Giro DND. I loved the Giro Hoxtons they used to make, but sadly don’t do them anymore :( the DND’s are a bit better suited to warmer temps and the fit is ace too. They also seemingly have the grippiest finger grippers I’ve ever used. Most others feel like a gimmick, but the ones on the DND actually seem to do something. Loads of colours available and the touch screen threads work well too. Bit pricey but if they’re as durable as Hoxtons they’ll be worth it!

Whyte S120 would be towards the top of my list, slightly over-budget but a great base to build on. Canyon is a bit conservative geo-wise but will be light, efficient and good value, which may be all you want. The Whyte is a cracking bike though, just a bit heavy!

Had mine for nearly a year now and it is ace. It is staggeringly agile given how bloody long it is, I’m riding a large with a 30mm Chromag stem and 780mm bar. It climbs very well with the 120mm Revelation I’m running, I wouldn’t want to go for a 140mm fork though, think it would kick the seat angle back too much, so 120/130mm would suit better imo. Mines bang on 27.5lbs as pictured below (with expection of the cranks which I changed to carbon Descendants but the difference is next to nothing, done for aesthetics more than anything!)

The paint finish ok. It’s not the best and does scuff up easily. I also struggled with the shifter hitting the top tube until I added another 5mm spacer under the stem, but these small niggles aside it is an amazing bike. Genuinely considered having this as my only MTB and flogging my T130C. It is that good. The frame is shockingly comfortable for a hardtail, far more comfortable than the BFe I owned a few years back and other hardtails I’ve owned (Kinesis XC120, On One 456C). Basically, its comfortable, fast and ruddy good fun.

Another +1 for the Terraduros. Comfier than the Shimano ones I’ve tried, ace to walk in but still plenty stiff enough to put the power down. Built very well too, mine are 4 years old now and aside from the soles looking a bit worn they are in great condition. They could be lighter (but maybe this would make them less durable?) and have a BOA rather than a ratchet, but those insignificant quibbles aside they are damn good.

It looks good, and I do like their outdoors kit, I have a Nano Air Hoody I live in most of the year, so I’d be intrigued to try the riding gear. For me though, 7Mesh are the brand to go for as alluded too a few posts back. The fit, finish and quality is just next level. I used to go through kit from Fox in no time, but my 7Mesh gear is still going strong after nearly 3 and it looks pretty much brand new. I’ve bought a fair bit from them, a few pairs of shorts, jerseys, bibs and a few of the Windstopper jackets and I think once I can afford/stomach spending out on either the Revelation or Guardian jacket I’ll be set for the next 10 years easily. It is expensive, but in my opinion totally worth it. Compared to other brands a lot of the stuff isn’t even that much more than other brands, though I appreciate the Gore-tex jackets are very pricey regardless!

That there middle ring is ****! :O Time to replace the lot me thinks!

Just seen the Mantle frame is CRAZY cheap at the minute… https://www.freewheel.co.uk/genesis-mantle-xc-carbon-race-2018-vargnad3

£599 for that is a bargain

I love Ibis as a brand, I had a Mojo HD for years and ridden a lot of their bikes, including the old Tranny. Haven’t ridden the DV9 but if their other bikes are anything to go by it will be ace. Geometry is more XC/Marathon than trail orientated as I’d hoped, which is what ruled it out for me, but if I wanted a light XC HT for racing, it’d be towards the top of my list. Worth checking out the Genesis Mantle though, similar bike but the geometry is more up to date, longer reach, shorter chainstays etc. If it was pure XC and you wanted something a little more old school in it’s ride feel, Ibis would be ace. The Genesis would, on paper at least, look to be a better all rounder.

One of the very much Alfa/Lancia-type brands of the bike world. Lovely to look at and brag about and there will be the handful of rides where it performs insanely well, but the rest of the time will be a living nightmare. Loads of fancy, boutique options out there, Ibis Ripmo gets rave reviews and I truly loved my old Mojo HD, it was so efficient, very quick and never put a foot wrong, was just too small for me. Briefly rode the Ripmo in April and came away impressed, too much bike for me (the new Ripley is more my bag), but it felt solid, pedalled insanely well for a bike of that travel/intention and felt really lively and agile. Worth a look!

ive just seen the pics of the slx 12 speed stuff on facebook

You can’t say that and not post them!

Launch may be tomorrow, saw on another sites social media that they were in Japan at Shimano with a blurred out MTB in the background, said all would revealed on the 30th May.

Can’t remember if 11-speed SLX/XT were launched at the same time, but they seemed to be a little more on it with XT last time round, it was launched in April and had it on my bike by the end of June if I remember correctly. Lord knows what availability will be like this time round though given the whole XTR debacle!

Done the blue on my Genesis Datum with 33mm Challenge Strada Biancas and it was OK…ish. I’d want a wider, tougher tyre at lower pressures (i was running circa 50psi to keep pinch flats at bay) and better brakes than my HY/RD’s with 160mm rotors. It was sketchy in places, the blue is very deceptive at Degla, it looks and feels very smooth on an MTB but let me tell you on a fully rigid bike with above tyres and brakes it got buck wild in places! Blew my hands off the bars twice and my pace was way, way slower on the singletrack than usual. So yes, you can do it. But would it be a fun experience for you? Possibly not!

Liking Ergon’s GE1 Factory EVOs. Tried the slim and they felt a bit harsh, got a set of standards and they are much better, feel great, grip well and provide excellent comfort on longer rides. Highly recommended.

Rode a S120C RS a few weeks back on a demo day. Tyres had been changed for a mahoosive HRII on the front and the forekaster switched to the rear. Total overkill front tyre but it felt good. Felt like it needed some lighter tyres and wheels, felt a little porky to be honest. Given the cost involved, I wouldn’t be in a hurry to replace my T130 with one. Would be keen to try the Works though as it felt like a bike with a lot of potential if it was lighter.

They need to do a titanium Soul. That could be my only bike!

Free of pretty much everything. It just feels nice to be out and enjoying life, with a good kick of adrenaline for good measure!

Fortus 35W are basically the old Enduro 35W re-badged. The Fortus 23, 26 & 30 are all new rims but aren’t out until July. I have a T130 myself and have Pro 4 hubs laced to Stans Arch MK3’s and they’ve been ace for the 2 1/2 years I’ve had them. 35W’s are overkill on a T130, something lighter will do wonders for the how bike feels.

S150 all the way. Very capable bike and happy enough to pedal all-day. Though to be fair, unless you’re bothered about how you get on racing the enduros, an S120 would do the job too. My riding is similar to yours and my T130 is perfect for me.

I’ve got a 2017 T130C RS that will be 3 years old in August, rode a few demo bikes with a view I may replace in the next year or so and do you know what? I rode my T130 straight after a few demo bikes and I came away besotted with the T130 again. It’s just a bloody good bike! Like you I’ve changed a lot on my bike to make it lighter and I got the feeling I would have to so the same to any other bike, so I doubt I’ll bother “upgrading” from the T130 for a while yet.

Back to your own bike, they made the seat tube shorter on the 2016 models, so you may find you know fit on a medium T130 in a newer model. Plenty of T130C’s come up so you could always go down that route. The shorter stems of the newer models really help the handling.

Thank’s for the response Cy. I have a Soul and it’s a great ride, I will certainly try and get a ride on the Flare to see how it compares. Interesting points on the chainstay length and seat angle, I guess there are so many variables in how bikes are measured it’s easy to compare to on paper but for them to be totally different in reality. The Soul rips though and I’m sure the new Flare does too!

SA still isn’t that steep though, was hoping for shorter CS too. Ironically the geometry of the medium is very similar to my large T130, barring the longer CS and slightly steeper CS the numbers are within a few mm of each other. Will have to get a ride on one and see how it goes!

Cotic Soul takes up to a 2.6 tyre and is a great ride

Wouldn’t bother with Shimano brakes, full stop. I had a set of XTR Trails and they were the first set I tried to have the wandering bite point any brake above Deore level seems to suffer from these days. Add in the lack of spares/repair-ability and they’re just not worth it. Go Hope and don’t look back!

Got a set of hand built Hope Pro 4 hubs on Stans Arch MK3 rims with Sapim D-Light spokes that come in a smidge over your target weight on my T130C have been rock solid for the 2 and a bit years I’ve run them, just built up a spare rear for my Cotic Soul as I switch the front between both bikes. Think they cost about £400 in the end, money well spent!

Cheap cheerful option is Shimano, the new Deore 4-pots are very good, but as with all Shimano brakes if they do go wrong you’ll struggle to fix them.

Hope E4’s are the wise choice these days it seems. X2’s are a little light on power for anything other than pure XC work, but the Tech 3 levers are reliable, highly adjustable and rock solid and the E4 caliper delivers enough, if not loads of power. Pleased with both sets of mine over the past few years and I know others that have gone for years with nothing more than pad changes. They are more expensive than others, but given the reliability and back-up from Hope they make for great value brakes in the long run.

The date on that image has been changed twice! Originally said 18th, then 19th, seems this morning they changed it to the 20th, perhaps on the back of SC launching the Megatower, which will surely grab way more attention than a helmet… Bad news for Trek/Bontrager is it was already out in the open today…

All the hype. All the tin foil hats.

And it’s just a helmet…

https://www.bikemag.com/gear/apparel/helmets/bontrager-introduces-wavecell-helmet-technology/

EDIT: A bloody expensive one too!!! $300 for an open face lid? I’m ooooout.

As a fellow T130 owner, and in typical STW style, also have a MK5 Cotic Soul and they compliment each other very nicely, even able to swap the wheels between with no issues so could save on build cost if you T130 has Boost spacing. The Soul is ace, pretty light, crazy stable at speed but still fairly agile, it’s just great. A grand would get you a frame and a Revelation fork from Merlin like I’ve got on mine would leave a fair bit of change for the rest of the build, could easily go under £2k. Picture of mine for inspiration!

Could always just get some E4 calipers for your current levers? To be fair, while they are expensive, Hope are IMO the best option at the minute. Shimano’s cheaper brakes are excellent but not serviceable, so when years down the line they do give up, they’re fit for the bin. Anything above Deore level is dog turd these days, wandering bite points and just general reliability grumbles.

I really like Sram brakes and would buy a set of Codes despite the extra weight, but again reliability leaves a lot to be desired on Sram brakes. I’ve known faulty levers on numerous sets of guides that have been replaced on bikes that haven’t even rolled out of the shop door! I liked my old Guide RS’s but they were a bit temperamental.

Both bikes are running E4’s now (one with the Race levers, other with Tech 3’s) and while they don’t have gobs and gobs of power like Codes & Saints, they have plenty for me with 180mm rotors front and rear so if I needed more I can always go 203mm rotors. They’re superbly reliable, easy to work on and spares are easy to get hold of if the worst happens. Only real criticism of them really is the fact they use Dot fluid rather than mineral oil, which is hardly the end of the world!

As Hob Nob says above, don’t expect a massive weight saving from the X1/Stylo/Descendant (they’re all pretty much the same as far as I understand) carbon cranks. I swapped from X1 alloy arms to Stylos and saved about 50g, also switched the DUB GX cranks I bought for the Soul to carbon GXP Descendants and there was even less in it. For me though, there is one reason why I went for the carbon arms; they won’t look shite after one ride like both alloy sets did!!!

Standard GXP BB’s are a bit pants, but there are loads of decent aftermarket options for both PF BB’s and threaded shells. If you have a GXP fitted, buy some GXP cranks, run the BB into the ground and then replace with Hope. Job done.

Still readily available despite being superseded by DUB by the looks of it – https://www.chainreactioncycles.com/sram-gx-eagle-12sp-groupset-gxp/rp-prod161511

FlareMax has been out for a while with Longshot geo, the normal Flare is the only model not to receive a re-make yet. Considering the success of the other models (and going from what others have said) it is coming, but a definite case of when! There’s a few things with the FlareMax that make it a bit hesitant about it geo wise, which seem to have been resolved to an extent on the RocketMax, but that is way too much bike for me! A Flare with similar geometry to the MK5 Soul and a steeper seat tube and a smidge shorter back end is what I’m intrigued by!

Still no news? Not even a snippet of info?

#3 is epic! Liking #2 but bike needs moooaaaaarr slackerer, longerer & lowerer!

They have no obligation to supply with an identical frame. The fact the colours don’t match is irrelevant as far as warranty goes. They’ve supplied you with a frame of the same specification and that is as much as they have to do. Yes it would be nice to supply one the same colour, but they don’t have too. Unless the frame was not of the same standard (i.e. they gave you a cheaper aluminium frame rather than carbon for example) you don’t really have a position and to be fair if the shop have done the frame swap FOC they didn’t have to do that either. It’s not ideal but it’s often the way it is unfortunately.

You can’t just leave it at that if you know more!!!!

Maxxis. Minion DHF 3C up front and an aggressor out back. Job done.

Yeah a jacket of any kind sounds over kill really! You’re best looking at thicker jerseys or look at how you layer your gear. I typically run very hot and have been riding all through winter with a couple of 7Mesh Windstopper Jackets/jerseys (they’re kind of both, the MTB equivilant of a Gabba if you will) and have just used a suitable baselayer for the conditions underneath. If it’s been around freezing or just above I’ve used a thick-ish Craft Fuse Knit and if it’s been 5-10 degrees I’ve used a short sleeve Craft mesh base layer and that’s seen me through all winter just fine. Now it’s getting warmer I’ve stuck with the mesh base layer and wear a 7Mesh Compound jersey over the top. It has a windproof panel on the front and really works well, MBR rated it very highly and it’s not overly expensive either.

7Mesh Compound jersey review

https://7mesh.com/catalog/product/view/id/2201/category/77/

FWIW, it’s probably not what you want to hear after dropping some major £££ on one, but I’ve found Fox jackets to be pretty shocking performance wise. They fall apart very quickly, don’t fit that nicely and they’re extremely hot, not at all breathable and not all that waterproof either. I went through two in about 10 months, the first one had the cuffs fail during the first ride and the fabric stained permanently a few rides later and the second one (a different model) was seemingly put together for the sole purpose of falling apart again. Needless to say I got a refund on both. Don’t get me wrong 7Mesh gear is not cheap, nor does it claim to be anything but, but for 3 years now all the gear I’ve had from them has been top notch and just keeps on going and performing superbly. Bit like Exposure lights I think, yes they’re expensive, but once you’ve used them you’ll not want to go back to anything else!

mate of mine has a Nimble 9 and seems to like it, runs his as a 29er with a 160/130 DPA Pike. runs it 130mm most of the time. Seems a fast bike!

As others have said, it’s worth keeping an eye on. Cracks are more likely than catastrophic failure. I remember a GMBN video where they tested an old Giant (or was it a GT?) DH against a modern enduro bike. Neil Donahue was riding both bikes hard and the DH bike was waaaay older than 2006 if I remember correctly and cracked in a few places. I did see a Stumpy FSR of similar vintage the other day with a brand new set of 200mm Boxxers on though… now that is an accident waiting to happen!!!! Unless you’re doing similar by putting a massive fork on it or throwing it down seriously gnarly terrain or big jumps there shouldn’t be much to worry about.