You don't need to be an 'investor' to invest in Singletrack: 6 days left: 95% of target - Find out more
I’m starting to think about the next bike, something that will cope with long alpine days on natural rocky trails. Tend to avoid uplifts, so it needs to climb well and not be too porky. I’ve been a bit of a Turner fan over the years, the geometry works for me and the customer service direct from DT is ace. Unfortunately it looks like there is no longer a UK distributor, at least there is nothing much on the Silverfish site. Thought I’d go 29er this time and like the look of the Ibis Ripmo and the Yeti SB130. Not sure what Ibis customer service is like, and Yeto seems to get mixed reviews. Any feedback on these bike and the companies customer service would be gratefully appreciated. Any other bikes people would recommend - the only other caveat is I prefer to deal with bricks and motar shops rather than internet only providers for larger items.
Yeti CS doesn't have a particularly good rep.
Would suggest also looking at Whyte & Santa Cruz.
try to get a demo on the Orange Stage 5 and 6.
They are light, pedal very well and my Stage 6 is probably the best bike I've had for big days out in the hills.
I wouldn't recommend one to everyone, but it sounds like it might be a good fit for your needs.
Cotic Rocket Max?
Cannondale Jekyll?
I've had two Turner RFXs after being a big Turner fan but the quality and customer service (even bypassing Silverfish) seems to have dropped off a cliff based on my own experience.
Went to Ibis HD3. Great bike and great customer service (although not needed it to the extent I did with Turner). Would happily have any Ibis bike now.
Thanks for the feedback so far. I should add I’m short in the legs so prefer lower stand over. The Whytes seems bit tall on the top tube. The Cotic looks nice, but I think that and the Dale are both a bit too enduro for me (might be wrong but just reading the descriptions). Have a soft spot for Orange, still have a C16R from ‘96. I tested an a Sub5 back in the day but hated the way the back end jacked up under power, I assume the newer ones don’t have that trait? Reading the reviews and looking at the geometry the Ripmo looks ideal, more a long travel trail bike than enduro ripper with a very low top tube. I love the look of the Santa Cruz bikes, not sure on the ‘19 colours. Do they live up to the magazines hype? Shame to here the Turner CS has dropped off, it was a thing of legend in the day.
Mrs Kilo has four Ibis (her hakaalugi is her favourite Bike of all time and gets to live in the house!) and I’ve the one great bikes and the only time of I’ve had to query anything with them they got back to me really quickly. Moose cycles in South west London are great for Ibis if you’re over this way