All Mountain Bikes...

[ogre]

hey y'all, i've just been offered a new job that puts me in a position to treat myself to something with suspension, i think i want an all mountain machine, so i can do DH but still have some fun on an XC route and enjoy some versatility out of it, but i have no idea what my options are, or whats actually worth the money, so suggestions and thoughts please?

[Ali C]

Orange 5 AM version, I test rode loads of bikes and nothing impressed me other than this bike. I've entered XC and DH races on it and it's been great at both.

[AndrewEH1]

What is your budget?

Orange 5 AM version, I test rode loads of bikes and nothing impressed me other than this bike. I've entered XC and DH races on it and it's been great at both.

I was going to suggest a Five, I love mine, but it can be a bit Marmite so I would suggest test riding a few different frames at a local trail centre if you can.

You can stick on some 160mm travel forks and it will make it down Fort William and it doesn't get much tougher than that in the UK!

Plus they are Enduro machines!

Edited August 13, 2012 by AndrewEH1

[Tomm]

Basically every manufacturer makes a 140 or 150 or 160mm bike. Take your pick.

Most people will ride around 140mm bikes for XC these days but something with 160mm travel can easily be ridden on long day loops, but they'll be much more suitable for DH. You can't get a bike that does everything, but if you want a bike for riding all day (non-competitively) AND the odd DH session, I'd go for something like a Spesh Enduro with around 160mm travel. Although the best option is plainly a DH bike for DH and an XC bike for XC

[Matthew62]

I'm with Ali and Andrew...another vote for a Five AM. They're very capable bikes and the 160mm forks make a nice addition as they make the bike a bit more aggressive and slacken the angles a touch. They're often mocked for being a bit rudimentary and sometimes up the hills I look at my friends on 12kg Lapierre full-susers and titanium 29ers and feel the extra weight but it more than makes up for it going down, plus they're not particularly bad going up. If you put a decent shock on the back with pro-pedal then they're fine going up if you sit back and peddle away.

Plus if you're strict and particular with your build choice look how good you can make them look:

[dezmtber]

the 2013 5 am is mental

it comes with the new fox float 34 forks 160mm travel and light enough to do a long ride

and if you are serious about buying one we have a 18" in stock as our test bike

you slap an £80 deposit on buying any bike from us and you can test our orange 5, or specialized stumpjumper

or any of the others we have. then the £80 is taken off the price when you do buy one.

the test is pick up the bike say friday and ride it all weekend and return it say tuesday.

you really cant beat this level of service if you are looking at seroius xc/am bikes at £1500-£4000

[dezmtber]

http://www.orangebikes.co.uk/bikes/five_am/

[Ali C]

All the other bikes I rode seemed to be really slow over bumps and rocks, they didn't really seem to react to much rider input (like pumping stuff, or kickers etc). The 5 was the opposite, it almost seemed to speed up over bumps and it reacts really well to pumping and kicking off rocks and roots. The difference was like day and night!

The only downside is the chain can be noisy on the swingarm, people usually bodge some form of protection (I have an old Trialtech grip glued on). I also went single ring with a chain device on the front and that helped too.

I wish I had the newer versions with the longer toptube though, I do feel a little cramped on the climbs at times (small frame).

[AndrewEH1]

The only downside is the chain can be noisy on the swingarm, people usually bodge some form of protection (I have an old Trialtech grip glued on). I also went single ring with a chain device on the front and that helped too.

I've found the best thing to rectify this was an inner tube cut up and wrapped around the swing-arm and cable tied in place - looks a tad scruffy but does the job!

[Matthew62]

Yeah the short top tube was what put me off the 16" a bit so I waited until the 17" came out with the top tube of an 18" and the stand over of a 16" which is pretty ideal. I've found with a Saint rear mech on the back I don't get too much chain slap and thats with a double up front. If it were ever to break I'd not hesitate putting a clutch rear mech on which would be even better. I've not lost any paint on the underside of the swing arm, just the sticker is slightly roughened-up.

I've had more experienced riders than myself ride my bike and they say how fun it is. A friend of mine almost had a decent crash on a track he rides a lot after switching from his bike to mine as he said by the first corner he was going much faster then he usually would have been on his Nukeproof Mega....not sure how relevant that is, but just another example of the "fun to ride" aspect of them.

I think the arrival of Fox 34 forks will make for a good addition to the Five as well for those who feel 36s are overkill.

[ogre]

i'm really considering a genius as you get 120mm and 185mm of travel on the rear, i like the idea of flipping between a range of movement as my terrain changes etc,,

[AndrewEH1]

Well we tried lads...

My only advice is try the bike before you buy.

[Matthew62]

i'm really considering a genius as you get 120mm and 185mm of travel on the rear, i like the idea of flipping between a range of movement as my terrain changes etc,,

Well if you like an adaptable bike (that isn't the most ugly thing I've ever seen) wait a couple of weeks and check out the new E.i. bikes coming from Ghost and Lapierre. They feature a Rockshox rear shock that adapts to the trail from lock-out, pro-pedal to fully open without you having to do anything. It's not really my sort of thing but it's set to take off in a big way.

[dezmtber]

also if you really like warranty claims for snapped frames i would wait for the lapierre too.

also cannondale- crack n fail

if a bike seems too light to be true it isnt it will snap.

Edited August 15, 2012 by dezmtber

[Shaun H]

i'm really considering a genius as you get 120mm and 185mm of travel on the rear, i like the idea of flipping between a range of movement as my terrain changes etc,,

I personally think the Genius is too steep to be real fun on DHs. I can't give a completely fair opinion as the one I raced a gravity enduro on was 1 or more sizes too small for me but the front seemed to hang up a lot more on obstacles than my Dune.

As for recomendations I was completely happy with my Mondraker Dune and as such was absolutely devestated when I crashed hard into a ditch front wheel first in the Alps and destroyed my front triangle. Fortunately the brand support is excellent and Silverfish the importer are seeing if they can sort something out for me despite crash damage not being covered under warranty. After riding it I find when I get on single pivot bikes I really miss the rear being active under pedaling and braking, single pivot designs seem to lock up a little.

For more general advice - try to look past frame sizes and pay attention to the top tube length as this, IMO, the biggest factor in the "fit" of a bike. If you are riding serious DH/steeps then go for a head angle 67deg or slacker. Test ride everything you can get your hands on.

[Ali C]

interesting fact, a Mondraker Foxy was perhaps the worst bike I have ridden and possibly the bike I've had the most rear punctures with. Setup probably had a lot to do with it, but the back wheel just didn't seem to want to get up and over rocks......does that bike have much of a rearward axle path?

[craigjames]

The Intense 6.6 I had was awesome, ran it with Float 36s and a DHX5 which was a little overkill but made the bike much more happy when pointing down the trail. Only thing i wish it had was ISCG mounts

[Shaun H]

interesting fact, a Mondraker Foxy was perhaps the worst bike I have ridden and possibly the bike I've had the most rear punctures with. Setup probably had a lot to do with it, but the back wheel just didn't seem to want to get up and over rocks......does that bike have much of a rearward axle path?

Haven't ridden a Foxy but as far as I know they all follow similar axle paths. Did you make sure the propedal was off? It's not a feeling I can say I've ever experienced... As for punctures, I've never rimmed out hard enough to notice even running 20psi on rocky stuff. But then I run either tubeless with goo or UST (and I will NEVER go back).

[Muel]

Talk to our kid mate, Orange 5 would be the obvious choice but you're roughly 1.5 men in terms of weight and stregnth, so I'd say you need something more hardcore than a 5...

[knave]

You’ve probably had all the contribution you need to make a decision and, as has been said, the real best advice is that everyone is different so test ride as many bikes as possible. Having said that, some quick thoughts from my point of view:

A lot depends on what you want to actually do with the bike – I live in south Wales and am blessed with some of the best natural trails in the UK so, my bike is really a “trail bike” because I want to be able to actually get up the mountains before I come back down them – 140 back and front and weighs 12.5kg so it’s quick and easy for the climbing we do but it’s enough for the descents in terms of travel, robust build, head angle – obviously, it certainly wouldn’t be enough for a proper DH course but it’ll go anywhere within the constraints of my riding ability/fitness and has never let me down. For my riding, it’s perfect. If you have a lot of money to spend you could get a more “all mountain” type spec at the same weight which would be more descent orientated in terms of geometry and travel however, unless you are really attacking very gnarly descents (the term “downhill” is often misused in my opinion – it refers to something very specific) then you don’t really need massive travel and super slack angles which will inhibit every other aspect of your riding. If you intend to van the bike to a trail centre and use uplifts to ride competition type DH courses, etc then a full DH spec would be awesome but if you intend to ride to the top of your descents then for me, weight is an issue because it does make a difference when you are pulling a 40 miler with 3 imposing welsh mountains in your path.

One last comment/observation I would make – you mention the adjustable travel in the spec of the Genius: Don’t dwell or spend too much money on something like this because you probably won’t use it too much: I have a Fox TALAS fork which has 4 settings (140, 120, 110 & locked out) and the Fox shock on the rear has 3 settings (full open, pro-pedal and locked out) so I have loads of suspension setting combinations I could explore when out riding – the reality is that I did cock about with them initially (reducing the travel for fast, tech ascents, opening everything for descents, etc) but now, of all the options I have, I only ever regularly use the pro-pedal which I use as a default setting, I just throw the shock open when I’m about to descend and then put it back in pro-pedal when the terrain evens out so I can get the power down.

Nobody’s mentioned Giant either – awesome frames to build around because even the lower spec bikes have the same frame (only the top carbon models have different): the missus bought a 12 plate Trance for this seasons and I can say the maestro linkage is awesome, lives up to the hype and does actually do what it says on the tin. If I was going for a new MTB now, Giant would be right up there for me because the spec is amazing for the price too.

[Matt Vandart]

I concur