MTB guidance, what might fit the bill

[Dave B]

I have had a vey odd spring and summer regarding bikes. I put one or two of my road bikes up for sale and two incredibly great guys (as I have come to know) have purchased combined, 4 road bikes, two mountain bikes, and 4 wheel sets from me.

I had planned on selling one or two bikes and have ended up selling like 12 bikes.

So, I still have a decent selection of road bikes, but am down to one mtb. A Niner SIR 9 that I had powered coated and I put on minimal fresh decals. The bike is top notch for a single speed.

What I am looking for is a full,suspension mountain bike between 4 to 5 inches of travel, more XC/Trail geometry, material isn’t crazy important and I can upgrade whatever in time.

So, having paid no attention to mountain bikes for some time and not focusing on IF (would be interested in an IF 29er IFrider, I am talking to you) is also something that has not crossed my mind for some time.

So I could use some suggestions.

I live in Indiana, mostly flat. Would be fine for now with a Ti 29er hardtail, but know I will want full,suspension as my bones would appreciate it.

Ok, so if you can direct me to a bike/frame that can pedal all day, 4 to 5 inches of travel, most likely a 29er, but not a deal breaker as I still have a sweet 26er Wheelset I might be able to use.

Just need to know brands and models you all have tried, want to try, or have that are more XC/Trail oriented then bikes I see geared for (no pun intended) big drops, bike packing, or crap I don’t know what else.

This isn’t a wanted to buy ad...yet. I need to learn more first and hopefully some of these bike prices come down in the winter-ish times of the year.

Thank you to anyone/all who might lend some help.

Cheers

Dave

[EB]

Short travel 29ers have gone through a lot of changes in the last few years, and are some of the most capable bikes out there right now for what most of us ride. It's a great time for FS mountain bikes.

You'll probably get this advice from others, but you've really got to demo a few to get a feel for how they ride first. If you're coming from old-school geometry, it will take some getting used to, and it really helps to narrow down which bike will fit your riding style as there is a fair amount of variance even within a given "genre."

Given what you say you're riding, some kind of XC bike is probably a good place to start, and there a lot of good ones, so part of it depends on what you have access to locally (or if you want to try one of the consumer-direct brands, which precludes a demo). Travel is generally measured in metric units these days, so you're looking at between 100 and 120mm of shock travel and between 100 and 130mm of fork travel. Depending on your height and weight, you may want to bias towards one end of the range or the other.

Some examples in the 100mm range, all of which are considered XC race bikes- steeper angles, sharper handling, killer on the climbs, maybe a bit dicier coming down, very light weight (21 to 24lb):

Specialized Epic
Canyon Lux
Orbea Oiz
Cannondale Scalpel
Scott Spark
Santa Cruz Blur

Some of these bikes are like over-forked XC bikes that still keep it pretty light and sharp:

Specialized Epic Evo
Orbea Oiz TR
Santa Cruz Blur TR
Pivot Mach 4 SL

And some are burlier trail bikes with shorter (120) travel, more in the 25 to 29 lb range, e.g.:

Santa Cruz Tallboy
Evil The Following
Pivot Trail 429
Intense Sniper Trail
Transition Spur
Norco Optic
YT Izzo

This last group is my personal favorite - these bikes are amazingly capable for how much travel they have. Potentially a little boring if your terrain truly is as flat as you say, and you don't plan on driving to some hills and mountains.

Have fun demoing!

[72gmc]

I’m dealing with rolling, rooty and rocky trails but also dreaming about a modern XC or less burly trail bike. Two bikes that I’m interested in trying are the Kona Hei Hei and Knolly Fugitive:

https://m.pinkbike.com/news/review-k...untry-fun.html

https://m.pinkbike.com/news/review-k...tive-29er.html

I have a friend who loves his older Santa Cruz 5010 but I see it’s now a 27.5 bike. Might still be worth a try.

[dan_hudson]

If you haven't already stumbled across it, PinkBike is in the midst of a short-travel 29 FS bike roundup. Includes many of the (fine!) bikes Eli listed in his dandy reply. +1 on his comment: is a great time to be purchasing a new XC-ish trail bike - so many awesome options.

https://www.pinkbike.com/news/welcom...e-edition.html

[trener1]

You can't talk about capable (great) mountain bikes without mention Yeti and Ibis.

[dan_hudson]

+1 The new Ripley is a benchmark but has already been talked about (ad nauseam! so good) so not included in the Pinkbike set. The 115mm travel update of the Yeti SB100 is however.

Another well-regarded short travel bike is the Norco Optic but like the Ripley was cover by most press 6-8 months ago.

[EB]

Good call on Ibis and Yeti - total oversight on my part.

[scoobydrew]

Eli Bingham has made a really comprehensive list above for short travel FS bikes. Agree with others on adding the Ibis Ripley (slotted in the 3rd category) and Yeti SB115 (slotted between the 2nd and 3rd category IMO). I'd add the new Revel Ranger to this list as well (https://www.pinkbike.com/news/revel-...rail-bike.html)

I personally have the Yeti SB100 (which will eventually be phased out for the SB115). It strikes a nice balance between a full on XC bike and a light trail bike. Extremely capable climber yet I can blast through the rough stuff (within reason). Before going with the SB100, I demoed bikes in all 3 categories. The Santa Cruz Blur and even the Blur TR still felt too much like a XC race bike to me. While the longer travel bikes were great, I would be overbiked for some of the trails I ride.

Andy sti on here has one of the new Transition Spurs and could probably chime in on it.

[old fat man]

Knowing your intended budget will make a lot of difference in the recommendation. Most of what's been mentioned so far is going to start at $4000ish and easily climb above $6000.

Finding a new FS mtb for less than $3k these days is not easy.

[crownjewelwl]

Ripley v4...I had v1, v2, and a mojo 3

Ripley v4 is the best riding MTB I've owned

[jimcav]

As a former IF 29er HT rider who transitioned to FS, starting with a 1st gen Ripley in 2015, I think it a good plan to get a efficient climbing mid-travel FS.

I ride lots of trails that 80% would be good on my old HT, but really appreciate being able to keep the speed and confidence (and safety for me) on the other 20%. Plus, I can hit trails that would 100% be impossible for me (or hurt) on a HT.

I've tried so many, and have now owned several. I'm still in the process of thinning my MTB herd. Just sold my gen 1 Evil the Following to a good friend out there in IN. Great bike. However, I love The Offering even more.

Still have my yeti SB4.5 great bike, probably my lightest. I do like the Offering more.
Revel Rascal, also great bike, I picked up one on a demo sale and it is what I grab at times when I don't take the Offering.

Ibis Ripmo another demo deal and def. more capable than the yeti, but The Offering and Rascal feel better to me--I'm still playing with sag settings a bit, and had to warranty the dropper, and have to get that re-installed, but at this point I plan to sell it and the yeti.

I've also tried Santa Cruz, Devinci, Giant, Pivot, Intense. Giant was the best bang for buck vs ride quality to me at MSRP

Overall, I'm a huge fan of Evil. Anyway, having ridden much of IN (Brown County, French Lick, Ft Harrison, New Harmony, etc), and nearly everyplace you can stop on I-40 and I-70 between there and CA, you can't go wrong with an efficient climbing FS, I particularly like the DW rear-ends I've had/ridden.

In the past I've gotten used or demo deals on pink bike, but recently got bikes at OTE bike shops in Sedona or UT--made 2 offers that they took, which is how I ended up with 3 really awesome bikes (4 if you count the yeti, but I'd already decided to sell that). Some of the Moab shops occasionally have good demo sale deals too.

If you look around and try out some models and have any interest in a 2016 yeti SB4.5c with sram eagle 12 or 2019 Ibis Ripmo carbon just PM me, I'd certainly sell either for less than pinkbike listings

[IFRider]

This popped up on Ebay

https://www.ebay.com/itm/26481841955...torefresh=true

And the vintage/geometry is pretty dame close to the Apple 29'er albeit suspension. Looks like the same XTR kit (including wheels) and slightly longer top tube/shorter stem build.

Figure you might check it and we can talk.

Originally Posted by Dave B

So, having paid no attention to mountain bikes for some time and not focusing on IF (would be interested in an IF 29er IFrider, I am talking to you) is also something that has not crossed my mind for some time.

So I could use some suggestions.

[KonaSS]

Originally Posted by Eli Bingham

Some examples in the 100mm range, all of which are considered XC race bikes- steeper angles, sharper handling, killer on the climbs, maybe a bit dicier coming down, very light weight (21 to 24lb):

Specialized Epic
Canyon Lux
Orbea Oiz
Cannondale Scalpel
Scott Spark
Santa Cruz Blur

Some of these bikes are like over-forked XC bikes that still keep it pretty light and sharp:

Specialized Epic Evo
Orbea Oiz TR
Santa Cruz Blur TR
Pivot Mach 4 SL

And some are burlier trail bikes with shorter (120) travel, more in the 25 to 29 lb range, e.g.:

Santa Cruz Tallboy
Evil The Following
Pivot Trail 429
Intense Sniper Trail
Transition Spur
Norco Optic
YT Izzo

Great bikes mentioned in this list and elsewhere in this thread. Knowing that you are in Indiana, I think your sweetspot is the middle group - a XC bike with a nod towards trail. I think you would be over biked with anything bigger.

[d_douglas]

Not to be too opportunist, but my Banshee is a pretty great do-it-all bike - and amazingly, it's for sale!


https://forums.thepaceline.net/showt...hlight=banshee

These are great riding bikes that are short travel, but climb very well and smash down hills pretty well also.

[eippo1]

A lot has changed and many have made some good recommendations. There are a lot of shorter travel bikes with relaxed geometry making things more fun and leading to more confidence than in the past.

I picked up an alloy Stumpjumper ST comp last year and have had a blast on it. It has the lower end Fox (Relevation) fork on it, which has been great for short travel, but most recommend staying away from when more travel is desired. Only thing I've desired on it has been wider rubber, so am getting a new wheelset built and upgrading it to 12 speed.

Otherwise another maker that's often a great bang for the buck is Niner. My buddy has a Camber Comp (older short travel SpecED) and wanted something with more travel, so just picked up a 2019 Rip 29er for mid $5k with the Fox factory fork on it. They honestly make awesome bikes and are often less than comparable Pivot or Santa Cruz.