Trek Fuel EX
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Scott spark comes with 120mm travel… and the 100mm one is good enough for Nino…
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@batwood14 - I live on the other side of the Lake from you and ride the majority of the trails in Copper Harbor and Marquette on a Pivot Les (hardtail) and have even seen folks rocking it at Moab. The latest versions with boost hubs are compatible with 29 or 27.5+ wheels. It is wicked fast on the Iceman trails. https://www.pivotcycles.com/en/bike-les-29-carbon-v2-1
That pitch aside, I agree with @NorthShoreXC that the Rocky Mountain Element would let you ride just about everything and they make a quality bike.
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I can vouch for the Rocky Element as well. Unless you get the XCO edition they’re 120/100, and the ride 9 lets you fiddle with the head angle, BB drop, and progression really easily. I have mine set at 100/100 and it’s still a wicked machine with a dropper.
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I am looking to get a MTB and start mountainbiking after I’ve done my road events in April and I was wondering if you guys could help me with a few suggestions.
The mountainbike paths in my area are mostly in a forest and aren’t that hilly or rocky unfortunately.
I was thinking about getting a second hand bike for a max of 500 euro, but I cannot decide really on whether to go for a 27.5 inch or 29 inch wheels.
I am leaning toward the 27.5 as those corner better, or at least that’s what I read but feel free to correct me if I am wrong.
One of the bikes that looked good to me was the Giant Talon, does anyone have any experience with them?
560.00 will get you a nice entry level hardtail depending on where you live over there. There are a few LBS that carry the Rocky Mountain brand, in that price range you will find the RM Soul and the RM Fusion. Both are really nice bike and come with quality components for the price that you pay.
Soul 10 : 27.5 inch wheels , Suntour XCM DS 120mm front fork, Maxxis tires, Shimano hubs, Shimano Altus Shifters and Derailleur, Shimano brakes.
Fusion 10 : Suntour XCT 100mm front fork 29 inch wheels, Shimano brakes, Shimano Altus shifters and Shimano Acera derailleurs, suntour XCM cranks, Shimano hubs, maxxis Ikon tires
For entry level bikes you just cant go wrong with either one.
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@batwood14 I will echo the info about the Rocky Mountain Element, It is their Flagship XC race bike with a massive amount of R&D put into the model over the years. The RIDE 9 link on it makes it one of the most versatile bikes on the market letting the end user simply customize the geometry to exactly what you want and like.
The 2019 Rocky Mountain Element is a sweet ride with several frame and component options.
I have the RM Element Carbon 50 which is a carbon frame with a alloy rear triangle, it came with a 120 Fox Stepcast float performance fork, Fox 100mm DPS remote Performance Elite rear shock , 29 inch Tubeless ready Sun Helix rims , Maxxis Rekon front and Ikon Rear tires, Rear DT Swiss 370 Boost hub, RM Boost front , Sram Stylo 6k Eagle Cranks,Sram BB, Sram XG 10-50T cassette , Sram GX eagle Derailleur, Sram GX Eagle Shifter, Shimano Brake levers, Shimano SLX brakes 180 Ft, 160 Rear, WTB Silverado Race saddle.
That is my current Race set up straight from Rocky mountain and weighs 25.9 lbs, it is super nimble on the flat twisty and I have killed several PRs on the downhill sections, so far I’m really impressed with this bike . With the remote lockout for the rear shock you can instantly gain peddling efficiency with the push of the thumb. Because of the Ride 9 link and being able to set the geometry you can ride it in the slackest position and make a very capable downhill ride or move it the Steepest setting and be a flat ground rocketship, me I like the middle of the road and have it in one of the neutral settings, for the price you just can go wrong for a do it all bike .
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I don’t know much about the Talon, but it looks like Giant’s entry level bike. As such, the components on it are likely lower end also.
For a 2nd hand hardtail, look for something about 2-3 years old that originally retailed for about 1500. The components will be better, and if you are patient in looking around, you should be able to find something in your target price point of 500.
As for 29 vs 27.5, it depends on what kind of riding you’ll be doing and your size. It you plan generally on keeping the wheels on the ground, will be riding less technical terrain, and are medium size frame or bigger, go with 29. But if you find a good deal on a 27.5, go with that.
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@Dlove, thanks for the advice I haven’t come across a lot of Rocky Mountain ones over here.
Thanks Dave for the feedback, I found couple of Talons with some more high end finishes (XT or SLX) but I’ll keep an open mind for other brands/types as well.
I am 1.79 and about 80 kilo’s, I think I am going to go with the 27.5, would love to become a technical rider where my speed comes from proper technique. The things I’ve read and seen online all seem to point to 27.5 as more agile and more dependent on technique to go quicker.
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Well I ended up being able to buy a second hand Giant Talon with SLX (front) / XT (back) finish for under 300 euro.
It has click pedals, when would you guys go for clicks instead of flat pedals?
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Diove - great picture of your Element. Beautiful looking bike and I’m sure is amazing with the SC 34.
GPx - I would strongly lean towards 29. Most of the manufacturers have got the geometry figured out so that you can still get a nimble great handling bike with the improved roll-over ability of 29 wheels. Given the popularity of 29 it might open up more tire options, especially at sale prices.
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@GPx - Congratulations on getting into MTB. Flats are a great way to learn safely and develop your skills. Also the Ryan Leech On-line training system is fantastic for skill development. https://www.ryanleech.com/
Cannondale Scalpel SE might be an alternative. Supposedly a XC / marathon fully stretching towards a trail bike. I think it’s got 120mm and slightly slacker angles. Canyon Neuron might be a good candidate as well.
Either way I’d recommend to look very carefully at a bikes geometry, there is way more to it than travel. A short travel bike with longer reach and slack angles will be much more fun than a 140mm with a geometry from 2014. Also,
It was mentioned in the thread already, but I ride the new Santa Cruz Blur. My local shop was able to get me the frame/fork only and I essentially built it up like the high end “trail” version: Fox 34 Stepcast, Eagle XX1 but I put ENVE M525s and a KS Lev dropper. It’s the best of both worlds…I will race XC and endurance events on it with Aspens or similar, but it feels burly enough to handle almost everything else I would venture into (with more aggressive tires). It’s also light enough that I don’t feel like I am sacrificing a ton versus a hardtail if a race called for one. I was looking for the “quiver-killer” and think this bike and the Yeti SB100 both tick those boxes pretty well.
I would not just go by bike weight. The efficiency of the rear suspension design has a lot to do with how “light” a bike actually feel when riding on a trail. Less efficient rear suspension design such as the simpler single pivot design will be easier to make lighter, but are less efficient when climbing. I got a chance to ride the Yeti SB100 earlier this year back-to-back with the Yeti SB 4.5, Santa Cruz Tallboy, and Pivot Trail 429. Climbing ability didn’t necessarily correlate with bike weight.
My ride impressions are posted at: Mid-travel 29er Trail Bike Comparison Test - Pivot Trail 429, Santa Cruz Tallboy, Yeti SB 4.5, Yeti SB100 — DIRT MERCHANT BIKES
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