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Hi any one rode one of these ?
Was looking at a stumpjumper evo but this has caught my eye and are being drawn to the cf9, lots of money but awesome spec.
Thoughts ?, other bikes similar?
Norco Optic / Bird Aether 9 / Nukeproof Reactor / Cotic Flaremax or Jeht.
The Spectral does look sexy in white though.
The 125 is a rather different type of bike to the Evo I think? That'd be the first thing I'd want to settle my mind on.
The standard Spectral 29 (or mullet) would be the more comparable bike yeah.
Saw a metal 125 in the wild recently, looked nicely put together and not as portly as I expected.
Reviews suggest they may be a bit firm in the rear suspension?
I think the spectral 125 has similar geo to the full spectral but that bit less travel. I guess you’d hope it pedalled / climbed a bit better as a result.
They are going to be firmer than the full version as they have less to play with - but having run a Bird Aether 7 which is similar in intention I found it a great all rounder.
I’ve since moved to a Sentinel which has more travel and is therefore better at the uplift day sort of stuff and rougher tracks - I’m also enjoying that. It probably doesn’t pedal as well as the shorter travel bike but it’s hard to tell as my fitness has also taken a bump up through turbo training so I feel like I’m flying now. The main difference is probably in flatter / twister trails where the shorter travel bike felt a bit more nimble in reality.
Enjoying mine - it's a CF9. Yes, it's pretty stiff but that's what I was after (replacement for a hardtail as do it all bike).
Incredibly capable downhill - only notice the lack of rear travel when the going gets properly rough (not very often on my locals). Very stable, but playful enough to be able to make sneakier line choices than you might on a bigger bike to get you out of trouble.
It's a reasonable climber but can feel a bit wandery at the front due to the head angle, but that doesn't bother me particularly. If I want to do a climb fast I'll be leaning into it more anyway.
Hi thank you for all the replies,
The evo was probably going to be too much bike 90% of the time and after regreting selling a giant anthem advanced 27.5 with 120mm front travel, 110mm rear I started to look at similar bikes.
My son wants to do some endurance races together and was hoping this would be the perfect all round bike, but perhaps I am wrong ?
In no rush at all and need fitness to improve before committing to racing again but need a bike to do it on as only got a levo sl at the moment.
I ride a Norco Optic, which on paper is a very similar bike and i have no worries about riding it anywhere. From local Enduro races (southern enduro) to XC bimbles to bikepark wales. I will be doing the Megavalanche and Ard Rock on it later this year.
These short travel 'aggressive' trail bikes really are very good. Sure you might have to pick your lines a little better and might feel a bit more fatigued, but they certainly dont stop you from riding wilder stuff.
I dont think you will be disappointed.
My son wants to do some endurance races together and was hoping this would be the perfect all round bike, but perhaps I am wrong ?
You mean like marathon XC?
I think the 125 might be too big, heavy & slack for that.
You'd probably be better with a true trail bike.