bike (Stumpy) and a basic rigid MTB which cover lots of bases. I would like to do some Enduro racing, for which the Stumpy or similar would suffice, I know I wouldn’t be that competitive now.

The one thing I’ve never really owned is a proper racey XC bike (HT or FS), but then I don’t know that I’d enter many/any XC races with such a thing so is it really an ‘itch’ I need to scratch? Especially when I’ve gotten more and more into curly bars and have a CX and Gravel bike for head-down, arse-up type action…

Dunno, maybe a really light-weight HT as more of an efficient Trail bike? than an XC race bike, either an AL or Carbon frame with some ~5″ forks and Carbon wheels, just to see what such a bling machine is like to live with… but otherwise I think my days of lusting after various different MTBs are maybe trailing off now.

Torridon trip and stuff around Aviemore and the Derry Cairngorm.

A Deviate Highlander 2  .its been on my mind for a while rather than my 170 x170 bigger bike

Tour du Mont Blanc weeks riding .. wait out

If I pulled my finger out and commited all are do-able in the next few weeks ….

Bikes – never ridden a DH bike (but it would need to be somewhere worth it, like Whistler). Never ridden a super fast/light XC race effort. Don’t have a desire to own either, just want  to see what the fuss is all about. Pace RC200. It’ll be scary/shit, but it feels like it should be cool, fast, scary shit.

Riding. Current big ticket item is Torino-Nice, also loads of Scottish bits and pieces inc. Torridon and Heartbreak Ridge. Plus as much riding bikes in big mountains as I possibly can. Be fun to go back to BC too, before I get too much older and less crashable.

A Cannondale Fat CAAD. I’ve been kicking myself for not buying the one I saw in Evans at a huge discount after they decided to stop selling them here.

A Cannondale Fat CAAD

That would be ace with a motor

Oh, that’s a point, I’d like a go with a lefty, but not so much to actually buy one.

scratched a itch this week.

after owning 10 various Surly models over the years, i managed to source a rather nice XL Krampus.

which is 1 i have not owned.  seems nice too.