Good All-Mountain/Trail MTB Choices

I am considering getting a new bike, and want a bike that will perform fairly well across XC, mild DH, and club rides. Given my requirements, and my size/weight (6', 220#) I have, so far, put the following bikes on my short list. (List is currently limited to bikes I can try at Frank's shop)

Orbea Occam29 H10 (~$4500)

Cannondale Trigger 29er 1 (~$5000)

Ghost AMR Lector 29 ($?/)

Fezzari Nebo Peak ($3400) (Anyone know anything about this one?)

Things I consider important: Full suspension (I really like the DYAD suspension on the Cannondale, as it seems like it would give me a greater range of options on one bike); 29er setup, preferably TLR; $2500-5000 price tag; dropper seatpost (easy upgrade); 1x10 or 2x10 gearing (this may getting changed to a CVT)

Any suggestions on other bikes to look at? I am willing to build the bike myself, if I can get a good price.

I am partial to the Orbea, but check into the 29er Spider at Intense Cycles or any other model.

http://intensecycles.com/spider-29/

The new Cube Stereo 29er was on my list.

http://www.twentynineinches-de.com/2012/08/27/cube-stereo-shpc-140-29er-testurteil/

PB Matrix wrote:The new Cube Stereo 29er was on my list.

http://www.twentynineinches-de.com/2012/08/27/cube-stereo-shpc-140-29er-testurteil/

That's nice too. Cube is German engineering and they are pretty good with awesome color schemes.

From your list I like the Trigger the best. The Trigger takes features from both the Scalpel and the Jekyll to make one awesome machine. I've been checking this bike out and it's Sweet...and, I'm sure it can be had for less then MSRP at Wheelsports. On the other hand, Frank has told me the Occam29 is a big hit in the States and he has more versatility as far as components are concerned when it comes to Orbea...

The ghost has the same suspension design as my Giant NRS. It is going to be great for XC, but an all mountain....I don't know about that.

I would suggest the DW Link or VPP designs from Pivot Cycles, Santa Cruz, Intense, or the Gary Fisher line. They all have 29ers, if you think mountain biking on road bike wheels is for you. The 29ers tend to be limited to XC-optimized 100mm travel (for some reason, hmmm). In general, all-mountain is in the 5-6" range, at 25-30 lbs on 26" and pedal well.

That's funny!!! The Trigger has more then 100mm of travel. For over a year now the industry has been pushing 120mm as the optimal travel for a 29er...

120mm is still an XC bike... but I get hung up on the use of words. "All-Mountain" and "Trail" are being used in the press to describe a type of riding that would normally be done by shuttle, but are instead climbed by pedal, like the modern use of "Enduro." Ten years ago, AM or Trail would have referred to "Freeride," which is now more often used to describe built-up courses like "North Shore" and crosses over with "Slopestyle." What we ride around here is mostly XC, unless you are doing Freeride at Beerfelden, Slopestyle at Trippstadt, or AM at Stromberg. None of the marathons we do would be considered Enduro by any stretch. Enduro is kind of a full-face and light pads affair.

That said, if you are looking for a bike with 150mm-ish travel, the four-link types pedal smoothly without the need for heavy Pro-Pedal or CTD settings on the shock to compensate. Four-links have a very nice progression to bottom-out. Four-links have better braking response than any other design. I have a third DW-link frame in the mail to me right now; I probably have good grounds for a qualified opinion at this point.

Of course, PB Matrix also has a highly qualified rating, and he hates DW-links. Not sure why, though.

Closing on the use of words, if you are looking for a more slacked-and-squishy bike that is good for the trails we ride 90% of the time and have interest in 29ers, I'd go with "Aggressive XC" as an appropriate descriptor. For that particular demand, I'd say that powerpro369's late-model Fisher HiFi (or Rumblefish) are very good choices.

While I am seriously considering a new ride, I am also considering upgrading my Fuel EX7. I love the bike, it has run very well for me so far.

It is possible I could, fairly inexpensively, upgrade my current bike to cover almost everything I want in an all-mountain ride.

I would probably upgrade:

Front shock (at least add the remote for the lockout)
Rear shock (to a shock with a remote, the one currently on the bike is not remote capable)
Dropper Seatpost
Drivetrain (at the least, the front and rear derailleur, shifters, and cassette)
Wheels

As currently set up (changed rear cassette to Shimano): 2009 Trek Fuel EX7

Any suggestions? If I go this route, I will definitely be watching chainlove.

Have you ridden with lockouts before? Again, my opinion, but I don't like them. I removed the lockout from my 5.7 (primary bike), effectively downgrading it. I've had 2 seasons on my M4 with lockout, and don't use it much. When I do, I forget to turn it off often. I think a more finely-tuned fork negates the need for it. The shock might be good with the CTD or Pro-Pedal valve, set to stiff for climbing.

So, levers for your shifters, levers for each shock, lever for your dropper, and there's no room to clamp your lights... Let alone what you start fidgeting with when you become exhausted!

The new fork for my Evil has a lockout and a Dual-Position Air (TALAS for the rest of you), but the lockout makes sense with a 150mm fork on a hardtail for those streetstyle front manual-to-tailwhips that I do off of picnic tables .

I dunno about the rest, but I like having different bikes suited for different purposes. It also gives me a backup if a bike is down for parts/upgrades. It's hard to get a Swiss Army knife with tweezers and a corkscrew in bicycle form. There are good all-rounders out there, but you will appreciate the subtleties more with a purpose-segregated stable, even if there is a good amount of overlap.

Do you need to roll those pennies from all of my two-cent inputs yet?

eurotrash wrote:Do you need to roll those pennies from all of my two-cent inputs yet?

The more commentary the better. I am trying to access the group knowledge base here, since most of you having been riding longer than I.

My Fuel has lockouts front and rear, but no remotes (The remote upgrade for the Recon is $50.) I often use the lockout when I am climbing, but sometimes forget to release them later, so I think the remote might be nice. (One of the bikes I am looking at, the Trigger I think, has one remote that controls both front and rear suspension simultaneously, which reduces the mess on the bars somewhat.) I would prefer a dropper seatpost without remote, as it doesn't seem that difficult to use the under-saddle handle to control the seat height (I guess, by that logic, I should just clean up my rigid seatpost and adjust on-the-fly old school, with the seatpost QR, but that seems pretty tricky.)

Unfortunately, my MTB quiver is currently limited to two bikes, one of which is in pieces in my study, and is an old Specialized HardRock. So, I am sort of stuck with purchasing/building as broadly useful an MTB as I can manage/afford.

Looks like Wheelsports just got the new Trigger 29er 2 in:

I went out to Frank's this afternoon and looked at the Trigger and several versions of the Occam. I would like to see the Trigger 1, but was very impressed with the alloy Occam.

Either way you go i think you are going to get a awesome ride. Test ride em both and get the one thats the most fun.

you can also try here
http://www.backcountry.com/full-suspension-29-mountain-bikes
use the discount code from AKO and you might get an even better deal.

LOL,

I just hate Santa Cruz suspension as it is a bit tricky to set up if you do not what you are doing. A few years ago I did not know to set up a Santa Cruz Blur LT and was literally launched off the bike 3 times in one short ride..


But, another funny story, I impulse bought an Intense Carbine 650B frame and fork , not knowing it was a Santa Cruz VPP suspension design until Tomaz showed it to me on the swing arm. Oh well the bike seems OK so far, but, give me six months and then I'll let you know how I feel about VPP and DW link suspension designs.

Anyway, I still vote for a 29er or 650B Cube or Specialized Stumpjumper from a local Bike shop, using the VAT form, you will get a good deal and support a small buziness man as well. Plus the two year warranty on anything bought in europe is real nice....



Eric

This bike seems like a great deal, but I don't know much about the bike: BackCountry: BMC Speedfox SF29 Backcountry has it listed as 40% off their regular price, and it seems pretty well-equipped.

EDIT: Even cheaper on Speedgoat

The carbon Trailfox TF01 looks even better, and the demo model on Speedgoat is only $2160

OK, the waffling and testing is over. I am buying a 2012 Pivot Firebird from Competitive Cyclist.

The bike

I tried the Jekyll, liked it. Tried the Trigger, really didn't. I really like the rear suspension setup on my Fuel, but want a little more travel and upgraded components. The combination of price point and DW link suspension sold me.

Let the razzing begin.

Bravo! W00t! If you want a feel of what you're in for, you can take a lap on my Mach 5.7... You will be glad you tested all those production bikes, so you have some basis to compare your new awesomeness to. The FB will pedal like a 5" bike!

I received my bike today! For those who don't know, Competitive Cyclist found out the last 2012 Firebird box they had didn't have a Firebird in it, so they offered me a Ibis Mojo HD Special Blend, to which I agreed. The bike shipped a 10 days ago, I received it today. Of course, I spent the evening putting it together from the three boxes which arrived (had to put on the front fork, attach the handlebar to the stem, and install the wheels and seatpost. Really tough.) Here are some pictures (The last picture shows the carbon weave visible on most of the bike, looks like I can get 3K matte when I order rims from Light Bicycle:

Nice! Lets break it in this weekend.

Out of town until Sunday.

Purdy!

You can't quite see it in the pictures, but the front fork has this quote, from V for Vendetta, on the legs: "The only verdict is vengence; a vendetta, held as a votive, not in vain, for the value and veracity of such shall one day vindicate the vigilant and the virtuous."

It is all in cursive, and looks really cool.