Help me chose my next bike

[billy_billocks]

I may have dabbled in riding on off for the past few years but I really haven't followed the changes in technology regarding construction and general spec of mod bikes.

Ive got an old monty kamel 221, rides awesome (not really ridden many other mods in recent years so not really compared to much), but I've been eyeing up an upgrade. 

So what I'm really after know is;

1) is carbon proving to be the way to go in our sport? Why are other brands not producing they're own carbon equivalent?

2) any rumours kicking around about the quality of these new m5s?

3) Any recommended alternative upgrades from my current bike?

 

Thanks for you time,

 

Billy

 

[DK.]

Still to old school bill. You rode your ko so well. There's actually a decent one of sale on here at the minute 

Alot of this new stuff is really light and has no strength to it and with you being a tgs basher like me it won't last you long 

[aener]

It's worth pointing out that a lot of the new stuff does have strength to it, too.
You just need to pick appropriately.

I've not heard much talk specifically about the M5's durability, though that's almost always a good thing. They're certainly not known for breaking!
Other people aren't doing frames just because they're so expensive.
Both carbon handlebars and forks seem to outlast alloy, these days. Carbon bars are pretty much the standard now, and forks are rapidly becoming commonplace.
(Assuming you get ones that have been made properly, and not someone not knowing how to design them/copying something else and doing it badly ) 

I understand certain people romanticizing the "old school", but I'd urge you not to discount the new stuff off hand.
A lot of it will still integrate very nicely with the older parts, if that's what you prefer (though carbon forks on an A1 might look a bit out of place  ).

If you're just getting back into riding, ride the bike you have. You'll probably enjoy it more if it feels how you remember. Geometries have changed quite a bit since then.
If you're riding with others, try theirs and see what you like and don't like about the changes that have taken place.
Also the weight. M5s are SO light... That, combined with a relatively comp-y geo, they feel very strange to ride at first. Getting on something as crazy-feeling as an M5 straight away might weird you out a bit. 

[Mark W]

Lighter stuff these days is a lot stronger than lighter stuff used to be, in fairness.  I think most companies have a better idea of what they're doing so they can save weight safely and not cut too many corners.  To give two examples from complete different ends of the spectrum, those new Crewkerz Carbon forks are really well thought out and have been outlasting all the alloy forks Carthy's been using by a significant margin.  The Inspired Skye V3 forks are 860g~ (which is the same weight as a pair of Echo Urban forks) and Danny hasn't managed to break a set in either testing or of the production ones. 

Regarding the M5, the new OS version seems to address some of the little niggly issues the previous generation had in terms of chain alignment in the frame cut-out and crank clearance.  With them having tapered forks as well that means that the frame/fork should be stronger now as well which is a bonus.  That said, it does kind of depend on the type of riding you do.  If you're hitting your down tube/chainstays a lot then a carbon frame probably isn't ideal because ultimately it won't take that kind of abuse long-term as well as an alloy frame.

The only thing to watch out for with newer stuff is that if you're keen on the geo of your current bike, you might find that some of the newer frames out there have a BB that would be quite a bit too high.  You can kind of offset that a bit with a longer/higher stem, but going to some of the newer +90/100mm BB frames might be a bit extreme.

EDIT:  Snaked...

[AdamAllen]

Low long and silver obvs.

[billy_billocks]

Thanks for the replies guys... Ive always been a fan of how monty's have felt under my feet and looking at my current ride, the geometry doesn't seem too dissimilar to the the m5. Even so, I think a slight change in geo wouldn't make much difference to me at all. I've ridden so many different bikes over the years from 26 to 24 to 20 street, comp style, bmx haha so I'm not gonna freak out too much. It isn't uncommon for me to slip off of an edge and catch a stay, but most definitely don't hammer them like i used to.. I'm much more reserved nowadays regarding side hops UPs etc, its not likely that it will see much damage at all to be fair. Ok, I think I've convinced myself to get an m5, they look pretty awesome and if carbon has come as far as you've said ill have no trouble. 

@Mark W your insight into the new OS model has been helpful thanks for shedding some light on the design changes and benefits for me!

[Bottleneck]

I've heard those Camin carbon bikes are not bad, and they certainly look very special! Though I have no idea how much they cost and whether they are at all available in the UK (I presume that's where you are from).

[dngr2self]

Have you ridden/considered an Inspired 24? I'm Joe from Hull by the way, long time no see. You rode that Unruly pretty good and from what I've heard you're not half bad on a bmx so maybe a streety 24 would suit you. Anyway mate hope you're well and glad to hear you're back riding. 

[JKH]

You were that kid who just killed it on a 20"? Like 10 years ago??

As far as the M5 goes, my friend has one and I ride it occasionally. They are ridiculously light, and the geo is not hard to get used to at all. My friend`s has a long Monty stem and the Jitsie carbon high rise bars and it rides great. The one thing I absolutely hate is the chain slap so I personally would never EVER buy this bike, even the new one.

For new 20 inch bikes, I would take a look at the new Clean X2, and the Crewkerz. Both of these bikes have nice features such as oversize headtube, BB30, integrated tensioners, 2-pc cranks. Of these two, I prefer the Crewkerz because it has through axle hubs which are much better than regular axles (wheel alignment, weight, strength, etc). The graphics are a bit over the top for me, but you can easily remove them with nail polish remover.

As far as Alu frames and good value, I really like the most recent Gu 20 inch. It has oversize headtube, intergrated ti ISIS BB, M6 bolts for the rear brake, and it has a nice chain tensioner system. The BB is high so might fee a bit strange to you, but with a high rise bar setup these bikes ride really well.

[AndyT]

On June 6, 2016 at 8:39 AM, JKH said:

You were that kid who just killed it on a 20"? Like 10 years ago??

As far as the M5 goes, my friend has one and I ride it occasionally. They are ridiculously light, and the geo is not hard to get used to at all. My friend`s has a long Monty stem and the Jitsie carbon high rise bars and it rides great. The one thing I absolutely hate is the chain slap so I personally would never EVER buy this bike, even the new one.

For new 20 inch bikes, I would take a look at the new Clean X2, and the Crewkerz. Both of these bikes have nice features such as oversize headtube, BB30, integrated tensioners, 2-pc cranks. Of these two, I prefer the Crewkerz because it has through axle hubs which are much better than regular axles (wheel alignment, weight, strength, etc). The graphics are a bit over the top for me, but you can easily remove them with nail polish remover.

As far as Alu frames and good value, I really like the most recent Gu 20 inch. It has oversize headtube, intergrated ti ISIS BB, M6 bolts for the rear brake, and it has a nice chain tensioner system. The BB is high so might fee a bit strange to you, but with a high rise bar setup these bikes bounce around really well.