Modern Slayer versus 2014 E29

Thinking of adding a Slayer to the mix and keeping my SWorks E29 (and Maiden). New bike itch is starting so Im thinking out loud here!

My E29 is bumping up against a couple of barriers, occasionally.

1. I wish it was lighter when Im climbing (sub 25lbs when its 31/32, but I am happy its robust when I crash it!), and

2. HA is a bit steep for me and the seat post doesn't go down far enough when it gets steep. 67.5* and 125mm

My '14 E29 is still great for most situations but when Im on either extreme of normal, either gnarly or on the calm end, its not optimal as its more like a modern trail bike than an Enduro, and I have my once/yr bike itch coming on. On the easy stuff where an XC bike would be the right tool, its perfectly fine and fun and flippy, just heavier than Id like. I can live with that. But on the other spectrum, I just cant ride things that I can on my slack DH bike. Perhaps a new seat post would fix. For example, the entrance for Dirty Harry on Cypress gives me nightmares on my E29 (I cant get back far enough on the bike to feel comfortable, perhaps due to the seat post which can be changed).

Thinking of adding a Slayer due to my current lust for Rocky's and that it seems like it could be a good bridge between the E29 and the Maiden.....  

Heres the geo comparison - slacker HA, similar'ish most other places...obviously 27.5 vs my 29r...Ill need to confirm seatpost but travel is not materially different f/r with the slayer at 170/165 and the E29 165/160...Idea would be to use this as an Enduro and us the E29 as a trail bike. Ill use my DH bike in the park and when shuttling.

How do you think the Slayer will ride versus my E29?

Seems like you're in a somewhat similar predicament to me.

1. having a dedicated park/shuttle/dh bike is nice even if it doesn't get used a ton so min-max that one

2. having a great all rounder or enduro type bike that's biased to descending, a bike that you can climb for a couple hours no problem and pretty much never leaves you wanting for more bike on all but the most extreme trail sections

this is probably the bike you ride the most so spend your bucks here

3. having a xc/marathon bike that can crush climbs and pedal for 5-8 hour days but can still handle some tech. depending on how much it will get used it's more of a min-max bike

The park bike choice seems simple in terms of travel/weight/pedalability/etc. The enduro bike really depends on how aggressive you are.The xc kind depends on how hard you want to push it on tech vs it being a race whippet that's sub 25lbs. My thinking is that there is enough overlap between the enduro and xc bike so some trails you could take either bike depending on how you feel. Both the enduro bike and xc would be a bit heavier/robust considering BC trails. I think it makes sense to sacrifice weight for durability but that really comes down to what you like to ride. The big debate is hardtail for the XC bike or full squish? The advantage of a more aggressive hard tail is with the money you save you could have two wheel sets, one that's burlier for AM days and one that's lightweight for XC days. A great fork with travel adjust would also be a big plus.

It seems like the slayer will be a good fit to give you that extra capability at the harder end of things and you can relegate the E29 to XC'ish duties and maybe put it on a diet with a lighter weight wheel set and tire combo to make it more inclined towards climbing and longer days in the saddle. The only problem I see with the Enduro is it's more travel than you really need for a bike like that.

another option could be to sell the E29 as a frame/fork combo and then get a newer small travel frame/fork combo and build it up with the parts from your E29

Posted by: JBV

sub 25 pound xc bike for the shore?  that'll be a 10k thoroughbred world cup bike..

..Or broken after three rides hahaha.

Could you install an angleset in the E29? From Superstar or Works components.

With a 2 degree slacker HTA and a longer dropper post the E29 should be quite a lot more capable in the steeps. For seatposts, Bikeyoke comes to mind for low build height and short insertion depth.

The S-works E29 is actually a very light frame for it's travel. You will be hard pressed to find anything substantially lighter in current lineups. Maybe swap some components for lighter ones (e.g. wheelset or cranks).

^^^ Now that angleset concept is good idea.

Im going to look into it.

Im sure I can fix the seatpost, but the post and a slacker HA and I should be good, you're right. I totally forgot about anglesets!

Thanks Timer!

Posted by: JBV

sub 25 pound xc bike for the shore?  that'll be a 10k thoroughbred world cup bike..

Had one that was basically unrideable here because it had all the crazy steep angles of a 2011 XC race bike with 26inch wheels. Had I have bought it in a 29r I would still have it. LOVED that bike in ON. Couldn't ride it here - too much of a handful. But had I have bought it in a 29r and kept it, it would probably have been in pieces by now. 19lbs.

Posted by: syncro

Seems like you're in a somewhat similar predicament to me.

1. having a dedicated park/shuttle/dh bike is nice even if it doesn't get used a ton so min-max that one

2. having a great all rounder or enduro type bike that's biased to descending, a bike that you can climb for a couple hours no problem and pretty much never leaves you wanting for more bike on all but the most extreme trail sections

this is probably the bike you ride the most so spend your bucks here

3. having a xc/marathon bike that can crush climbs and pedal for 5-8 hour days but can still handle some tech. depending on how much it will get used it's more of a min-max bike

The park bike choice seems simple in terms of travel/weight/pedalability/etc. The enduro bike really depends on how aggressive you are.The xc kind depends on how hard you want to push it on tech vs it being a race whippet that's sub 25lbs. My thinking is that there is enough overlap between the enduro and xc bike so some trails you could take either bike depending on how you feel. Both the enduro bike and xc would be a bit heavier/robust considering BC trails. I think it makes sense to sacrifice weight for durability but that really comes down to what you like to ride. The big debate is hardtail for the XC bike or full squish? The advantage of a more aggressive hard tail is with the money you save you could have two wheel sets, one that's burlier for AM days and one that's lightweight for XC days. A great for with travel adjust would also be a big plus.

It seems like the slayer will be a good fit to give you that extra capability at the harder end of things and you can relegate the E29 to XC'ish duties and maybe put it on a diet with a lighter weight wheel set and tire combo to make it more inclined towards climbing and longer days in the saddle. The only problem I see with the Enduro is it's more travel than you really need for a bike like that.

Thanks Syncro

I started this whole concept by looking for a Surface or something like that because sexy hardtails are forever ..maybe...until my friend whos been riding a Rootdown for a while moved back to a squishy Enduro and said how much happier he is on the new bike than the Rootdown and that I shouldn't bother, he said if you have other good squishy choices that Id never take the hardtail. Its been 23years since my first FS (Proflex 856) and Ive never looked back since riding FS so I don't even remember. I still lust over those sexy hardtails but on almost all rides Im on, a full suspension is the better tool and the hardtails are no lighter or cheaper than the FS bikes - even if they're both used. So then I started to think about marathon bikes because they're shockingly lighter and no more expensive than a nice steel hardtail (say $3k to $3.5k used for something decent) - an Element BC Edition would be a great choice. Then I came to the realization that my E29 is perfectly fine, albeit a bit overbuilt, for those rides but where I have a hole where some things are potentially unrideable (for me) is between the E29 and the Maiden.

Ideal quiver for me is DH bike for park and shuttling, modern Enduro and marathon bike. If you removed the DH bike from the equation and didnt count those days, and I had a modern Enduro, I bet Id be on the Marathon bike 60%. I love the E29 too much to sell it and Id have to sacrifice too much to lighten it up. Its already decked with carbon wheels and full XX1....it weighs what it weighs because of tires and beefy items it needs.

Im going to look into the angleset and see if I can find a seatpost that will work better and probably go back to tubeless. An optimal seatpost is going to be big bucks though....

The advantage to semi-regular rides on a hardtail though is that it keeps you honest. You need to pay attention to the trail more, be more discerning with your line choice and be more involved with the bike and the trail. I think it's easy to make the argument that riding a hardtail makes you a better rider. There's also a certain fun factor to be had on the hardtail that can't be matched by FS bikes. That's my take at least.

The angleset is a great idea for getting the extra bit of slack you're after and an optimal seatpost is definitely going to be cheaper than a new Slayer seeing as you're intent on keeping the E29. If you go that route though that leaves plenty of cash for a used hardtail or xc bike and there are a number of good choices available up to a $2500 limit.

Im sure HTs do that...at this point in my life Im just out for sh!ts and giggles and to stay active in the forest without getting more hurt than I already am. Id love a HT, just worried that Id treat it like art and just stare at it

keep the hardtail for easier rides which helps to increase the shitsn'giggles factor on trails that would seem boring on a bigger bike

This is where new bike itch starts to take effect...at this point you or anyone else could talk me into pretty much any type of bike!

Two sets of wheels and an angleset and you'll be set. Leave the angleset in all the time and swap the wheels as needed.

Tires are the biggest weight suck on my 29r. 1200g front, 990g rear. If i built a set of reasonable carbon wheels and put trail spec tires on I could drop over 500g of (rotating) weight.

Posted by: nouseforaname

Two sets of wheels and an angleset and you'll be set. Leave the angleset in all the time and swap the wheels as needed.

Tires are the biggest weight suck on my 29r. 1200g front, 990g rear. If i built a set of reasonable carbon wheels and put trail spec tires on I could drop over 500g of (rotating) weight.

I lost over a kilo by switching to XTR Trail Wheels and Specialized 2.3 tires on the Spider 29c, previous wheels were custom build (to be bombproof) Hope Pro4 heavy gauge spokes to Arc30 rims with Minion TW 2.5f/2.4r tires, shaved another 323g by going to XTR 11 from Eagle GX - XTR9000 can be had for a massive discount over MSRP now and it's sooooooo smooth.