Another "what to buy thread" – just moved here from Europe

[berti1554]

Hey guys!
From reading thru the forums I’ve seen there are a lot of "what to buy" threads already. I read thru some of them and they are helpful. However, I haven’t found what I’m looking for yet and maybe I’m just too lazy to read thru all 😏

As I’m new to the forum a few words about me. I 30 years old and just moved over here to the Newport News/Virgina Beach area from Tyrol/Austria. As I grew up in the middle of the Alps I started mountainbiking (and other fun stuff you can do in the mountains 😆 ) very early. After a longer break because of a bad accident (my personal advice: never hit somethig hard with your head when you separate from your bike at higher speed 😏 ) I kind of started over…

Now the problem: I used to be a big fan of hardtails and that’s all I owned so far. However, since a friend of mine in Austria let me ride his fully – I still hate him for doing that – I found out about how nice a fully is, especially on single trails in the area I’m from. The hardtails I had were always in the (higher) average class with regards to components. My problem now is that I don’t know much about fullies. I’m pretty clear on the general specs of the bike and my preferences. I prefer to ride shorter wheelbases (and therefore will stay with 26") as I like the agility. I’m 5"10′ so I think about a 17 size frame. Frame must be Aluminum, I don’t like Carbon. Gear ratio is clear too as I know what I ride (even though it might not be the best gear ratio for the more flat area here but my bike travels with me for vacation).
Where I don’t have any clue about is the difference in the rear suspension. Right now I’m either thinking of a Trek Fuel EX 8 or 9 (not sure if the pricing difference for the 9 is worth it: 2,600 vs. 3,750) or a Specialized (haven’t looked into models and pricing yet). They have different suspension systems and I read a lot about the advantages of FNR/Horstlink. I’d like to get comments from riders instead of just marketing stuff.

The reason why I’m thinking about Specialized and Trek only at the moment is, that both of them have stores very close to where I live. Any other recommendation for other manufacturers and models are welcome. I’m open to any manufacturer. Price limit is about 3,500 (set it lower as I will exceed it anyhow 😏 )

Any help is greatly appreicated!!

Thanks,
Robert

[Corey Maddocks ✓ supporter]

First, welcome to the site!

As the resident Giant fanboi I’ll go ahead and recommend the Trance X1. When I transitioned from hardtail to full suspension, a Trance was my first model. I loved it, and would still be riding it but my daughter grew into it and I went ahead and got a 29er. (Giant Anthem X 29er)

The Trance line behaves well on singletrack and the maestro rear suspension design is excellent.

At the end of the day though, ride a bunch of different models and see what feels the best.

[Jared13 ✓ supporter]

Welcome to the site!

With a $3500 budget, I’m sure you’ll find a sweet ride!

Trek EX 8, Stumpjumper FSR (or EVO FSR), Slash 7s, Remedy 8s, and Enduro all fit in that category from Trek and Specialized alone. Add in other brands and you have even more choices 😃

Like maddslacker said, go ride as many models as you can and go from there.

[ollysj]

Servus, nimm’s FuelEX 😄

I ride the FuelEx8 and really like it, but if I had the money, I would go with a FE9. You get a full XT equipped bike, instead of SLX and a RP3, instead of a RP2. For me, it’s the perfect trail bike, but I recommend to try some different brands and bikes, to see what is the most fitting one for you

[berti1554]

Thanks guys! I agree that a test ride would be the best thing to do. However, the problem here is that the Newport News area is not a real mtb area so stores don’t have bikes for testrides…

I have 5 bikes on my short list:

Trek Fuel EX9: I’d say higher average bike and good components (3,750)
Giant Tranxe X1: Same category as Trek but maybe a little bit more priceworthy (3,150)
Specialized Stumpjumper FSR Elite: It looks like Specialized has gone to Carbon and 29ers on most of its bikes. Both is a no-go for me. The only bike I found was the FSR Elite but I can get it with 38/24 chainrings only. I need 42 or lower; can I get this? Price w/o negotiation is (3,900)
Intense Spider 26: The dealer a friend recommended to me came up with this. I haven’t heard about them before. According to the dealer their website is not up to date. He will give me details on frame and components (and price) tomorrow. Will be below 4,000…
Ellsworth Truth: This is my favorite at the moment. It got all I need and it comes with SRAM cranks 44/33/22 which is great. Travel front and rear is 100mm and that’s all I need. I’m just not sure whether to go for SRAM X0 or X9. As I don’t have pricing for either of them yet it’s hard to make a decission. From a tech standpoint, is the X0 much better or just a few grams less weight?

Any imput on the Intense and Ellsworth would be greatly appreciated. Both are American manufacturers but I haven’t heard of either of them before…

Thx,
Robert

PS@ollysj: Danke 😉

[RoadWarrior]

I’d check the bike shops in the Richmond area, I know they mountain bike there. Also have some great trails right in town. 😃

[berti1554]

Ok, the Ellsworth Truth w/ the X0 is way above my budget (around 5k). Maybe I can get close w/ the X9 but I’m not sure about the about the Elixir 7 brakes. Also, if I compare what I get from Trek for the same money (EX9) I’m not sure whether it’s worth it…

@RoadWarrior: Any recommendation in Richmond? I googled bike shops and there is plenty as you said…

Thx!

[RoadWarrior]

Sorry can’t help on that, meet up with riders from there at the Va MTB Festival. Have also ridden some of the trails there. As you are new to the area let me invite you to the Va MTB Festival, 3 day event , private campground, every year, Memorial Day weekend, In Stokesville VA.

[chill188]

If 100 is enough travel for you then you might want to look at the Specialized Camber or Epic; I think the Stumpy comes in at 140. Same with Trek, maybe take a look at a Superfly 100. So many other good bikes from many manufacturers, including the ones you noted. Test riding really is the way to go, too bad that seems to be out of the question. I test rode a bunch before I hopped on my Santa Cruz Tallboy and it just felt right. It is a 29’er but has a shorter wheel base. Rode a Giant for many years before that, good stuff.

[brianW]

Santa Cruz Blur and Superlight might fit the bill.
http://www.santacruzmtb.com/blurlt/
http://www.santacruzmtb.com/superlight/

I would also if possible try a 29er. I have heard from many that they are just as nimble as a 26er.

[Corey Maddocks ✓ supporter]

"brianW" wrote

I have heard from many that they are just as nimble as a 26er.

They can be, it depends on the model.

[gone4a_ride]

Berti1554, I currently own both a Trek Fuel EX (2009) and a Stumpjumper FSR Comp (2010). They are both very good bikes and although comparable, each has it’s own unique quailites. I find the Trek to have more space in the cockpit and has a more up right seat position that places the rides body weight more over the real wheel. It is the better down hill bike of the two. This also causes its biggest weakness, in steeper climbs the front wheel floats of the ground with every downward force applied to the peddals, even when I slide all the way up on the saddle and and nearly rest my chest on the handle bar.
Another great property about the trek is the rear suspension is not as active so I never notice any pedal bob.

The Stumpjumper has become my go to bike as I find it to be the better all-arounder. It performs well on any trail, the only issue I have with its performance is the pedal bob from the rear suspension even in the propedal setting, I have to lock it out on steep climbs, which is not a problem just an irritant. This might be due to the level of shock on the comp model vs the pro, or elite models.

As you are coming of a hardtail bike you might also want to look at Specialize’s Camber it uses the FSR platform as the Stumpjumper with 120mm of travel vs the 140mm on the Stumpjumper.

I don’t know if any of this helps, but good luck and be sure to post pictures once you make your selection!

[berti1554]

Thanks for all the input, guys! I finally made the decision for the Ellsworth today after I could take it for a short ride. The bike is awesome (even though I agree that it might be a little bit overprized). I could cut a good deal and most important for me, I’m sure I got the right bike.
I’ll post some pics once I’ve got the bike (was told it should be ready next Friday)

Thanks again!
Robert

[berti1554]

Hey guys! Here a pic of the bike. Thx for all your input…

[Greg Heil ✓ supporter]

Nice looking rig!

[Jared13 ✓ supporter]

Very nice!

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