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Decided to treat myself since my current Alpine is coming up to 7 years old and whilst its been a brilliant thing, my eldest lad has grown into it now which is obviously the perfect excuse for me to get myself a new one!
So what do I ride - I guess if you're going to label it, I like shorter "enduro" type rides. So think of something like Boltby Bash, Ard Rock, trail centres with off-piste bits thrown in etc. Thats my perfect day riding. As mentioned, I currently ride a 160mm travel Alpine 160 and to be honest, I don't need that much bike but I do like the comfort of full bounce and I like the feel of slack bikes.
So I think I'm looking for a short'ish travel, slack bike that can take a bit of a beating. I'm also a serial Orange owner as my bike maintenance is almost non-existant these days so single pivots are less to look after. My last multi-pivot bike was a Blur 4X and I got fed up of a full bearing change every year. That said, I'm also finding myself very drawn to things like the Pace hardtails - the 27.5 especially looks like a lot of fun.
Spec I'm not bothered about - I'll prioritise decent suspension and wheels over drivetrain (Deore is more than fine for me!). Not bothered about wheel size either...
So what do I need to be looking at? Budget I'd rather spend as little as possible and second hand is probably my go-to given the cost of new bikes.
What about the first half dozen in the classifieds? Pace, Santa Cruz, Whyte, Canyon...
Standard answer - Bird Aether 9.
Boltby Bash, Ard Rock, trail centres with off-piste bits thrown in etc. Thats my perfect day riding. As mentioned, I currently ride a 160mm travel Alpine 160
I'm not saying that this NEEDS a full suss, but if you've been doing this on a 160mm bike for seven years I dont think you will ENJOY a hardtail.
My Starling Murmur was pretty ideal for the kind of riding you described.
YT Jeffsy is a great all rounder
What about the first half dozen in the classifieds? Pace, Santa Cruz, Whyte, Canyon…
…fat bike 😈
Raleigh Grifter
It reads like you want another alpine, or maybe go down to a five. Plenty of those on pinkbike classifieds usually.
hightower or megatower
Airdrop
So I think I’m looking for a short’ish travel, slack bike that can take a bit of a beating. I’m also a serial Orange owner as my bike maintenance is almost non-existant these days so single pivots are less to look after.
The current Oranges are really light and pedal extremely well - great for trail centres, big days out etc. They are a bit less planted than most bikes, but that's the trade off for the lively nature and they are really fun to ride.
I've had a couple in recent years and found them quite durable, but you get a five year warranty on the frame anyway and customer service seems excellent.
I've now got a Starling Murmur as my main bike and it should be very similar to my old Stage 6 (single pivot, similar travel etc.) but it's got less urgency about it, is much more comfortable and pitches its stall more towards enduro-y riding.
Both brilliant, but different. And I've still got a Stage 4 to enjoy that Orange sensation.
Raleigh Chopper.
Edit - sorry 😉
If it has to be single pivot then that takes out most of the big brands. Leaves you Orange (maybe a stage?), Starling and then the various high single pivot sort of stuff like the forbidden Druid / deviate / Norco Range.
Personally I don’t find bearing changes have to be done every year - my last 4 bikes have been Horst / 4 bar.
The Bird Aether 7 I had was pretty capable on off piste / rough stuff and was a good all rounder - 29er version should be a small step further on with the bigger wheel rollover.
I’m actually on a 2022 Transition Sentinel now which is on the cusp of long travel trail / enduro light I reckon - it’s better and ironing out jank than the Aether without giving away too much pop. I love it.
Would stick in the Santa Cruz Hightower (free bearings supplied for life - but you have to fit them / pay Labour to fit them) and Ibis Ripmo AF in the same sort of category - fun but capable longer travel trail bikes.
I 2nd the Chopper best bike I ever had.
then the various high single pivot sort of stuff like the forbidden Druid / deviate / Norco Range.
All those are linkage driven single pivots, like a lot of Faux-bar suspension systems.
Tbf even Orange have a linkage driven single pivot on their enduro bike now 🤷♂️
Airdrop Filter core Ltd edition is the bike you describe. Looks so good I'm after one myself.
Stage 4 or 5 orange then?
I'm in a similar position- but replacing my Bird Aeris 160. I've been looking at the Propain Tyee 27.5. Nice carbon frame. Not sure about the under BB cable routing though...
They've just opened a demo store in Crawley
If OP wants the simplicity of a single pivot, he's unlikely to want a high pivot & idler chucked on it?
Tbf even Orange have a linkage driven single pivot on their enduro bike now
OP's not after an enduro bike.
Stage 4 or 5 orange then?
It's the Stage Evo (120mm rear) or Stage 6 Evo (140mm rear) now.
But I wouldn't discount an original Stage 6 with a -2 deg headset (like the one I just sold), or the 2nd gen Stage 6. Both go like shit off a shovel and are more trail than enduro in feel.
thanks for the heads up Spicer about the demo centre. I will have to pop along and check it out.
Obvious answer is obvious.
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2022 Stage Evo (because sometimes its hard to tell them apart!).
Replaced a Hightower, which was great but a little 'numb' feeling. Have owned Oranges previously too including @chakaping 's stage 4.
The Geo has improved further (I now ride a medium, as its long enough now, but low enough in the seat tube that I can run a decent dropper) but a big improvement from the old one is the shock.
The 2022 Float X now uses the bigger elastomer type bottom out bumper like a DHX:
https://www.bikeradar.com/news/2022-fox-float-x-dhx-shocks/
I've found it much better than previous Float X2 and Float DPS. The bigger more capable shock allows you to run the bike a little softer and deeper into its travel without the big 'clang' of a bottom out you get on an Orange with a smaller/XC biased shock. I also built deliberately with Float 34's not 36's, and again the new versions are fantastic, as stiff as my old 36's but usefully lighter.
I also think the build quality and paint finish in particular has moved up a few notches with Orange in the past few years too. My current one is much more 'premium' feeling, which it ought to be given the cost.
The idea was 'less suspension, but better' and I think I nailed it, its a super, super fun bike to ride.
I've done all the same events as you, Boltby, Ard rock etc and its fine, and then with some XC tyres I'll often do a 45 miler out up the Wharfe Valley etc and had no reservations about using it for some XC/Endurace/Moiuntain Mayhem type events either.
It positively whips round trail centre berms too.
@daveyboywonder your only just up the road remember, so welcome to have a go.
Edit - Pace RC295 was one of my other potentials (along with the Bird) and they have a demo up at Sutton bank this Saturday if you wanted to try one.
Weird sizing put me off the Pace eventually, and it was more similar to the Hightower.
boltby and ardrock would be amazing on a chopper..
SC have lifetime bearing warranty and I've owned mine for 5 years and changed bearings once out of regular maintenance (they were fine) so dont worry about that too much.
Other bikes. Transition Sentinel. Spesh Stumpjumper Evo? Loads to choose from.
Would be nice to change brands though to feel like you've properly got a new bike?
I pretty much had to give my Stage evo away in the end( not a single sign of interest on the classifieds here for example) really weird how little coverage and kudos they get - it was a great bike but combination of covid lung and holiday home surrounded by big up has made me go e bike
I pretty much had to give my Stage evo away in the end
I saw it and was tempted but it was the worst possible time to be thinking of a new bike.
Plus I still really love my S4 and just got a Cane Creek Inline Air for it.
Hi all. Thanks for the all the suggestions. I've decided that a chopper is the bike for me. Bugger, not a chopper, I think another Orange and the Evos seem to tick a lot of boxes.
I'd love a new bike but all the ones I liked are out of stock till next year.
I've got a 2020 Stage 5, the one before the Evo and it's properly ace. Having had 5's, a 5 29 and a Segment I can say the latest stuff blows the others out of the water. Get one, you won't regret it.
Oh, and they're doing demo's again, they were up at Gisburn a few weeks back.