FS all mountain suggestions?

[nocro]

I'm entertaining the notion of getting a FS bike. I've ridden a couple, on three separate occasions to be exact.

I currently ride a steel hardtail. I like to climb, I enjoy descending, doing drops, hitting jumps and big obstacles. I don't do much urban / trials, but mostly because I don't want to beat up the hard tail.

My current list is of candidates in no particular order is:

. Ellsworth Moment
. Santa Cruz Nomad
. Seven Duo 5.0
. Intense Spider


So my questions are:
1) What would you do to decide which bike to get?
2) What bikes should I add to that list to consider?
3) Does anyone currently ride any of these? If so would you recommend it?

[DMarchy1]

Last year I went all out and ordered a top notch build titus Moto-Lite. Full SRAM XO. I strongly recommend this bike but only if you enjoy being stretched out to the handle bars. The titus Motolite has a top tube lenth of 23.75 in a medium bike. If you are short waisted, I would recommend the Yeti-575. Best all around bike I have ever ridden. Dave M.

[DKEG]

Stop by Germantown Cycles they a Nomad and a Moment there he can check out in person. Call ahead for the Moment to make sure it is there.

As for the Intense Spider it is only 4" of travel where as the rest you mentioned are 6" or around there. You may want to lookat a Intense 5.5 or 6.6. You may also think about the Turner Spot it is 5 1/2" for 2007. Also The Specilalized Enduro.

[DaveG]

Last year I went all out and ordered a top notch build titus Moto-Lite. Full SRAM XO. I strongly recommend this bike but only if you enjoy being stretched out to the handle bars. The titus Motolite has a top tube lenth of 23.75 in a medium bike. If you are short waisted, I would recommend the Yeti-575. Best all around bike I have ever ridden. Dave M.

That is of paramount importance. If you're stretched out to the handlebars then you either bought the wrong frame or the wrong size. In some brands there's a _large_ jump between sizes and if you're right between sizes then that frame should be a no-go.

FWIW, the medium Yeti 575 has a 23.4 TT and the medium Motolite has a 23.25 TT (per the geometry numbers on the web) so the Motolite is actually a bit shorter than the Yeti.

The best thing to do would be to get a test ride on the whatever models you're looking at. I've certainly ridden and hated bikes that other people were singing the praises of.

It also depends on your definition of "All Mountain". If you're just talking about bashing around at places like Gambrill, I think that the majority of the bikes you mentioned are overkill.

The inclusion of the spider on the list is also a bit off as well; it's a racy 4" travel bike, the rest are pretty burly.

I'd probably try to get a ride on one of the following:

Turner 5-spot
Titus Motolite
Yeti 575
Intense 5.5
Blur LT


If you're really looking at the bigger bikes, I'd probably just move up in each category.

I.e.
Turner RFX
Nomad
Intense 6.6
Titus El Guapo
Yeti? Not sure of the model.

Just my bias, but I'd never own an Ellsworth.

I currently ride a 5-spot. I'm replacing the rear shock so I'm still undecided as to how much I really like the frame. The DHXa tends to blow through its travel and cause me to smack my pedals too often. The newer 5-spot comes with a better rear shock and a higher BB so these probably aren't issues anymore. I also have a 4" travel Turner Sultan which I love. My friend has a 5-spot and he absolutely loves it. Turner bikes are strong, ride well and take very little maintenance.


Dave

[rscobb]

I too considered these three bikes, I went with the blur LT. I love it. It has the advantages of a big travel heavy hit bike but is only 28 or 29 pounds. It climbs great too. Downsides are that the VPP needs 3 or more trips per year to the shop to get the creaking out. But if I had to do it again I would have bought the spider. I moved from New Hampshire where it was really rocky... now that I live here, most of the time I end up at FH or Wakefield where is is relatively smooth. This bike is way over kill for those areas. The spider is more cross country ish... less travel, perfect for this place. I would get the Nomad if you really love going fast downhill. That thru axle is way cool for smashing through rock gardens, but otherwise way to heavy for cross country use. So it really depends on what type of riding you like to do most.

Feel the need for speed, get the nomad, like to fly uphill and through twisty turny single track, then get the spider. Something in-between I go with the Blur LT. I have not down any research on the other bikes.

One thing I can't stand though is how much the charge for the spider, big bucks. And this machine is way light and the pivots need as much maintenance as the blur. And the lightness of the bike make it prone to frame breakage. But if I had the money, I'd get the spider and have a spare hardtail for when it was down.



Santa Cruz Nomad

Blur Lt

Intense Spider

[yueq]

I have a Moment to ride in Gambril and stuff like that. With 6" travel it still pedals pretty well. However I do find it's kind of overkill for my riding style (no big jump/drop/FR stuff). If I could choose again I'd pick the Epiphany.

Anyway, you can try mine next time at Gambril/Shed.

[saba]

I think the Nomad IMHO is overkill for this area, does not mean I would not want to own one. I ride the 575 but was def. looking at the 5.5 just could not come up with the bucks. On my list next year will def. be the specialized s-works. Isn't someone selling one of those used on here or Craiglist?

[Pinoy Rider]

I'm a little partial to Yeti, because I ride one, the 575. Great seated climber(even better Pushed) and fabulous descender. Plus it's cheaper than most other boutique bikes with the same or more travel. However, just reading your post on doing drops and hitting jumps I might look elsewhere depending on your weight. 2-3 foot drops it will hold it's own. More than that, I would be looking at something beefier. BikerMike has a medium for sale, carbon rear triangle though.

[eloach]

I moved from New Hampshire where it was really rocky... now that I live here, most of the time I end up at FH or Wakefield where is is relatively smooth.

You just gotta get out to Gambrill (blue trail), The Shed, Elizabeth Furnace and Catharine Furnace for that bike. Most of GWF is rocky enough to make your bike happy.

I have a Giant Trance and a Giant Reign that I got cheap and upgraded. They both work very well for less money than the sweet list presented above. The weakness on both bikes are the rear pivots (wear out time) and the shifting when climbing. Other than that, with lockout on the front forks, they climb amazingly well.

I have tried bikes that cost $6000+. They are certainly better than my bikes, but it seems you get a lot less return for your dollor once you step out of the $2-3K range.

For a lighter bike with travel I was impressed with this:

http://www.bikes.com/bikes/2007/ETSX/etsx-team.aspx

I also tried the Element and was impressed with it for racing (fast, fast ,fast). I ended up looking at them becuase I bought one of their cross bikes and was very impressed with the way it rides. Otherwise, I might never have even looked at these bikes. I think Trails End and Hudson carry them in this area, as well as a few other shops.

[nocro]

Thanks for all the replies and advice. I was going to address each one individually, but noone really wants to read all that.

I will definitely try out a few of these bikes before I buy.

I'm in no hurry, and I'm not sure exactly what I want, as several people discerned.

[DMarchy1]

Norco, What is your height, And Build type, You are welcome to ride my Titus Motolite. It is a medium and generally fits riders from 5'8" to 6'0". I will be at greenbriar all weekend. Dave Marchyshyn 301-509-3191.

[JFritsch]

I want to get a Lenz Sport Behemoth 29er for all mountain/free ride/ back up xc bike & all around training bike (up road rides included) Just need to figure out what fork.

[nocro]

Norco, What is your height, And Build type, You are welcome to ride my Titus Motolite. It is a medium and generally fits riders from 5'8" to 6'0". I will be at greenbriar all weekend. Dave Marchyshyn 301-509-3191.

Dave, I appreciate the offer. I'm 6' and about 190 lbs. I may make it up there and take you up on the offer.

Chris

[t.roy]

CC

I was going to write an elaborate post to convince you to have kids and buy a Giant, but then I decided I'll just walk over to your desk and annoy you in person.

T

[nocro]

CC

I was going to write an elaborate post to convince you to have kids and buy a Giant, but then I decided I'll just walk over to your desk and annoy you in person.

T


Maybe I should post a poll on which is better, a brand new bike, or a brand new baby.

Or if I was feeling daring, let the MOREons decide if I get a bike or a baby.

One could easily argue the point that I already own four bikes, and in all fairness, I should at least have one kid before getting another bike.

But when it comes down to it, I am just too selfish to have kids. We can discuss at length when you get back from training.