A slight digression, and perhaps stating the bleeding obvious, but tyre pressure has a massive bearing on the feel of a wheelset.

I say this because the last bike I had came with 30mm wide rims which was the widest I’d had on a bike. I spent quite a few rides massively unimpressed with the ride quality until I experimented with much lower pressures, finally finding a sweet spot in the low 20’s.

Whilst the WT tyres will work on narrower rims, as has been said above, its the profile that won’t be ideal. I’d also argue that a lot of the benefit from the wider rim / tyre combo comes from the fact you can run lower pressures. Putting a wider tyre on a narrower rim will require a higher pressure which then negates some of the benefit of said wider tyre.

I think that’s when the argument comes in that says it may be better to just stick to a 2.3″ (ish) tyre on something with 25mm or less rim width.

Having said all of that though, I did used to have some Hope Tech Enduro and they happily ran a 2.35″ Magic Mary. They’re also bloody strong so at least if you did run lower pressures they will stand up to abuse better than some rims would.

I have had the XC Wide (25mm internal) since June this year. Great quality product in terms of what you get in the box (tubeless valves, spare spoke, spoke key) and also in terms of their finish.

Set them up tubeless with some Maxxis tyres and (after some trial and error with sealant…) they went up with a track pump.

Ride quality is good, and their light weight definitely helps. Good hub engagement and a subtle but pleasant freehub buzz, if that’s your thing.

Although mine are on a Rocky Mountain Element (XC bike) they’ve been to Antur Stiniog, Llangollen DH and some local steep and techy DH and they’ve held up just fine. On very fast trail centre type stuff, you can feel some tyre squirm but then they are only 25mm so that’s to be expected, but for general riding I’d say they are absolutely brilliant value for money.

Of course, Hunt do also do other models for trail and enduro riding but so far, given I’ve put mine through abuse they aren’t designed for, I can’t fault them in any way.

For just over £300 I’d say they are an utter bargain.

I have my eyes on the new carbon ones…

If it’s proper steep then 20% technique 80% mental.

Stunning to look at and great geometry.

Its not really a comparison pitching the price of this against a YT or a Canyon; they have completely different business models.

I suspect the new cycle to work limit will mean more expensive bikes becoming attainable for more people (similar to the car industry where people now look at monthly cost rather than purchase price).

Given how conservative Specialized have been for the last few years its good to see them catch up finally. Threaded BBs, longer reach, shorter seat tube etc.

I recently (June) bought a Rocky Mountain Element from Paul’s Cycles (easy to deal with BTW). Its a great XC bike with a touch more potential than most in the same category I’d say…but its a bit too much XC for me so its up for sale on Pinkbike.

Other than that, Start Fitness and Westbrook cycles had some other brands in.

A lot of responses on here from people sounding like they’d be better staying home eating their cornflakes musing over the Daily Mail than heading out for an early morning ride.

I’ve seen many scenarios where a polite, law abiding bike ride has encountered walkers and its been the walkers who have been downright rude, abusive and out of order. But walkers don’t tend to wear GoPros to film their adventures and then post them up for the world to see. Its a shame then that Ben has felt the pressure to edit the video as whilst it was an unfortunate incident, nothing happened.

I wonder whether we should start posting up every instance of rides when encounters with walkers garners unwarranted abuse, because I’m certain that it isn’t a one sided storey of inconsideration for other users of our – free for all to use – countryside.

A little over budget and an older model but:

https://www.specializedconceptstore.co.uk/product/12050/2018-stumpjumper-expert-29-6fattie/

The spec isn’t too bad for the money; carbon hoops too. It’s also probably more mid than short travel, too.

When I had my Whyte T129 I ran a Minion DHRii 2.3 and a Minion SS 2.3 and both were OK size wise. Like you say, it’s tight out back ; a 2.35″ may fit but it would need trying out which, if you don’t have one handy, could be an expensive way of wasting money!

A shame really that it didn’t have better clearance as it was a brilliant bike!

I recently bought a Rocky Mountain Element from Paul’s Cycles for less than your budget, but I’ve just looked and they only have the C70 in stock now at £3200. It’s a massively capable bike despite what the geometry numbers say.

I also looked at the Scott Spark (Westbrook Cycles and Start Fitness) but was put off a little by the twinlok and double chainring setup.

Start Fitness have a Cube Stereo 120 HPC for £2,299.00 with Fox factory suspension on and also have an Orange Segment and a Stage 4 by the look of it.

The Vitus Escarpe came second in MBUK Bike of the Year recently, so worth a look. Beaten to first place by the Commencal Meta TR, again worth a look. Both, I think, come in various spec levels to suit various budgets.

I’d also have a look on Winstanley’s bikes ; they have a Whyte S-150 for just over £2k, which is more than you want to spend, but must tick the boxes you’ve noted…

There’s lots of parts to your question, most come down to how competent a rider you are.

Would you be a better rider on a Santa Cruz, Yeti, Ibis compared to your T130? Possibly, maybe. Depends which model you go for. Your T130 is a great all rounder but will do things better / worse than many others. On the assumption that you still want an all round capable bike, I’d suggest looking at the Yeti SB130, Ibis Ripley (new one), Ripmo and the Santa Cruz Bronson (which will ride most similar to your T130 of those 4 bikes).

Would you notice a difference with different components? Possibly, maybe. A badly setup Fox 36 Factory GRIP 2 will ride worse than an unfettled Rockshox Pike. Same with a CCDB shock compared to a Fox DPX2. Generally speaking, on suspension, your money goes on more knobs and adjustments so if you don’t know whether you prefer more or less HSC and LSR then you may be better off saving the money and paying for a shop to get your setup diallied (or hire a shockwiz).

Wheels and tyres are in my opinion where the money makes a big difference. Something strong, wide, light-ish and with a set of Maxxis Wide Trail tyres. Yes I’d go carbon and I’d be giving my cash to Santa Cruz for a set of their Reserve wheels.

If you’re happy on a 32t chainring and an 11-36 cassette, you’ll be even happier on an Eagle 32t and 10-50 cassette. More range, less fatigue, more enjoyable riding. Don’t fight that trend.

Weight depends; too light and it won’t take your alps trip, too heavy and its a pointless slog. I’d go for a sorted frame in terms of geometry, the best wheels you can afford, a well setup suspension platform (Fox 36s are brilliant but they are stiff compared to Lyrics and Pikes and you need to be honest whether your riding needs that).

The bottom line is when it comes to bike brands is there are very few bad bikes these days (and Whyte are up there with the best). If you can get a demo on something top-end, you’ll get the best idea whether spending that cash is worth it to you.

I was looking at the two the other day and whilst I am sure there are more differences than this, it did look like you could fit an angleset to the P7 and get pretty much the same geo numbers as the Crush 29.

I’ve been eyeing up a discounted P7 29 which is why I did the comparison.

Racing. A great way to ruin a good ride. Going out of your comfort zone is great, but doing an uplift day is the best place for that.

Unless you’re sponsored to race I can’t see the point. You spend weeks beforehand making all your rides training rides, sapping the enjoyment. If you don’t manage to get a ride in on any given week you feel miserable ‘cos you’ve not been ‘training’. And then when you do race you find you aren’t as fit as you want / need to be and with the realisation that you’ve just spoffed £50+ ‘racing’ somewhere you could otherwise go for free!

The last race I did is my last race. It was local to me, on trails I know like the back of my hand and I genuinely felt I had a good result in me. Stage 1, going hell for leather far far quicker than I’ve ridden before, took a massive smash. Broken seat, lost water bottle (it was July, 25degs+), smashed shoulder, hip, head. Pure bloody mindedness, anger and adrenaline I decided to finish the rest of the race anyway and with solid enough (mid pack) finishes on the remaining stages. All was lost on Stage 1 though, over 3 mins down. All for nothing other than some misguided notion of wanting to do well when the reality is nobody on the planet is ever going to look up on roots and rain for how I did.

I happen to think that biking is a great avenue for dealing with mental health and there is no better feeling than pushing yourself to do something you’ve not before. But racing is not the same, at least not for 99% of riders with the 1% being those who have a vested financial or material interest in it.

Rachel Atherton is pretty good…

I’ve recently bought the 160 TM. Great spec for the money.

r.e. the sizing – ignore the cube frame numbers (16, 18, 20, 22). They do not match the actual frame size. The 20, for example is actually an 18.5″ frame.

if you go by the geometry charts that’s a far better way of getting the size right but do bear in mind standover isn’t amazing.

for reference though, i am 5’9″ and have the 20 frame which fits me (or my riding style) fine.

£7.5k IS a ridiculous price for a pedal powered bike, no question.

That said, also pretty sure the ‘reason’ for the refund is due to Hope not wanting people to buy the bike then sell it for a profit immediately. Happens frequently in the car world. That plus it was also overpriced in the first place.

Amazing review Doug!

Really liking the MyO customisation; makes you think so many other manufacturers are missing a trick.

It’s a shame that UK dealers seem to be few and far between but probably just as well otherwise I’d be tempted to order a Martini racing colour scheme with a DHX!

I have a T129 and I would say go for it!

It’s a far from plush bike and whilst this is great for efficiency there are times I’d like something that tracks the ground better. With this in mind, I’d expect a coil shock to be the perfect solution. The travel is short enough to not be too inefficient but it would surely give the back end more ability, which the geometry is just crying out for.

I’d certainly be interested in the result!

You’d definitely notice the (slightly) longer front centre on the Four; that is probably one of the biggest changes to more modern bikes and probably why some people have suggested it feels slacker. The reality is that compared to the 2013 Five, it isn’t, but the cumulative effect of longer top tube, effective top tube, steeper seat angle all make it seem slacker.

The beauty of a longer front centre is that it puts you in a more central position on the bike meaning its easier to ride more aggressively (once you get used to it). I had a 2012/13 Five earlier this year and whilst it was ok, it quickly got out of its depth when the speeds picked up and you felt like you were over the front of the bike so wan’t massively confidence inspiring.

Having had 26″, 27.5 and 29″ bikes, you’d be hard pressed to notice a massive difference in speed between a 26″ and a 27.5″. You will notice a better geometry setup though. If it is outright speed you want, then a 29″ is the way to go.

Great bike.

I have the 2016 SCR model.

Positives:
It’s fast. Noticeably quicker than my last bike (Santa Cruz Bronson CC).
It’s slack enough and long enough to allow aggressive riding (see also negatives)
The build quality is superb, and the components excellent.
They are a ruddy bargain if you look in the right places!

Negatives:
It’s slack enough and long enough to allow aggressive riding which quickly throws the light on the fact it only has 120mm travel!
The front end is quite low. I fitted some high rise bars.
The ride is firm, rather than supple, but that may be a positive, depending where / what you ride.
Rear tyre clearance is woeful. I have a 2.3″ Maxxis Minion SS and it JUST fits.

Overall it is a great trail bike but it is possible to find its limits which is unsurprising given its only 120mm travel but more of a compliment about its geometry!

Like honourablegeorge I also have DHR2 3C front and a Minion SS rear. I started off with the silkworm SS but managed to tear a chunk out of it on my second ride. Now gone with an exo TR SS which is faring ok so far.

If you don’t mind accepting that you won’t stop on a sixpence, its fine as a rear. I really rate the DHR2 up front too despite it supposedly being a rear tyre.

I did previously have a Maxxis Ikon 3C 2.2 on the back but tore that being too enthusiastic and, to be fair, taking it outside of its xc comfort zone.

The Minion SS is way more capable than the Ikon, particularly noticeable when cornering. The Ikon is faster rolling, just, but nowhere near as versatile as the Minion SS everywhere else.

Not 29″, but I used a 27.5″ Rock Razor last year (on the rear) for everything from trail riding to Antur Stiniog, Revolution and Llangollen DH so the capability of the RR / SS is definitely very broad.

I recently had an, admittedly short, test ride on a Stage 6 and I have to confess it was good, like, really good.

But I don’t think any bike warrants dropping £4k on it regardless of how good it is. That said, just like the car market, there will always be those who do drop the cash on new bikes and for that we should be thankful; in 6, 12, 18 months they’re for sale at a fraction of the new price and even if you don’t want someone else’s dirty saddle, plenty of bike shops flog new, nay defunct, models for a reduced price as the pace of technology marches on.

I recently bought a Whyte T129 and although I’ve only been on it a handful of times so far, I think it’s absolutely blinding. For what I paid for it (Winstanleys) it’s even better.

Sure, the rear tyre clearance isn’t brilliant, but I reckon you’d get a 2.3″ in there just about and the bars are awkward with their funny backsweep and low rise. The stock rear tyre is also rubbish. However, a 30mm rise Renthal and a decent rear tyre later and the bike rips.

I’m well out of practice but initial rides have seen me ride familiar sections at PB pace and although the travel is modest (120mm) the geometry makes up for that. There isn’t anything I’ve ridden on previous 160mm 27.5 bikes that I wouldn’t ride the Whyte on (natural trails in N.Wales, Eastridge, Revolution, Antur Stiniog, Coed Y Brenin).

Having previously owned an Enduro 29er the Whyte blows that away in terms of its sizing, geometry and efficiency. That said my Enduro was a 2014 model so the new one may be different.

I really like the look of the new S150 but would be tempted, if I felt the need for something more aggressive, to either fit some offset bushings and/or put a longer shaft in the Yari to take it up to 130-140mm.

Rock Razor Super Gravity is slightly heavy but offset by the tread. It is also surprisingly versatile in a range of conditions and is definitely tough (I’ve ridden it at Antur Stiniog and Revolution without issue).

I also have high praise for Maxxis Ikon 3C 2.35. I had them front and back from January > May (bike just sold that had them on) and they were stupidly rapid. Perhaps not ideal on the front but OK. As a rear though; awesome.

Terrible news.

As someone who has been a mountain biker for the last 7 years and started road biking in the last month it really is a stark contrast how potentially dangerous it is compared to MTB.

On a 28 mile ride on Tuesday not only did I manage to fall off, doing more damage to myself than I’ve done in 7 years MTB, I also encountered 2 cars cutting me up and an HGV driving very erratically maybe 1-2m behind me.

You need to have your wits about you all the time and it doesn’t matter how good a rider you are, even the smallest lapse of concentration can result in an accident. This is of course the same in MTB but the difference being trees, rocks etc don’t move; on the road you simply can’t account for what other road users are going to do.

Hopefully Nicky will make a reasonable recovery given his injuries.

Non TR tyres will seat and seal ok, just not as easily as the TR ones.

I have one of either (TR rear, non TR front) and both sealed fine. I would say that your best bet getting a definite seat with the non TR will be by using an Airshot or similar.

TR versions are blissfully easy to setup tubeless most of the time not even needing a lubed up bead and going up with a track pump.

Kimbers, absolutely, agreed. My point was more that each series could purposely include a ‘big’ round but not at the cost of overall participation in the series i.e. no doubt a lot of people were put off by the fact that the BES did include big, long, tough stages.

The market is there for big stage races – just look at Ard’ Rock. I just don’t think the market (volume) is there for a series of big stage races.

The principle of having a National series which is a stepping stone to the EWS is fine logic, but I do wonder whether the fact that one of the reasons the BES was cancelled was down to low (very low apparently) numbers is because there isn’t the actual rider demand for it?

It isn’t like the UK is short of technical terrain to ride and train on and training to be able to do long, hard, sustained efforts in the saddle over multiple days is easy done outside of a race.

I can’t help but think that it is the lack of UK Level endorsement by BC that is ultimately the cause; it’s not like ‘grassroots’ enduro is suffering.

Maybe the answer lies within the existing series. Expert and Elite categories have to ride to timed transfers, or maybe do the course twice. Perhaps one round per year is “the big one” which, ok, may attract less numbers due to its intimidating nature, but that won’t adversely affect the series overall as numbers are generally high enough to make it work.

Either that or people start signing up for the BDS and sack off the uplift and ride up instead!

What don’t you like about the G150? An Alpine won’t be dissimilar I doubt.

Not that I think I did my Alpine much justice but it never felt amazing and on most trails was too much bike really, more really due to the long wheelbase I think.

I’ve currently got a 2015 Bronson and it is a great all rounder but I still have a hankering for a Nomad which was superb and with geometry numbers right in the sweetspot (for me at least!)

One word. Compromise.

That, as well as having an understanding, honest, sharing/caring relationship with your other half.

Having a child is hard work, compared to not having a child. But it need not be the end-of-the-world that a lot of folk make out. I’d rather be a happy, healthy dad than a lazy, miserable one and if taking time out to cycle, run, whatever helps with that then you need to find time to do it.

Also, I noticed that someone suggested putting yourself last on a list of priorities. Sure, your wife and child come top, but your own health and well being should also be high up the list. Working is there to pay the bills and that should be all.

I don’t think a longer stem will be the reason your CX bike has more reactive steering!

More likely to be a difference in HA of about 5 degrees.

Failing all of the good advice above, take the matter to Twitter and tweet away. Nobody likes bad press, especially a courier company so close to Christmas.

Ridiculous.

Nobody has actually said whether their Strava time was being logged on a GPS watch or an i phone so the discrepancy between the two renders their run null and void anyway. Everyone knows times are faster on an i phone.

Yari > Pike > Lyric

Of the SC RS forks which have the 35mm chassis, anyway.

Value/worth means different things to different folks but, having had had a Pike RC, Pike RCT3 and now a Yari RC I can, hand on heart, say that I can’t notice any discernable difference. That may say more about me as a rider but I’m not a pro, far from it.

What I can say is that I ride the same stuff on the Yari as I did on the Pike (in fact I probably ride harder stuff, harder, on the Yari) and I’ve never once felt the Yari is a lesser fork.

Yes the Pike has the better damper, but with 3 x bottomless tokens in it, the Yari feels more supple off the top and ramps up nicely. When I bought the Yari I was actually toying with the idea of a Yari or a Lyric. Partly having owned a Pike for a while but also because, well, if you’re gonna go all out, may as well get a Lyric.

Yari is fine for UK stuff including uplifts. Top fork.

Assuming your bike is a reasonably robust/aggro HT and not an XC lightweight machine, it is do-able, yes. Both the red trails are smooth and flowy up top. Where they meet the ghetto track it gets slower and techy but then opens up at the bottom quarry section. There is also a new lower red section that looks (from what I have seen online) to be a series of big, flowing berms.

I’m not sure whether the black runs would be a whole heap of fun on a hardtail but there isn’t anything stopping you trying!

To be honest having ridden both I would say that a hardtail is better suited to Revolution than Antur Stiniog. Antur is tough enough on a full suss, even on the blue and red, and the surface/rocks are definitely more puncture prone than at Revolution.

You need to be a decent level to ride Revolution full stop, so assuming you are that, then to be honest riding a hardtail or a full suss isn’t so much about being able to cope technically rather cope physically.

What isn’t in doubt is how awesome Revolution is and they do now have a hire fleet of DH bikes if the HT really isn’t working out.

28 might be a PITA on any flatter / road sections in terms of you spinning out. Depends on your thoughts on that.

Don’t underestimate what a change in tyres would do, too. Something faster rolling out back (and up front) would help. If your riding isn’t too aggro, you could get away with something like a Schwalbe Rocket Ron perhaps.

Suppose it is cheaper to swap chain rings than tyres (or cassette) though. Also don’t underestimate how much quicker you’ll get your fitness back pushing a slightly harder gear. Short term pain and all that…

Getting changed in the carpark at Penmachno is no big deal, there are only sheep knocking about to see you.

Suppose that’s a whole different thread for discussion though…

Never ceases to amaze me when folk local to Llandegla slag it off. It’s unashamedly a trail centre designed for all abilities and has the facilities to cater for every level of rider. It isn’t dull but neither is it overly difficult as that would defeat its purpose.

At this time of year Llandegla is a quick, easy MTB fix with the added bonus of a good cafe (perfectly reasonably priced) and good facilities. Riding the Marin or Penmachno at this time of year, alone, isn’t the greatest idea, unless you have good local knowledge as there are short cuts to make the loop quicker.

Logistics is a good point, with Llandegla being closer and quicker to get round. It has been extremely wet these last couple of days too in this part of the world (I live a couple of miles from Llandegla) so Llandegla will come into its own as a weatherproof trail centre.

If you accept Llandegla for what it is, you’ll enjoy it. People DO use the skills area, freeride track and pump track (I do – I can bike from home, mess about on them, bike home, all within an hour or so which gives a good mix/fix of fitness and messing about).

I’d put Marin and Penmachno on the list of places to go in Summer if you are up here then but for the here and now, Llandegla would be my advice.