Size medium Trek Fuel EX in the low setting meets these requirements exactly.
Shopping For A Unicorn Bike?
- Thread starter rideit
- Start date
I'm too lazy to look up geo for mediums, but here's a sheet that shows geo for most larges - https://docs.google.com/spreadsheets/d/1eO5uLwn9vngsb_tzIBBTqg2S5deC953gqUg_bxFBrPQ/edit?usp=sharing. Most brands have 20mm reach between each size, so just look for bikes with reach ~460mm. Only thing this sheet doesn't have is seat tube angle, since that's arbitrarily measured. You can narrow down your list then lookup seat tube angles for your short list.
That's fair, although I will offer that 175 mm and 200 mm dropper posts can make even a "big" bike feel pretty spacy in terms of fore & aft butt shifting. And even tho the only race I compete in these days is sprinting for my post coffee deposition in the morning, I still like moar reach when I'm smashing the gnar (albeit at 13% the pace of Remi Thirion)I would say that it depends on how tall you are...then for a trail bike, a shorter reach, compared to the latest "fashion", makes perfect sense to me since you are not racing and thus can trade some of the high speed stability and some of the required high level of body English for a more nimble and more playful ride.
That's from my personal experience between bikes with 440mm reach and 475mm. I am 5'9 (175cm)
YMMV
That's an extra linkage, you won a prize!
I have mentioned this before, but I am 5’ 8”, but I have a 33” or so inseam, but really short arms. Really long reach doesn’t work for me. I prefer under 440mm these days.
And yes, I mixed imperial and metric, bitches.
I also am looking for under 65 degree HTA, as far as wheelbase, I don’t even know anymore, everything is changing so rapidly. Having two wheelbase options would be pretty sweet. I like a shorter CS in order to get the front end up easier with my own weird geometry.
And yes, I mixed imperial and metric, bitches.
I also am looking for under 65 degree HTA, as far as wheelbase, I don’t even know anymore, everything is changing so rapidly. Having two wheelbase options would be pretty sweet. I like a shorter CS in order to get the front end up easier with my own weird geometry.
Well, when I went from 120mm to 140mm on the front of my SB100, it turned a bike that had amazing handling into shit. But 130mm was the sweet spot. Granted, that is on an already fairly steep HT, 67 or 67.5, IIRC.
Wow, those specs are dead nutz on target.
interesting, I never thought I would ride a Trek, but this might work.
I doubt it would be any lighter than a Process 134. Anything much lighter is going to get into questionable durability territory IMHO.
A riding buddy of mine has a Fuel EX. He loves the bike but he complains quite a bit about the reaktiv shock... he put a RS coil on it just long enough to realise that the coil was touching the seat tube. A Fox damper and coil might solve that since the combo should have a smaller outer diameter. Not confirmed.
Not really on topic but I like this vid of Nicole, her Process134 and her role at Kona.
Nice to see the people at the production side of Kona and not just a bunch of whities pretending to be the apple of the bike world, we know Asian people make our bikes and they are doing the leg work so I wanna see if they get to ride what they build.
The handlebar width annoyed the shit outta me, feckin' huge!
Nice to see the people at the production side of Kona and not just a bunch of whities pretending to be the apple of the bike world, we know Asian people make our bikes and they are doing the leg work so I wanna see if they get to ride what they build.
Last edited:
Niner Rip9
Mediums a 440 reach
140mm travel (5m more than you wanted but thats close)
75.8 seat tube.
I've got the previous model Rip9 (The 150mm travel one)
Love this thing to bits!
That CVA suspension is amazing, never found anything else as good other than the Zerode (but fuck gripshifting and I prefer to have as my personal ride brands that I can sell in my shop).
Rip9 like the Kona Process has massively over sized bearings that live forever, Downside to that is that as the bearings are so tough all the forces that come thru the frame then move onto the next weakpoint which is the shock hardwear.
But that's alright because it's cheaper than bearings and way easier to swap out than bearings.
In 4 years I've done 4 the shock hardwear 4 times and only changed the main bearings once.... have yet to need to touch the other bearings.
Mediums a 440 reach
140mm travel (5m more than you wanted but thats close)
75.8 seat tube.
I've got the previous model Rip9 (The 150mm travel one)
Love this thing to bits!
That CVA suspension is amazing, never found anything else as good other than the Zerode (but fuck gripshifting and I prefer to have as my personal ride brands that I can sell in my shop).
Rip9 like the Kona Process has massively over sized bearings that live forever, Downside to that is that as the bearings are so tough all the forces that come thru the frame then move onto the next weakpoint which is the shock hardwear.
But that's alright because it's cheaper than bearings and way easier to swap out than bearings.
In 4 years I've done 4 the shock hardwear 4 times and only changed the main bearings once.... have yet to need to touch the other bearings.
I've learned recently that there's so much more that goes into your geometry when you fuck with fork length. I had a 150mm fox 36 on the front of my BMC, but hated the long travel for our tight trails. I dropped the fork to 130, which is where i used to run it before getting this frame. Steepened the HA maybe 1*, lengthened the reach by about an inch, dropped the BB just a hair. It turned my pinkbike enduro barcalounger into the trail ripper that it should be. I could deal with a slacker head angle, but the increased reach, lower front end, and reduced travel are so much more important (for me) from a handling standpoint.
Good luck on your quest. Looks like there are plenty of options out there- 120-140mm 29ers are the future.
I just tried to get one of these HAHAHAHA...they are so far out right now.View attachment 154325
Transition Bikes
29 Inch Wheels / 120mm Travel / Effortlessly explore, seek, and pursue the mountain in ways you never imagined.www.transitionbikes.com
how far out are we talking? i'm looking into a new bike for my son, some stuff isn't going to be available for quite some time. my top choice was a commencal ramones 24, but those aren't expected until May at the earliest
As I said it the OP, if you want a bike for ‘22, order now.
it’s that bad.
I have a perfectly good ‘20 Rocky Instinct (now 140/140), but I am looking for something a pound or two lighter for climbing/front country ‘groomed’ trails.
in other words, looking for something with a different ‘personality’ than the Altitude.
it’s that bad.
I have a perfectly good ‘20 Rocky Instinct (now 140/140), but I am looking for something a pound or two lighter for climbing/front country ‘groomed’ trails.
in other words, looking for something with a different ‘personality’ than the Altitude.
Last edited:
Trek Reactive shocks
Would love to get input on Treks reactive shock. I have a 2021 trek Fuel EX 8 XT on order ,I have heard mixed reviews about the reactive shock. This is my first full suspension bike and would prefer to not constantly have issues, so I am considering canceling the order. Any help would be much...
www.mtbr.com
In a way this might be a benefit, I was a little leery of the ride review. I could alway get a DPX2 and get it tuned properly somehow.
(if I were to follow through on the Trek. )
I wish the Revel had a steeper seat tube (but I know that might just be trendy )
(if I were to follow through on the Trek. )
I wish the Revel had a steeper seat tube (but I know that might just be trendy )
The DPX2 is one of the shocks that is not recommended by many of the tuners due to funky internal design where compression and rebound affect each other significantly. Monarch+ tuned by Vorsprung or something if you are looking at the DPX. You'd probably be better off with a '21 float dhx X2 if it fits, but Trek is far more interested in selling shit and less that a few riders actually know good suspension.
It's real bad from what I am hearing, fall for a spur, much later for other brands. I have some friends who have tried to help and the effort is futile in many ways. The spur is probably one of the most popular bikes this year so that thing is dead till 2022.
My Norco Shore is 7 weeks late so far with no end in sight.
Last edited:
Stumpjumper EVO Carbon 29 – Frameset - 2020
The Stumpjumper has been making smiles for almost 40 years, and the latest iteration is no exception. Specialized threw every bit of knowledge they’ve acquired over the last 4 decades at the latest Stumpjumper and ended up creating one of the best trail bikes ever made. They gave it great...
mikesbikes.com
I got the metal version for $1K BTW... Its seat tube isn't steep or slack and sits at 76. It is $1K off, can fit full-size bottle and mounts 2.6 Monster Truck tires. Also has 135mm Native mine is at 150mm travel now.
Last edited: