OK. So it’s five years after my first kid was born and I’ve finally managed to get back evening and weekend time :D.

My 2003 Stumpy FSR is in great condition but it’s time to put it out to pasture. I’m not an XC purist and up hill is to get me to the top, that said I’m not looking for a heavy bike. I’m looking for big grin single track fun with great climbing skills, fairly sure All Mountain is the way for me but open to persuasion.

Very excited and utterly baffled by options so I’m looking for advise from more experienced heads. I will of course be testing so I’m after a shortlist of three. Please no slagging off of brands due to past history, we’ve all been hit with bad experience or service from time to time but that doesn’t write off an option. Constructive input and positive experience please.

General stuff;

– No fixed budget but £3k is comfortable.
– Happy with last years deals. Would have to be perfect SH. No time to self build.
– Must be pretty. I make no appologies, if I’m spending a bucket load I want a beauty. That pretty much rules out Whyte. Sorry but just not my cup of tea.
– I’m 6’1″ and 16st.

Bike and bits;

– I am drawn to the Specialized Stumpy EVO, Yeti (575), Orange (5), Lapierre (Spicy) and Santa Cruz (?) all look awesome and seem to inspire great reviews / user feedback. I welcome other ideas.
– 140 / 150 / 160 ? For Surrey hills riding?
– Slacker geometry and more aggressive setup. Will climbing suffer that much or are the current crop of AM that good?
– Remote seat post. Worth it or expensive gadget?

Thanks all. I look forward to your personal input and experience.

5.

That is all.

Why? I assume you have one but for how long. Spoke to a dealer who suggested the 5 was an older frame looking tired against newer designs. Obviously taken with a pinch of salt as dealers do what dealers do, but it seems a relevant point.

Canyon, probaby a Nerve AM or XC depending on how much travel you want. If you’re happy with how your Stumpy rides then these are also horst link so the ride is similar. I’ve got a AM and used to ride a 2004 Enduro, and the general ride feel is fairly similar, just the modern forks and shock seems to work a lot better, plus the extra travel is helpful on the downs.

Trek Fuel EX or Remedy’s (depending on travel again) or Specialized Stumpys or Enduro’s are all good to ride but you pay a lot more for a similar spec. I’ve tried a 5 in the past and the suspension action felt very basic.

Get a hardtail and save yourself about £2000. I can’t think why you’d need full sus in Surrey to be honest.

If I was after one do it all bike the first one I’d be taking for a spin is the yeti asr 5c. Light, good geometry, enough travel for UK riding. On paper looks like it’d make a brilliant UK trail bike. Dirt mag raved about it a few issues ago.

(Or a Soul if you are thinking hardtail.)

Have you tried any of them? Disregarding specs which do you like?

Gribs – Hadn’t heard of Canyon so thanks for the suggestion. Will have a look into them. When you make the point regarding spec and cost for Specialized / Trek, I assume you’re advocating beter value from the smaller brands?

CHL – I’ve had a full sus for nearly ten years so Hardtail is history for me. Surrey might not be regraded as overly challenging but I want a very nice bike for fun and adventure, not to win races. Fair point though.

Mr Blobby – Yeti are looking like a very attractive proposition and thankfully my local dealer has just taken them on. Interesting you note the ASR, the 575 seems to get most press (or I’m not reading enough). I will have to look at both.

Taff – This is just the start. I will try traditional options from my local dealers in the next few weeks, but I want to make sure I don’t over look others just because they’re not stocked. That’s the purpose of my post.

Cheers.

Just read the long term review of the Yeti ASR5. This sounds very good.

Looking at you original list, if you’re considering a Lapierre, I’d go with a Zesty rather than a Spicy. 140mm is plenty unless you’re looking at Alpine or full on DH riding and the extra weight is a just a hassle. I’ve got a 714 and absolutely love it – some good deals on 2011 models too if you’re looking to buy now.
Of the others, the Five and the Yeti are both nice bikes but I’d agree with the sentiments re demoing first.

I like the lapierre followed by the 5. I don’t like the spesh and the others ive not ridden. As mentioned above the Canyon bikes are getting good reviews and I’m hoping to try a nerve out in a few weeks. Yeti 575 does get very good reviews from mags and riders. Personally I would try the lapierre and yeti route as I think that orange is very over priced for what you get

Can’t go wrong with a 5, will be nicely bedded in when the Lapierre is ready for the bin.

DO NOT GET A ORANGE

Oh god, here we go again 🙄

The best advice I can give you is to test ride as much as you can. £3k opens up a lot of possibilities, so you’re bound to find the perfect bike for you.

I won’t say “Buy X” because the decisions that led me to choose a particular bike aren’t relevant. Get out and ride. A bike shop worth it’s salt will let you try products without pressure.

Intense Tracer? Mine’s going on here in a week and half. Its your size too. 🙂

As I’m merely the polar opposite of the M25 to you a test ride is available if you’d like.

Edit: and you’d have a good amount of change from that 3k!

5 sounds good, even better with a 75 after it.
If you can wait a few months there should be some killer deals kicking about once the SB66 starts filtering through.
If you can get a 2010 one with tapered headtube and the improved carbon swingarm then great.
I have a late 09 one and even without those refinements it’s the bees knees.
Sounds right up your street.

fbk your comments are well taken. The ‘idea’ of extra travel is attractive but only from a numbers perspective, as of now I’ve lived with <100mm and been happy but it’s tricky (without having tried it to yet) to shift the idea that greater travel will ultimately lead to more fun.

If (in general) a 140mm setup will not limit access to some areas of the hill I see no reason to go to 160mm, unless a test ride tells me otherwise. As long as I can bury the seat-post nice and low and aim at steep stuff every now and then I’ll be happy.

I was in a similar position to you a few months ago – I tested a Ghost AMR (quite nice, but not “special”), a Niner FS thingy (fast and fun, but not worth the money in my eyes), a Yeti ASR-5 (I wanted to love this, waited a ages for a test ride and absolutely hated it) and a Santa Cruz Nickel. I bought the Nickel – the most fun, climbs well and comfortable.

End of topic, buy Krytons TRACER!, awesome, and probably the most sexual looking bikes on the planet. Oh and uber rare, unlike your list of run of the mill stuff.

Yeti, 5, SC etc…..ZZZzzzzzz

Here it is, now minus mudguard, but plus a Ti coil instead of the steel one:

Tracer by kryton1957, on Flickr

Running 140mm rear and those are 150mm Rev dual air teams (blackbox)

🙂

Maverick Durance or Ellsworth Epiphany. Stand apart.

That Tracer is gopping.

A couple of nice Yeti ASR 5 frames on ebay at the mo, this frame/bike is excellent, or you can get good deals for around £1350 frame only from freeflowbikes or full price with a CK headset and bottom bracket. Also a dropper post is well worth the money. I can recommend the Rockshox Reverb from HIBIKE in Germany for £190 delivered.

I was in the same boat as you earlier this year. Needed a special bike for big days in lakes and Scotland with it being useful in the Alps too. Tested quite a few of the bikes you mention and settled on a Santa Cruz Blur LT with 150mm forks. Still can’t believe how good this bike is, easily the best bike I have ever ridden, very fast, totally inspiring and looks amazing too.

Save yourself some time like I did, try a 5 1st then you’ll realise there’s no point in trying owt else.
& before anyone mentions the predictable (look crap/filing cabinet bollox) you should mainly be riding it not gawping at it.

Popped into a local bike shop late this afternoon and had a look at Lapierre Spicy & Zesty, Santa Cruz Blur LT Carbon, some Scotts and BMCs. No test rides but just sitting on a few makes me think 120mm to 140mm might be best for my riding. The 160s ‘feel’ very long…? Obviously need to (properly) test but and make sure but interesting all the same.

What I did see was a Ghost AMR Lector 2011 for about £4k. By good it was nice to look at and felt awesome static in the sadle. Any comments on the brand as they’re new to me. Raindog feel free to comment further.

Go 120mm, it’ll be enough and light.

Although in the Surrey Hills I find my 456Ti is perfect 🙂

5, Zesty and Stumpy EVO from your list IMHO. Can’t go wrong with any of those.

I’m a bit disappointed in a dealer that says a 5 is looking tired.

Uppy-downy post – yes, do it. It makes a ride so much nicer and you’ll use it tonnes more that you thought you might just because those bits where you don’t really need to drop your saddle, but it’s nice if you do, then you do because you can.

Ghost get lots of good reviews. They’re a small(ish) German brand, friend of mine has one of the older models, his wife does too. Got them before they were in the Uk, and when we did an Alps trip together I was impressed with the frame’s build quality and the spec (The Xfusion shock was crap though).

what about a heckler. because the frame is cheaper than the blur, you can afford to spend more on really nice wheels, brakes and bars etc, and exactly the groupset you want.

you don’t have to buy a ready made one, get someone like 18bikes to custom build you one.

I’ll second a Heckler, the frames are under £1k so you should get a great build within budget.

To answer your question about dropper seat posts.. Yes, just buy one, they can really enhance your riding.

Giant Anthem is plenty of bike for Surrey, and pretty dam amazing. Rides more like at least 120 mm rather than the actual 100mm and is fantastic up hill and through twisty stuff. Some people might find it a bit twitchy downhill but I think its great!

To echo what others have said I’d definitely go Zesty rather than Spicy looking at where you riding and the others you are comparing to. I have a Zesty and love it but if I was thinking of changing it the bikes I would be looking at (apart from a later model Zesty) would be the Yeti SB66 or a Ibis Mojo of some flavour.

Ghost are a German brand, not long in the UK with their mountain bikes. I tried one because Llandegla (my LBS) stock them. They only sell smaller brands so they have a good relationship with their suppliers. The AMR 7500 is their biggest selling bike this year (I suspect the Orange 5 is second). They are very well finished for the money and the bike rode very nicely, but to me it felt more like a good hire bike than something I wanted to own – difficult to put into words, but it didn’t feel like it had any “character” having said that, I’m a lot fitter now and I think the Ghost is a bike that would respond well to a damn good thrashing 🙂 To be honest I think my heart was set on the ASR-5, but the demo bike (direct from Yeti) was tired and the forks were completely shot, I’d happily have left it by the side of the trail and walked back, very disappointed….I have talked to a couple of other people who feel the same, so try one before you order one for sure.
In comparison, when I tested the Nickel I grinned all the way round. I do have feel a bit of an affinity to SC though as I’ve previously owned and loved a Blur and have been round the factory in California.

What you need and what your ego tell you you need are two completly different things! For general riding fun something like a Trek EX9, Lapierre Zesty, Canyon Nerve XC is plenty enough. I ride in the Lakes and get my arse handed to me regularly by mates on 120-130mm travel bikes and it leaves me wondering whether I need my 150-160mm? Is it a skills compensator and I’m really pants or whether I too would be faster on another bike…

A bike is such a personal thing, and for some people that means they need to feel special or an individual and they go and buy some niche boutique brand and for others they want value and performance etc etc. Test riding can be expensive but making the wrong decision is really expensive!

I bloody love the Surrey Hills so much I might move there.

As above (and I agree br ti456 is the bike), perfect bike for Surrey is 120-140mm, I’d say go for less.

I used to own a Blur LT, got rid of it because was too much bike for racey xc stuff I’m doing but if I lived near Westcott I reckon that would be the bike. Or staying with SC, a Butcher? I hired one in Morzine, 140 x 140 and a very nice dropper post. Liked it a lot.

New Ragley FS are going to have a 120 x 100mm option? I like the sound of that.

But the answer to most “What bike?” threads these days is usually “Canyon”. I did.

http://www.canyon.com/_uk/mountainbikes/bike.html?b=2077

Look at that spec…..I’d get that.

I rode a 5, having wanted one for years, and just didn’t like it. I was aware of there being suspension all the time(coming from a 1994 Marin quad-link), I didn’t like how it climbed, and it was far too rear end light under heavy braking for my liking. Didn’t do it for me at all, although was great on jumps.

Now have a Canyon AM 7, and £1200 in my pocket compared to the roughly equivalent Orange.

Probably means nothing though. Canyon was right for me, but it might be completely wrong for you. Loads of people love the 5. Just get a test ride!