Procrastination 101

[muzzy57]

Well, having spent many hours deliberating the relative merits of the 4 bikes on my "short list" I'm still not really any closer to making it any shorter!

The list is an all Specialized drum roll & while I know that there are many other worthy & wonderful makes out there, these are the ones that have most appealed to me....

* Camber Evo 29
* StumpJumper FSR Comp Evo 29
* StumpJumper FSR Elite 29
* Enduro Comp 29

The usage will be a mixture of xc trails (including some slow & technical stuff), flow trails, singletrack and hopefully a modicum of low end downhill. Been riding MTB now for about 8 months.

I'm 47 yo, 193cm tall, big build. Fitness is, er well... Improving. Have ridden MX for many years when I was younger & motorcycles all my life, so have at least a few skills that have carried over but I would only rate myself as "competent" at best.

Fortunately there is a test ride day coming up in a few weeks time so I'm hoping that spending a bit of time on each will help narrow the focus down a little.

Any thoughts or comments would be appreciated...

Cheers,
M

[find_bruce]

While you appeared to have decided on a 29er and the bikes are similarly specced, alloy frame, mostly SRAM X7, formula brakes 29ers, you have selected a fairly wide range of suspension travel, from the 120mm travel of the camber through to the 165mm Enduro.

What is it that appeals to you about each of the bikes ?

[muzzy57]

Bruce,

Yes I currently ride a 29er hardtail & quite like the wheel size. You're dead right with regards to the specs of the bikes I'm looking at & I guess that the conundrum I face in this decision is exactly what you've pointed out... ie: deciding on the preferred travel length. I want a good all rounder but don't know whether to go for the trail bike with the slight emphasis on climbing or the one with the slight emphasis on descending. I believe that any of them could ultimately fit the bill but I'm just being OCD!

M

[silentbutdeadly]

Where do you ride?

And do you prefer charging through the rocks and pedalling all the while whilst pointing downhill or feathering the brakes whilst carefully picking your line whilst telling yourself that falling off here would not be good?

Somewhere in the range of a 120-140 mm travel is usually the ideal compromise between the two...

[trailgumby]

Bear in mind that 120mm on a 29er is like 140mm on a 26er. The big wheels just gobble up the trail.

Unless you're hucking to flat. Then there's no substitute for travel regardless of wheel size.

Some idea of the trails you intend to ride would certainly be helpful.

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[muzzy57]

Living on the Sunshine Coast, the tracks that we have or will be riding are places like the Noosa trail Network which is predominantly xc stuff along with some 4wd tracks, Parklands near Nambour which is anywhere from fast flowtrail/singletrack to tight, rocky & technical plus throw in visits to Daisy Hill, Gap Creek & Hennessy Hill. Apart from that we do sometimes ride interstate/os... April will see us riding the Great Victorian Rail Trail which is smooth fine gravel & then finishing the week with 3 or 4 days exploring all that Mt Buller has to offer. Am happy to tackle a bit of DH but have no desire to attempt the gravity defying feats of some of the younger crowd

[warnsey1]

Have you considered the Epic Comp? I think I am in a similar situation to you in terms of size weight and with a bit more emphasis on the cross country as opposed to the hardcore downhill and the Epic seems to fit the bill, for me at least.

[muzzy57]

Interestingly enough, the Epic Comp Carbon 29 was my original choice when I first started out on this bike choosing mission as it is light, well specced & has the brain as a bonus. I must admit that I have revisited it a few times in my train of thought but after test riding one a while back I just thought that it was too much of a race weapon! The Epic seems really sharp, taut & fast but is relatively unforgiving for a ham fisted operator such as myself... Hence why I figured the all rounder abilities of the afore mentioned bikes might suit me better?

Still love the look & idea of the Epic though!

[trailgumby]

The Epic Comp is pretty tautly suspended from the racer boi crew I talk to. Great for what they want (going flat out) but can be harsh for recreational riding even with the Brain wound all the way off, I am told. Very stretched out with steep geometry.

Camber would be better.

An alternative would be the Scalpel 29er. You can change the geometry to make it a little more relaxed (as I have done) if you prefer to err on the side of stability.

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[muzzy57]

Ok, after thrashing this out with a couple of mates & picking the brains of the staff at 4 different bike shops, I've settled on the Stumpjumper fsr Elite 29... I'll still have my existing Hardtail to fall back on should I need it but by all accounts the stumpy should cover the widest range of my possible rides. Bike is ordered so just have to cool my heels now until it arrives...