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My trail bike (160mm travel, 27.5" carbon, "endure style") has been out of action for the past month or so. This has given the chance to ride a few different bikes, through rentals, demos and very generous friend and has given me some perspective on what's important in a bike.
The bikes I have ridden are:
- Stiff Morph - steel hardtail, 27.5 with a dropper
- Trek Fuel - 29er, aluminium
- Trek Fuel - 26 inch, aluminium
- Specialized Rockhopper - 26 inch, aluminium
My conclusions from trying all these different bikes:
- A dropper seat is the biggest difference maker and the best mountain bike invention.
- Wheel size makes very little difference, especially now brands seems to be committing to 29ers for short travel and 27.5 for longer.
- Front mechs are useless and 1x gearing is much better.
- Frame angles are just as important as suspension.
Finally, having the latest bike is awesome and you do enjoy your day riding more, but riding any bike with your mates in a good location is better than not riding your bike at all (or even blasting round the local trail centre).
It'd be interesting to see what other people think.