You don't need to be an 'investor' to invest in Singletrack: 6 days left: 95% of target - Find out more
Does anyone run a 130mm-140mm 29er trail bike as only bike?
I have a 120mm/100mm hei hei 29er which is amazing. Done all day south downs epic xc, bpw, alps etc on it. BUT, kids, location and lack of time I'm doing less all day rides and more BPW style stuff plus occasional time in the alps. The heihei is great for light trail but finding its limits on bigger drops (4ft plus) and larger jumps - mostly due to my lack of ability and propensity for coming up short and casing the landings! So do I man up and get better at not casing and keep the heihei, buy a 150-160mm 27.5 big bike for bike park stuff/alps and keep the heihei or combine it all with a 130-140 slack 29er trail bike? I still like peddling up and dont like big wallowey barges that can just plough through stuff. I love the spritely feel of the heihei. No doubt someone with more jumping ability would do just fine on it for the more bike park type stuff, but thats not me!
I have a Orange Segment which I've run with 120, 140 and now 150mm up front. I sold my 27.5 hardtail due to lack of use so for off road duties this is my only bike. I'd happily use it for every type of ride from xc to trail centres as my ability runs out before the bikes.
You should certainly be looking at the Stage 4 or 5 with your list of requirements.
Agreed. Have a demo on the stage 5 if you can.
But yes a mid travel 29er is a brilliant compromise bike.
I have an s-150 as my only bike, served me well accross just about everything, from racing ard rock to a week riding the tweed valley, but also dartmoor epics and big days out in the dyfi.
Imo you give up a bit climbing compared to a shorter travel, but they're still much more manageable than a 160 enduro sled at everything else.
Ibis ripmo has a good rep for pedalling too, and general all round ability.
Not tried one myself though.
Always thought a Hightower would be a good all-rounder...maybe 29er wheels for xc/trail then switch to 27.5+ for Alps/bigger riding
All good thoughts. Hightower (second hand) sentinel etc all on the list. Ripmo is ££££. Orange are fairly £££.
But there are some cheap patrols etc on eBay but I don't want to run 2 bikes if i don't have to.
My Transition Smuggler was my only bike till last week. A great trail bike that handles places like BPW very well not the best XC but not bad.
Transition smuggler here too. Transition1 advice +1. I'm sure with a second lighter set of wheels it would be better xc. Only problem is the frame begs you to rag the crap out of it all the time (and so you'd be liable to knacker them!)
Recent Trek Fuel EX maybe worth a look secondhand.
They are perky to pedal and the geometry's not bad.
Yeah the fuel looks good. I do have a slightly lightweight ardent out back. The dhf on the front transformed the bike. I probs have clearance to run a bigger burlier tyre out back. Would that help soften the blows?
Smuggler here too. Just come back from a 5 hour xc bimble. Took it to finale a month ago and I’m doing Trans Provence on it. Take it to the bike park too in summer , not for the full in DH runs but pretty much everything else. it rules!
T130 here, works brilliantly. BPW, Afan etc, 55km roadie this morning, all good.
No reason to not do so these days.
I'm pretty much looking for the same thing OP.
Internet rumour has it that there will be a new design Hightower later in the summer possibly going up to 140mm rear. Could mean some good deals on the current design?
Absolutely you can have it as a one bike solution. There will always be a compromise somewhere though, it just depends where you accept that to be.
The current Fuel is a really good bike, I've been on one for nearly 3 years now & bar a few little niggles it's been fine. I trail ride on it, I have raced DH on it, it's done a few EWS's and a lot of other enduros. It's not great on super rough stuff compared to a big enduro bike, but then why would it be? Equally it doesnt climb like an XC bike, but it goes well. I've built mine back up light again as I've got a big 170mm 29er for racing again & it's still great.
Recently I've had an SB130 on test, and still have it (dont want to give it back). That's possibly even closer to the one bike solution. It's a bloody brilliant bike, which basically covers the niggles I had with the Fuel. The only downside is the potential of owning one introduces it's own niggles and stress, as being a Yeti, it will probably break, and then you will have to have a battle to get it sorted 😆
I have a Fuel EX 29er. Great trail bike, can take a 27.5+ wheel and you can adjust the geometry with the Mino link. Great trail bike but I'm going to give the SDW a crack on it and I'm a bit worried. It's my only mtb though.
I do have 2 sets of wheels my light pair the rims are older LB rims & weigh 410g the hubs 260g the pair plus lightish tyres have a RRazor on rear & NN 2.6 on front & had them on for Wales round Afan fine. Other pair Sentry on rear & Baron on front
I use my SC Tallboy for what you describe... 29er wheels for XC, plus wheels for fun. Since moving somewhere a little rockier I wonder whether I’d have been better with a Hightower, but with the right build, I’m not sure there’d be much in it
I feel my Hightower set up 135 rear, 150 front with 29er wheels is about as close as an all rounder you can get. It's happy on anything from local XC rides to BPW/FoD uplift days. Never bothered with 27.5 plus on it personally.
Ive been looking along the same lines recently and came across Intense again. Much better value for money these days since theyve gone mail order only in the UK.
Oh Yeah SB130 i forgot about those. I’d love one
If the OP thinks Orange and Ibis are a bit steep then I think we can rule Yeti out.
The new Jeffsy is reported to pedal very well too, and the geo is pretty decent...
https://www.yt-industries.com/uk/shopware.php?sViewport=detail&sArticle=2120
Any suggestions for something a bit more budget friendly?
Marin Rift zone 3 ticks a lot of boxes, but Paul's have sold out of Large. Jeffsy looks good but more £ than I can justify and the aluminium one seems a bit short.
Bird AM9 is possibly too much bike, but the frame only price is reasonable so adding a fork and shock keeps it <£2k and the rest I can forrage in the parts bin.
Trek Fuel 29 ex8 here. Use it for all my riding as it’s my only bike. Love it!
Jeffsy looks good but more £ than I can justify and the aluminium one seems a bit short.
I have a Jeffsy, the current aluminium ones have the "older geometry" like the one I have. It's a great bike, and a friend has just got one and feels the same about his. It's bang on the money for the "one bike solution" - I've ridden mine on XC rides and down bike parks in the Alps. It's very capable and if for some reason I had to have only one bike for everything I'd be looking, like you are, for a mid-travel (somewhere around 140mm) 29er because of it. Don't discount the fact it's the older geometry.
That new Jeffsy looks very good. Can't see any bottle mounts? But surely i couldn't pedal that all day comfortably?
Another Smuggler owner, it’s taken me down from three bikes to one (or at least it will once I sell my Stache). It just does everything, a nice light set of carbon wheels would probably transform it. In 30 years of riding, it’s easily the happiest I’ve ever been on bike.
2.4 tire clearance is a bit limiting, but as an all rounder it’s enough.
If I was replacing it tomorrow, it would be a carbon Smuggler but I’d be tempted with the new Jeffsy 29...
The reviews seem to talk of it as being quite progressive which should be better for all day pedaling as it means it'll behave a bit more like a shorter travel bike just without the bottoming out. As opposed to a more linear 150mm travel bike which would feel like more travel but then bottom out.
I'm pretty sold on the benefits of a long wheelbase so I think I'd probably find a way to stretch to the carbon version if I was 100% sold on the jeffsy even if it was aluminium.
Not my only bike but my only MTB - Cotic Flaremax. Wouldn't want to commute on it but its great as a go anywhere MTB, very capable.
surely i couldn’t pedal that all day comfortably?
I pedal an Orange Stage 6 all day comfortably because it has tons of anti-squat in the suspension so feels like a shorter travel bike. If the Jeffsy is similar then it should be no problem at all on big rides.
When I got the Stage 6 I also had a Smuggler, 115mm rear and 140mm front travel. That was about the same weight and pedaled no better - maybe a bit worse.
There's something special about shorter travel 29ers when you get them going really fast though, IMO.
I have a Jeffsy CF Pro 29. It's lighter than most people's hardtails and pedals really well with very little bob. I'm lucky enough to have a few bikes, but the Jeffsy is definitely capable of doing everything. Several of my XC PRs are set on the Jeffsy, not my XTC.
I have second the fuel ex. I have an 8. Great spec, was sold out in thr 29er so had to get it in plus, but will be buying 29 wheels later this year. My plan is to have this as my only bike. Riding plans inc, more BPW, some SDW, some big mountains/lakeland riding too
Havent ridden my hardtail or Enduro since buying my Hightower and changing it to 150 up front,probably sell the other 2 now as the SC pretty much covers everything
Sonder were rumoured to be doing a 29er version of their evol. Might be worth seeing if that comes to market soon. They make great bikes (and Singletrack liked the 650b version when they tested it)
Yeah, it was in an article on the site. I’d be keen to but there’s been no news on it for a while.
120/140mm Following MB here - great all rounder. Surprisingly light too.
I’m selling a G13 that I think fits the bill for you. It can rub 133mm rear or 148mm rear with 130-160mm forks and depending on headrest 65* - 62* head angle! Can be built light or burly!
Soo many options but The Jeffsy looks hard to beat. Got the fox performance 34’s(fit4)on current bike and it’s brilliant but the comp is better spec all round. Obviously the pikes speak for themselves but what’s the RS deluxe rear like?
Hired a fuel - great bikes. Can’t seem to find any on sale though in my size.
Hightower - 135 / 150 R&F - 29lbs - pedals well all day and copes with the downhill stuff very well.
Smuggler here too \m/
Vitus Escarpe 29? Good spec but maybe a bit weighty?
Hightower here as well with a 150 fork on it. Served me well for the last 30 months, local xc type stuff, bike park Wales, Peaks, Lakes, Golfie, Alps, Finale it's done it all. Looking forward to what the new version's like this summer
I've got a 140/130 Intense Primer. Lovely and light. Highly recommended.
Banshee Prime is 135mm rear and up to 160mm front. Aly, so less spendy than carbon.
groundskeeperwilly
I’m selling a G13 that I think fits the bill for you. It can rub 133mm rear or 148mm rear with 130-160mm forks and depending on headrest 65* – 62* head angle! Can be built light or burly!
Don't suppose you're selling a longer shock for a G13, are you?
I would bet both kidneys that Bird will bring out a 130mm 29er this year. Given the success of the AM9 they'd be daft not to.
I reckon the Heihei will carry you until Bird bring out that! Don't know anything else that will be as potentially cost effective, the only thing close that isn't Yeti/Santa Cruz/Ibis prices at the mo is the Whyte S120 which is probably not enough travel, and the aforementioned S150 which might be too much travel!
Worth noting that a few places (MBR & linkage analysis) have noted that the s-150 has around 142mm of travel on the rear. Owning one I can't say that it feels undergunned but it doesn't quite have that plough feel that a 160mm 29er has.