Which bike do I want? Help me out

**Tech Tonics** · 09-30-2018, 09:53 PM

Assuming I’ll eventually sell my Yeti, I’ll be getting a new bike soon.
Coming off a 27.5, I’m looking forward to returning to 29er wheels.

Most of my riding are on the “town” trails around Durango (so lots of Test Tracks as that’s in my backyard...but also lots of the gulch and animas, etc). Don’t ever ride chairs or shuttle vertical. I don’t Enduro, I suppose. If I’m in a race it’s usually one of the COES endurance races, or maybe some 12 hr thing. Also on the weekends I ride a lot in the alpine, long days 30-50 miles with lots of climbing, sometimes more. More XC less endurbro for sure. But...even though I love long climbs and suffering....it’s still all about the downs.

My current Sb5c is SICK and fits so good, but I feel like the bigger wheels are better for long days and long climbs. Plus, it’s just time for a change.

Set on 29er, but unsure if I should be looking at 130ish or 150ish travel.

I have it narrowed down to a few bikes I can get a good deal on.

Yeti sb5.5. Basically the 29er version of the bike I’m on now. XT build (not eagle) and middle range wheelset. I took it for a spin and it seemed to fit well. Was stoked on the ride but really want 1x12. Was an absolute rocketship on the downs but didn’t feel like the most nimble climber.

Specialized Stumpjumper Pro 29. Fully blinged out. Carbon roval rims. Eagle drivetrain. Almost brand new. The most expensive of the bikes, but by far the nicest build and still a good deal at $3800. I rode it the other day and it felt goddamn amazing. But I haven’t ever ridden a specialized. Any thoughts? Has Ohlins front and back. Hard to get a real good feeling for it as the dude who is selling it took off the dropper and cut the bars narrow (he’s old). The dropper will go back on it and new bars. Duh.

Pivot switchblade. I don’t know much about this bike. Haven’t had a chance to ride it. A little shorter travel which is maybe a good thing. Not sure the price or build but my buddy has a demo that I’m guessing will be a sweet deal.

SC Hightower CC (not LT). I rode my buddies and holy shit that bike is like a rocket. Eagle build, aluminum wheels, somewhere under $4000.

Anyone with any input?

Oh yeah. Buy my yeti!

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**Danno** · 09-30-2018, 10:23 PM

No idea. But do you want to do a house swap in Boulder, weekend of Nov 10?

**mtngirl79** · 09-30-2018, 10:37 PM

Knolly fugitive was super fun for me but I no like long climbs..

**toast2266** · 09-30-2018, 10:59 PM

Of those, I have a lot of time on the hightower and 5.5, I've ridden the switchblade for an hour, and I've ridden the 27.5 version of the stumpy.

Based on that, and based on what you described, I'd vote hightower. It climbs better than any other ~140mm bike I've ridden, and it descends pretty fucking well. The suspension is fussy to set up right, and it's not as plush over little stuff as some other options, but that's usually the trade off for a bike that's super efficient.

The 5.5 has great geo but a super linear suspension curve makes it a bit un-fun unless you're pinned all the time. I'm also biased against xt, because I think the brakes are overrated and it's a minor engineering feat to make an 11 speed cassette that literally weighs more than an equivalently sized lead brick. Switchblade seems great, but I didn't quite click with it for reasons I can't quite define. Stumpy is a specialized, which means gaper tune on the suspension that feels great in a parking lot test but lets you down once you get to know it. It's the soul 7 of bikes.

**jono** · 10-01-2018, 12:00 AM

Spot Mayhem seems to fit in that list.

**bagtagley** · 10-01-2018, 06:04 AM

Riding buddy rode a Switchblade all last season. Lots of big rides and miles, including a 100 miler at the end of the season. Seems like a good compromise between XC and endurbro. He’s on an Epic now, and he’s not any faster on the climbs and is way slower on the downs.

**gravitylover** · 10-01-2018, 07:06 AM

There was a thing just recently about the Specialized bikes with Ohlins forks having a stop use order before the recall is implemented. It's on their website, look it up.

Add the Norco Optic to your list. It's 130 that feels bottomless on the downs and rough stuff and climbs great.

**jackstraw** · 10-01-2018, 07:25 AM

ebike. Leave everyone else in your wake.

Or a hightower. I agree with Toast regarding the suspension. I'm not sure I even have it set up properly for me, but it works.

**One (+) Sentence** · 10-01-2018, 07:49 AM

Originally Posted by gravitylover

Add the Norco Optic to your list. It's 130 that feels bottomless on the downs and rough stuff and climbs great.

You may be thinking of the Norco Sight.

**gravitylover** · 10-01-2018, 09:34 AM

Originally Posted by One (+) Sentence

You may be thinking of the Norco Sight.

No the Sight is 140/160 and while it's phenomenal through the techy stuff and descending it's not as good on the up as the Optic IMO. Granted I'm not fast anymore, quite slow actually

, but I think the Optic is an exceptionally well rounded, do everything, every day bike. Every time I ride one the take away thought is 'snappy'. That said I do have a Sight for myself on the way.

**TahoeJ** · 10-01-2018, 10:06 AM

I'd vote Hightower.

**RootSkier** · 10-01-2018, 10:25 AM

Originally Posted by gravitylover

No the Sight is 150/160

The 29er Sight is 140/130, you're thinking of the Range.

**XXX-er** · 10-01-2018, 10:40 AM

I think the 5.5 is being replaced next year by the 130 and the 150 which are touted as enduro/trail and enduro respectively, both come with 29" wheels and now they have room for a water bottle in the frame triangle, from what i read the 130 sounds much like the 5.5 and the 150 is longer/slacker/more race oriented

**Name Redacted** · 10-01-2018, 10:49 AM

I hated the Hightower I rode but it was set up 27.5+

Maybe check out the Guerilla Gravity Smash or Trailpistol too. They have pretty flexible build options.

**skaredshtles** · 10-01-2018, 11:04 AM

Originally Posted by shredgnar

I hated the Hightower I rode but it was set up 27.5+

Maybe check out the Guerilla Gravity Smash or Trailpistol too. They have pretty flexible build options.

This - GG has nailed this category, I think.

**jackstraw** · 10-01-2018, 11:20 AM

Originally Posted by shredgnar

I hated the Hightower I rode but it was set up 27.5+

Maybe check out the Guerilla Gravity Smash or Trailpistol too. They have pretty flexible build options.

Hate is a pretty strong word for a bike that a lot of people like. You may be doing it wrong. The hightower is a 29er. Aside from maybe a hardtail, which I haven't ridden, the 650b+ is not for me.

**Name Redacted** · 10-01-2018, 11:27 AM

Originally Posted by jackstraw

Hate is a pretty strong word for a bike that a lot of people like. You may be doing it wrong. The hightower is a 29er. Aside from maybe a hardtail, which I haven't ridden, the 650b+ is not for me.

Hightower can be set up 27.5+ or 29". I just didn't really like the plus format, but the bike itself seemed pretty janky and I prefer a more slack front with a steeper seat tube. But this was 3-4 years ago and it could very well have changed. Really the only SC bike that I've been on that I liked was the Nomad. Honestly though, my riding style seems very different from the OP in this case

**Tech Tonics** · 10-01-2018, 09:04 PM

Originally Posted by Danno

No idea. But do you want to do a house swap in Boulder, weekend of Nov 10?

Sorry, we leave for Belize on the 13th. Can’t swing a front range trip right before we leave.

If you’d like to come during that time frame (11/13-23) you’re welcome to stay at our place but you must feed and snuggle our animals.

**smmokan** · 10-01-2018, 10:36 PM

Originally Posted by jono

Spot Mayhem seems to fit in that list.

Yep, absolutely. And I'll be selling off my lightly-used 5-star demos next month in case you're interested. Likely in the $3500 range which includes carbon frame, full XO1, Fox Factory suspension, Flow wheels, BIkeYoke Revive dropper, and lots of other sweet parts.

And if you're not interested, then I'd go with the Hightower if you want to stick with bikes on your list. Other than the Mayhem (which I personally ride 80% of the time), it was the best and most fun bike I've ridden in the last couple of years.

**greasyslope** · 10-02-2018, 06:13 AM

I can only comment on the Hightower. I have one and love it, but you sound a little more XC than me.
What does it have for suspension? I had to replace or mod the factory suspension on mine to truly make it come alive. Not a big problem, but potentially more $.
From what I’ve read, I would think about Smokkan’s Spot.

**zion zig zag** · 10-02-2018, 09:43 AM

Originally Posted by toast2266

Of those, I have a lot of time on the hightower and 5.5, I've ridden the switchblade for an hour, and I've ridden the 27.5 version of the stumpy.

Based on that, and based on what you described, I'd vote hightower. It climbs better than any other ~140mm bike I've ridden, and it descends pretty fucking well. The suspension is fussy to set up right, and it's not as plush over little stuff as some other options, but that's usually the trade off for a bike that's super efficient.

The 5.5 has great geo but a super linear suspension curve makes it a bit un-fun unless you're pinned all the time. I'm also biased against xt, because I think the brakes are overrated and it's a minor engineering feat to make an 11 speed cassette that literally weighs more than an equivalently sized lead brick. Switchblade seems great, but I didn't quite click with it for reasons I can't quite define. Stumpy is a specialized, which means gaper tune on the suspension that feels great in a parking lot test but lets you down once you get to know it. It's the soul 7 of bikes.

I'm curious what other bikes you'd recommend without the brand constraints of the OP?

**simple** · 10-02-2018, 12:40 PM

I rode a switchblade and wasn't impressed. Spot Mayhem is my industry standard 29er 130mm bike. Every one of my friends that have specialized is selling theirs and getting a Spot.

**jackstraw** · 10-02-2018, 12:43 PM

Originally Posted by shredgnar

Hightower can be set up 27.5+ or 29".

Correct. I was just saying the hightower "is" a 29er, meaning don't ride it any other way imo.

And yeah, that is not a bike for you. You sound like you prefer more gravity style.

**toast2266** · 10-02-2018, 01:33 PM

Originally Posted by zion zig zag

I'm curious what other bikes you'd recommend without the brand constraints of the OP?

Honestly, there's a ton of them. It kinda just depends on where your specific priorities lie. Everything is just a series of trade offs, but deciding which trade offs make the most sense really comes down to individual preference, what your trails look like, what your budget is, etc.

It's fairly rare these days that I see a bike that's just flat out terrible. There are definitely some bikes that skew pretty far to one side of a given trade off, but that's not necessarily a bad thing if it's skewing in a direction that you like.

All that said, if I was looking for a bike for long rides that needed to be decently efficient, but where descending was still a big priority, I'd probably be looking at a ~120-130mm travel 29er with slack angles. You can make a short travel bike more stable with good geometry, but a longer travel bike is always going to be a bit less efficient just by virtue of having more squish. Personally, I'd probably lean towards a Transition Smuggler, but I might throw a few glances towards an Evil Following MB or the new Yeti SB130. The Smuggler probably doesn't pedal as well as a bunch of other options in this class, and it's not particularly light, but it's short enough travel that it'd efficient enough for me, and I'd rather have better suspension on the descent than maximum efficiency on the climb.

**ripvw** · 10-02-2018, 02:15 PM

Another vote for the Mayhem. Put around 1000 miles on mine this summer. Super fun bike. Efficient on the ups and stupid fast downhill. It does aim more towards poppy and playful vs plush and compliant. You can hang off the back of it and plow through stuff but not what it does best.

Edited to add: $3500 for the 5 star build is a solid deal. If I didn’t already have one I’d be all over that.