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Ideally I'd like to demo a modern geo 29er "hardcore hardtail" and a 27.5 FS on the same day and trail. Just to get a feel for a 29er and to see if the bigger wheels on a hardtail will be enough to sort the things I don't like about a 26" hardtail (mostly getting hung up and not carrying speed through rougher pedally sections) - or whether it's really a FS I want!
The 29er hardtails I've been looking at are the Sonder Signal ST, NP Scout 290 and Merida Big Trail 600. For FS I've been looking at Banshee Spitfire/Rune or Vitus Mythique 27. So if I could demo anything similar to these bikes it would be ideal!
I'm based in the East Midlands but happy to travel a bit for some good bikes and trails!
Go and see Cotic up at chesterfield and they'll sort you for a demo. They've a demo loop from their office
Good shout but cotic don't have a 27.5 FS. But Airdrop are close by and they do. Speak to them and demo one of their bikes and head home via cotic and demo one of theirs. Will be different trails though.
Bird Zero and Aether 7. Swinley, mind.
Bird available at Hamsterley also.
Why limit yourself to a 27.5 FS? Why not 29er FS?
Why limit yourself to a 27.5 FS? Why not 29er FS?
Well the original plan was to get a 27.5" FS frame (Banshee) so I can use all my existing 26" parts with it for now, can't really do that with a 29". But now I'm looking at complete bikes I guess I could try the 29" FS too. The Vitus Mythique 27 VRX looks great value though.
get a 27.5″ FS frame (Banshee) so I can use all my existing 26″ parts
False economy.
But now I’m looking at complete bikes I guess I could try the 29″ FS too
Yes, Yes. This is the way.
The Vitus Mythique 27 VRX looks great value though.
It does, but the 29er version seems to be the same price and spec.
So it does! Last time I looked the 29er with Marzocchi forks was about £2k but is the same as the 275 now.
If you're not near an Alpkit store, Sonder will send you a bike to demo if you're happy to pay £99 + the demo fee.
https://alpkit.com/pages/sonder-try-before-you-buy
I think I'm going to book a hire of a Mythique 29 at Swinley (if they have them) asap so I can get a feel for it, maybe try a 27.5 model too if they have both available so I can see what size I prefer. And hope that the great deal on the VRX spec remains for a little while, it's a lot of bike for £1400 by the looks of things and I can't see anything else that comes close for that price.
Thanks all for the suggestions!
Sonder do demos from Hathersage, which shouldn't be more than two hours away from anywhere in the E.Midlands.