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I need a new bike...who wants to play!

TN

Hey baby, want a hot dog?
Jul 9, 2002
14,301
1,353
Jimtown, CO
Im looking to replace my 14 year old Gary Fisher Sugar this year.
It's been great but I want something beefier to ride trails & some DH with.
I haven't paid attention to the bike market in years, so I feel lost.
Is 5" still a good all-mountain amount of travel?

The main thing is that the bike fits, can be bought used & can hopeful be ridden for another 14 years.

I know not a lot of parameters, so heckle me if you will.
 

TN

Hey baby, want a hot dog?
Jul 9, 2002
14,301
1,353
Jimtown, CO
Am thinking I would keep the Sugar for pedalfests allowing me to get something a little more beefy for gravity driven riding.
 

CBJ

year old fart
Mar 19, 2002
12,862
4,160
Copenhagen, Denmark
I bought a 2014 GT Sensor. 5" is all you need around here and I think modern trails bikes are pretty amazing. Tons of good bikes in the category.
 

SkaredShtles

Michael Bolton
Sep 21, 2003
65,379
12,533
In a van.... down by the river
I'd personally look at 150mm/6" or more if you want to ride actual DH sometimes, especially if you have a shorter travel bike you plan to keep.
:stupid: when it comes to actual useful advice in this thread. IMO 150mm is kind of the sweet spot. Although I guess you could make an argument that you may as well go 160/170mm... :brows:

Ugliness non-withstanding.

 
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AngryMetalsmith

Business is good, thanks for asking
Jun 4, 2006
21,081
9,791
I have no idea where I am
After riding a Banshee Spitfire with 5", low BB, and silly slack HA, I wouldn't hesitate to buy it's big brother the Rune if I lived in the mountains again. These bikes are made to rail corners like nothing else I have ever experienced. I can lean over so far that I have actually worn the side knobs more than the center of the tires. :D
 

maxyedor

<b>TOOL PRO</b>
Oct 20, 2005
5,496
3,140
In the bathroom, fighting a battle
Zero complaints about my Yeti 575 after 8 years, wait another 6 and I'll let you know if it lasts the full 14 you're asking.


Actually, I take that back, 1 complaint. Mine's got the straight 1.125" headtube, and I can't find a worthwhile/affordable fork for the stupid thing, just keep rebuilding my POS Fox 32. So my advice is to buy one that's new enough to have a tapered head-tube.
 

Da Peach

Outwitted by a rodent
Jul 2, 2002
13,681
4,904
North Van
With the 650b craze spreading like measles, there will be plenty of used baller 26" bikes on the market.

You want new or used? Whatcha lookin to spend?
 

Sandro

Terrified of Cucumbers
Nov 12, 2006
3,224
2,537
The old world
So many great options right now, but since you're looking for something for the really long run it's tough to say whether 26" or 27,5" will go the way of the Buffalo.

Specialized Camber, Stumpjumper and Enduro are plentiful on the used-market and could all be candidates depending on which wheel size you go for. The regular Giant Reign is also great, as are the new Kona Process, although they might be harder to come by used. I really enjoy my buddy's Santa Cruz Blur and the new Giant Trances are also already turning up used. Plus, they come in rootbeer:

 

TN

Hey baby, want a hot dog?
Jul 9, 2002
14,301
1,353
Jimtown, CO
With the 650b craze spreading like measles, there will be plenty of used baller 26" bikes on the market.

You want new or used? Whatcha lookin to spend?
probably used. budget is adjustable at this point. not looking for a bike that cost more than my truck or anything.
 

Sandwich

Pig my fish!
Staff member
May 23, 2002
21,031
5,921
borcester rhymes
whatever you do, get a dw bike. It's not that his are perfect, it's that so many other people get it so very wrong. You know those VPP bikes? They have the opposite leverage curve from what you should want on a bike. Pretty amazing stuff. Specalazers JUST figured out how to make a decent suspension design...
 

Sandwich

Pig my fish!
Staff member
May 23, 2002
21,031
5,921
borcester rhymes
Except when there is!




Not everybody geeks out on the ol' antisquats, but despite my previous protests, DW knows how to design things like "Leverage curves" and "antisquat curves" while also considering "Packaging" and "intended purpose". There are lots of folks out there who don't. Giants certainly aren't bad designs, but they don't necessarily operate the same way, even if they do a lot of things very well. I'm not trying to say that giants are bad bikes, but if you don't know anything and don't want to learn, it's hard to go to the shop and walk out with a DW designed bike and be disappointed, unless you like long, new school geometry.
 

syadasti

i heart mac
Apr 15, 2002
12,690
290
VT
Except when there is!
There's variation in successful implementation and application and especially between generations. I had the first dw-link ever sold - 2002.5 IH Hollowpoint. It's a POS compared to latest iterations.

My point stands, they are infringing on the patents because Maestro is a DW link. DW overrules you:

DW Link Incorporated, the company established by suspension designer Dave Weagle, is suing Giant Bicycle, Inc., and Giant Manufacturing Co., Ltd., for patent infringement and breach of contract.
It's just like back in the day when companies implemented horst links with curves not significantly better than a single pivot design and yet it's still an horst link with the associated licensing/legal implications.
 
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Sandwich

Pig my fish!
Staff member
May 23, 2002
21,031
5,921
borcester rhymes
There's variation in successful implementation and application and especially between generations. I had the first dw-link ever sold - 2002.5 IH Hollowpoint. It's a POS compared to latest iterations.

My point stands, they are infringing on the patents because Maestro is a DW link. DW overrules you:



It's just like back in the day when companies implemented horst links with curves not significantly better than a single pivot design and yet it's still an horst link with the associated licensing/legal implications.
suing, sure, but he still has to actually win by proving it. Plus, half of the lawsuit, I thought, was because they breached the contract that they had originally signed.

Regardless, DW designs good suspensions. VPP is not necessarily a good suspension design. I'm still on the fence about yeti's system, but you quite literally can't go wrong with a dw link or split pivot.
 

TN

Hey baby, want a hot dog?
Jul 9, 2002
14,301
1,353
Jimtown, CO
oh. hmmmmm... I like the sounds of that one.
I have found a Giant Reign X2 locally for $1400 that looks nice. I may go take a look at it.
 

OGRipper

back alley ripper
Feb 3, 2004
10,647
1,116
NORCAL is the hizzle
I hope we can all agree that Sandwich's opinions about VPP, DW-link, split-pivot, and Maestro are only opinions, not facts, and that his opinions are not shared by everyone.

To say someone can't go wrong with a whole slew of very different bikes is just as silly as saying that one of the best-selling suspension systems is not necessarily good, particularly for someone who isn't the biggest suspension nerd out there and who wants to get something used with an expectation to have it for many years. There are pros and cons all around. Some will be great for TN, some not. It boils down to what he likes, what he can afford, what fits, etc. He also needs to react to what he can find available.