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Hello all. My firstest everest post!
So I'm back in the saddle after a nasty (long hospital stay) crash 12 years ago. I've just picked up 2 bikes that i got for a great price by buying the pair, but it's nonetheless only economical for me to keep one. Boo. They are a 2017 G-160 (RockShox) and 2018 T-130 (Fox). Both in RS spec.
Now i know the "which is better?" debate has been done to death, but this is more a question about which bike you all think i will enjoy the most in the long run. I'm finding my feet again - slowly getting there. Most of my riding will be on fairly gentle trails, but i fully intend to take he bike to the proper places now and again, and have already booked my first trip to Morzine.
I don't think i'll ever be the nutter i was again, and I'm currently just pottering (so the T130 the obvious choice), but I just wondered what y'all reckon I'll enjoy the most in the longer term as my confidence returns? Weirdly the G is a medium and the T a large, but they are EXACTLY the same size! 😀 Big thanks for your thoughts.
Where do you usually ride?
How gnarly riding do you realistically expect to be doing?
Hi there. I'm in the south east, so most of my riding will be surrey hills, epping forest etc. I do know the obvious choice is the T-130, but i'm wondering if the day-to-day sacrifice is worth it so i have the G-160 on those few occasions I am on the gnarly stuff.
I would say the 130 is the keeper, as you get back into it you'll know how well things are progressing. Then for Morzine etc maybe hire a bike out there?
If it was me then the T-130, as that is the majority of your riding. And maybe a rental for the hols? Plus keep an eye out for an S-150?
Take the G160 to Morzine then sell it afterwards
I’ve a G-160 and it doesn’t really get going unless you’re in properly steep , rough and fast stuff. I’d keep the T-130 out of those two.
Trade them both for an S-150 😉
Realistically you'll probably get more use of the T-130. They are capable enough, my mate rode his down the black at Fort William
Going to buck the trend here and say keep the 160. It’s just a great bike 😀
Take the G160 to Morzine then sell it afterwards
This makes a lot of sense.
But perhaps take it out for a few rides in Surrey first to confirm that it's too much of a slog (I think it would be).
Agree that the G-160 is an excellent bike, I love mine. But if I were getting back into it I’d want something that was more rewarding on less challenging terrain to help rebuild my confidence. The G-160 can be a bit inert unless you’re really going for it and the T-130 is a very capable all rounder by all accounts.
Would agree with the above. I think mine is brilliant too, but its never going to be great on anything other than fast/steep/rough stuff. The low bb certainly doesn't help if there'll be a lot of pedalling involved too. T130 is likely to be more enjoyable on a wider range of trails
But perhaps take it out for a few rides in Surrey first to confirm that it’s too much of a slog (I think it would be).
Definitely would need ridden first, don't want to turn up on holiday to find you dont like the grips/tyres/whatever
I can confirm the T130rs is an excellent bike. Use mine for local, Welsh trail centres and Snowdon, Lakes, Peak, BPW. Not tried the G160 but def sounds more of a gravity sled where it needs to point down to get most fun out of it. Keep the T130.
Assuming these are not new and you have space I'd keep both for now.
See what it turns out you end up riding when you get back into the swing of things...
My experience is it's often not what you expect... and ultimately nothing wrong with keeping 2 bikes with different purposes.
T130 I'd say, as a previous g160 owner it's very much a 'buldozer' bike just wants to smash through and straight line everything which is great on rough steep trail but can make more tame stuff a bit boring and lacking in feedback
Thanks so much everyone! Really appreciate your input. I like what stevextc said best 😀
If your big crash was on a bike (?) then I think I’d go T130. You’ll have more fun at lower speeds and it’ll let you know when you’re on the limit. With the G160 I suspect you’ll be YT elling downhill faster a lot of the time, and so when you run out of talent it’s going to hurt more. Although it could save you more too on certain things.
I’ve recently swapped from an enduro big to a trail bike and it’s pretty similar to moving from a G160 to a T130. I’ve not been disappointed anywhere so far with the downhill performance but been pleased with how it rides on more mellow / flow trails and uphill.
G160 all day. I've owned both and still own the g160
G-160. You'll feel like its a skill-compensator with enough travel to save you and that will help the confidence come back even if it's not an entirely rational truth. That's how I've felt after big injury comebacks, anyhow.
There's plenty of steep stuff in Surrey Hills too of course. Maybe not so much Epping Forest though, if you're actually going to be riding there most of the time then I change my vote.