Rumblefish 1 or Roscoe 2

[maineskiaddict]

Hey all,

Long time lurker, first time poster. I was hoping you guys could help with a buying dilemma.

I am currently riding a GF Cobia 29er. I decided I was ready to move up into a full suspension bike and found a 2009 Roscoe 2 and a 2010 Rumblefish 1 in the same price bracket. Here is my situation:

1) I like the 29er for a lot of things. It is slow to get up to speed, but does roll over everything.
2) It is not as nimble as I was expecting. Seems tough and slow to turn.
3) I ride a lot of rooty, semi-rocky stuff. Not a ton of real buffed out track. (although I do love it when that comes along)

Thoughts here are more than appreciated. I hear rave reviews about both. (I have heard many people say that the Roscoe is one of the best trail bikes on the market in that price range) It doesn’t help that the 29er was my first mountain bike so I am not sure how switching to a 26 would affect my riding.

Thanks in advance for the responses. Love the site!!

[XCFW315]

Mainskiaddict- well I’m pretty much a MTB noob ( though I did ride aTrek rigid a couple of decades ago and do currently race dirt bikes offroad/crosscountry at an A level) and only have maybe a dozen hours on my Rumblefish 1, but all I can say is WOOHOO!!! I love this bike!!! I’m learning that it is much about momentum and line selection- just like dirt bikes. I put in 25 miles in 2.5 hrs ( pee stop and map checks included )in this morning on alot of 14 mph cross country flowing trails with some minor elevation,roots, logs and rocky sections here and there and this bike just gets me though things much easier than I was expecting. Sometimes I can come up on a log/root/rock ledge a bit unexpectedly saying to myself "oooh, this might not go over well…" and with just a bit of manual (as you guys say), extra pedal oomph and body english all has been turning out great. This bike just gobbles everything up surprisingly well IMHO, sand washes included.
Again, I’m a noob and surely a bit of a hack, but I have yet to find much fault with the RF. Oh, it could weigh less and paradoxically I think air suspensions are actually a low tech approach, and maybe the stock tires are suspect, but again what do I know. The GF build quality seems excellent so far.
Can’t comment on the Roscoe- this go around I never even considered 26er’s after a couple of test rides on that size wheel- they just seemed "bicyclish" in comparison.

[soezgg]

If you’re diggin’ the 29er-kool-aid then you should probably stick with it. Just a thought.

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