Looking for an All Mountain bike, and I do mean ALL

I've spent 2 years now away from full suspension bikes but probably the most unqualified to speak on "all mountain bikes"??

however, I recently got to spend several muddy hours riding this 2014 Stumpy Evo 29'er on my local trails and was pleasantly surprised by its competence

I've also ridden its bigger brother the 2014 Enduro 29'er and that is also a rad bike, although I have not had the chance to actually test ride that in anger, on the muddy dirt trails, so I will shut up right about now ;)

I've spent 2 years now away from full suspension bikes but probably the most unqualified to speak on "all mountain bikes"??

however, I recently got to spend several muddy hours riding this 2014 Stumpy Evo 29'er on my local trails and was pleasantly surprised by its competence

I've also ridden its bigger brother the 2014 Enduro 29'er and that is also a rad bike, although I have not had the chance to actually test ride that in anger, on the muddy dirt trails, so I will shut up right about now ;)

Those two bikes are indeed related.
The Stump EVO 29 is like 55% XC, 45% DH.
The E29 is55% DH and 45% XC. Or something like that.
The Stump is a bit better at climbing, the E29 is a better descender.

@craw

thanks for the input

I have been told by many, that for most riders here in the UK, the Enduro is simply overkill

from what I understand the Stumpy is a better choice, and even the Stumpy is a "big bike" many riders would be happy riding trails on the Camber FSR?

what really impressed me with the Enduro 29'er I test rode on the road, is how compact and nimble the bike seemed for a long travel 29'er

in comparison, I ride a Stumpy 29'er hardtail

I rode a stumpy 29 (2013), a stumpy evo 26 and an enduro evo 26 back to back. For lighter duties, the evo was a bit overkill, although I preferred the 26 Evo stumpy over the 29". That said, I am 5'7" (is that 170 cm?), so this is entirely a matter of personal taste.

However, as soon as the trail got more technical (roots, drops, steps…) there was no contest. the 29r just doesn't feel as solid as either the enduro evo or stumpy evo 26".

Conclusion: it was a close call between the Enduro eve 26and the 26 stumpy evo. At the end, availability and price were the deciding factors.

My advice to the OP: try a "lighter-duty" bike too, no matter the original wish list you have. You might be surprised.

For posterity I'll chime in with the aluminum Nomad. Why aluminum? Because, you can run a proper coil which IMHO is a better set up for a Nomad that will see DH duty.

With respect to the XL thing, Santa Cruz XLs are 20.5" bikes, which means a great fit at 6'4". 6'5" can work but at 6'6"+ a 21.5" is a more appropriate XL.

For posterity I'll chime in with the aluminum Nomad. Why aluminum? Because, you can run a proper coil which IMHO is a better set up for a Nomad that will see DH duty.

With respect to the XL thing, Santa Cruz XLs are 20.5" bikes, which means a great fit at 6'4". 6'5" can work but at 6'6"+ a 21.5" is a more appropriate XL.

why can't you run a "proper" coil shock on a carbon Nomad? I wasn't aware going carbon limited the shock choice

For posterity I'll chime in with the aluminum Nomad. Why aluminum? Because, you can run a proper coil which IMHO is a better set up for a Nomad that will see DH duty.

With respect to the XL thing, Santa Cruz XLs are 20.5" bikes, which means a great fit at 6'4". 6'5" can work but at 6'6"+ a 21.5" is a more appropriate XL.

The aluminum version has exactly the same suspension as the carbon version so they will be very, very similar with whichever shock is chosen. I'm guessing that you're thinking of the Nomad V1 or V1.5 because that was only in aluminum and handled a coil shock better than the V2.

Using seat tube length to fit a bike is not a good direction to go. With today's seatposts I can comfortably fit a bike with a 20" seat tube. In fact, with the added length of dropper posts these days a 20" seat tube should be the norm for a proper XL frame. For fit, you have to go by reach, stack and ETT first - none of which have any correlation to seat tube length.

reach, stack and ETT first - none of which have any correlation to seat tube length.

actually, large reach, stack and ett numbers often correlate to large seat tube length numbers. but the link is not causal, which i think is what i think you meant

I have ridden that same stumpy hamstead bandit posted, blew me away, if price and occasional bike park duty weren't factors I would have one haha

I have ridden that same stumpy hamstead bandit posted, blew me away, if price and occasional bike park duty weren't factors I would have one haha

Tell me about it. One has been sitting discounted at the local LBS all year while Tallboy LT's keep walking out the door. Strange.

this is my only ''do it all'' bike and it f#ckin rocks. 60 km xc in the chilcotins or 1/2 hr dh race and everything in between, this bike has done it all

nice bike

Just spent 5 months aboard the slightly shorter-legged Banshee Spitfire, and if that's anything to go by, the Rune would be a perfect do it all bike. Not once did I have to touch the pivot hardware despite having a total absence of routine maintenance, and the sheer strength of the bike really impressed me. Did everything from short Shore laps to days in the park, and no big damage to report.

One more vote for the Stumpjumper EVO - it is a fantastic bike in both wheel sizes.

It might not be enough bike for the thread-starter, but sure is fun even in a bikepark - at least on the flowier trails.

I am waiting for my 2014 26" Stumpjumper FSR Carbon Expert to come in. (ridiculous naming scheme btw.)

I testrode the Enduros 26 and 29 and the Stumpjumper EVOS 26 and 29" back to back. No matter what, the 26er SJ Evo was exactly my cup of tea.
It is just so much fun to ride.
It was light, nimble, yet confidence inspiring even in the rough. It was incredibly easy to throw around and really DRIVE the bike. The 29er adds a big chunk of rollover and makes a lot of obstacles pretty easy to just charge and be done with. But in really hairy stuff, I also feel that the more maneuverable bike feels more "able", at least to me.

I think both wheel sizes work. Both have their place. Mid-season we´ll probably see a 650B version, which probably also will ride great. Don´t really care about that though.

When the new beast arrives, I´ll part with my 2011 SJ 29er Comp, which also served me very well.

But the small wheels, stellar carbon frame, Pike, 1x drivetrain, a LOT less weight, better stiffness and other nice details just feel great. (at least the loaner bikes did in the Austrian Alps).

The Nomad is a great bike as well. Might be almost ideal for the thread-starters need. I don´t like the slack seattube though. I have long legs and ridden several "slackish" bikes in the past. They are rideable and inspire confidence, even with an XC-saddle height, but steeper ST angles just make my climbing easier and I get less lower back pain, because I don´t have to constantly sit on the nose of the saddle to keep the front-wheel down.