[Closed] ok, one chance to change my mind - FS bike that i'd like the look of?

Aha, sounds like you like the same type of bike aesthetic as I do.
May I suggest a Sunn Charger, I think it was? It was a steel tubed full sus, skinny tubes, quite slanty like an early Kona.
I'd love one, someone rode one past me a few weeks ago, gorgeous in the flesh.

https://m.pinkbike.com/news/swarf-contour-29er-review.html

In true STW fashion I can't see past my own bike...

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Although, to be fair, from your description I think the Flare / FlareMAX might suit you better.

Skinny steel tubes climbs well .

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The Transition Spur seems to be the one getting people hot under the collar at the moment:

This is on the classifieds, she’s a real looker 😬

could i enjoy a FS bike after all this time?

Obvious thing to do would be to try riding some and see what you think. You'll find that a decent XC suspension bike (Giant Anthem type of thing) will save you energy on rough trails. Hardtails might be slightly better for sprinting on very smooth surfaces, but on a suspension bike you can stay seated and just pedal across rougher stuff. If you do long rides, you'll be much less beat up at the end.

If your main consideration is looks rather than performance, you'll probably never be happy with one.

Swarf +1

Skinny steel looks nice, but is generally heavier than other materials for full suss and might not give you the light springy feeling you’re after.

This option ticks a lot of boxes other than cost and steel:

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I like that it keeps a bit of a hardtail look with the top tube angle running into the seat stays - and the expensive model only weighs 24lbs ish. I think they do a darker colour than pictured too.

My 20 yr old Marin East Peak FS is only 30 seconds slower than my hard tail on the below segment despite being 3kg heavier and bobbing like a noddy dog.

https://strava.app.link/T24ZN9SDI9

The main difference is I can ride down the hill again On the FS bike without feeling beat up at the end.

Those Transitions are good-lookers.

Also, I never thought an eMTB would look ok but don’t find this ezesty to be overly-ugly. Faint praise etc...

The aesthetic, light weight and efficient will exclude your reasonable cost.

If you're going FS, embrace carbon or alloy.

If not, stay with what you have got imo.

And you should in either case borrow a FS for a weekend and give it a whirl.

I can’t see past my own bike

Me neither, it seems to have collapsed across the view 😉

OP was TL:DR

If you don't like bouncers, don't buy one...

Get a fat bike, at least some people seem to love them...

plus (in my mind) theyre heavier and you lose energy with ‘bob’.
i dont consider myself fit enough to lose any energy from a heavier ‘bobbier’ bike

Just so you know. Your 'mind' is completely wrong. 'Bob' is a myth. I've had full sus bikes since '99 and none suffered from bob. My '99 full susser was a great looking bike, btw. Alu, but skinny

What Dez says, 100%

https://m.pinkbike.com/news/swarf-contour-29er-review.html/blockquote >

Beat me to it, I was gonna say this as well. Such a pretty bike.

 

Haven't heard of Bob for years. Just vague memories of 90's mtb journalism.

It sounds like you don't really want one. Just find a local demo bike or friendly STW'er and see if you can spend some time on one.

I’d get a nice steel 29er hardtail like a SolarisMAX. It won’t be as springy as a good old steel frame but the big wheels’ bump smoothing ability will more than make up for that.

If I had to have a full sus that looked like a hardtail, I’d be looking at Liteville. Bet they’re pricey though
https://www.liteville.com/en/267/bikes/301-mk15/factory-machines/

That Transition looks great. Very clean looking design.

Absolutely a Swarf, beautiful bikes.

And bob is most definitely a thing, my Pitch was bobbing like a nodding donkey a couple of hours ago. Thing is, I reckon my back tyre pressure had a bigger effect on efficiency than the bobbing did. So yeah, it exists but the effects are greatly exaggerated.

My Canyon nerve (picture in my profile) will be for sale soon.

I think bikes where the chain stay appears to run into the top tube (like the spur above) look best.

Can’t look like a full suss if you can’t see a shock?

More seriously, I’d be looking at a project12 vertigo. Not sure it’s fully custom, but close.

ok, job done, youve shown me that theres a good looking FS bike, i quite like the look of that swarf, and cotics always look good anyway.

cheezybeanz, cant see enough of that purple bike from that angle, what is it?

I think bikes where the chain stay appears to run into the top tube (like the spur above) look best.

agreed.

Just so you know. Your ‘mind’ is completely wrong. ‘Bob’ is a myth. I’ve had full sus bikes since ’99 and none suffered from bob.

And bob is most definitely a thing, my Pitch was bobbing like a nodding donkey a couple of hours ago.

so the jury's still out 😀

The aesthetic, light weight and efficient will exclude your reasonable cost.

If you’re going FS, embrace carbon or alloy.

If not, stay with what you have got imo.

And you should in either case borrow a FS for a weekend and give it a whirl.

makes sense, i ought to have a ride on one at some point, dont think i know anyone local with one tho. i think the first sentence would probably prevent me from getting one anyway, something that ticks my boxes will probably be out of reach cost-wise.

thanks all.....

And bob is most definitely a thing, my Pitch was bobbing like a nodding donkey a couple of hours ago.

I've had a few FS bikes, and aye, if you don't set up and tune them for your use, you could end up like old Bob.

My Yeti SB66 was possibly the worst bike I'd ever rode going by the first ride. A shock tube and getting rid of the rear tyre turned it into possibly the best.

Spent a week on a pitch in Spain in 2011, was a cracking bike, even as the lower spec.

I've got a Liteville 301 mk11 on eBay for sale ,it looks like a hardtail and behaves like one until it doesn't have to - I ended up buying a 301 mk12 brand new I was so impressed by it

Have a look at the new Orange Stage Evo.

Not the cheapest but their suspension platform is very efficient and lively, and they are probably the best looking bikes in the world.

Perfect FS bike for someone who's not fully sold on FS bikes IMO.

Marino, simple, cheap, skinny

or production priveee shan

That Transition is a lovely design. It's like the opposite of that Orange ebike that has angles popping off in different directions all over the shop.

Starling has skinny steel tubes, simple design and rides amazingly

In true STW fashion I can’t see past my own bike…

Although, to be fair, from your description I think the Flare / FlareMAX might suit you better.

is your bike a rocket? and whats the difference between rocket and flare? i do like cotics, but get confused with flare/rocket/MAX/longshot variables.

am i right in thinking rocket is more 'hardcore' (read heavier?) so flare would suit me better?
and is MAX just a 29 version of 27.5?
and all of those variables now get 'longshot' tweaks so now have different geometry?

which would be the lightest, shortest travel version of a cotic FS bike?

cheers

I'd second considering a starling.

Whatever you end up with, make sure you test ride a few, as looks & paper spec can be misleading. I really didn't get on with rocketmax, but loved the starling murmer, other people it can be the other way round.

What you will find is that FS bikes ride totally differently to they did a few years ago when DH race bikes had less travel than many trail bikes do now.

cheezybeanz, cant see enough of that purple bike from that angle, what is it?

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Starling Murmur 🙂

I’ve had a few FS bikes, and aye, if you don’t set up and tune them for your use, you could end up like old Bob.

That's also true, my pump is crap so the shock setup has been, shall we say, challenging.

But yeah, cracking bike, absolutely loving it. It just wants to fly and take off of everything. Even has 1x! 😉

Rather than recommend a particular bike, I’d say go along to a demo day and try some fs bikes then make a decision.
I resisted sus forks for a decade, then stuck with short travel a few years more, but when i rode my own bike with a 130mm fork, it surprised me, I really liked it.
Go and ride some fs bikes, you may really like/dislike them.
But nobody here can answer that for you.

Opened thread to say Swarf Contour. Best looking full sus bike in my opinion. Would love to own one some day. Just looks lovely and seems well thought out. Simple yet effective and built to last.

Boulder FS. You’ll need a time machine to get a new one...

so the jury’s still out 😀

Well, seeing as the only Specialized Pitch you can get is a hardtail, no 😆