Btw , the kid in question is 74 kg, and 183 cm tall. So fully adult sized.

thanks folks!

@FB-ATB : most of the people at our shop have nicer bikes themselves, not the lower end stuff I’m looking at here. Almost all FS too I think.

No, the new Procaliber doesn’t have the Isospeed anymore. Supposedly, it’s nearly as compliant, but a lot lighter. Also much better geometry (67 degree headangle).

not too sure of the value of a test ride. The question is not:  will it work well in the parking lot,  it’s, will it be fun on the trails, and we don’t let people take the bikes out on trails.

We also don’t have the Chisels in stock. They were just released, and bike season is almost over for us, switching to skis now, so won’t be bringing in new inventory until spring most likely.

@Roadwarrior, no, our trails are not particularly gnarly, and they have their Stumpy Evo for the harder ones, bike park and enduro racing anyway, so I’m not worried at all about being able to a HT on the local trails, just which would be more fun.

By the way, the kid in question is 74 kg, and 183 cm tall. So fully adult sized.

@Reeksy, I wondered if anyone would notice that, you are on the ball!

The reason I didn’t mention any SC models was price. I don’t think they have anything in that < $3000 price range.

I can look closer. But anyway, the main question wasn’t which model, it was Hardtail<> Full Suspension.

And also thanks to @Racefaceec90. I think you two both nailed it. Those were my thoughts, but I wanted some peoples actual experiences.

There are a few options:

For venting jackets, you can easily add pit zips to any jacket. I often do that on my rain shells, (well, have a local seamstress do it), and it works fine. Forearm vents would be harder, because I think those would need to be waterproof and taped, but long, waist to elbow pit zips vent great and do not need to be waterproof.

Made Outdoor  Apparel makes custom waterproof jackets and bottoms. You choice of features, AND custom sizing.

Oops, missed @alpins last comment.

ok. 700c it is. Which tire? just have a look at bicyclerolling resistance.com.

In their screen you  can filter for anything like puncture protection, wet grip, weight etc. And of course, most importantly, rolling resistance, and select only the sizes you want.

@alpin, I wasn’t entirely sure if you said what max tire size was with each wheel size?

In general, for the use case you describe, bigger tire is better. So, if the 650b gets you that, easy choice. On my Warbird I could run 50/ 53 mm front and rear in 650b, and 45/48mm in 700c. That was a noticeable upgrade when it was big rocks or deep sand.

However, many  (recent) bikes, don’t list better clearance, so then it’s a bit trickier:

650b gets you lower BB and stand over, both good.

700c gets you way, way more tire choices, especially in the newer, fast rolling tires. I can’t remember any of the high scoring new tires coming out recently that had 650b. Most existing 650b tires max out at 47mm.
If you have clearance for 27.5 x 2.2, then you have options again.

Locked for me too

Very cute puppy!

I’ll be curious to see how the gap between center and side knobs feels. Will it be pronounced like a DHF/DHR? Or less noticeable, like a Mary?

I find the lack of a piggyback on the shock very strange. They obviously don’t mind adding some weight with more capable spec (Maven brakes in a trail bike), so why not the Piggyback?

In another first look, Spesh claims the bike doesn’t need it, but that doesn’t make sense to me. Yes, the new shock has a better air spring. But that doesn’t change the fact that damper oil heats up, insulated by he air sleeve, as well as the normal space constraints for damper components.

Last time round, it took quite a while for them to release the alloy version, like 8 months or so if I remember correctly? But, for the Epic/Chisel, they came pretty close on each others heels.

KramerFree Member
I don’t see that it adds much to my current Stumpjumper Evo, apart from less travel?

I think that’s a good thing. We have reached a point where new bikes are a slightly tweaked and updated version of the old one. Just like cars.

So yes, it’s not massively better.

But, one of the gripes I have with the Evo is that the seatpost insertion depth is short. So my 6’0”+ kid with long legs, can only run a 180mm Oneup, even with 165mm cranks. And I, at 6’5” , with long legs, had to down-shim my Oneup 240 to 230mm. Both of us have the collar miles above the seat tube.

Then there is the thing about fitting more shocks, and hopefully not killing as many coil shocks.

And, best of all for anyone on a S4 and up, or even on an S3, size: 20 mm more stack!

Since I push mine towards light enduro use, I would have preferred if they kept it at 150/160 mm, but I can see why they went for 145/150mm, since the regular Stumpy is gone.
They should have kept the fork at 160mm though: at 64 degrees, the vertical travel is very much less than total, so you need quite a bit more travel up front to match front and rear wheel travel.

@chakapingFull Member
“Makes me wonder what direction they’ll go in with whatever replaces the Enduro. If it ends up some sort of super-enduro monster, does that leave a bigger gap in the range?”

It was already kind of a super-enduro monster, eh?

My theory is that by dropping the travel of the SJ and merging two bikes there, they will also drop the travel of the Enduro to 160 or 165.

They will want their enduro race team actually riding the Enduro next season “

I was thing the same thing: they shortened the travel of the Stumpy (EVO) so why would they then increase the Enduro in travel ? That would only create a bigger gap.

Good point about Charlie riding the Evo in the Enduro WC , I hadn’t thought about that. Do the women also race the Evo? So maybe (slightly) shortening travel on the enduro would make sense.

Funny, did exactly what @Benji mentioned with my current Stumpy Evo.

In the S6 size, I run the rear in the long setting to get some more balance front : back.

But, that lowers the BB even further, and thanks to the giant wheelbase, it was way too easy to smack pedals and chainrings all the time. (Even with shorter, 170mm cranks)
So I run the mullet link from WRP with the 29” rear wheel. Thanks to the angle adjust, you can compensate for the steeper headangle if needed.

(Most) Spirits.

Popular team sports as a spectator. I think they are fun to do (the ones I’ve tried) but the idea that we all need to get super worked up about “our” team playing, and winning and watching the, do it, has never been big for me.

@rockitman I agree that fit is the most important (but then I would, I’m a bike fitter, 🤣). As I’m sure you know, we have to use both stack and reach when we talk about frame size. Lower stack = adding headset spacers to get the same fit, and with modern, slack bikes, the relationship is about 0.4 X stack = reach. Ie, for every 10mm less stack, you end up 4 mm shorter in reach once you add headset spacers (or another part like stem or bar) to compensate.

Every bike I’ve bought over the last couple years has been bigger than the last, currently on a S6 Stumpjumper Evo. Feels pretty good from a size perspective, but it would be interesting to ride a bike and find out it’s too big, as I’ve never experienced that yet. The Geometrons would be the ones to make that happen.

Since I work at a bike shop, that means fortunately, I get huge discounts on bikes. Unfortunately it also means I need to stick with brands we sell (currently Trek, Spesh, Santacruz and Salsa).

For you, even taller than me, and racing DH, Geometron must have been a godsend. I didn’t remember that they made such a long travel version.

I don’t know about the G1, but I think the new Geometrons have taller stack, which would be nice, except it might get you into trouble with running a dual crown fork?

And agree, awesome to see a cool paint job!

What a fun, and unique bike. I was just writing on another forum, that a DH bike seems interesting, but they don’t come in decent sizes. I guess this is the answer.

(6’5”/196 cm here).

Wow, you guys must have small bikes! 😅
I have a (Toyota Sienna) minivan and I can’t even get my bike on its own with the wheels on.

#Jealous_tall_rider

Strange about the flats. I would think a Rockrazor or similar would have a bit more puncture protection in the center, because almost the einterie source is covered by knobs. In a aggressive tire, like a DHR, there are large open spaces between each knob.

I used to love riding them, since most of our trails are not that steep climbing or descending, and no loose dirt, so cling was fine, and so was braking.

then I started riding a lot of the black and double black trails, and wanted more grip on the steeps.

I just ended up with another week, so bought a Wicked Will to put on there. Would have Considered. Rockrazor as well.

My Slaughter’s are T7, which doesn’t roll very fast, so I stopped using them. Not sure on the rolling resistance of the older, ‘gripton’ branded Slaughters.

@Cougar:

indeed, skiing is like biking:

Skate Nordic  skiing= road biking, ie you do it on manmade smooth surfaces, and most people wear Lycra.

classic skiing = also road biking, but different movement, so needs completely different boots (and skis). Otherwise same as above.

backcountry Nordic = gravel biking. Yes, just like biking, you could take your 25mm tired road bike on a rough gevel road or forest road, it’s not much fun. No lycra. Many beards.

alpine skiing = DH biking. Same places too. Lift served, max support, heavy . Boots do not have a walk mode. No one (except racers wears Lycra)

alpine touring skiing = XC , trail, or Enduro biking. You go both uphill and downhill, so compromises are made. In fact, many people have 2 pairs of AT boots, for this reason, just like there are people who have both an XC bike and an Enduro bike. Some people wear Lycra (including all racers), most do not.

Down packs a bit smaller, but in these thin garments, it doesn’t really save much weight. Add to that the fact that you are likely to be sweaty when you pull it on, and it might be wet out too, and synthetic is far and away the better choice (yes, I have both).

I assume you are in the UK?
Here in the US Enlightened Equipment is both less expensive, lighter and warmer than Patagonia et al. And you choose custom colors, fabric weight and sizes.

Unfortunately I assume shipping and tax/duties will make it very expensive to the UK.

For warmer weather a vest/gilet is a great option, it offers the best in warmth : weight/packed size ratio. Of course I assume you will have long sleeved, wind/rain shell all ready.

The big thing is to save weight and packed size by minimizing features like pockets. The next thing to look at is fabric weight. Ideally, for something like this you’d go ultralight: a 7 dernier fabric. That will be (very) hard to find in big commercial brands. 10d would be ok too, but 20d or thicker is really a waste of space and weight for something like this.

Are there cottage brands in the UK that make stuff like this?

If not, check the usual brands:

decatlon for cheap.

Montane, RAB, Montbell, Karpos, Haglofs etc. Often these can be found on sale too.

I

What exactly do you mean with “integration”? Are you ok with internal routed cables? That’s going to be hard to avoid.

Other than that, I second what people above wrote:

carbon isn’t necessarily more comfortable than alloy, and tires will be the biggest improvement here.

go for something  with big clearance. Note that if you ever need to ride either studded tires or Conti Top Contact Winter , the latter  only goes down to 37mm.

Go for something with big clearance, because then you can run a larger tire for comfort and grip, AND full coverage fenders.

That probably means a gravel bike, although some of the latest road bikes have quit a lot of clearance too.

And, something with fender mounts.

Agree on the threaded BB. Easy swap at home if it’s not spinning great anymore.

i wouldn’t worry about UDH. It’s a winter bike. You will be replacing derailleurs, chains and cassettes as the salt eats away at them. So, you don’t want to go to expenseive. For the very long future, the more affordable group sets will not require a UDH.

Wow, you folks are amazing at keeping down the foot based clutter. Although, I do claim some of it is due to the fact that I do sports and activities that require specific foot wear.

about 8 pairs of around town casual/dress shoes/boots

“Running” shoes (I don’t run, but use for hiking and such)

”Wellies” [there, I got to write that. Such a fun word. Much more entertaining than our (American) “rubber boots”]

Goretex Hiking boots

Sandals

insulated winter Hiking boots

high top waterproof mukluks for winter

flat pedal shoes

clipless bike shoes

hightop, waterproof clipless bike shoes

skate ski (Nordic) boots

classic ski (Nordic) Boots

Backcountry Nordic ski boots

Backcountry Alpine Touring ski boots

Resort alpine ski boots

Ice climbing boots

Comfy climbing shoes

Performance climbing shoes

wetsuit booties (whitewater kayaking)

do ice skates count? if yes:

hockey skates

speed skates

I probably missed some.

Thanks Northwind.

are you saying that the 2.6 (soft) M gave you some unexpected scares, that the 2.4 (soft) did not?

aha, thanks for the info.
I’m in the US, so probably explains why I hadn’t heard of them. MSW is in my state (Minnesota), Silca is hard to miss, and my shop just started stocking Rex, so those are the ones I knew of.

No, don’t do mid ride top ups with drip on wax like Super Secret. That’s what Silca says, and it makes sense to me. It’s water based, so doesn’t dry very fast. Silva says dry overnight or longer. I assume the same for other water based drip ons.

Holy smokes!

So sorry to hear that you got hurt.
and that’s a crazy level of commitment for bike thieves. You have way more secure bike storage than anyone I’ve ever heard of.

Usually when I hear bike thefts, it’s that they were sitting outside, or on the back rack of a parked car, unlocked, or with a cable lock.

What brand is GLF wax?
I have used both MSW and Silca and had decent results, even in wet rides. Haven’t noticed a difference.

I must say, I only used Silca Super Secret drip on to top it off, even with the MSW wax.

For the people who have tried both the 2.4 and the 2.6, can you elaborate more on the differences?
I generally like high volume tires, loved my 2.8 plus tires when that was still a thing.

My usual experience is that the wider, lower pressure tire smooths out rough, rocky rooty trail surfaces better, and is more predictable, since it just absorbs the small roots and rock edges, instead of being pushed around, so you can focus on the bigger picture shapes of the trail.

I haven’t done a back to back comparison, but I figured for wet roots especially, wider would be better:

lower pressure, larger contact patch can “wrap” around the roots more, hopefully containing something like rock or dirt, to provide some traction.

I am not worried about support or squirming in corners. If needed, I will use an insert to deal with that. I am also a slow rider (always near the bottom at our local enduro races), so not concerned with true  high speed handling.

Thanks for any  more info.

I thought the recent issue did a good job at staying true to Singletrack.

The mums-bikepacking article wasn’t mountain biking or Singletrack, but it was related (still on bikes), and it had a very informative point about how to define accessible and what trails are needed for everyone to enjoy, something we can all stand to expand our views on.
The article about the trail-behind-the-Nationwide IS about single track mountain biking, and had some great though behind it.

The article about the sunrise ride in the Pyrenees was mountain biking, and smack in the middle of Chipps line.

So all in all, I think it was great, and keep going.

(Sorry Hannah, I love your writing, but this time I have to go with Chipps)

If I think about things that differentiates mtb from other kids of biking, I have to think what it’s not.

It’s notmotorcycles, so apparently it must be light enough to move about, and move only when propelled by gravity or your legs. (E-bikes are definitely a grey area here.

It is also not gravel or road cycling, so it must have some technical challenge, and some kinestetic joy: swooping around  alternating left right berms, floating a jump, seeing if you can make it up or down something, or whether  you can make it up or down that tech bit at faster speeds.

Obviously this is all nebulous, so that’s where I have to give it to Chipps. As long as the majority of the mag covers “trail riding” or whatever you want to call it, absolutely add in articles about things slightly further off that “center line”.

Wow, they really are the same price in GB?

here in the US the Z1 is $650 and the Selva is $1125, nearly double.

After all, the whole point of Marzochi is to be Fox’ pricep0int line.

Exactly this ^.

Although my own first “real”  mtb, in 2004, had disc brakes, I started with the old habit of 2 finger braking.

This meant that on rough descents, I would alternate between holding on with 3 or 4 fingers, then switching to 2 fingers on the brake and 2 on the grip.
Once I heard about 1 finger braking, it was the easiest technique improvement of all the tech tips back then and since.

Suddenly I had a secure grip AND was ready to brake at any time!

Granted it wasn’t the hardest habit to change, but still, it’s a habit, so I agree, I’d much rather have new riders learn to use 1 finger from the get go.

On the other hand, the reality is, most of the bikes with these groupsets will not be used in serious mtb terrain, so I can see why Shimano would do it.

 

My wife had an older, but nice, Stumpjumper a few years ago. We passed  it to our 11 year old daughter, knowing she would grow. But, she was already riding some quite challenging trails, and racing local enduros, so the 65 degree head angle was quite steep, especially as it had older forks with 51mm offset (even with a mullet set up).

Adding this gave the bike the extra degree to get it inline with modern geometry. Worked great and she rode, raced (and won!) on it for 2 years. Now she has out grown it, but for 2 years, this buying kit was much better than a whole new bike.

@Sea-urchin:

it is basically two adjustments:

‘first is that it creates an external cup on the bottom of your head tube/top of fork crown. So, like going to a longer travel fork, this will raise the front, which also slightly raises the BB, and slackens the head angle and the seat tube angle.  The rule of thumb is 0.5 degrees per 10mm, all though his does depend a lot on wheel base.

But, it also changes the angle of the steerer inside the head tube, which will slightly drop the front end again, so the net result will be very little raise to the front end, and even less to the BB. Similarly, the seat tube angle won’t change as much as just adding the externa cup would have.

One feature would solve the tight ankle cuffs: zippers.

For now, you can add your own, but it would be nice if they came with ankle/lower calf zippers from the get go

Unfortunately they seem to be vaporware. Only place I saw them was an Aussie webshop. I am building a new mtb for my youngest daughter. She is 5’9”, 174 cm, so no need for long cranks, short ones are probably better. Also, it’s a Stumpy Evo in mullet mode, with the low/long rear, so really low to the ground. We race enduro, so pedaling hard without paying attention to timing your strokes is common.

Canfield bikes is the other option. Not quite as cheap, but on sale currently. I got a pair of those.

SRAM makes the SX crankset in 155 mm, so a nice affordable option there.

For lightweight riders, Trailcraft Cycles, makes a kids crankset, but meant for real mtb use, and with a GXP spindle, so fairly sturdy.

 

I am 6’5” tall, long inseam and use a 170mm crank on my mtb to reduce pedal strikes. No issues with pedaling that length.

Thanks Mark for trying to fix it.
We shall see.

I read it digital, both the full isssues, and reading single articles on the website.

I live in the USA. When I started reading Singletrack, about 18 years ago, you could buy the magazine at newsvendors over here.

I think those don’t exist anymore.

I do like a paper magazine, but having it mailed here isn’t worth the cost, and I dinkt have the patience for that delay either.

So, digital it is.

I have the Fox Baseframe Pro short sleeve, and like it for similar reasons.

This seems better in that the body is longer and it has lower back protection.

The key thing to look out for with these types is that the chest and rib protectors are also made from high tech impact hardening material and are removable.

Many versions have fixed basic EVA foam pads there, while reserving the fancy stuff for the back. This has 3 disadvantages:

1. You don’t get much protection (plain Eva needs to be really thick to work)
2. You get less versatility  because you can’t remove them
3. you can’t wash and dry it quickly by removing the pads.