[chuffer]

Anyone have any input on how the covert rides? How about a bandit?

The terrain here is pretty vertical you ride up for an hour to bomb down for 10 minutes. There is no flat. So, I am looking for a bike that I can ride up and rage down. No huge air on the way down, but definitely some moderate air, lots of hard g-out corners and plenty of brake bumps.

Currently I either kill myself on the way up with my downhill sled or suffer on the way down on my XC hardtail.

Will the bandit stand up to high speed single track downhill thrashing?

Will the covert climb well for an hour on a fireroad?

Other frames? SC blur or nickel?

 

[bballboy388]

I would say from what you describe the covert sounds like a better option. I haven't ridden either but as far as the ability to both climb and descend I would go with the covert for sure!

 

[Silver]

Unless you're like 120 pounds, I'd go with the Covert.

Nomad, Slayer, Reign, Enduro, Spitfire, Rune, Mojo...tons of choices.

 

[joelsman]

covert is AM/dh, bandit, AM/trail. covert with a proper tune rear shock would be the ticket.

 

[cryion]

Covert

but:

1) go Talas or Uturn (or whatever fork that supports quick reduction of travel) - otherwise it gets kinda annoying uphill
2) i run a dhx air (came with the frame). and im not entirely happy. avoid it (or give it a try, your choice heh)
talked to Transition, they said steel damper will make uphill a little less enjoyable - but downhill more enjoyable. gotta decide for yourself which u prefer.
3) full bike gets quite heavy quite quickly. running lyric coil, dhx air, 721s, hammerschmidt myself and im above 35lbs... :-\
but even when going more lightweight on crankset and fork i ll be at more than 33lbs.

 

[adam12]

Have not ridden the Bandit but have owned the Covert V2 for a while. I ride this as my 'small' bike when not on my DH. It gets ridden hard...I am 190 geared up, but dont smash wheels etc. I bought with the DHX Air but now ride with RP23. I could never set up the DHX Air to climb and still feel good on the down. The RP23 gives up a tiny bit on the down but is rock solid on the climbs. No bob with in seat climbing. I had a 36 talas on it but have changed to revelation u-turn to save weight. Still up in the air on that decision. Might put an angleset into it to get the geo back to 67 head angle.

Mine is 28lbs with the following build:
Revelation dual air u-turn 150mm
Sun Ringle Charger Pro Wheels
Truvativ Stylo OCT cranks
Sram X0 drivetrain
Sunline bar, stem, post

 

[4130biker]

I will give you my biased vote for the stumpjumper evo fsr frame. I love mine- lightest bike I've ever ridden and am able to ride every bit as hard as my enduro. Climbs better than the enduro, but rides dh just as well.

Same HA as the covert, lower bb, better climbing geometry and lighter.

In a way, it's kind of a mix between the bandit and the covert.

 

[boostindoubles]

fwiw,
I've got a v1.5 covert w/ TBC revolution 32 wheelset, 36 talas, and rp23. Weighs in around 32-33 lbs . It's coming up on it's 4th season of shralp and all I've replaced is a the x-9 rear derailleur, pair of tires, and a headset.

I've ridden it up a FS road for over 12 miles and 3600 ft. Put it through all kinds of trails, from dh to long xc loops. I feel that it climbs like an xc bike.

wheelset has for better or worse stayed tensioned and true despite many rock gardens and much air time.

Between the new coverts and the bandit, I like the bandit more than what the covert has become. It looks like a good climbing bike and is also a Transition. If I know the TBC guys, the Bandit should be able to take abuse.


Or you could find a carbon nomad and be done with it.

 

[BBBSwan05]

After building up a covert this winter and out riding on it for the last two weeks I have been more than impressed with everything that it does. It climbs just as good (if not better in 130 fork mode) as my old 24lb xc hardtail. As mentioned before, a fork with some adjustibility makes a big difference. On anything steep or somewhat technical the front wheel can start to wander very quickly but lowering the fork helps alot. I have found it more comfortable to climb fire roads in full fork mode though. I rode in Moab, Fruita, and Boulder over the past few weeks and havent really had any problems pushing it with a 1x9 setup (34t front and 12-34rr). I am just under 6'2" and 180lbs I got a large and although the standover is kind of high for what i would like, but the rest of the geo feels great for everything. I have mine set up with a dropper seatpost (joplin4) and it has truly changed the way I can ride. Rest of the build includes-36 talas rc2/rp23, charger pros, xo, descendant crank, gamut guide, answer bar/stem, hope mono minis, weighed in at 32.04lbs with acid pedals. I wish i could get it at 28 like the aforementioned one, that would be silly fast.
Once the trail begins downhill, you can really let go and see how capable the bike really is. After getting used to the feel of the new brakes, I was able to completely let go on even the roughest dh sections. The suspension is extremely well balanced and with the pro-pedal off, the rp23 (with xv sleeve) felt extremely supple even over high speed chatter. In the air, the balance of the bike makes it very comfortable and stable. With the light Charger Pros (sub 1700g) I could throw it around very easily, and pedaling out of turns or quick uphills the acceleration was stupid quick. They have even held up perfectly fine on the few 5-7' drops I have found to huck them off.
With all that said, I cant recommend covert more. But with that said the bandit looks like a pretty dope bike, however if its the way down that fuels the climb up, I would go covert.

 

[golgiaparatus]

Take a look at this: http://www.specialized.com/us/en/bc/SBCProduct.jsp?spid=52783&scid=1000&scname=Mountain

It will climb great and bomb down pretty well. Really its an XC bike that's been adapted to fit AM needs.

 

[ZoRo]

Seeing how Gwin could ride an ASR5 so fast and smooth on rough trails, a Bandit, espacially since it has an ISCG mount, could be ridden fast and climb really good too. The thing is that you won't have the "save my ass" amount of travel that you have on the Covert. Keeps you on your toes for picking good lines and jumping over rocks and other stuff.

Personally, I'd go Bandit, but then again, there are not out yet, so further reviews could prove my assumptions wrong.

 

[fortfun]

Coverts are fun for a while but if you want a "do all" bike the Bottlerocket is one of the best bikes they make. I ride mine on singletrack, moab, DH, dirt jumps and I've had a TON of bikes. The only one that was close to it was the Giant Reign X0 but the rocket corners and jumps like a pro, plus its super stable. The covert is more like a beefed up Yeti 575 which I've ridden a lot of, great bike but once u start heading down in a hurry things change.