so! that time has come where my 2006 marin attack trail needs replacing. its been a great bike what ever people might think and has been run on 140mm most of its life being used for everything from all dayers on the moors to trail centres, a bit of light free ride etc etc.

the problem i have is what to get next. there seems to be a few contenders out there and these would be the lapierre spicey/zesty, orange 5, trek remedy, yeti 575, ghost amr, specilised enduro, santa cruz butcher to name but a few. clearly i want a 140 -160 mm bike though 150mm would be better which is why the lapierre choice is there.

i have ruled out the remedy as even a dealer has confirmed they are paper thin and where i ride 50% of the time is a pebble heath and it will be destroyed in seconds with flick ups. i tried an enduro but was not that impressed. the geometry was not right and it felt way too slack. i am unsure about the orange 5 becuase i cant help feeling that they are ‘great’ because they are english not because they are actually that amazing and riding a mates last year for a short while did not inspire me that much.

i have tried a zesty and spicey. they both felt ok in a shop car park (been riding 20 years so i know what geometry is comfortable from a car park ride!-those carparks just tend to be a bad indicator of going up and down)

have i missed any thing from my list i should consider?
is the differance between a spicey and a zesty that great on the hill?
is the 2011 yeti 575 better and stronger than previous ones?
anyone riden a butcher for a while and got any thoughts. thought the off the peg spec is a bit to be desired (revalations on a 3000 quid bike!)?

thankyou for pondering my stab in the dark post that is probably answered in any number of other posts that my brief search was unable to locate.

New Marin Attack Trail?

If it was me it would be a Heckler.

my do it all bike is teh bottlerocket. i looked for a differnt frame to suit my coaching/riding but the transition suits me. 35lb in its current burly build but its bomb proof

Five pro is my choice

Then keep in your shed a spare set of 160 forks for bigger days or just run it with bigger forks all the time.

I use my five with coil lyriks and coil shock for everything. DH, XC, lakes days, trail riding, local woods.

I decide if its a 140 or 160 bike first – obviously a 140 will climb better.

if 140mm I’d go zesty or Yeti (actually if funds allow I’d just go Yeti)

How about a Turner 5spot?

@toons has an ace five spot with 160 floats and ccdb – its very good.

Dave with new username? If so this is Jus – Heard you were thinking of an Alpine 160….
Just built up the Pitch [coincided with seat post very stuck in Prince Albert] it’s ace – so save yourself some dollar and get yourself a new Pitch – comes with 150mm maxled up forks now, so prob bang on what you need…..

Zesty is a great all-rounder and very solid. Rides well everywhere it seems. And I’m selling one as it happens…

http://www.singletrackworld.com/forum/topic/fs-zesty-214-medium-2010-heavily-upgraded-2

Stumpy Evo.

i have just built a mojo hd up with 36 talas, crank bros iodine wheels etc and it is amazing! comes in at just a smidge under 30lb!

Both the Zesty and Spicy are great but as an all-rounder, I would take the Zesty as it does noticeably clumb better.

However, if you like the Marin, then the Whyte 146 seems to fit the bill incredibly well. If I were you, I would also consider the Pivot Mach 5.7. I was shocked by a demo bike so I’m now getting them in to the shop based on that alone. Investment in advertising isn’t there but the ride and reviews speak for themselves.

New StumpJumper – or as above Stumpy Evo.

I see a lot of nice bikes coming through All Mountain Venture

Specialised, rocky mountain, lapierre, trex, orange, scott, merida, cube, kona to name some off the top of my head.

The bike on my next to get list, and the nicest most functional/least gimmicky, most versatile bike IMO.

Orange 5

Personally I’d go for the 5 AM for the riding here in Spain but there are several different build choices depending on what you want to do.

As mentioned above, Turner 5-Spot.
The DW-link is a fantastic suspension system. Frame is well built and customer service (if needed) is legendary.
Some great deals on 2010 frames at the moment too.

Meta 5.5 Team?

http://www.tredz.co.uk/.Commencal-Meta-5.5-Team-Mountain-Bike-2011-Full-Suspension-MTB_40661.htm

Having a very similar dilemma myself after my Heckler was stolen.

Have tried zesty, spicy, 5, 5 AM, Alpine, new Heckler, Butcher, Transition Covert, Meta 6, Meta 5.5 but none of them have really excited me enough to make me want to buy them!

5 AM was probably my favourite going downhill but a bit too slack for normal riding.

Santacruz off the peg bikes just seem terrible … why does the heckler have a QR fork!

Going to look at a Pitch Pro tomorrow which seems quite a bargain. And Laggan demo day on Saturday so might attend that!

If you do like the Meta 5.5 Team you can get them reduced to £2k now.

Others on my list which I haven’t ridden:
Cube Stereo / Fritzz, Canyon Nerve AM, Mythic Spitfire, 5 Spot

Half tempted just to buy a wee hardtail for now as it’s starting to drive me crazy!

How about the mythic/banshee spitfire?

Or the canndondale rz140

Or a cove hustler

Or….. **** it there’s tons of good bikes out there – book a few demo rides is what I say!

I ride a 2009 Spicy and love it but I also have a Bottlerocket which whenever I ride it puts a smile on my face. It’ll be interesting to see the new model which is supposed to be out this year. Might be worth waiting for.

So to sum it up so far – pretty much all 140 – 160 FS bikes are good, just try them all then join Stuartm55 in confusion! 🙂

cheers folks. some helpful suggestions.
the lapierres always seem well rated and are avalible locally. i am loath (read wont into that) to splash out on a very expensive bike without seeing/trying first and it kind of rules some out because devon shops just do not seem to have the more exotic things in and whilst there may be dealers, they dont hold them meaning waiting for a test bike….at that rate you never get one!even demo days all seem to be at least 200 miles away.
a part of me wants something a bit more exotic than a lapierre or orange 5 as well! especially as you can get a full build 575 for the same price! – the quality of the ride will always come first though. this bike has do another 4 years as well as the marin did (though i am not having another for above stated snobbish reason).
i sense i am answering my own questions 😀

welcome to the confusion 😀

I got a Zesty towards the end of last year, partly because I had a mate who worked at Hotlines who gave me a storming deal on it and partly because they get some really good reviews.

To be fair the only thing left of the original bike now is the frame & chain, but that was always going to happen, as I had split down another bike to fund it, with higher spec bits.

I’m really pleased with it, and have been riding it way more than I thought I would. I’ve toyed with getting something a bit more exotic around the same stats, but it’s going to cost me a fortune to upgrade and in reality it’s probably going to ride no better.

a part of me wants something a bit more exotic than a lapierre or orange 5 as well! especially as you can get a full build 575 for the same price!

I’d take a Zesty or Five over a 575 any day of the week though, having previously owned an (old version) 575.

Ragley Blue Pig
Ride with mates who have some of the bikes you mention and the Pig can do all anything they can
Much to their annoyance sometimes I think

In similar confusion here. Decided to hold on for the nukerpoof mega and see what that’s like. Want a bike I can build up with 160 forks and beefy kit for alp duties, but can also be built up lighter for UK trail duties. Looks like it would do the job. Also have other bikes so don’t want to spend too many pennies.

… however those meta frames on tredz also look great value (do they all still break?) and I’m not convinced the mega’s will be around for this summer. Hmmm.

EDIT: Nukerpoof…. I meant nukeproof 🙂

Before you buy a LaPierre, might be a good idea to ask about their warranty if the flex in the swing arm causes a muddy wheel to rub away at the inside of swing arm. I’d also ask about what happens if the frame cracks where the carbon mech protector is. 😉

How about a Devinci Hectik? Freeborn have them on offer
http://www.freeborn.co.uk/devinci-2010-hectik-3

my mate bought one and its very nice, not sure if its a £3k bike but its a bargain at £1574 either way

When you think about the brands available in South Devon, Orange isn’t mentioned [okay maybe Dartmoor cycles at Tav] and I only see loads of 5’s at trail centres, so a 5 would be a pretty standout bike for S.Devon, if being a little bit different / noticed is what you are after….

however those meta frames on tredz also look great value (do they all still break?)

Problems with cracking were on the 2009 models.

I’ve got a Santa Cruz Blur LT2, its amazing. Run it with 130 forks for an XC feel but currently running it with 150 Rev Teams. havent weighed it as I dont care. It does everything and more than I could ever do on it and goes up hills almost as well as my old FSR XC.
BUT i didnt buy the SC model, it was a frame and built it up myself as I wanted exactly what i have on it.

My trusty old 456 seems to handle anything i can chuck at it and never fails to put a smile on my face everytime i sling my leg over it.

none of that poncy springy stuff for me 😉

Maybe worth considering an Intense, something like a Tracer or Spider 2. Wiggle have pretty good discount on a few select frames. They are a bit different but up there with some of the best in my opinion.

The tracer 2 looks lovely. Wiggle seem to show them in stock but I didn’t think they were out yet.

Just go for the most expensive blinged up exotica you can get your hands on and then brag about it on here.

There’s loads of great bikes out there, so personally I’d recommend riding as many as you can.

For me – as a Five owner – my next 140-160mm bike will be a Five. I’ll freely admit that it is pretty uninspiring when riding is flat and it’s not the best climbing bike in the world, but when it gets a little rougher and starts to point down it’s one of the most fun bikes I’ve ever had the pleasure of riding.

Hmmmmm….not sure about the launch date or availability but I do agree the Tracer 2 looks good. I’m a fan of all Intense bikes so a little bias perhaps but I think Intense offer a good range covering most genres. The Spider 2 is worth looking at too (although I have a brand new frame available for sale so again, a little bias).

Agree with Pimpmaster Jazz. There are loads of ‘do-it-all’ bikes out there, you can’t go far wrong, ride as many as you can.

Blimey, Intense Tracer 2’s are only $1240 from Jensons in the US, but are close to £1700 in the UK. Can put up with the usual direct dollar to pound conversion rip off, but that mark up seems to be taking the piss.

EDIT: Ok, they retail for $1999 according to the Intense web site. 1240 is a very tempting deal if you’re prepared to risk the warranty thing.

I hate the price differences;
http://www.chainreactioncycles.com/Models.aspx?ModelID=56748

http://www.jensonusa.com/store/product/FR265B04-Rocky+Mountain+Slayer+70+Frame+11.aspx?sc=FRGLUK&cc=GBP

I understand shipping, tax etc but DOUBLE the price?
Nice bike though

I wonder what they’re going to rename the slayer now sony have issued a cease and desist? I’d suggest Rocky mountain FUsony

That was an April Fools no?