Need to buy an 'all rounder' 29er.

[VicMic]

All,

New to the world of MTB after spending years on the road.

I am looking to purchase a 29er as my first MTB in a long time since my old hardtail 26. I am looking at a duel suspension 29er bike and am just getting back into MTB after nearly ten years and spending the last few years on the road (which I will continue).

I am really after a MTB to "do everything" as far a a dually 29er can do. I live in the Geelong, VIC region and will be riding the You Yangs, Anglesea etc. I will mainly just be riding with mates but plan to ride some endurance events such as 100km, 12hour and 24hour enduro's.

Which duelly 29er best fits this bio?

I am leaning toward the Trek Superfly 100 AL Pro. But have also considered the Giant Antherm XO (nothing against them, just not a Giant person - but they are good value), Specialised Epic and Camber, and the Trek Rumblefish. I am looking at Aluminium to keep the costs down and need to spend under $4000.

Any experiences on the Superfly and opinions on the other bikes (and any that I have not considered) would be greatly appreciated.

Cheers,
VicMic.

[kunalraiker]

I think I may be in the similar situation as you, and have decided to get the X0 when finances are right, as far as my research went, you get heaps better componentary on the X0 as compared to its competitors which might be at a $4000.00 mark.
Epic being one of them, weight wise as well they are lighter then some of the carbons out in the market.

I feeltt he X0 is a no brainer.

[Gordo]

those giant anthem xo are going for 2699 (?) in some places i believe.giant are having so factory backed sale or something. if i lived anywhere than i do i'd be all over it.

havent ridden a superfly 100. ridden a basic superfly 29 which was good.

The epic is awesome. yes its more expensive and lower specced. but handles real well...and has 'the brain'. great bike. loved it. if it was under 3gees i'd jump on it myself.

The camber is a funny beast and much less racy than the epic. Im getting a new mtb sooner or later. I was flipping between the camber and the epic. Its either try and make the camber a little more racy or beef up the epic a little more (thicker tires). i felt very awkward on the camber. good for busting downhill in a straight line though. still bit of an unknown for me. id need to ride it some-more.

havent ridden a anthem X 0(dont think i would need to if it was $2600). hope to in a few months.

[trailgumby]

A mate of mine has a Santa Cruz Tallboy - a very nice bike.

This one is for Ladies Only



Bike on left:

[Mugglechops]

Bloke at work has the Superfly 100. Very nice looking bike and not as common as the Giant.

[Phill_B_34]

.....
The epic is awesome. yes its more expensive and lower specced. but handles real well...and has 'the brain'. great bike. loved it. if it was under 3gees i'd jump on it myself.
The camber is a funny beast and much less racy than the epic. Im getting a new mtb sooner or later. I was flipping between the camber and the epic. Its either try and make the camber a little more racy or beef up the epic a little more (thicker tires). i felt very awkward on the camber. good for busting downhill in a straight line though. still bit of an unknown for me. id need to ride it some-more.
.....

I’ve just been through this ‘need’ to buy a MTB. I ended up with a Specialized Epic 26”, not a 29” as my size suited a small frame with 26” wheels. The rear shock is quite good, easy to dial in for your size and wherever you ride, as mentioned the 'brain' works really well.
The standard front shocks (100mm travel) are OK but I’ve changed mine for a set of Fox shocks with remote lockout.
Overall I’m really happy with the setup now.

Happy hunting!

[alchemist]

Not sure I'd call the SuperFly or Epic an allrounder. Bikes like the Rumblefish and FSR (and the Tallboy) fit more into this sort of niche. I've ridden the SuperFly, a very nimble bike but very racey. Giant, Specialized and Trek have a pretty large demo fleet so keep an eye out for their demo days.

Others around Kona Satori, Niner R.I.P. 9...

[Danton]

I'm in the same boat as the original poster I "need" to buy an new MTB.

If you took everybody's opinion into account you would go a little nuts.

Bottom line I'm taking every chance I get to ride and see what I think.

Looking at other the Anthem or an Epic if I decide to lash out..

[VicMic]

All,

Thanks for your replies.

Well that Santa Cruz Tallboy keeps coming up. Is it really the best generally accepted alrounder? I have yet to see anyone say a bad word about it. However I beleive it is out of my price range.

I think the Rumblefish, Camber and Stumpjumper, while complient bikes, would lose a bit of competancy when climbing and pushed hard due to increased travel and more relaxed geometry. While I am after a comfortable ride (to manage many knee and back injuries) I need the bike to perform when I give it a good push and not lose my efforts. That is why The Superfly and Epic were on the radar.

I do like that there are not many of the Superfly 100 AL Pro's getting around compared to the Giant Anthem XO. Plus I ride a Trek road bike so I am leaning that way, But the $2600 price for the Anthem is a very good deal at the moment.

I did ride the Anthem XO and the Superfly Elite (top of the line carbon version - but the frame was the only difference). However they were on different weekends and I am finding it difficult to make comparisons.

I am enjoying the research and would welcome any further comments and opinions.

Cheers,
VicMic.

[meridaman]

I bought a Jamis Exile, couldn't go wrong for about $450 (staff stuffed up discount at Anaconda so bought two of em) lol, did alright on the Oaks Firetrail

[hairyone]

I have demo-ed recently a Giant Trance and a Santa Cruz Superlight- both 26ers. I ride a Niner One 9 at the moment but need something more all round for painful knees. I liked both the bikes I tried, and I am sure they would both be excellent all rounders- but Santa Cruz are bringing out a Superlight 29er and I want to hang out for that to land in OZ before I spend any more cash. Also means, if I like the Superlight, I can just get a frame and share a lot of the components with my Niner. Good luck with your thinking.

[Gordo]

rode a scott spark 29er. carbon. sht hot ride. has a pin or something u can flip in the rear shock link and this alters the bb height and head tube angle. basically makes the bike more racey or traily. fast up hill when locked out. damn smooth downhill. and damn easy to maneuver. also tried a scott genius 26 and i thought the shorter travel spark 29er was smoother actually. Certainly didnt get caught in the ruts that i did with the 26er

tried the avanti 29er HT. bloody flew up hill. ripped seconds off my best time off a short uphill sprint with energy to spare. maneuvered brilliantly. certainly lighter than my current bike. But ruts and bumps just didnt exist, made it so easy so easy to keep the momentum up once going. 29ers are brilliant. sold

[m@]

I just bought a Giant Anthem X 29er 0, so I'm probably biased. Also test rode the Anthem and Trance 26ers but the 29er blew me (and my $2k budget) away - initially I was after a 26" dually with more travel as I ride reasonably twisty singletrack with the occasional moderately technical descent and plenty of bumpy climbing, but the 29er ate up everything I threw at it.

Great bike, and unbeatable value IMO - I paid $2800-odd including swapping out the brakes for XT.

[Ken Ho]

I've been looking for a while and eventually decided on a Trek Rumblefish Pro.
I picked it up yesterday and I'm instantly in love with it.
The fit and finish and attention to detail is superb and the lack of any bob is impressive. Gear changes are slick and effortless with top Shimano gear.
I bombed my first full flight of stairs ever on my first ride.

[Muchomint]

I just bought a Giant Anthem X 29er 0, so I'm probably biased. Also test rode the Anthem and Trance 26ers but the 29er blew me (and my $2k budget) away - initially I was after a 26" dually with more travel as I ride reasonably twisty singletrack with the occasional moderately technical descent and plenty of bumpy climbing, but the 29er ate up everything I threw at it.

Great bike, and unbeatable value IMO - I paid $2800-odd including swapping out the brakes for XT.

I'm just finished clocking up my first 200km on the Anthem X0 29er and have it set up nicely. We were up at Wisemans yesterday, put about 70km in. I think I dreamed about my bike that night. It was just so damned good. I love it. I really do.

The worst thing about it was choosing it. It was no fun at all. I just couldn't justify anything else and nothing compared for the cost, so it pretty much chose itself. $2600 for an 11kg 29er loaded with XT. Can't say fairer than that. The rumblefish looked nice though, but the $$$ swung it in the end.