You don't need to be an 'investor' to invest in Singletrack: 6 days left: 95% of target - Find out more
On paper these bikes are quite different but both are appealing to me:
2020 Rocky Mountain Slayer C90 (29)
2021 Commencal Clash Race (27.5)
I'm 6'2 and would get either the large slayer or medium clash as these have similar geo. Spec is similar, one is carbon and coil, one is alloy and air. I'm mostly interested in bike parks, jumps, DH and also need to be able to pedal it every now and then. I have no interest in racing but do like to go fast. I anticipate that most people would point me towards the Clash given my riding style but it's not clear to me why 27.5 would jump better than 29 (assuming a similar wheelbase).
Any thoughts on these bikes in particular or general musings on 29 vs 27.5 for bike park use is welcome. Cheers.
6'2 on a medium Clash? How about an XL?
Not sure how you're looking at those two sizes and deciding geometry is similar. Are you looking at reach only?
6'2 I'd be looking at XLs. I'm 6'1 riding XLs and wouldn't want smaller.
In every measurement, both are only slightly smaller than my previous XL capra, which I found to be slightly too big.
Everyone's preferences and body types are different, I guess - in what way was your Capra too big? Too stretched out while pedalling? I'm an inch shorter than you, and find a large Capra tiny
wow a medium at 6.2! I'm (basically) 6.2 and find my large spesh enduro too big and am tempted to go XL or XXL on my next frame.
What do you find too big on your XL capra?
On my XL Capra 29 the position felt great for pedalling; however, that is my lowest priority. It felt ever so slightly stretched out for jumping, eve with a 35mm stem - sometimes this felt really good on very fast and big jumps but not as good for going sidewards and tricks on steeper jumps. It also felt a bit unwieldy on tight corners but that could have been a function of having my front end very high in attempt to shorten the reach.
The clash and slayer are both around 10-15mm shorter in both reach and stack in the sizes mentioned. The biggest geometry difference between them is chainstays which are just 8mm longer on the slayer.
For further reference I just borrowed a friends size medium nomad this weekend which is a true size medium unlike the new clash. I went to descend bike park at hamsterley and it felt fine for most stuff including the faster jumps like the road gap but a little bit like i was over the bars on the steeper black runs. That leads me to believe somewhere inbetween the nomad and my old Capra would be right.
IMO its the 29 wheels, they roll great and fast but jumping and doing whips or tricks they can feel like a kite in the wind and tough to bring back! I'm on a 29er and loved the speed an plough-ability to start with but am now considering dropping a wheel size.
My riding buddy is also on a Nomad and that bike corners and drives forward really well, you'd want a large though for your size IMO
Both look like really nice bikes, and it sounds like you have a really clear idea of what you like in your bikes size-wise, which is really interesting to read.
One thing on the medium Clash - it has a steep seat tube angle (over 77 degrees). I know you said pedalling isn't high up your list but as a tall guy with the seat up and a low-ish stack, that might feel really weird in the saddle, even if it worked when stood up. That might spanner up the comparison with the Nomad a bit.
Given that you have quite a specific take on sizing, i'd be buying a bike that I can actually get a go of (even if just a short one) first
Surely the correct answer, seeing as you say they are quite different, is to buy both.
It sounds like a demo is in order here of both bikes (if that’s possible).
If you go for a reach shorter than recommended for your height and the bike has a steep seat angle you’re likely to end up very scrunched up when seated pedalling (unless you run a long stem).
I like a smaller bike generally as I’ve got long ish legs for my height but short arms. Generally most people at 5’9 would be going for a medium long size of my current bike (479mm reach) but I know I’m ok seated on that but when standing attacking stuff I find it too long / too hard to weight the front. So I sized down to a medium with a 457mm reach and it feels perfect - running a 45mm stem.
I haven’t pulled up the reach figures for the 2 bikes mentioned but a medium at 6’2 sounds really small.
Edit - just pulled up the commencal and according to their guide you could ride a Large or Extra Large - if you like a smaller bike then I’d pick the large I think.
I won’t look at the 29er as I’m not a fan of them and therefore can’t really judge the geometry properly.
Thanks all. There were quite a few comments here and a bit of interest so thought i'd update.
I rode a few other peoples bikes that were in the same category - a large YT Capra and large Canyon Torque. I liked both in terms of overall size and the 650b wheels. It seems YT and Canyon don't actually stock bikes these days and the final remaining 2021 Commencal Clash Race was still up for grabs at chain reaction cycles so I purchased it (through my cycle to work scheme!) in size medium as this is practically the same size as the large YT's and Canyon's I had ridden.
It's exactly what I was looking for. Big travel, burly, slightly undersized (on paper) which means better manoeuvrability and as close to a DH bike as possible whilst still being able to pedal it to some degree. I visited a bike park this weekend and found that on the DH runs I could ride more aggressively and muscle the bike around better than on my previous XL Capra 29. I 'felt' faster, and whether this is true I don't know, but what matters to me is it felt more exciting. On the freeride lines I could really throw it around ride more stylishly than my previous bike.
Still tweaking the suspension to get it perfectly dialled in for me but it's getting there. The Zeb Ultimate 180mm fork felt a little bit divey at the recommended pressure for my weight. I've ended up 12 psi harder, LSC at around half way and HSC at 3 clicks of 4. This now feels spot on - I like my forks pretty firm! The rear suspension felt great straight away at 30% sag and no low speed compression at all but i'm finding it easier to use all the travel than on the fork so I will play with volume spacers to create more progression at the end stroke. Unfortunately there's no HSC dial on the shock. Wheels with quicker engagement are a novelty to me which is something I never knew I cared for but it feels nice. Surprisingly the new Shimano SLX brakes are really good too. I've previously been more a fan of SRAM's modulation than Shimano's bite, but they seem to have found a nice balance here. The only bit to change is the 150mm dropper for a 210mm one as I like to keep it slammed in the frame for maximum clearance - 210mm should at least get my leg nearly straight when pedalling!
On my first ride on it this weekend, a gent with some fancy camera gear was kind enough to take this great photo which i'm really pleased with!
I can see why 🙂
Fair play on that drop - especially first time out on a new bike. If you’re happy with the fit and comfy on it then great!
Great pic! I have a feeling you may be more qualified to say what sort of bike suits you than most on STW 😀