21/22 Bikes That Make Your Shorts Tighter.

[VTskibum]

Have to call out the humblebrag post above, although am honestly in a similar camp. I bought a trail bike for more fun on the downs after stopping racing XC and many of my buddies followed suite so here we are back where we started.

If I were racing XC I'd still be looking hard at an Epic Evo, C'dale Scalpel SE or one of these new Elements. Dedicated XC buddy of mine who has current gen element is completely confused on who this bike is for.

[Dee Hubbs]

As appealing as the geometry, weight, and efficiency of these downcountry bikes are, I've recently realized that of the guys I regularly ride with, I'm already the fastest one to the top. Yeah, there's guys I occasionally ride with that are a bit stronger climbers, but that's pretty infrequent. So if I'm going to be sitting around waiting for the guy slowly spinning the 30x52 gear on his 27.5 bike to the top, there's no point in my getting a downcountry bike.

Have to call out the humblebrag post above, although am honestly in a similar camp.

Maybe we should invite him to our Zwift rides, we can see who's waiting for who at the top of the Leg Snapper climb.

[Andeh]

Maybe we should invite him to our Zwift rides, we can see who's waiting for who at the top of the Leg Snapper climb.

Zwift sounds like a shitty fake version of road biking, which I also have no interest in. Not saying I'm fast, just that I'm less slow than the guys I ride with.

Point was more to be realistic about the riding you do and who you ride with. These new downcountry bikes are awesome for the right people, but if you're going to be knocking yourself out writing checks the bike can't check, or your average ride is a 2 hour social ride with middle-aged slow guys, they might not make that much sense.

[sf]

I’m on a Prime V3. It pedals efficiently. Not “peppy” or “hover-bikey” like a lighter carbon dual link bike…. But it just cranks along efficiently. I feel like it takes me longer to get to the top vs my old Bronson V1, but Strava tells me I’m faster… I’m certainly less tired at the top though… It’s heavy and you feel that weight. I have mine built with a coil on the rear and a 150mm 36 up front… downhill it’s what you would expect.

I’m not sure who the Phantom is for though…. Not sure what terrain you would be riding if you want the beef of a Banshee but only with 115mm of travel…


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Thanks.

I have been thinking about it for a second bike, mainly to be used for flow trails with the kid when she starts riding. But still able to ride some trails on my own.

Maybe a hardtail is a better choice

[NW_SKIER]

You running that Fox at 120?

Actually now that I ask I don’t even know if that fork can go to 130.

I’m running a 120 SID on my Ranger and am 130 curious.


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Yessir. 120 up front.

[buttahflake]

2022 Specialized Crux looks freaking awesome. My current gravel rig is a Jamis Renegade, kinda portly at 22lbs and only fits a 38c tire. New Crux is built on the Aethos platform, so it’s light with room for 47c rubber. Goes live on 10/8/21, I think I’m heading down to Putney to put a deposit down on one today.

[GeorgiaSnow]

Thanks.

I have been thinking about it for a second bike, mainly to be used for flow trails with the kid when she starts riding. But still able to ride some trails on my own.

Maybe a hardtail is a better choice

Hardtail riding with kids is great. Make boring stuff fun again.


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[VTskibum]

Love the HT for riding with kids, excuse for me to work on skills and ride flats on it for easy hop on & go. Last night my daughter and I rode around the neighborhood up to the school and I rode curbs as skinnies, wheelies, no hand track-stands, etc all of which are skills I've much improved on these kind of rides. Not that you can't on any other bike. Think I've put about the same miles on it, even solo, as my trail bike this year.

@Andeh - just ribbing, but Zwift is a bit more entertaining than you might imagine. These TGR rides are also recommended, fun and good workout for winter when otherwise i'd be sitting on the couch.

@Dee - Jamal still has my number on that one and definitely coming off a season of JRA more than fast efforts, still looking forward to those Tues rides though.

[Dee Hubbs]

^ I thought I used light hearted/ribbing emoji, it is TGR after all. I guess some can’t take a joke.

[VTskibum]

It was implicit I thought as well, especially w the emoji which I suppose I should have used as well.

[rideit]

Sweet, this is coming in two weeks!

[g_man80]

Maybe this needs to go in a “What bike to buy thread”.

What are the chances Transition comes out with a new Smuggler? I’ve been loving my ‘19 carbon with a 150mm Pike, but getting the itch for something else. I would love to see it updated to slot right in the middle between the Spur and Sentinel.

The Sentinel would be blast, but it’s a bit much for most of what I ride. I’ve considered the Spur, but this will be a do-it-all bike and I’m worried it will get slightly overwhelmed on fast chunky stuff. My friend that has one mentioned it a few times.

The Stumpjumper (non evo) has my attention, but seems pretty “vanilla”. I do have a soft spot for the swat storage. I like the idea of saving weight while also bumping up the rear travel by 10mm compared to my Smuggler.

What other bikes get your shorts tight in the mid travel 65ish or 64.5ish degree hta category? The SB130 and SC Hightower don’t do much for me. I had a v1 Hightower and liked it, but would like to try something different. I expect the 130 might be updated soon. Pivots not being available frame only take it out of consideration.

[smmokan]

Tough to beat the Propain Hugene... $5200 for an X01 build with Ultimate suspension? That's like a golden unicorn these days. Looks like they're shipping in early January too (according to their website), which isn't horrible.

[Tailwind]

Any experience with these directly? I’d looked a year or so ago when prices were in Euros and less appealing. I met a guy on a trail this summer who was less than thrilled with his and that spooked me a little. His complaints were pretty much all QC related and he’d had to warranty a few things. But… that’s one random guy.

Sweet looking bikes and that price is impressive even for pre-covid pricing.

Tough to beat the Propain Hugene... $5200 for an X01 build with Ultimate suspension? That's like a golden unicorn these days. Looks like they're shipping in early January too (according to their website), which isn't horrible.

[sf]

Any experience with these directly? I’d looked a year or so ago when prices were in Euros and less appealing. I met a guy on a trail this summer who was less than thrilled with his and that spooked me a little. His complaints were pretty much all QC related and he’d had to warranty a few things. But… that’s one random guy.

Sweet looking bikes and that price is impressive even for pre-covid pricing.

There is a few threads on the Pinkbike forums. Seems to have some issues with QC. Buddy's getting a Tyee soon, so I guess we'll see.

[NW_SKIER]

Maybe this needs to go in a “What bike to buy thread”.

What are the chances Transition comes out with a new Smuggler? I’ve been loving my ‘19 carbon with a 150mm Pike, but getting the itch for something else. I would love to see it updated to slot right in the middle between the Spur and Sentinel.

The Sentinel would be blast, but it’s a bit much for most of what I ride. I’ve considered the Spur, but this will be a do-it-all bike and I’m worried it will get slightly overwhelmed on fast chunky stuff. My friend that has one mentioned it a few times.

The Stumpjumper (non evo) has my attention, but seems pretty “vanilla”. I do have a soft spot for the swat storage. I like the idea of saving weight while also bumping up the rear travel by 10mm compared to my Smuggler.

What other bikes get your shorts tight in the mid travel 65ish or 64.5ish degree hta category? The SB130 and SC Hightower don’t do much for me. I had a v1 Hightower and liked it, but would like to try something different. I expect the 130 might be updated soon. Pivots not being available frame only take it out of consideration.

Look into the Revel Rascal. They're killing it right now with their bikes.

[Andeh]

Maybe this needs to go in a “What bike to buy thread”.

What are the chances Transition comes out with a new Smuggler? I’ve been loving my ‘19 carbon with a 150mm Pike, but getting the itch for something else. I would love to see it updated to slot right in the middle between the Spur and Sentinel.

The Sentinel would be blast, but it’s a bit much for most of what I ride. I’ve considered the Spur, but this will be a do-it-all bike and I’m worried it will get slightly overwhelmed on fast chunky stuff. My friend that has one mentioned it a few times.

The Stumpjumper (non evo) has my attention, but seems pretty “vanilla”. I do have a soft spot for the swat storage. I like the idea of saving weight while also bumping up the rear travel by 10mm compared to my Smuggler.

What other bikes get your shorts tight in the mid travel 65ish or 64.5ish degree hta category? The SB130 and SC Hightower don’t do much for me. I had a v1 Hightower and liked it, but would like to try something different. I expect the 130 might be updated soon. Pivots not being available frame only take it out of consideration.

I really doubt Transition will do a new Smuggler soon. Too much overlap with the Spur and Sentinel. Next will be Carbon Patrol then a TR12.

Tallboy with Cascade link and maybe overforked, making it 128/140? GG Trail Pistol in "Pistola" build (130/150) tags your travel and geo wants but will be heavier. Forbidden Druid - same story.

[toast2266]

What other bikes get your shorts tight in the mid travel 65ish or 64.5ish degree hta category? The SB130 and SC Hightower don’t do much for me. I had a v1 Hightower and liked it, but would like to try something different. I expect the 130 might be updated soon. Pivots not being available frame only take it out of consideration.

For whatever it's worth, the current Hightower is a very different bike than the v1. Obviously looks different, but the suspension design is also completely different. Totally different kinematics. The name is pretty much the only thing that stayed the same.

[smmokan]

Any experience with these directly? I’d looked a year or so ago when prices were in Euros and less appealing. I met a guy on a trail this summer who was less than thrilled with his and that spooked me a little. His complaints were pretty much all QC related and he’d had to warranty a few things. But… that’s one random guy.

Sweet looking bikes and that price is impressive even for pre-covid pricing.

None so far, but I've got a Tyee frame on the way next week.

From what I understand, Propain just turned up/on their facility in WA this fall, so maybe the QC issues from previous frames is something they've addressed? The only thing I've read about were issues with the RS coil shock, but it sounds like that was remedied. I'll definitely post my initial thoughts once I get the bike built up.

[VTskibum]

Maybe this needs to go in a “What bike to buy thread”.

The Stumpjumper (non evo) has my attention, but seems pretty “vanilla”. I do have a soft spot for the swat storage. I like the idea of saving weight while also bumping up the rear travel by 10mm compared to my Smuggler.

I have a ‘20 Stumpy ST and have bike list over my buddies ‘22? Mint green Stumpy Pro! Color is awesome and is a great all arounder


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[schuss]

Maybe this needs to go in a “What bike to buy thread”.

What are the chances Transition comes out with a new Smuggler? I’ve been loving my ‘19 carbon with a 150mm Pike, but getting the itch for something else. I would love to see it updated to slot right in the middle between the Spur and Sentinel.

The Sentinel would be blast, but it’s a bit much for most of what I ride. I’ve considered the Spur, but this will be a do-it-all bike and I’m worried it will get slightly overwhelmed on fast chunky stuff. My friend that has one mentioned it a few times.

The Stumpjumper (non evo) has my attention, but seems pretty “vanilla”. I do have a soft spot for the swat storage. I like the idea of saving weight while also bumping up the rear travel by 10mm compared to my Smuggler.

What other bikes get your shorts tight in the mid travel 65ish or 64.5ish degree hta category? The SB130 and SC Hightower don’t do much for me. I had a v1 Hightower and liked it, but would like to try something different. I expect the 130 might be updated soon. Pivots not being available frame only take it out of consideration.

I have one of the new stumpies. I considered an evo, then saw how they were hucking and rocking the basic one in bike parks and realized I don't need any additional radness. It's a great bike that does everything well. If I have any complaints, it's that it carries speed almost too well as I've overcooked a bunch of corners not realizing how much speed I'm carrying.

[gtdrew]

Lusting after a Spur as a smaller bike to my Enduro. Love the Enduro and it is surprisingly efficient on the ups but want something lighter for all day missions and rolling terrain.

I can get a deal on Specialized so might go with a Stumpjumper. Also, considered finding a slackish hardtail designed for a 120 mm fork. Build a hardtail up over the winter. If I like it great, otherwise find a Spur frame and transition parts over.

Any recommendations on a slacker hardtail frame designed for a 120ish fork? Trail oriented geometry but still on the light side.

[Andeh]

If you get a deal on Spec, look at the Epic Evo. It's similar to the Spur. One of my buddies has one, and rallies it hard.

[gtdrew]

If you get a deal on Spec, look at the Epic Evo. It's similar to the Spur. One of my buddies has one, and rallies it hard.

485mm reach in the XL seems to short. I suppose I should ride one but the 510 reach on my S5 Enduro feels spot on for me at 6'4".

[One (+) Sentence]

485mm reach in the XL seems to short. I suppose I should ride one but the 510 reach on my S5 Enduro feels spot on for me at 6'4".

XC bikes have shorter reaches. The seat angle is probably slacker than other bikes in the lineup, so when you raise your saddle up to your climbing height, you get the effective reach that way.