-
Posts
-
-
So I finally did it. I sold a few old road bikes that weren’t getting used, lost a few pounds to justify the purchase of a decent bike, saved up a bunch of cash, and I found a wicked deal on a 2016 Scott Genius 710. This is easily the best bike I’ve ever owned. Yesterday, I jumped on my old 26er and it felt like a toy compared to the Genius. I always wanted a carbon, full suspension bike, and now I have one, and it’s amazing.
However, I’m wondering if I made a mistake.
I love this bike, but I find myself pining for the 27.5 plus bike I rode a few weeks ago. I was scoping the Internet for plus bikes, and ran across this 710 for a great price. I jumped at the chance, since I couldn’t find a FS plus bike with decent components for the same price. So even though I’ve only had the bike for just over a week, I keep thinking maybe I should sell it and buy a slightly lesser plus bike (like a 2017 Scott Spark 720).
I don’t ride any super gnarly trails (yet…. still rehabbing knee surgery), I ride half dirt, half pavement to and from work, and take a daily spin across the tiny little local singletracks and such. I intend to start doing some beginner trails next week. The knee is doing good, but I don’t want to push it too far too fast.
Anyway, I could use a head check about that voice in the back of my head that is telling me to sell it now while it’s still worth enough. Should I keep it and just ride the heck out of it, or sell it now while it’s essentially brand new and get a plus bike that *might* make me even more stoked?
-
Hey man! That’s a sweet bike. I can’t speak for full suspension, but my Fuse 6fattie is pretty decent. I wouldn’t recomend a plus bike for riding the road though. It pretty much requires I pedal constantly. The rolling resistance of the 3″ tires is insane, and when on asphalt and inflated to max pressure, (25 psi) the ride is annoyingly bouncy.
I’m still new to riding though. So…grain of salt.
P.S. Congrats on the weight loss! I’m down 65 lbs in the last 6 months. A bike you’ll enjoy riding will help even more.
-
@MansBestFriend that’s some really great advice. Thanks!
I’d be lying to myself if I said I would only ride it on trails. I will be lucky to get one day of trail riding per week, but it’s 10 miles to work (4.9 dirt, 5 pavement, 0.10 singletrack), and I can ride every day. So definitely a consideration. If I keep the genius, I’ll look into an extra set of wheels for less-knobby tires
@stumpyfsr also great advice. I definitely love stability and fun. Don’t care much about time or speed since I don’t really ride with anyone or race.
-
-
@TheProletariat, first of all congratulations on your purchase. While never had a chance to try Scott myself, I heard only positive feedback on these bikes. Guys from GMBN riding Scott too.
I tested 27.5, 27.5+ and 29×2.35 on the same trails and time difference was minimal, 5-15 seconds over about 4 mile course. Worth mentioning that 27.5 and 29 had aggressive tires and 27.5 plus could use something knobier for better cornering on loose stuff. 27.5+ felt more stable, especially when landing from jumps and in rock gardens.
Thats pretty much it. It’s only up to you which way to go. And no matter what bike from those two you choose, it’ll be an awesome trail shredding machine.
-
GMBN actually made a comparison video between these two trendy wheel sizes. You might wanna find on YouTube.
Since you riding pavement a lot, wider tires are not necessary.
-
Is your Genius 710 the 29er version? If so, I say you made the right choice. I was pretty jazzed up about 27.5+ for a couple years, and even converted my Santa Cruz Tallboy to run the fatter tires. But I recently went back to 29ers. The 27.5+ wheels are just slower and not as maneuverable. Sure, they make really technical stuff a little easier to navigate, but otherwise they’re just a little too kludgy. And hey, if your Genius 710 is a 29er, you can always convert it with a set of 27.5+ wheels and 2.8″ tires.
-
Just ride your bike. Buying it and riding it the first time takes the largest amount of depreciation for a used bike. So you could ride it the rest of the season and not lose to much more in resale value unless you wreck it or are super hard on it. Then once you have a lull in your season you can decide if you still want it or want to move on from it.
-
I would stick with what you have. A plus bike is a bit easier to control and has more grip, but the reality is that they are wildly inefficient and heavy, especially if you are going to take the bike anywhere near a road. According to the Bicycle Blue Book, you can sell that bike for 2800 tops assuming it is in perfect condition, and for that price you’ll be hard pressed to find anything near as good. Even if you did, I think you’d end up wishing for the Genius back.
-
I’m with most here, based on the trails you ride, I’d stick with what you have. I have a 27.5+ Santa Cruz Hightower, I love that bike to death, but my local trails are really rugged and technical, it works for me here. If I had more XC type trails, I’d probably go with a 29er.
-
It’s the 27.5 2016 version of the Scott Genius. This is all really great advice, all… thanks! There’s one local guy selling a 2017 Spark 720 27.5+ that I may talk to about a straight across trade, just because I like the geometry on the new model a little better, but otherwise I’m keeping this bad boy…
It is a COMPLETELY different experience riding an updated geometry 27.5 FS from my old beater 26 FS. I hopped on the 26 recently to ride it over to a buddy’s house and it felt like a weird, unstable, tiny little toy. I’m starting to get this one dialed in and figure out how all the doodads work (there are many doodads on a Spark FS 2×11 with dropper & lockout)… it’s a kick in the pants to ride.
Thanks again.
-
-
You must be logged in to reply to this topic.