150-160mm travel enduro bike options?

[Tony Harrison]

Now that I no longer have my YT Capra I'm looking at new bikes with around 160mm travel F+R (150mm on the rear is acceptable). Definitely a fan of the 65 head angle, prefer more of a fun playful enduro-orientated bike to an XC trail machine. It's definitely going to get a bit of abuse, some drops and gaps etc, but nothing too crazy.

So far I've been looking at the Rocky Mountain Altitude which is a strong contender, but wondered if anyone has other recommendations that would fit the bill.

Thanks!

[monkeyseemonkeydo]

The Nukeproof Factory in military green and orange is sexual...

[Ross McArthur]

I second the Nukeproof Mega but in Blueberry.

[Ali C]

Commencal Meta AM, gorgeous!

The Radon Swoop bikes get a lot of praise too...check out the Dirt 100 for a few other options.

[Al_Fel]

I really like the look of the Canyon Torque. What's your budget?

[Duncy H]

Would you still go down the direct sales route after your troubles you’ve had? 

I’ll share my thoughts (I work in the trade and see what goes wrong and how companies deal with it.

-Trek - Remedy or Slash depending on your preference of wheelsize, the slash is an enduro charger where as the remedy is a bit more of a trail machine. Good after sales service from trek. Mid-low value for money

-Santa Cruz - Nomad or Bronson, Id pick the Bronson of the two. Playful poppy geometry and linkage design. Good after sales. Lower value for money spec wise. Hold their value well. Would advise not to purchase Hightower as new version is likely imminent.

-Specialized - Stumpy or Enduro. Stumpy is a great all rounder and lots of variations of it and the enduro a bit more of a heavy hitter, very refined machines. Cool SWAT door feature is neat. Middle ground value for money to spec ratio. Very good after sales care.

-Whyte - Seem to be highly rated, various options travel wise. Have seen some have trouble with wearing through bearings like there’s no tomorrow. Middle in terms of value for money. Not the prettiest.

-Scott - Well made, various options but gimmicky twin loc system. Expensive. Can not comment on after sales as not seen any come back.

-Cannondale, worth keeping an eye on as there should be some new interesting bikes in the pipeline. Well made. Mid in terms of value. Will have a cool factor soon now they’ve got a good team of guys. 

These are my experiences of what I sell or are involved with, not saying you should or shouldn’t go for any of these in particular.

I actually ride a 2019 Trek Slash 9.8 after having a mk 3 nomad. It’s quite a stiff bike but it loves to absolutely charge and munch up what’s in front of it. I think I’m about half way into fully dialling it in and haven’t unlocked its full potential yet. It is a big 29er bike but I can still pop and hop gaps when needed on it. 

Hope that helps you in some way.

[Explosifpete]

I had a Vitus Sommet and it was a really fun bike and the secondhand prices are really good

[Ross McArthur]

18 hours ago, Duncy H said:

-Santa Cruz - Nomad or Bronson, Id pick the Bronson of the two. Playful poppy geometry and linkage design. Good after sales. Lower value for money spec wise. Hold their value well. Would advise not to purchase Hightower as new version is likely imminent.

Really looking forward to this.

[Tony Harrison]

On 10/01/2019 at 2:26 AM, Al_Fel said:

I really like the look of the Canyon Torque. What's your budget?

I test rode the Strive and it was a really fun bike, and I imagine the Torque is too.

 

On 10/01/2019 at 3:31 AM, Duncy H said:

Hope that helps you in some way.

 

Thanks everyone for all the suggestions, and Duncy that was a really helpful list, cheers!

I've been looking at complete bikes and thinking I'd change this or that, so I'm in the process of finalising a deal on a used frame, got some other bits coming in the post and so 4 years after getting into trail riding I'm going to build a bike myself for the first time. Super excited, I will be sure to post pics once it's done.