[mtingle22]

This discussion probably happens more frequently than any other, but I'm sure the answer is always different depending on the location of the rider and style of riding, etc.

I started riding an NS Bikes Eccentric Alu Evo hardtail in March of this year. It's got 27.5+ wheels, 4 piston TRP Slate brakes, and GX Drive Train. It's got a 120mm RockShox fork that I bottom out fairly often with my style of riding. This fork wasn't made for this bike or the type of riding I'm doing with it. The frame is also a size M and I'm 6' tall, so I put a 60mm riser on it to make it fit, sort of.

I live in the St.Louis, MO area, and while most of the area around me is flat, I drive a bit to get to more steeper, technical terrain when I ride. I haven't had any issues going off of the biggest drops in the area, or over 20+ft gap jumps, but it feels like my bike is at the limit of what it can do. I'm not big on pedaling XC, so I'm not going out to pedal 20 mile days on flat ground, but I will pedal to the top of descents as that's needed in my area, so that's quite a bit of what I do. There's one shuttle park within an hour and a half, and they race BME there. I'd like to try that and ride there more often with something more capable. I very much enjoy going fast down technical terrain as well as riding flow track and sending big jumps and drops, and this is the majority of the riding I'm doing. I'm 27 and like to act stupid and do stupid things on the bike. If there's something on the trail, I'm going for it. However, I do want to test the waters in the near future and try an enduro race or two, to determine if it's something I'd like to really get into.

I need a bike that will handle all of this, but I still want it to be able to climb, and play on regular trails. Pop and flick, not plow. Based on this, I believe I'm looking more at the long-travel trail bikes, or 'All-Mountain' bikes, and not necessarily an enduro bike. Maybe I'm wrong here?

Also, the 27.5 vs 29 debate is one that I'm having. I ride the 27.5+ tires currently which are basically 29's, right? I really don't want to lose the playfulness and jumping ability of 27.5's if moving to 29's will have that effect. Although, the 29's may be better for if I do get into enduro racing. A few of these models come in both 27.5 and 29.

Here's a few models that I've been come across that I think might be suited for me. My price range is in the 2.5-4k range. If I really wanted I'd spend a little more...

Transition Patrol - Mullet setup has been what I've been leaning towards, although this is the only one I've found in my price range and it's a tank. 34 lbs.
Ibis Ripmo AF - Heard good things about this bike, but the brakes that come on it are G2 R.
Trek Slash 8 - Didn't this win best trail bike? Is it capable of big jumps and entry enduro racing?
Trek Remedy 8 - Saw this at the bike shop, beautiful looking bike, can it enduro? What's it better at vs the slash?
Norco Sight A3 - Supposedly not as fun as other bikes, planted.
Specialized Stumpjumper Evo Comp Alloy - Available to test ride
Commencal Meta TR - One of my top choices.
YT Jeffsy - One of my top choices.
Giant Trance X 2 - Maybe too heavy? I jumped my friends Trance X 3 29 XL and it felt heavy and way too big for me.
Canyon Spectral - One of my top choices.
Giant Reign - Maybe too much bike?

Thanks!

Posted this in the wrong forum first, here's a link to that post and responses: Time to upgrade from the hardtail, which bike is for me?

 

[pushie]

Based on this, I believe I'm looking more at the long-travel trail bikes, or 'All-Mountain' bikes, and not necessarily an enduro bike.

There isn't really any distinction between 'All Mountain' and 'Enduro'. Enduro is a racing format. They generally ride bikes from the 'All Mountain' category of mountain bikes. The terms are sometimes used interchangeably when referring to bikes.

Pop and flick, not plow.

I would be more inclined to consider a slightly shorter travel bike then? Longer travel are more suited to ploughing through technical terrain. If you are interested in a poppy manoeuvrable bike then you will want something with slightly shorter travel as the longer the travel, the more isolated you generally are from the terrain and the less poppy the bike will feel. Generally.

A poppy playful bike and fast race machine are two different beasts in my opinion. You don't win races by being poppy and playful. Any of the bikes you have listed can be raced at an enduro event. Some may be more suitable at being competitive than others though. At the end of the day it is the best rider that wins though, not the best bike. You could cut your teeth on any bike and upgrade once you have the wisdom of race experience (and just experience in general on a full suspension bike) to guide your decisions. No one on the internet can tell you what the best bike for you is.

I would also take a look at the Vitus/Nukeproof offerings too as they offer pretty decent value for money. Nukeproof Mega and Giga for example enduros. Nukeproof Reactor is a bit shorter travel, more of a trail bike but you could definitely still race on it.

 

[eb1888]

Your bike comes with a RS Recon 140. That's got a Motion Control damper. Plastic and poor performing for small bumps. Gets easily overwhelmed with speed. Stops working then. No damper upgrade is possibly. Basically a piece of junk.
If you put a Mantou Mezzer fork on your bike it would be capable of triple the capability it now has. Tunable shim stack.
Your frame already has good geo. You can run 29 or 27.5+. I doubt you could need a more capable bike for several years. Maybe build some DT 350 carbon wide rim wheels. BTLOS.
And it would match your attitude.

 

[Curveball]

Your bike comes with a RS Recon 140. That's got a Motion Control damper. Plastic and poor performing for small bumps. Gets easily overwhelmed with speed. Stops working then. No damper upgrade is possibly. Basically a piece of junk.
If you put a Mantou Mezzer fork on your bike it would be capable of triple the capability it now has. Tunable shim stack.
Your frame already has good geo. You can run 29 or 27.5+. I doubt you could need a more capable bike for several years. Maybe build some DT 350 carbon wide rim wheels. BTLOS.
And it would match your attitude.

Stop pushing the DT350/BYLOS wheels! I can’t afford that upgrade at the moment. 😉

The Mezzer really is an amazing fork.