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Transition Covert, or Bandit, or ????

kickstand

kickstand

Turbo Monkey
Sep 18, 2009
3,441
392
Fenton, MI
Time for a new (used) trail bike. I was riding a trek fuel with a 150mm fork on it.

I am a transition fanboi, so I am definitely considering the Bandit and Covert. I am on the fence, the bandit will be more efficient as an XC bike around home, but obviously a bit less efficient as an enderpo bike (I do plan on doing some enderpo races this year, likely some ESC)

Other bikes I am considering are the Ibis Mojo HD, Mach 5.7, and the stumpjumper/evo.

Any other suggestions?

I want something that can pedal, as I'll be doing a lot of it at home, but I also want something that can descend fairly well.

650b options are not likely as they would be out of my price range currently or only available new. So it's 26" or 29"? (No seriously, is 29" a viable options for any of these?)
 
rollertoaster

rollertoaster

Monkey
Aug 7, 2007
730
179
Douglassville , PA
I've never ridden the bandit, but I have a covert and I really like it. It replaced a intense Ss, which was only slightly better on the downhills, if at all. The covert is one of those bikes that the faster you go the better it feels. It's no slouch in the pedaling department, I have a monarch plus rc3 on mine and rarely use the firm setting.
I will say the stock ctd shock blows, big time. Not plush at all and blows through the travel too easily.
 
kickstand

kickstand

Turbo Monkey
Sep 18, 2009
3,441
392
Fenton, MI
rollertoaster said:
I've never ridden the bandit, but I have a covert and I really like it. It replaced a intense Ss, which was only slightly better on the downhills, if at all. The covert is one of those bikes that the faster you go the better it feels. It's no slouch in the pedaling department, I have a monarch plus rc3 on mine and rarely use the firm setting.
I will say the stock ctd shock blows, big time. Not plush at all and blows through the travel too easily.
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My only experience on a covert sadly is pedaling it up a hill for 30 minutes in BC on an old loose gravel mountain mining road. It did however feel pretty good on that considering.
 
demo 9

demo 9

Turbo Monkey
Jan 31, 2007
5,910
46
north jersey
3 of my friend have the covert, they all LOVE it. They ride xc with them mostly, so its definitely pedal-able

That said, that canfield balance looks sooooooooo good
 
boostindoubles

boostindoubles

Nacho Libre
Mar 16, 2004
7,875
6,176
Yakistan
I had one of the v1.5 Coverts and rode the piss out of it. It was a true quiver killer, IMO. I sold it in 2011 and have been on hardtails for the last three years. I considered another Covert when looking at squishy bikes this winter. Instead of the Covert, I built up a Blur TR. While so far it's been good, there haven't been enough rides to declare anything.
 
F

FirstAscent

Chimp
Apr 23, 2013
51
0
Alaska
I'm in the same boat as you. Currently have a trek fuel but looking for something a little more and can still pedal. I decided I'm gonna build up a covert. Probably not until the summer though. Still debating on if I'm gonna keep the fuel or not though as well. It's an awesome bike and would be great for when friends are visiting.

Would you sell your fuel or keep it?
 
supercow

supercow

Monkey
Feb 18, 2009
969
128
I'm head over heals in love with my Banshee Spitfire V2, and can't recommend it enough.
 
kickstand

kickstand

Turbo Monkey
Sep 18, 2009
3,441
392
Fenton, MI
FirstAscent said:
I'm in the same boat as you. Currently have a trek fuel but looking for something a little more and can still pedal. I decided I'm gonna build up a covert. Probably not until the summer though. Still debating on if I'm gonna keep the fuel or not though as well. It's an awesome bike and would be great for when friends are visiting.

Would you sell your fuel or keep it?
Click to expand...
Sold the fuel yesterday.

DaveW said:
Coverts are nice but with the number of broken ones I've seen (3 broken frames in the storeroom at the moment) I'd probably go for a Norco instead.
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every bike breaks, I've not heard the covert is a bad bike that breaks often.
 
rollertoaster

rollertoaster

Monkey
Aug 7, 2007
730
179
Douglassville , PA
I broke my Covert in December, they sent me a new front triangle and it's up and running again. That's why they come with a 2 year warranty.
kickstand said:
Sold the fuel yesterday.



every bike breaks, I've not heard the covert is a bad bike that breaks often.
Click to expand...
DaveW said:
Coverts are nice but with the number of broken ones I've seen (3 broken frames in the storeroom at the moment) I'd probably go for a Norco instead.
Click to expand...
 
Kntr

Kntr

Turbo Monkey
Jan 25, 2003
7,526
21
Montana
I ride an older Intense SS1 and LOVE it for an AM/XC bike. The Covert and Mojo have pretty close geometry. When I replace my SS, Im going Covert or Mojo HD.

Get the Covert.
 
chillindrdude

chillindrdude

Turbo Monkey
Jan 18, 2002
1,852
23
Northern VA, a peckerwood with too many guns
kickstand said:
Other bikes I am considering are the Ibis Mojo HD, Mach 5.7, and the stumpjumper/evo.

Any other suggestions?

I want something that can pedal, as I'll be doing a lot of it at home, but I also want something that can descend fairly well.

650b options are not likely as they would be out of my price range currently or only available new. So it's 26" or 29"? (No seriously, is 29" a viable options for any of these?)
Click to expand...
if you are considering the above bikes, i'd look at the intense carbine/tracer or santa cruz bronson/solo. i would give 27.5 a more serious consideration.
 
rollertoaster

rollertoaster

Monkey
Aug 7, 2007
730
179
Douglassville , PA
I went with the covert from the intense for a few reasons. I already have a few transitions and like them, the geo was similar to the SS, and the seat tube and shock were the same size (saving me money on the build).
 
kickstand

kickstand

Turbo Monkey
Sep 18, 2009
3,441
392
Fenton, MI
chillindrdude said:
if you are considering the above bikes, i'd look at the intense carbine/tracer or santa cruz bronson/solo. i would give 27.5 a more serious consideration.
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I will consider the santa cruz.

Not a fan of intense bikes. All things equal (intense vs transition) I'd get another transition as I have had nothing but good luck with our TR450's (my wife and I both have one).


I also found a stumpy 26" local to me, I am going to go and look at it on thursday. It's another bike I have considered, though I really wanted to go carbon evo stumpy if I went that route.
 
denjen

denjen

Certified Lift Whore
Sep 16, 2001
1,691
36
Richmond VA
kickstand said:
I will consider the santa cruz.

Not a fan of intense bikes. All things equal (intense vs transition) I'd get another transition as I have had nothing but good luck with our TR450's (my wife and I both have one).


I also found a stumpy 26" local to me, I am going to go and look at it on thursday. It's another bike I have considered, though I really wanted to go carbon evo stumpy if I went that route.
Click to expand...
If you can, try and take the Stumpy EVO for an extended ride. They are great bikes, but not the best pedaling bike. I am not saying its horrible, just something to keep in mind if its going to be used for racing. My 2012 came with an RP23 with Adaptive Logic and I do find myself using the lever to stiffen up the rear on longer climbs.

I have been on one for 2 years and that is really the only complaint I have with it. Otherwise the bike is very solid. I've used it on everything from XC to DH trips to Snowshoe.
 
kickstand

kickstand

Turbo Monkey
Sep 18, 2009
3,441
392
Fenton, MI
denjen said:
If you can, try and take the Stumpy EVO for an extended ride. They are great bikes, but not the best pedaling bike. I am not saying its horrible, just something to keep in mind if its going to be used for racing. My 2012 came with an RP23 with Adaptive Logic and I do find myself using the lever to stiffen up the rear on longer climbs.

I have been on one for 2 years and that is really the only complaint I have with it. Otherwise the bike is very solid. I've used it on everything from XC to DH trips to Snowshoe.
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From a budgetary standpoint I am starting to lean towards the stumpy, it is not an evo. The only downfall for me is the fox 32 140mm fork. I did not like the fox 32 130mm fork that came on my fuel. Though I do have a 150mm revelation in the garage that I did like better than the 32 (with 20mm thru it felt much more stiff and solid)

It falls in travel wise right between the Covert and Bandit, plus its local. From a pedaling standpoint I don't usually have a lot of long climbs in our area, most everything is more quick and punchy up and down. With the CTD I'm hoping I can toss it in the Trail setting and be happy?

The EVO seems a bit more versatile on the AM/DH side, where this should be a bit more versatile on the XC/AM side which is where it will get used more. I have a DH bike.

Am I crazy for going this route or is my thinking sound?

Thanks for the comments so far.
 
denjen

denjen

Certified Lift Whore
Sep 16, 2001
1,691
36
Richmond VA
kickstand said:
From a budgetary standpoint I am starting to lean towards the stumpy, it is not an evo. The only downfall for me is the fox 32 140mm fork. I did not like the fox 32 130mm fork that came on my fuel. Though I do have a 150mm revelation in the garage that I did like better than the 32 (with 20mm thru it felt much more stiff and solid)

It falls in travel wise right between the Covert and Bandit, plus its local. From a pedaling standpoint I don't usually have a lot of long climbs in our area, most everything is more quick and punchy up and down. With the CTD I'm hoping I can toss it in the Trail setting and be happy?

The EVO seems a bit more versatile on the AM/DH side, where this should be a bit more versatile on the XC/AM side which is where it will get used more. I have a DH bike.

Am I crazy for going this route or is my thinking sound?

Thanks for the comments so far.
Click to expand...
The standard stumpy is a great bike too. They are basically the same frame with a slightly different swing-link to change the travel and geo. I would definitely go with the Revelation, thats what I am running and it seems like a good match.
 
buildyourown

buildyourown

Turbo Monkey
Feb 9, 2004
4,832
0
South Seattle
I have an Ibis HD 140 with an Angleset and I love it. Low, slack, and pedals wonderfully. Swap the shock and hardware and it's 160mm.
I had a SS1 and while it was a fun bike, was horrible as a trail bike in comparison. I rode it again after being on the Ibis for a year and couldn't believe how bad it pedaled and how poor the suspension was. That bike jumps and corners better than anything I've ever ridden, but it does everything else poorly.
 
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