My g/f just got a pharmacy internship in northwest NM for the summer so I will be down there for about six weeks. Given its proximity to well pretty much everything I need a new mountain bike. I’ll probably take a trip or two up to Moab and the San Juan Forest is 2 hours or less away also. My current bike is a Specialized Stumpjumper Comp hardtail from like 1996. Anyways, any advice would be helpful. I do get a discount on Trek and Giant so I was looking at something like the Trek Remedy 9 but have no idea really what I’m looking at besides that it still costs less than my tribike which is a plus haha. So probably that range in price 3k-4k I wouldn’t want to go much higher than that unless there is some big jump up in performance/quality that could be gained at the next level. I’m not partial to an particular brand however so any options are fine with me.
Are you just going out to have fun and bash some trails with friends or do you want to be able to race it? If your looking to just enjoy the trails the Remedy would be a nice bike but if your wanting to race it, then either look at a Superfly or Superfly 100 if you want a FS bike. I’m not really familiar with the Giants.
More just hammering trails for this summer at least. I want to do an xterra at somepoint but just don’t have the time and the lack of really off-road stuff means I want to figure out how not to kill myself before I jump in with other people in a race. I’d also love to get into some mountain bike races. Whats the main differences between the Remedy and the Superfly, I’d most likely lean towards the superfly for when I could start doing some off road racing.
For riding in that area, Moab at least, I think you want a trail bike type model, and not something you would think about racing. I’d go with 5+ inches of travel. I’m a Santa Cruz guy, and I think the Blur LT (alum or carbon) make real nice Moab area bikes. Very climbable, yet amazing on the downhills. The Nomad is another great option, a little bigger travel and more $.
Pretty much everything is different between them. In road bike terms it’s like the difference between a Venge and a Roubaix. Both are capable bikes but the geometry is different and the Remedy will probably be a little bit heavier. The head angle is much steeper on the Superfly so it will handle a bit sharper. Also the travel is going to be different. With the Superfly you get 100mm of travel, thus the name Superfly 100. With the remedy you get 150mm of travel. That’s a bit much unless your hitting really big stuff, like big drops and things you wouldn’t find on a world cup or Xterra mtb course. You could pretty much downhill on the Remedy. The final thing is the 29er wheels on the Superfly.
Talk to me like I’m an idiot Whats the difference between a trail and a racing one? Also just a heads up most of the stuff i’ll be doing will be in the mountains in colorado. Moab is a 3 hour drive or so. I may be able to tell someone the difference between every tri bike from every major brand on the planet but i don’t know jacksquat about mountain bikes.
The geometry slackens up as you move more from XC towards DH as well. I’ve got a Santa Cruz Blur TRc (5" but pretty slack) and love it for trail riding, and it’s a decent racer too.
Ahhh okay now were getting somewhere. That makes sense, and would probably make more sense for me to get the Superfly based on that. I definitely wont be hitting anything that big on this trip at least. If I ever did there is always the N+1 bike method haha.
Okay that makes sense I looked at the bikes on the website real quick and went hmmm yup they look like the similar bikes with different paint jobs. Basically you don’t want more travel than you really need correct?
When I road a 26" wheel bike I always had back problems after long rides on a hardtail. So I finally went with a Santa Cruz Superlight that had 4" of travel and was able to do 3-5 hour rides with no back issues. When 29’ers came out I was able to switch back to a hardtail because the bigger wheels add a bit of cush. Been to Moab and Fruita several times and ridden both a full suspension 26" bike and a 29’er hardtail and had a blast on both. A hardtail 29’er is perfect for me because I can take it out for the weekends and just have fun, hop in an Xterra and race or use it for adventure racing and not worry about adjusting the suspension sag to account for the weight of a pack. But just my $.02. My only real advice is to be careful. Once you come over to the dark side of mountain biking you may never want to hit the pavement again.
You can always use whatever travel you have, unless you live in Florida or somewhere similar where a CX bike is more appropriate than a mountain bike. More travel lets you go faster and hit things harder. The slacker geometry that generally comes along with more travel makes the downhills easier but the uphills a bit more work. If you’re looking for a fun trail bike, I’d steer you away from the superfly. From Giant, look at the Trance X or Reign. From Trek, the Fuel EX, Rumblefish (29er), and Remedy would probably suit you well.
I’m one of the few people who isn’t a raving pro- or anti-29er guy. My trail bike is a 26er, and I like the shorter chainstays and decreased rotating mass (though I countered that with >2lb tires…heh). A lot of people prefer the rollover ability of 29ers and are willing to sacrifice a little nimbleness. If/when I get a race bike it’ll likely be a hardtail 29er.
Okay that makes sense I looked at the bikes on the website real quick and went hmmm yup they look like the similar bikes with different paint jobs. Basically you don’t want more travel than you really need correct?
Don’t say this on MTBR.com, they would throw you off the board! There is never too much travel!
In reality, its about the bike geometry. A XC bike is designed to be quick turning, and easy climbing. A downhill bike is made for big hits and stability at speed, but terrible to climb. There is a lot of options between XC and DH. I still think about 5-6 inches is the sweet spot for anyone who rides any sort of technical trail. The modern trail bike is a great climber and a great decender. Each brand will have a trail bike offering, there are many amazing options out there.
For that, you get the “raceable” advantage of a 29er, plus 120mm (5 inches) of travel for slightly more technical trails. It’s not made to be “hucked” off big drops, but it wouln’t fold in half if you did. It’ll climb well, too.
Look for the Fox Float RP2 or RP23 rear shock; those are the golden standard, kinda like Zipp 404 or Mavic Cosmic carbone. You can lock them out, and tune them so you climb even better. A front fork with a lockout is also a plus for anything over 4" of travel.
If you’re gonna race, I would stick to something that’s 27 or 28 pounds. I just bought this http://www.konaworld.com/mtb_trail_allmountain_dual_suspension.cfm?content=tanuki_deluxe for $1050 from HuckNRoll, and it’s about 31lbs. It’s hefty, but I don’t do much racing, and for the price, I couldn’t NOT buy it (needed a new mtb, my Trek hardtail was 10 years old).
If you’re not dead-set on full suspension, get a hardtail carbon 29er for the same price. Racy as hell, light (~24-25 pounds), and fun to ride on less technical trails. It rolls over stuff easily, and it can be comfortable to ride, even on multi-hour rides. Just don’t REALLY thrash it.
I lust for a SuperFly 100 which would be a hot rod bike in the 29er variety. If you are new to biking and planning
to head to Moab - that is not the bike I would reccomend… it is a race tuned rig and isn;t the most confidence inspiring
on a steep downhill. (You can always rent a purpose built rig in Moab - not a bad way to go)
A great compromise between the burly Remedy and the race day Superfly is the Fuel EX line.
They are dual suspension, 26" rims and will be more stable on the downhills than the SuperFly (more relaxed headtube angle),
but still can be light enough to tape a number to for an XTerra or a 24 hour race.
The other nice thing about the Fuel EX’s are a range of prices from $1,500-$7500.
Definitely not new to biking just haven’t done much off road due to living in Iowa for a large portion of my life sadly. I’d have to get used to it but not that concerned with it being a little twitchy to start out. Next question at least on the Fuel EX line. What is causing the huge bump in price? For the 9.8 its 5k and then you go to the 9.9 and it jumps up to 9k
Different fork, different wheels, better components. It’s kind of the way of mtbing. You can get a really, really sweet bike for $5k, or a bit lighter and better one for $9k.
I think the 9.9 is uses a finer grade of carbon that is made from the braided hairs of Unicorns and virgins , plus
it gets all the high-zoot goodies like SRAM XX and Fox’s finest.
Looks to me like the 9.7 model is the sweetspot. I’d go for that, convert to tubeless tires and ride away happy.
Whats the difference between a trail and a racing one? Also just a heads up most of the stuff i’ll be doing will be in the mountains in colorado. Moab is a 3 hour drive or so. I may be able to tell someone the difference between every tri bike from every major brand on the planet but i don’t know jacksquat about mountain bikes.