[adamantane]

looking for a good xc bike in 29 in wheels...but dont want it too be too slack as i will occasionally do an xc race....the cannondale had a 69 degree head tube angle and 1117 wheelbase in a size medium with 175 mm cranks and a reach of ~420 mm (with 60mm stem)....i'm 5'7" and the bike fit me great..it was and is a great bike but i get dropped immediately on the downs and flats by 29rs...i'm kind of inbetween sizes on nearly all of the major manufacturers geometry tables for bikes...was looking at the giant anthem 29 in medium...a bike with a flip chip would be great, 69 or 67.5 headtube angles changes, would be great to change the bike from XC to trail geo for different riding type days...can anyone suggest a couple more bikes that are like the old prophet? thanks for your time...

 

[office]

I don't think I'd blame 26in wheels for getting dumped on the downhills - there's a difference but it's mostly the rider. Guessing your Prophet isn't the Lefty variety if it's still running. If I remember correctly they were 140mm front/rear, kind of one of the OG all mountain bikes. It always comes down to GIT GOOD.

Anthem is pretty much a hardcore XC bike - I think the new one is 100rear/110 front.

I'd look into the downcountry segment of bikes, I think that's kind of what you're describing - they up the suspension to 120-130F/R but don't give up much if you're just amateur XC racing. Transition Spur, Trek Top Fuel, Specialized Epic Evo, Scott Spark 900 series, Rocky Mountain Element, Intense Sniper (available in a lower spec from Costco), Cannondale Scalpel SE, Santa Cruz Blur TR

Loads of people complain that it's another marketing gimmick but I think it really works for a lot of riders. Like you do, you can race a 140/150 trail bike with no issues but you get dumped on by guys on cheap hardtails. Downcountry bikes close the gap a bit but still allow you to ride rocky, techy trails and maybe blue/easy black park stuff a few times a year.

 

[adamantane]

I don't think I'd blame 26in wheels for getting dumped on the downhills - there's a difference but it's mostly the rider. Guessing your Prophet isn't the Lefty variety if it's still running. If I remember correctly they were 140mm front/rear, kind of one of the OG all mountain bikes. It always comes down to GIT GOOD.

Anthem is pretty much a hardcore XC bike - I think the new one is 100rear/110 front.

I'd look into the downcountry segment of bikes, I think that's kind of what you're describing - they up the suspension to 120-130F/R but don't give up much if you're just amateur XC racing. Transition Spur, Trek Top Fuel, Specialized Epic Evo, Scott Spark 900 series, Rocky Mountain Element, Intense Sniper (available in a lower spec from Costco), Cannondale Scalpel SE, Santa Cruz Blur TR

Loads of people complain that it's another marketing gimmick but I think it really works for a lot of riders. Like you do, you can race a 140/150 trail bike with no issues but you get dumped on by guys on cheap hardtails. Downcountry bikes close the gap a bit but still allow you to ride rocky, techy trails and maybe blue/easy black park stuff a few times a year.

thanks...yeah, i've looked into all of those models you mention except the intense...i agree that 120 ish travel would be preferred but they tweaked the geomoetry on these current models making everything slack...if i could find the 2017 SC tallboy or similar era bikes, i think id be happier...oh and yes, you get crushed on downhills and flats because the 29r holds so much momentum and gets less hung up on bumps