Having been pretty keen on my bikes in my teens, I’m hankering after a mtb approaching my late 30’s. Only looking at hardtail, reckon some trail riding but also canals etc with lad.
Originally looking at orange clockwork (bit nostalgic after having P7 in my youth!) then found a decent deal on a crush, better spec but not sure with respect the ‘slack’ head angle for canal/ longer riding. Bear in mind this is pretty new to me, slack head angles, seat tube angle, 29er, 27.5s - as I remember things seemed a lot simpler in the 90’s! Dropper seat you say?! Seats always dropped for me via quick release!
Anyhow, I’ve also seen the new Specialized fuse which looks pretty good and am now thinking either this or the crush. Think geometry on the fuse maybe better suited for what I’m likely to be riding but the pull of my youth is still strong on the orange. What are people’s thoughts on the bikes and also spec wise? groupsets etc also changed....from memory I only remember shimano alivio, acera, lx, xt and xtr. Think my P7 was lx if I remember haha.
Thanks
'The pull of my youth is still strong on the Orange'
52 yrs old and I just got a 2008 P7. Love it to pieces (except for the flawed amd borked removable dropouts, reminded me - need to upgrade them)
I rode it up the towpath to the Hills. Is great. New ones of course are longer and slacker, haven't tried one, but a have a Genesis Longitude which is loong and not as sprightly as the Orange on trails yet probably better on towpath touring.
Sounds like you could do with a few demo rides to see how newer low slack styles feel? I wouldnt get hung up on groupsets and brands too much. I had a Deore-equipped bike and now an XTR one, but enjoyed riding both with no troubles. Have also used SRAM, and an Alivio-cranked diy singlespeed (on the P7) and it rides fine.
What's the approx budget? For such varied use I'd be after lockout forks at least.
Rigid 1990'S bikes are brilliant on canal towpaths. What type of trails are you riding and how good a rider will you be? Do you like climbing more than downhill or just climb slowly to get the dh in. Do you jump etc? Need to get a bit more specific and may depend on what your trails are like. Will you be visiting trail centres eventually. As for wheel size may depend on your height and what bikes are around. Most new bikes will be low long and slack, but you may prefer something abit more xc based, or a heavier slacker hardcore hardtail. There are plenty of trail hardtails about that would probably be great for you if you need a do it all bike. I like the Marin trail bikes which would be fine for most types of riding as many other type of bikes will be. The new geometry gives you more confidence.
Do not get too hung up on the components as shimano ( not sure about sram ) filter their technology down the line.
Bird do a lovely hard tail which gets great reviews and you can spec it within reason to your budget with their online configuration tool. They do both SRAM and Shimano components in various levels of bling, plus some Hope stuff.
Thanks for the feedback.
Which bird bike are you referring? I’m thinking top price £1200 (minus 10% off online in places!). Regards biking, don’t anticipate anything overly technical, local woods, moorland etc. Downhill or uphill? My take is if you go down you have to back up at some point! Ha.
Forgot to mention I did actually have a bike post teenage years, DMR Trailstar in my mid 20’s before it got nicked. I’d say that was around 2006 ish, think early one as I got it second hand. Found it a nice bike to ride though, both canal/ road (between places) and minor wood trails. What’s the geometry of today’s bikes in comparison to that? 26 inch wheel think was 15” frame if I remember.
Sounds pretty much like any hardtail at that price-point would do. I'm at heart a Class of '93 ATB/MTBer mostly either commuting and touring on towpaths and tearing through woodlands etc but never stopped for a rest (discounting injuries) so have followed the developments. I keep a hardtail and a rigid as compromise has proven difficult - but if I was in your position after One Bike TM at that budget I'd either buy a Genesis Vagabond or Longitude (for towpaths and some playing in woods) OR (for playing in woods and some towpaths), then a Vitus Sentier or similar (Whyte 901?) for playtime with lockout forks and fast tyres for towpath/gravel stuff - All around 1k*
*Use the possibly leftover £200 for a decent lid and/or pedals/shoes or dropper post
Trek roscoe is an excellent trail bike for the £, comes with 27.5x2.8 but frame will take a 29er too
I was looking at the sentier as an option but is currently out of stock unfortunately. Thought of adding dropper which would then be approxat the orange cost
