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I know this questions gets asked lots, please help as I am now in a world of pain from reading too many reviews.
My budget is £3k.
I want a bike that is easy for an old git like me to ride uphill, cross country and on trail centres. Uphill is more important than downhill ability, so perhaps 140mm travel?
Orange 5 pro
Canyon Nerve CF
Giant Trance X
Stump jumper
Am I missing anything out, like a Santa Cruz?
I will test as many as I can.
from that description i'd go for the nerve CF.
Five Pro, or a Gyro Pro if you really value good climbing. IMO Orange are the only bikes in your list that offer performance and long term reliability (easy to clean, easy to service, easy to get spares for, etc). Stick a Hope headset and bb in and you make that bike bombproof.
Decision 1 what wheel size?!?
http://www.santacruzbikes.co.uk/heckler/#builder
Heckler with some upgrades comes in at £3k, love mine
I want a bike that is easy for an old git like me to ride uphill, cross country and on trail centres. Uphill is more important than downhill ability, so perhaps 140mm travel?
If uphill is more important than downhill, I'd be looking at 100 or 120 mm travel as all will easily cope with the downhill aspect of what you describe. Regardless of what the mags say, 140 mm is not necessary for trail centres. (my FS set at 110 mm feels more than enough)
I'd be thinking more along the lines of Epic (or Epic Evo), Giant Trance etc..
Camber, Stumpjumper FSR, etc. 3k? I can only dream of spending that on a bike!
Cube Super Stereo HPC Race...anything else would be second best
This might fit your requirement. Here's a review..
Not my thing but got some mates who swear by them for longer days out and Mtb marathon riding.
Lot of choice out there though. Good luck.
SC are just stupidly over-priced for what they are, if you have £6k to spend on a lottery-win bike then fair enough but there's better bikes to be had for the £3k mark. I'd probably go Nerve CF myself to, 120mm sounds enough for what you describe - the 8.0 model and maybe put the extra aside to upgrade the brakes later if you need to. Or the Nerve AL 29er should work to and not much heavier.
OP, are you mechanically competent? Would you get enjoyment out of building up your own bike from a frame? That budget would get you a lovely self build!
From what you describe you want, I would say a 120/130 FS is right up your street. If you want a great spec for your cash, a Canyon Nerve would be perfect. The Specialised stumpjumper as a mainstream bike, or maybe even a Camber 29er.
Transition Bandit, fantastic allrounder and you can take your pick on wheel size.
It doesn't help according to your first post (come on, this [i]is[/i] STW), but a ti hardtail with a 120mm (for 26") or 100mm (for 29") adjustable fork would be light and climb well if you get the fit/build right. I'd probably get a 2x10 XT group and either a SID or Reba with a bunch of Hope bits.
For that much I'd build rather than buy off-the-peg to prevent to the inevitable fettling, but that's me.
FWIW I had a Trance X, they're great bikes and climb pretty well. I don't think it's a coincidence that so many linkage systems resemble Maestro.
You're considering a Five when your priority is climbing ability... 😕
Ax an ex Orange 5 owner I can confirm they are pretty lame at going up hills especially in the granny ring.
Trance X or 5 would be my choice. Giant better on the ups but hate that low down shock position in the firing line for the dirt. 5 less good climber, but great on the flats and downs, plus less maintenance, although a bit overpriced
Thanks all, great advice so far... really appreciate it.
150mm travel seems almost the standard, will try looking for less.
Wheel size mentioned - good point - what do you all reckon?
Oops...you've opened a can of worms there Nish... 😉
What about the new Nukeproof Mega Trail?
[url= http://www.singletrackbikes.co.uk/m1b50s1p22806/NUKEPROOF_Mega_TR_2013/RS_GB/47921?gclid=CJHHiZD6q7YCFUTItAodVwsAEQ ][/url]
Nice spic for the cash.
if its mainly uphill you want why dont you look at the Cube 29'ers or and Canyon 29'ers
Has anyone actually got any available stock of the New Megas??
Thanks all. It was a mindfield. I tried every bike, nothing felt amazing, so, kept mine for this year, bought some new Revelations, tubeless tires,handlebar etc, and now it feel amazing.
So, thank you, your advice was not wasted at all.
Well, you don't NEED 140/150mm, but why not have it if you can so long as you're not compromising your main goal. I don't know why so many people are worried about being overbiked when in other areas of their life they will be over something else - like over car'd, over housed, over PC'd, over lawn-mowered, over home cinema system'd etc, etc.
It will give you options and the ability to do something you were not originally intending to do when you first purchased your bike should you fancy it one day. However, there are many great 140/150mm All-Mountain bikes out there that will climb very well, though they will all be heavier than a shorter travel cross-country orientated bike which may or may not turn you off them as an option, but then again I think people put far too much emphasis on weight when selecting a mountain bike - 5lb (isn) separates the lightest and the heaviest (within reason), which is a small overall percentage of your all-up weight, so ultimately not an issue.
Ultimately at the price range you're looking at (and a bit below) there really is not a wrong choice once you've decided on the style/type of bike you're going for.
Whyte M109S .....
Or the Norco Sight Killer B posted above by Cazum.
Ibis Mojo Special Blend? Awesome at climbing and descending and everything in-between 🙂