[Closed] 160mm Bikes - Choices, Choices, Choices

there are hundreds of options missing from your shortlist.
no-one can decide for you what you want/need.
WTF is "for the Alps" meant to mean?

Pivot Mach 5.7 (or possibly even a Pivot Firebird) is where my money would go.
Actually, it would go on another Pronghorn, but they seem to have stopped doing the big travel one... 😕 The Mach 5.7 is pretty special though.

To me 160mm is the upper limit of anything I would want to pedal around, and that would have to be something well set up & bloody light to offset the extra travel.

How's about a Nomad or a Mojo HD or a Spicy or an Enduro Evo or.............

Giant Reign X

Hey Gooner,

The Dune's a nice bike, I've ridden one and it's fun. Not light, it probably weighs the same as my G-Spot. For me you need to decide what you want it for... for example I've ridden the Spicy and it's very different to my GSpot. Also, if you'll keep a smaller bike for the UK or if it's going to be a one bike thing. For me the mm's don't matter so much, it's more than that. For example, my 150mm GSpot is far more capable DH than a 160mm Lapierre Spicy.

I'd really recommend you check out the G-Spot. It's 150mm but don't put it in the category of lightweight 150mm trail bikes, it's far more DH orientated. My G-Spot is 36.5lbs though, and my mate's is 34.5lbs so it's not a lightweight option. I love it, (not paid to say that!!) and it's become the only bike I bother riding for anything from XC to DH. I'd recommend a visit to Laggan for a test ride.

Other bikes to check out. Nicolai Helius AM, I rode one of those and it's very impressive. It's a proper magic carpet ride, very impressive small bump sensitivity. It wasn't as outright fun as my GSpot but was a lovely bit of kit. Ed Oxley's Labyrinth Agile is a nice bit too, v. short but fun too. I've not ridden the Commencal AM yet, they look nice, probably on the heavy side. I'm looking at getting a few for hire bikes next year but haven't tested them yet. Lots of great bikes out there!

Edit: Also rode a firebird very briefly. Nice but it was too short to get a real idea.

Nukeproof mega.
half the price of anything above and better 😛

Below is my opinion, yours may differ. Theres a lot of choice in this segment, so you're going to spend a long time testing. All you'll get is people saying buy the same bike as me - so sort of in that vein, but not quite:-

The 2010/2011 specialized enduro is best from a value for money sense, and its what I would have bought if two of my mates didnt already have them. Brilliant for the money (they paid £1600 for the 2010 version), goes downhill really well, climbs well enough, not too heavy.

I ended up with a mojo HD - which is very very good, but pricey. I only have one bike and this does everything I need it to, goes down hill brilliantly, goes uphill far far better than a 160mm bike should , can be converted to 140mm if you feel the need.

Some more to consider - Yeti sb66, nukeproof mega.

thanks so far some interesting comments -

GW - thanks for your useless reply - "The Alps" I would have though that was pretty obvious? - Its a large rocky mountainous area in France - pretty good for mountain biking apparently -

Im not asking people to choose for me - Im simply gadging opinions and knowledge from others - Something these forums are designed for....

As for hundreds missing, not really pal - Maybe 20/30 bikes in the range - which narrowed down is prob 4/5 i'd seriously consider -

Thanks for your input - very helpful - goon!

Thanks julians - Yes I know its purely opinions etc BUT thats what im after people opinions - Im not gonna buy a 3-5K for a bike coz someone told me its good! haha -

I have obviously looked at the majority of 160 bikes and I do like the Mojo HD to be fair! And relatively easy to get the frame only too - Top bit of kit! SB-66 is also pretty damn sexy!

Again its whittling down a shortlist before I test -

I guess Im looking at a fairly rough riding mini-down hiller if I keep my 140 foxy - If i shift the foxy i guess i would want more of an all round 160er

Orange 5. Ex demo 1700 quid. Sell the 32s and replace with 36s. 5am for half price! Or a pitch - find a cheap one and change out to 36s/lyriks/totems on the front.

I found 160mm too much where I live in the uk. The only time I got the most out of it was at downhill tracks.

My current bike has 160/130mm travel and is much better. I might go a tad slower on DH tracks, but overall it is more fun for where I ride.

If you are looking for something for the dh tracks, I would keep the foxy and get a cheap DH/FR bike

What's making you feel like you need more travel?

What are you actually riding in the UK where your current bike is lacking?

The foxy is very, very competent, you'd be looking for a DH bike for something that is mind blowingly better on the downs.

You don't need a massive bike for the alps, yea it makes things more comfortable on the horrendous braking bumps on the heavily ridden tracks. I was more than happy with 140mm travel and was riding "blacks" and the more gnarly, steep, rough off piste stuff. Even hardtails are enough for some people.

I'm making wild assumptions but a could be wrong, you could fall into this category, you may not. But there are a lot of people that go for a 160mm bike in the UK, run the recommended sag etc, find they can't get full travel, run over the recommended sag to achieve full travel, ruin the suspension quality and geometry of the bike, then also wonders why the bike pedals like a pig.

Only go for a 160 bike if your riding does involve some proper DH, otherwise you'll have too much travel and kill your efficiency. Even then, geometry plays a bigger factor is DH ability than suspension, the foxy is low, slack, "plush", more than adequete for DH tom foolery.

More isn't always better, it's totally down to your riding style.

My vote would be to keep the foxy, maybe upgrade a couple of bits, maybe even fit an angleset to make it more slack. You could even go to 150mm forks.

Have fun choosing. Like I say I only have 1 bike , and I dont see why anyone would want anything less than 160mm travel and slackish angles for all off road riding, to me it seems the perfect setup to do everything in the off road spectrum.

I think in this segment of the market there a huge variation in performance in terms of downhill ability versus uphill/xc ability, and its usually a trade off between the two. having said that the mojo HD really does seem to pull off the trick of being very good uphill and amazing downhill.

See I'm riding a spesh Pitch and in all honesty I would swap it out for something with less travel for the UK despite riding just about anything , hell I'll swap you your moondraker if you like 😉

Think if I was looking for a 160mm travel bike now tho the SB66 would be high on my list failing that a nukeproof mega.

Don't think you can get Lapierre frame only. Others to think about:

Transition Covert
Trek Scratch
Yeti SB66

I have just gone from 140mm-160mm and yes it is more than you need for most UK riding but if you want one bike for everything and are quite an aggressive rider then 160mm is a good option.

Nomad. Currently back in love with mine after getting a new front triangle. After having a 2 year hardtail frenzy I had forgotten just how good it is. Great bike.

I'd have to agree with 'Julians' post.
I ride a spesh enduro 2010 mondel.Ride mostly in South Wales.

No issues on the trail centres at all.It climbs really well for a 160 travel bike, in fact much better than my previous 140 hardtail ( carrera fury )

As for the downs:- its a hoot.
it eats up cwmcarn DH.Took it to Triscombe and it was great there too.
I've never been to the alps, but living where I do there's an abundance of pretty grnarly DH routes and area's, and the bikes perfect.

Just get out on a few, and try them out, but I'm happy with my choice and would recommend the same sir !

if you are keeping the foxy then a 160mm bike COULD end up reasonably similar unless you made a bit of effort to distinguish them.

keep your foxy as a lightweight trail bike, then custom (or semi custom) build your 160mm bike in to a mini dh/ enduro bike. something like an alpine 160 would be perfect; think slacker and longer end of the 160mm range, or maybe just get an angle reducer headset. coil shock and forks, single ring and guide, dropper post, tough wheels, dual ply tyres (possibly). ive done a similar thing with my intense tracer and it still pedals uphill well due to the CCDB but descends like chaos incarnate. love it.

on second thoughts, just buy my tracer! id love to be able to afford to keep it but i cant. if you want a test ride then get in touch...

Trek Remedy nice bike put a 36 up front, Nomad also good, Alpine felt a bit lifeless to me but was on a demo so not completely setup, last time I went to the Alps I had a SC Heckler coil DHX-5 out back and Coil Lyric up front handled most stuff fine, the guide said it was a nice XC bike for the Alps 😯 when I came home it needed new swing arm pivots, BB, wheel bearings and the Lyric had blown something inside and the Avid code rear caliper never worked again 😀 but the best fun I've had in a long time.

Loads of Good 160mm bikes about that you could get built up for the purpose but I think Fabien Barel rides a few Alp based events and used his Mondraker Foxy so maybe it could cope with a few burler parts if you were just doing one trip?

Might save you a few £££ and you keep a bike that as you say suits most of your riding.

Spicy would be a good do it all but Zesty lighter and whats 20mm of travel? I ride mainly UK so 140mm more tahn enough.

Alpine 160 is a really nice bike... And does manage that magic trick of not feeling like a ridiculously blunt object the rest of the time. It's the only thing I've ridden that came close to my Hemlock for that- not as good either up or down, but close.

GW - Member
WTF is "for the Alps" meant to mean?

It means "I want another bike and I'm going to justify it by arguing it's for the 1 week a year I go to another country and do the same sort of riding as I do here" I think 😉 Much the same as "for racing enduros"

2012 YT Industries Wicked 160 SL?

http://www.yt-industries.com/en/bikes-2012/wicked-160sl/

BOS shocks, X0, carbon rear end, Reverb and under £3k...

Trek Slash. It's making me feel weak. If they bring a frame only option; I may not be able to resist.
[img] [/img]

GW - thanks for your useless reply - "The Alps" I would have though that was pretty obvious? - Its a large rocky mountainous area in France - pretty good for mountain biking apparently -

as Doug said [b]"you need to decide what you want it for.."[/b]

telling us might get you better replies (or did you just want a list of folk telling you what they have?)

Im not asking people to choose for me - Im simply gadging opinions and knowledge from others - Something these forums are designed for...

As for hundreds missing, not really pal - Maybe 20/30 bikes in the range - which narrowed down is prob 4/5 i'd seriously consider -

Other than having similar amounts of travel, each of the 6 bikes you mentioned in your first post have completely different suspenion designs, never mind geometry so what made you choose those (out of the other 30+ bikes you could have chosen)?

Looks alot like this:

Dune RR

[URL= http://img508.imageshack.us/img508/8343/duneb.jp g" target="_blank">http://img508.imageshack.us/img508/8343/duneb.jp g"/> [/IMG][/URL]

Uploaded with [URL= http://imageshack.us ]ImageShack.us[/URL]

GW has the mondays

I have a Spicy 516 and it is way overkill for what I need but I love it
I have mates that have done the alps on hardtails without issue too
Would 20mm make that much difference?
Personally having ridden hardtails, 100mm, 140 and 160mm bikes I would be pushed to say that I felt the difference between 140 and 160mm
Try some 160mm forks on your Foxy. Might save you a lot of cash

So you're gonig to get rid of a bike that is "perfect for most UK terrain" and replace it with a bike that is overkill for most uk terrain?

Whats the point in that?

watching this thread with interest....

A 160mm option I am considering so I'll throw it into the pot is the Canyon Strive. On paper looks all rather good, especially for the money. Anyone with experience of these?

(apologies if this is a hi-jack, ignore if so)

GW - Yes you got me!! - I think my original message saying about the alps is quite obvious, I am Asking opinions and suggesting if i should go to 160mm up form 140mm

Think its quite obvious its not a friking bmx or road bike is it?! Stop wasting my life......

160mm bike for the alps!? yes i will use that for bmxing - oh dear

whippersnapper - nah its cool - More the merrier - as long as its helpful and on topic! 🙂

would 160 forks run ok on a 140 rear? Would that not mess the angles up/ stress the frame? Guess I could go Talas and run 140mm most of the time and bulk up to 160 for the heavier terrain? interesting

Gooner-Dom, you're watching attentively, clarification on your riding style and locations has been requested in order to help you, where are they?

The foxy should run 160mm forks, not much more. The change wall slacken your HA and SA by ~ 1* and raise your bb a bit. It will make the bike more stable on the downs. BB height is a personal preference thing, marketing says low bb is better for cornering, but it's a personal preference thing, you won't know till you try it.

New [url= http://www.progressive-bikes.co.uk/product/chumba_evo_g2/ ]Chumba EVO[/url], well priced to at £1150 for the frame. 5% off intro offer for STWers too 🙂

Gooner Dom, have you ever ridden in the Alps before? Theres lots of variation in the riding out there. If you're rideing downhill then dont waste your money on a 160mm travel bike, buy a downhill bike.

If its xc you're riding, your current bike will be fine.

Orange Alpine 160, or go large and bag a Patriot if you're less bothered about pedalling - both great bikes. I've heard horror stories about Nukeproof Megas breaking within a week or two in the Alps - chain stays it was, I think.

DEANFBM -
I ride a bit of everything - Mostly singletrack where i live BUT Wales mostly for proper riding -

Have been to all these in past 12 months

Afan x 8
Cwmcarn x 5
Coed-y-brenin x 5
Coed Llandegla x 3
Cannock Chase x 3

Im not the fastest up (mainly coz im a dirty smoker) but will smash up pretty much any downs I hit pretty hard - Which is why I was thinking 160mm might be better for coming down! However the 160 fork option has me thinking! 😆

Orange Alpine without question, with a CCDB.

and I'm wasting your life?

😆

Afan x 8
Cwmcarn x 5
Coed-y-brenin x 5
Coed Llandegla x 3
Cannock Chase x 3

I have smashed most of these on a summer season with pikes. TBH I don't think I could smash them much harder on a 160 bike, I might just feel less beaten up at the end.

I've only ridden Cannock out of that list but 140mm forked hardtail is more than enough for that. Llandegla looks similar from what I can tell. My DH bike is 180mm but tbh even that felt like too much for the kind of trails I liked in Whistler, 140 or 160 would be about right and probably faster on the hardpack jump trails (and I'm considering hardtailing it next year). Depends what trails you're riding though I guess. I think I only bottomed out both ends once on a horribly landed/overshot ladder drop. For the techier stuff maybe you'd use more of the travel.

For that sort of riding 160mm and slacker HA + more weight is going to slow you down going up and down not speed you up?

I got a 160 bike during the summer to replace an Evil Sov. Lyriks on upfront. Use it for all sorts, local trails incl canals, Wyre, Cannock, Peaks plus taken France 3 weeks in summer and just got back from a week in the Dales.
I really like riding it and its not particularly heavy. Feels solid like the Sov did but more forgiving and confidence inspiring. Does not take any of the fun out of riding, quite the reverse for me. So if you want a 160 its not going to ruin your riding IMO.

i've ridden afan's trails on a number of bikes from 120-160 and i can honestly say i have had the most fun and the least fatigue on the 160mm.

i am a "plugger" up hill, so i dont care if it takes me a while, i just need it to spin efficiently and be manoeuvrable.

you'll probably notice, i am biased, but i do love the Transition Covert! 🙂

I've gone from a Foxy to a Dune (custom spec) a couple of months ago and I'm loving it.

Light (a few oz over 30lbs with reverb and SLX transmission), pedals well, great suspension system, AMAZING geometry.

Was riding it down Helvellyn last weekend. My first time and it was unstoppable on the rather technical, Alps-like descent from Grisedale Tarn.

I got a deal on the 2011 Dune R, which is QR rear. The one thing I would like is a maxle/x12 rear axle - which the higher models (and perhaps the 2012 ones) have.

Anyway, highly recommended - drop me a line if you want more info.

Heh, I got a tag. Wonder who that was from.

prob Cynic Al (I'd guess mine's from him too)

I'm with GW, gooner you don't sound like you know what you want. When I go to the alps I stick on 180mm forks and only ride the DH trails. Others go on orange fives and ride up the hills.
anyway, how bout a last herb?

i've ridden afan's trails on a number of bikes from 120-160 and i can honestly say i have had the most fun and the least fatigue on the 160mm.

Afan on a 160mm bike would be about as much fun as riding to the shops.

Afan on a 160mm bike would be about as much fun as riding to the shops.

that rather depends what you are used to...

my 160mm bike!

[url= http://farm7.static.flickr.com/6119/6351229068_d4a2f9411a_b.jp g" target="_blank">http://farm7.static.flickr.com/6119/6351229068_d4a2f9411a_b.jp g"/> [/img][/url]
[url= http://www.flickr.com/photos/60827263@N02/6351229068/ ]Untitled[/url] by [url= http://www.flickr.com/people/60827263@N02/ ]brockelsby2011[/url], on Flickr

He's asking 'what 160mm bike?' not 'try and tell me I have overkill bike needs'...jeez.

I got a Spesh 2011 s-works enduro. Its fricking amazing. The lightweight of the carbon really makes it very versitile. Even in Alu its light (for its class). Its THE tool for what you want in my opinion.

We'll Im happy with my Covert.
but could do with making it a tad lighter.
I fancy the new Yeti SB66 though or a Carbon Covert.
spicy this year should be brilliant, and I think the new Saracen should be pretty good too.

[i]Afan on a 160mm bike would be about as much fun as riding to the shops.[/i]

The Porn shop? Thats ALWAYS fun

I saw the Saracen race team doing a photoshoot at Woburn today.. I think they were on the new Ariels. Look very nice. A bit more spesh enduro styled than the old frame design.