I own a 2019 Instinct carbon frame alloy rear triangle, great up or down hills, light weight, quality build and fun to ride I am very happy with it, suits my type of riding in the Scottish Highlands (big hills and rocky trails)

I nearly bought a planet x tempest but I am in between medium and large on their charts and even though they said go bigger rather than smaller I still wanted to try before I buy so I bought a Whyte Dean For £1400 and am very impressed with it, very comfy on the rough tracks and GRX 2×10 gives much more range rather than 1x gears, it seems to built to a high standard and seems a good quality bike if I had one criticism I would like it a bit lighter (11 kilos) only notice the weight in the garage though and still a good hill climber

@cultsdave,that is a very tough day on a hardtail MTB bike let alone gravel, well done I did that route in 2 days and your pictures dont show the rocky/boggy singletrack bits which was challenging enough on a hardtail. I have a cross bike and for me I wouldnt use it on that route Ive also done the inner loop again tough 2 days of riding on the hardtail but as they say everyone to there own

Ive been up the Burma road about 6 times now and never even considered going out of my way not to cross the A9 especially if it means climbing over a fence. The road is not a dual carriageway and there is a proper junction at either side for vehicles and all other users the road is not that busy unless your unlucky with peak times.

Motorbike forum ? even though I own a bike myself haha. I would go 1000 cc naked for what you want I’ve owned Bandit 12 and Fazer 1000 both excellent but presently own a Fazer 600 boring but capable bit like a Vauxhall Astra haha

I’ll second Boardman MHT8.9 I had the 2019 which I think is better than the current one but only beacause it was Shimano SLX 11 speed 11-46×1 as opposed to the current Sram 12 speed which is the budget version but both have Reba forks and very good all rounders but I replaced it with an On one Scandal because I wanted a slacker front end and surprise surprise it is so much better on steep downhills compared to the Boardman but it is slightly slower up the hills but I have put Maxxis Minion tyres on it so that might change when I put fast rolling tyres on for the summer (when it comes)

After reading lots of conflicting advise re sizing for me at 5ft 11 I went on Guys Kestevens advise as he actually reviewed the bike and as I’m the same height so I went for large and definitely made the right choice it feels so stable on the steep descents which is what my previous bike lacked Boardman MHT 8.9 also large. Had to change two things immediately though the saddle is a torture device and the tyres are only fit for dry landrover tracks not the winter mud and snow we have now. Overall very happy with the bike and would recommend even for £1200 I was lucky enough to get it in the sale for £1000 would be nice if it came with a dropper post as you certainly want to ride steep descents on it so I bought a brand x 150mm and swapped the tyres for Maxxis Minion DHR/DHF

So I thought I would give an opinion on my Scandal, I have rode it about 6 times now and very impressed with how it handles steep gnarly going and fills me with confidence but also pedals well on the landrover type tracks and seems a quality bike. Compared to my previous hardtail a Boardman MHT8.9 it is slower up the hills but faster down as the slack front end and quality fork seems so good so I am happy with it, had to make to changes straight away the supplied tyres are purely summer only and lethal on roots and the saddle is a torture device. I am 5ft 11 and after all the conflicting advice from people on this forum and On one staff and Guy Kesteven I went with the large frame which I like as its very stable on the steep descents and I dont feel like I’m going to be sent over the bars at any time like I was on the Boardman I also fitted a Brand X 150mm dropper post as the bike is very capable for gnarly tracks. I would definetly recommend this bike especially if you can get it for discount like I did for £999, just one complaint the delivery was on time but I would have liked to be contacted the day before to check someone was going to be about (luckily my wife was) but it could have been a wasted trip for the courier

Forgot you will need a cleat as well (which I happened to have) so if you have to buy a cleat and clamp going to be a dear job (certainly quality though if you source it cheap enough)

Looks like the clamp is out of stock not surprised looks good value. I used an Exposure handlebar mount it is brilliant quality and secure (just had to change the bolt to the light) got mine of Amazon

I agree with Nobeerinthefridge just to try if you like it I am quite happy with my Aldi walking boots in most situations apart from on some jumps my feet have moved on the pedals, the most important thing with any boot/shoe is the sole needs to be flexible to grip the pins dont attempt anything with rigid spd shoes or proper hiking boots. I have 5.10s for dryer days or if I know the riding will be gnarly as I do find flats do give me more confidence on that type of riding

I am still struggling with the sizing guide and a couple of staff at Planet x saying 5ft 11 ok for large where as customer experience seems to be go medium. My Boardman hardtail has a reach of 441 which seems very comfy and is closer to medium on the Scandal but my only criticism of the Boardman is it feels too short on steep singletrack but the head angle at 68 degrees doesn’t help I’m sure. Please help me make my mind up haha

Very tempted to buy one of these but put off by the damaged on delivery stories and general poor service but seems a bargain especially the current version with GX gearing and 35 forks. Also the sizing rant by Brant I’m 5ft 11 and the sizing guide says large do I ignore that and go medium if so why is the guide wrong ? My current bike is a Boardman MHT 8.9 (29er hardtail) in large which fits perfectly. Cheers guys

I think LBS for back up and service and fork and geometry are more important than 12 speed gears I have Sram GX 12 speed on my full sus and Shimano SLX 11 speed and I am favouring the SLX especially the fact that its my winter bike and over a year later its still going strong just a chain required. Both bikes are 29ers and I think this especially suits a hardtail unless you were riding very gnarly and tight trails most of the time in which case I would go for a 27.5

I have two 29ers in full sus and hardtail and I think they both roll better than my old 27.5 only drawback not so nimble on very tight singletrack but still better for most of my riding which varies from fireroads and gravel to flowing singletrack and a small amount of gnarly downhills

Planet x I have the saddle, handlebar and small frame bags good value, tough and waterproof survived 3 overnight tours so far including the Cairngorm loop twice

Thanks trap6 that post looks impressive, how big a bag do you attach I want to carry a bike packing back do you think it would cope or I notice that company does a carbon fibre post. Cheers

Thanks for the video’s Paton interesting but the suspension posts are not going to enable bags to be attached to the seat post, I’ve being doing a bit of my own research and I reckon I’m going to try wider tyres next my frame is boost and 29″ width rims

Hi what size are the shoes I have some am41 but size 45 and too small for me