£2500 big(ish) bike

[petriodet]

the time has come and i have decided i want buy 160mm bike the budget is slightly flexible upto £3000 but would have course like to stick to my original budget. i have been looking around for a while and a few bikes have caught my eye, i have compiled a list of possible candidates.
lapierre spicy 516- slightly over budget
orange five am-well over budget and seriously under spec, would love to own one but spec is holding me back.
nukeproof mega-on budget but spec is lacking a little.
http://www.canyon.com/_en/mountainbikes/bike.html?b=2570canyon strive es8.0-the spec is good but somthing is putting me of but i don't know what.
YT Wicked 160 LTD- excellent spec for the money
Rose uncle jimbo 6 with custom spec.

i think i want the rose but would like you opinions on the bikes above or any suggestions you have.

 

[Andelusion]

Have you ridden any of the bikes you're considering?

 

[petriodet]

Have you ridden any of the bikes you're considering?

i've ridden the orange five am for all of about 5 minutes and loved the feel and wasn't to weighty. lets face it i'm not going to be able to try many of them and that's the risk i'm prepared to take.
also if i don't like it'll give me an excuse to buy SC nomad frame and chuck all the bits on that.

 

[weescott]

They all get good reviews so it comes down to spec and taste. You won't be able to demo them all either.

Personally I would go for the YT for the spec alone.

 

[booyaka]

Also bear in mind the canyon have 30 money back guarantee period. A client of mine just bought the same one you linked to in medium as that was what was supposed to be the right size. He felt it was just to small and returned it for a large. He had it for 21 days and ridden it about 5 times - They couriered the large to him and picked up the medium at the same time. A straight swap - ZERO hassles or questions etc.

He was very very impressed with the service.

Also check out canyons outlet - they have some single one off models that are reduced by a fair chunk at times.

 

[Jonny ///M]

Shocking how well the spec is for the money on some of those bikes! I was looking at buying a Felt Compulsion but even at £2k the spec ain't the best.

 

[ichabod crane]

You would have to be an idiot to pick anything else.

 

[petriodet]

You would have to be an idiot to pick anything else.

can you expand why i'd be an idiot not to go for this?
i think the rose is exeptional value for money as well, with the fox equip there is more adjustability and i like the idea of being able to take the forks down to 120mm on the fly.

 

[Supercow]

Itchy is being crabby as usual.

Basically - would you prefer adjustability or outride immense suspension?
The immensity of this spec is also hard to comprehend.

 

[Andelusion]

I would have the YT by a country mile. The BOS suspension, shifter/derailleur and wheels are as high end as you can get really.

Just do some research on what it's like dealing with YT, if there's a warranty problem or something needs sending back, it's gotta be posted back to them direct, if you'd rather be able to take the bike in to a shop then stay away.

Do you definitely need adjustable travel? I used to have a bike with adjustable front forks and for me it was just a gimmic/something that oould go wrong. The YT is supposed to be a sorted frame that rides well, you shouldn't need to drop the forks for climbing. I have BOS Devillies on my full sus now and have honestly never wished for travel adjust and there are some very steep climbs on my local rides. Also, I used to own an rp23 and yes the 3 adjustable pro pedal settings are nice to have, but in reality you will use 2 settings - fully open for maximum squish, and full pro-pedal to minimise bob when you're climbing, the other settings are useful but a major faff to switch between when you're actually getting down to what's important - riding.

 

[Supercow]

ps: the BOS TRC version that come with the bike doesn't drop the front end of the bike, though it does reduce the amount of travel the forks can use, therefore giving you some adjustability.

The forks themselves also tend to ride high in it's travel, so you won't be diving around on climbs/ under pedal force

 

[petriodet]

I would have the YT by a country mile. The BOS suspension, shifter/derailleur and wheels are as high end as you can get really.

Just do some research on what it's like dealing with YT, if there's a warranty problem or something needs sending back, it's gotta be posted back to them direct, if you'd rather be able to take the bike in to a shop then stay away.

Do you definitely need adjustable travel? I used to have a bike with adjustable front forks and for me it was just a gimmic/something that oould go wrong. The YT is supposed to be a sorted frame that rides well, you shouldn't need to drop the forks for climbing. I have BOS Devillies on my full sus now and have honestly never wished for travel adjust and there are some very steep climbs on my local rides. Also, I used to own an rp23 and yes the 3 adjustable pro pedal settings are nice to have, but in reality you will use 2 settings - fully open for maximum squish, and full pro-pedal to minimise bob when you're climbing, the other settings are useful but a major faff to switch between when you're actually getting down to what's important - riding.

i don't need travel adjust but just thought it would be nice to have, maybe your right it's just another thing to go wrong.

ps: the BOS TRC version that come with the bike doesn't drop the front end of the bike, though it does reduce the amount of travel the forks can use, therefore giving you some adjustability.

The forks themselves also tend to ride high in it's travel, so you won't be diving around on climbs/ under pedal force

so it has somthing like a lockout that just locks some of the travel i think that'll work for me.
what are the sram x0 brakes like?

 

[Andelusion]

TRC stands for twin rate curve, it effectively doubles the stiffness of the fork so it doesn't bob as much, whilst retaining the suppleness of the initial travel (so it still works well on small bumps), the increased stiffness is how the travel is reduced, the fork will only go so far into the travel - this is useful if you're riding something very slow and technical where you've got a lot of weight suddenly going on to the front of the bike, by only going so far into the fork's travel there's less chance that all your weight will be dumped forwards.

I've never used x0 brakes but they're supposed to be very good and up there with top end Formula and Hope brakes.

 

[Glyndwr]

Spec wise nothing is going to come close to the YT for that price. But how does it ride? If its Geometry and pivot designs are off it will feel like a bag of spanners no matter what kit it has got. Also I would need to check the quality of the frame (welds, tubing, finish) before I committed to spending a load of cash. Try and find someone with one to see if you can do a test ride.

Must admit I am tempted by the YT Tues for my new DH bike

 

[weescott]

I wasn't making an opinion on the Tues based on BOS forks versus 36 Talas forks, but for the whole package.

I use the Talas function but only for a few very steep climbs. I can climb with the 160mm 90% of the time. So it isn't for everyone.

Also, Kashima = 25mm of extra travel. Fact!

 

[ichabod crane]

can you expand why i'd be an idiot not to go for this?
i think the rose is exeptional value for money as well, with the fox equip there is more adjustability and i like the idea of being able to take the forks down to 120mm on the fly.

Mainly as already said above, but you are on a budget and obviously want best bang for buck you wont get any better than the YT, it really is awesome for the money.

 

[petriodet]

i going to buy the yt wicked tonight, they aren't available until week 17 which is the 23 of april + upto 12 days for delivery= it's not getting here before may.
i'm going to buy some biketape what size will i need to cover the whole bike?

 

[booyaka]

i going to buy the yt wicked tonight, they aren't available until week 17 which is the 23 of april + upto 12 days for delivery= it's not getting here before may.
i'm going to buy some biketape what size will i need to cover the whole bike?

i would just cover the main bits, downtube, forks, swing arms etc. The whole bike will take ages and cost a fortune!!!

I got this

http://www.biketart.com/76/products/biketape.aspx

7.5 cm stuff - appears to be all out of stock mind you

 

[Supercow]

i going to buy the yt wicked tonight, they aren't available until week 17 which is the 23 of april + upto 12 days for delivery= it's not getting here before may.
i'm going to buy some biketape what size will i need to cover the whole bike?

Just tape the top of the top tube and the downtube - and stick patches where cables touch the frame (headtube usually).

For your swing arms, buy some self adhesive velcro for the chainslap, or use ome frame wrap. Alternatively, use the lightest innertube you can find, cut it so it's one long bit, then cut it down the middle down the whole length. Then use one of thosestrips you;ve created to wrap your swingarm nice and tight.

 

[petriodet]

Just tape the top of the top tube and the downtube - and stick patches where cables touch the frame (headtube usually).

For your swing arms, buy some self adhesive velcro for the chainslap, or use ome frame wrap. Alternatively, use the lightest innertube you can find, cut it so it's one long bit, then cut it down the middle down the whole length. Then use one of thosestrips you;ve created to wrap your swingarm nice and tight.

thanks for that! i was going to do the forks as well i don't want to scratch the bos forks