Viewing 40 posts - 41 through 80 (of 83 total)
  • Which ‘extreme country’ (or other marketing BS) FS?
  • devash
    Free Member

    I’ve had a Spur for the past year-and-a-half and it’s not far off a race bike in terms of outright speed, but you can still throw it down anything short of sustained rocky chunder, big hits and 6ft drops just as fast as a trail bike with more travel. Fast, flowy, steepish trails and it’s a total hoot. My local riding involves a lot of dirt road miles to get to anything resembling a trail so its nice to have something light and efficient. I’ve done a few 50+ milers and it does that well too, just not quite as efficient as a proper XC bike.

    If I was riding less XC and more trails though I’d be looking at the Smuggler, RM Element Stumpy or Tallboy.

    TomZesty
    Free Member

    Another vote for the latest model Stumpy here, love mine. Suits all your requirements well I’d say.

    ahsat
    Full Member

    Very very close to clicking buy on a Spur…

    Common sense of do I really need it is kicking in… (boring)

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    vicksplace
    Full Member

    As mentioned above, the new canyon neuron 2023 ticks your boxes and is excellent value. Brilliant all rounder, check out the mbr review.

    allanoleary
    Free Member

    I’ve lusted after various versions of the Scott Spark for years for exactly what you are looking at. I doubt I’ll ever afford one but the dream is always there.

    stanley
    Full Member

    Very very close to clicking buy on a Spur…

    Common sense of do I really need it is kicking in… (boring)

    I think you will be well-happy with either a Spur or a Tallboy. Get it bought… life is far too short 🙂

    ahsat
    Full Member

    Spur ordered – good price on a Shimano/SID combo in that very nice sea green, which leaves change for an upgraded wheelset bringing it well under weight of the GX/Fox version which are currently £1.8k more!! Couldn’t see past the incredible reviews that summarised everything I wanted in a bike – the up and down package.

    Tallboy seems a bit chunkier than my ideal (I did after all manage my way round Torridon on my Sherpa, but it could have been more enjoyable!) and I prefer a firm suspension under pedalling. Absolutely no Elements in my size. Izzo is nice but I could get the Spur with Shimano which I’ve always preferred. Cayons are incredible value, and Stumpy very impressive, but I am an awkward b*****r and always liked something a little less mainstream (yes, it’s an issue – I’ve always been the same). Cotic and Banshee, bike brands I’ve owned in the past, are just meatier frames than I wanted. Scott and Orange just don’t float my boat. Thank you so much for all the input as it has changed my mind and confirmed my choice.

    Now, wheels…set of Alloy Reserve or Hunts XC wide? Will try and get them on cycle to work.

    Get it bought… life is far too short 🙂

    Exactly what went through my mind. We can spend the summer riding as you’ve no idea what’s round the corner (the big C has been a shitter to friends and family recently and bought this to the fore!).

    stanley
    Full Member

    Exactly what went through my mind. We can spend the summer riding as you’ve no idea what’s round the corner (the big C has been a shitter to friends and family recently and bought this to the fore!).

    Exactly!
    Here’s me!

    I do intend to start writing again… too busy riding now I’ve finished the chemo and RT.
    New website on the way too 🙂

    stanley
    Full Member

    Oh, and…
    The Reserves 🙂

    I’ve got a set of the latest Trail Wides on my Mason Raw. Nice wheels but I don’t think they’ll last as long as the Reserves. I’m going to register my Reserves in the wife’s name!

    chakaping
    Free Member

    Sounds like a great choice for the riding you describe.

    Post pics when it arrives.

    davros
    Full Member

    Wheels: roval control carbon are worth a look if you want to add some lightweight zip.

    northersouth
    Free Member

    Not sure I’d trust Hunt wheels on such a nice build. My personal experiences haven’t been great with them.

    ahsat
    Full Member

    @stanley I’m so sorry to read your blog – and thanks for reminding us that life is for living.

    mark_rich
    Free Member

    I was looking for something similar recently and picked up a spectral 125 cf7 in the canyon trail sale for £2219.
    I would say it fits the bill perfectly, slacker than an izzo and spur and just about anything in that category.
    Fairly light, pedals and climbs fantastic, very comfy, I can see it been a real mile muncher with some faster tyres on.
    I’ve swopped out the bar and stem to carbon and got my dt1501s to go on to lighten it up even more.
    Pike select + fork with 2.1 damper, full Gx drivetrain, code rs brakes, dt 1900 wheels, 200mm dropper, ergon seat/grips what more do you need……plus save yourself a few grand !

    ahsat
    Full Member

    There is no doubt at all the Cayons are very well spec’d for the money.

    On the wheels, the new Roval Alloys look very good competition for the Reserve Alloy. About 200 g lighter for similar money. Roval Carbons likewise, as the Reserve are ££££ and so far I’ve never trashed a wheel to make it worth the extra for the crazy impressive warranty. Only problem is the Roval Alloys have absolutely no reviews as they only came out last month, and there are no carbons in the country (though couple of sites suggest they might come in, in mid June). The Roval Alloys are ~200g heavier (1649g) v 1450g for the carbon which are £430 more! That said both are significantly lighter than the stock wheels which I think are around 2.3kg! And lighter than the Pro4/Arch combo I have on my HT (I think are around 1850g!). Decisions decisions and also do I want wheels ready for as soon as the bike arrives…

    I’ve had Rovals on two bikes – some Traversee that I bought for an S-Works Enduro self build and my Kenevo came with a set of Traverse.

    Don’t know what the difference is between Traversee and Traverse (the Traversee were bought many, many years ago). The ones on the Kenevo are obviously burlier and I have dinged them – the set I had for the Enduro were literally made of cheese though

    nickc
    Full Member

    roval control carbon are worth a look if you want to add some lightweight zip.

    I had a set on my Enduro and swapped them for some XM471. Cracked the rear rim (I’ve never cracked a rim before) and couldn’t for the life of me keep it laced tight and straight after I swapped the rim (warranty, thanks Spesh). Now I’ll admit that I’m not the greatest wheel builder that ever there was, but eventually I was re-tensioning them after every ride. Not sure if it’s the rim that’s too stiff, or that they’re only 28 spoke, but something’s going wrong when I can kill a set of wheels.

    devash
    Free Member

    I had a set on my Enduro and swapped them for some XM471. Cracked the rear rim

    I’ve been running them on my Spur for over a year with no issues, but I must admit I’m not pushing them too hard.

    A lightweigh XC race wheelset on an enduro bike is always going to be a compromise though.

    nickc
    Full Member

    A lightweigh XC race wheelset on an enduro bike is always going to be a compromise though

    There are different specs of Roval Control, the Trail version comes as standard on Enduro bikes, and should be up to the sort of riding you can do on an Enduro.

    mudfish
    Full Member

    The Geometron G1 is a totally ace all rounder and fits properly too. No more road based sizing. To be fair, since Chris Porter mainstreamed the geo with his G16 in 2015, a lot of manufacturers have jumped the bandwagon and gone the long slack low route. I totally recommend a testride.

    You don’t want a motor but you may want to look at the Kenevo SL. Light support. Great geo. Lovely bike, even the comp and SO much reduced just now. Testride?? I didnt want a motor either but had no choice, spine injury. Healing slowly but nerve damage has compromised leg function one side.

    onecheshirecat
    Free Member

    SILT carbon are worth a look. I’ve just swapped out a pair of XM481 for a pair of their carbon xc wheels. So much lighter, pick up speed much easier. Nice if you live at the foot of the South downs and have a climb out every ride😃
    Having a nice bike obviously doesn’t exclude me from taking sh**e photos

    gra
    Full Member

    Great thread timing, just the type of bikes I’ve spent the last few days looking at. Congratulations on your new bike, please give us an update on your thoughts when you get out on it.

    devash
    Free Member

    There are different specs of Roval Control, the Trail version comes as standard on Enduro bikes, and should be up to the sort of riding you can do on an Enduro.

    Pretty sure it’s the Roval Traverse series that’s Speccy’s trail / enduro wheelset nomenclature.

    ahsat
    Full Member

    please give us an update on your thoughts when you get out on it.

    Sure will. Also looks like I might be able get a ride on a friends Joplin (Tallboy) at some point, so will do a bit of a compare if I can.

    ahsat
    Full Member

    Think the Roval Control Alloy will win. Just can’t justify the extra £450+ to save 200 g for carbon, plus little apprehensive about it feeling all too harsh. Also want to get them on cycle to work, which takes out the silt option. (And as someone whose job often revolves around silt and mud, I’m not sure I can ride round with silt decals 😂😂)

    ahsat
    Full Member

    It arrived:

    Damn it is pretty. Brief 7-mile local shake-down ride last night and was impressed with the fit and geometry.  Need to sort out the fork set up (had the same on my hardtail SIDs) and having not really ridden a FS for 5+ years it was a bit ‘odd’ initially, but can see it is just what I was looking for. Looking forward to a long ride over the weekend, and the wheel upgrade (and narrower handlebars) arriving.

    hardtailonly
    Full Member

    That’s lovely.🤘

    As is tradition for a NBD post, the pointing on your ‘wall’ needs doing, and the weeding needs to be done!

    hooli
    Full Member

    That is a lovely looking bike, I think it’s straight line from rear axle to steerer tube that does it. Congrats.

    submarined
    Free Member

    …and now I regret buying an Izzo. Again.

    Chuffing Norah that’s a pretty bike, nice one!

    chakaping
    Free Member

    Sweet ride

    devash
    Free Member

    Welcome to the Deep Sea Green club. Best looking bike in the business.

    onecheshirecat
    Free Member

    devash
    Free Member
    Welcome to the Deep Sea Green club. Best looking bike in the business.

    Posted 1 minute ago
    REPLY | REPORT

    Agreed, still absolutely made up with mine one year on.

    Enjoy @Ahsat its a beaut!

    ahsat
    Full Member

    That is a lovely looking bike, I think it’s straight line from rear axle to steerer tube that does it

    I think that is it – it just looks ‘right’

    Thanks all – bring on the weekend!

    jfab
    Full Member

    That looks ace! Like a full-sus version of my Yeti ARC (more so than the various Yeti full-sus’s).

    Would be interested to hear a comparison against the Joplin/Tallboy also.

    devash
    Free Member

    @jfab

    Would be interested to hear a comparison against the Joplin/Tallboy

    There’s a fantastic comparison between the Spur and Tallboy here. This was one of the many reviews that swayed me towards the Spur for the riding I do.

    Short answer – there’s some overlap but really they’re different bikes.

    kelvin
    Full Member

    Best looking bike in the business.

    It’s a looker for sure, in every way.

    ahsat
    Full Member

    Once again the SIDs were pretty much devoid of oil. Had this now with both this OEM set and a direct sale fork. Don’t know how RockShox keep getting away with this. Anyway, as ever @p20 solved the issue, and hopefully they will feel a lot better on the weekends ride.

    Annoyingly the wheels and handlebars are stuck in the weekend DHL holding bay in my local depo and won’t be here till Tuesday 😣

    Those of you with Spurs, the Shimano deore version comes with a 160 mm rear rotor (v bizarre). Have people felt a need to put 180 on? As the Deore wears out it will get replaced with XT/Hope but it’s fine for now and kept the initial price manageable.

    devash
    Free Member

    Those of you with Spurs, the Shimano deore version comes with a 160 mm rear rotor (v bizarre). Have people felt a need to put 180 on? As the Deore wears out it will get replaced with XT/Hope but it’s fine for now and kept the initial price manageable.

    As far as I know all the V1 Spurs (Deep Sea Green / Raw Carbon) come with 160mm rotors on the rear.

    The new ‘Yeti turquoise’ and raw carbon versions come with 180mm rear facilitated by an adapter (SRAM 20P).

    I stuck a 180mm on the rear of mine and it does give you a noticeable increase in braking but I wouldn’t say its an urgent upgrade.

    HobNob
    Free Member

    I think it depends on the type of terrain you ride and use. I ran 180’s on my Spur, with Codes/G2 Ultimate levers & there were point I still found the 180’s were even a bit sketchy after a fast section into some sustained steep.

    I run a 200/180 on the Element, and it’s more comfortable, but appreciate I might not be the average use case.

    onecheshirecat
    Free Member

    Never actually rode it with 160, I had an adapter and a spare 180 disc knocking about so put it straight on.

Viewing 40 posts - 41 through 80 (of 83 total)

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