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Best 4" race/at frame

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Helios

Chimp
Apr 27, 2011
13
0
I'm in the market for a new bike. I've pretty much narrowed it down to a 4" travel, dual, 26" wheel bike. I'm planning on using it as my main bike that I will race XC, multi day adventure races and do most of my trail riding with. I'm not a bomber, big hill, full face helmet guy so i know that this travel will suit my trail riding. I've compiled a list of most any worth while frame out there. I'm less concerned about price at this point than finding the right bike. Fit wise, I fall between a sizes on a few models but can make something work. I'm 5'11" with a 31" inseam.

Who's ridden what and why?

Models I'm looking at;
Pivot Mach 4 (favorite so far)
Turner Flux
Santa Cruz Blur (probably xc)
Kona Hei Hei
Cannondale Scalpel
Specialized Epic
Titus Racer x
Scott Spark
Giant Anthem X
Tomac Carbide
Trek Top Fuel
Jamis Dakar

Anything I missed worth while?
 
Zark

Zark

Hey little girl, do you want some candy?
Oct 18, 2001
6,254
7
Reno 911
I've ridden a S Works Epic that was a demo at my shop for an XC loop.

Let me start with saying I don't race XC. I have an all mountain bike and a DH rig and I've been riding for 16 years. I'm 5'9" and ride the medium for a 15 mile XC loop with a 4 mile fireroad climb and a 5 mile up and down singletrack, remainder was road. The bike absolutely rockets up climbs. Its a stiff chassis and responds well to out of the saddle efforts with very little suspension bob. It tracks very well on tight singletrack and holds its line well. One descents the handling is skittish at speed, but thats typical of the breed. The Specialized E100 fork tracked really well although the bump absorbtion was just ok. The rear suspension feel on descents was pretty good actually.

I came away pretty impressed with the bike, the Brain shock really makes sense on this kind of bike. You don't have to mess with lockouts and get to enjoy good feeling, bob free suspension.
 
Sandwich

Sandwich

Pig my fish!
Staff member
May 23, 2002
21,190
6,166
borcester rhymes
I'll just throw out my satisfaction with my trek fuel ex8. It just works. Mine's a couple years old and I'm the second owner, but with a bike like this, trek's going to put themselves out of business. A little extra traction in the little ring, much less input in the middle, and none in the big ring. Active braking. High quality throughout.

I don't have any time on the top fuel, but the session is an option to replace my DH bike when it's time, I like it that much. It's a mostly normal frame too, so shoulder carries and water bottles are an option, which is nice.
 
Sghost

Sghost

Turbo Monkey
Jul 13, 2008
1,038
0
NY
The cannondale scalpel is the best XC race bike. Everything else is a compromise in some way.
 
H

Helios

Chimp
Apr 27, 2011
13
0
I honestly never thought about shoulder carry being something to look for but with adventure racing and hike-a-bike sections I know that would be handy.

I'm also a big fan of the scalpel but not the lefty fork. Too limited in my opinion.
 
Sandwich

Sandwich

Pig my fish!
Staff member
May 23, 2002
21,190
6,166
borcester rhymes
I've only done one AR and failed miserably at it, but there were hike-a-bike section and I think you may have actually had to rappel with it at one point. I know I've seen other races where you have to do some weird stuff with your bike, and I imagined having a monocoque frame might be a massive setback.

Also, I came to appreciate water bottle mounts again last summer. Had a long ride in the hot sun, packed a camelbak with water and a water bottle with electrolyte stuff, I felt great all day. You may find other uses for storage/etc. when it comes to ARs.

I don't have any input on the other rides, but I will say that the lefty fork has one really neat advantage going for it- the internal toolkit available from cannondale. That thing was sweet (had one on my prophet that I took to the AR) and it was great to have your tools with you all the time, in a place where they couldn't be lost or misplaced. I suppose you could find a way (saddlebag?) to mount a toolkit otherwise, but the c-dale setup was sliiiiiick.
 
E

ebarker9

Monkey
Oct 2, 2007
851
245
Currently on an Anthem X and rode an Epic very briefly. Love the Anthem...feels as fast as anything, but also a more confidence inspiring bike in rougher terrain than more dedicated XC rigs.
 
H

Helios

Chimp
Apr 27, 2011
13
0
It's being considered. It's just limited in terms of options should I choose not to use their fork and getting parts/service in places without a Cdale dealer. I was also under the impression, although I havent checked up on it, that you needed a lefty specific front hub/wheel.

On the same lines, Im looking at the pivot mach 4 and a few others that have a tapered head tube which is stiffer but there are less options for forks out there to build with. Most likely the best bet for the mach is to stick with the stock fox fork. Same for the scalpel, stick with lefty only.
 
jonKranked

jonKranked

Detective Dookie
Nov 10, 2005
86,388
24,863
media blackout
Helios said:
It's being considered. It's just limited in terms of options should I choose not to use their fork and getting parts/service in places without a Cdale dealer. I was also under the impression, although I havent checked up on it, that you needed a lefty specific front hub/wheel.
Click to expand...
hub yes, rim - use whatever. there are some aftermarket options for lefty hubs now (a quick google turned up a dt swiss model).

i could see the potential for proprietary internals being problematic, but from what i've been hearing the newest lefty offerings are solid.
 
golgiaparatus

golgiaparatus

Out of my element
Aug 30, 2002
7,340
41
Deep in the Jungles of Oklahoma
The Epic is your bike. It's a race bike with slightly more relaxed geometry, so it makes a good endurance bike and a pretty good trail bike.

I have a 29er epic that I use as my primary Trailbike and also my primary XC race bike. It rides better than anything I have tried or had in the past. I even started to replace it with something slightly lighter a few months back, and it's just climbs and handles better than everything out there IMHO.

Better than the Jet9, Superfly, Spearfish, Santa Cruz VPP (Tallboy). I really wanted to try an Intense Spider, but no one had one that I could check out.
 
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Helios

Chimp
Apr 27, 2011
13
0
golgiaparatus, have you ridden anything with a dw link? I'm pretty close to getting a flux or mach 4. It seems like those have been on the top of my list for a while. I would be interested to know how they stack up to the epic.
 
golgiaparatus

golgiaparatus

Out of my element
Aug 30, 2002
7,340
41
Deep in the Jungles of Oklahoma
Helios said:
golgiaparatus, have you ridden anything with a dw link? I'm pretty close to getting a flux or mach 4. It seems like those have been on the top of my list for a while. I would be interested to know how they stack up to the epic.
Click to expand...
Not to my knowledge. Not unless one of the bikes i listed has that kind of linkage... they really are the only bikes that I have compared to it directly.

The thing about the epic is not just the efficiency of the suspension but the geometry of the bike. Something about the geometry just makes the bike feel very comfortable in technical situations.

To the Cannondale guy above. I love those Scalpel bikes. If they made a 29er I'd probably own one.
 
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