OK, what is your pick for the ultimate bike for the Shore and if you want, why? For purposes of this discussion money is no object, but it has to be something that could be bought off the shelf. If you cant pick one, pick two (or more!).
Ultimate bike for the Shore?
I've been on a Kona Process 153 DL since late 2013. I'm loving it for the type of riding I do. It's pretty hard to pin down a quiver-killer bike that works for everyone, it all depends on what you want to ride.
Ride, don't slide.
i find a lot of it can depend on the mood you're in and ultimately what type of trail you like to ride the most. there are times when i like having to work the lines on a trail while riding a hardtail and sometimes i like smashing through stuff on a big bike. you can have a compeltely different exeprience on the same trail depending on what type of bike you're riding.
if you have a fixed budget, personally i think it makes more sense to get two good used bikes that do different things well than to have one bike that tries to cover everything.
We don't know what our limits are, so to start something with the idea of being limited actually ends up limiting us.
Ellen Langer
Nomad
Nomad
There is some truth to this, the Nomad is a fun bike in the shore, maybe not pert enough for some of the punchy climbs and technical moves but even on something tamer like Expresso it's a fun bike to pilot.
Jon-boy.
Enduro Expert 650b or 29. Carbon cranks, wide rims, Pike, X01. Great geo and a solid build right out of the box.
There's nothing better than an Orangina after cheating death with Digger.
Nomad
Have we met:lol:
Nomad
Ironically, this is the main bike I'm considering. Just wondering if it's too much bike to get uphill without killing myself. Would want it for the odd park day too but mainly the Shore.
Devinci spartan
Considering the climbing involved an E29 is probably impossible to beat.
"I do like how you generally bring an open-minded and positive vibe to the threads you participate in"
- Morgman
3 guys in my ridding group have nomads, 2 have Spartans . Spartans feel a little shorter and have a steeper HTA. Also no water bottle mount on the spartan. Climbing on the nomad is no problem. Turn the climbing switches on and you're good to go. It's 28 pounds and 1x11. I climb it everywhere. And the descending!!!! Oh man. Once you go 65HTA you'll never look back. It costs a premium though. Spartan is cheaper. Giant reign is basically a budget Nomad also. Those are THE three bikes in my opinion. You only live once…. Get the NOMAD!!! Lol
As syncro said, it really depends on what type of riding you're doing. But, if climbing is just a reason to go downhill fast, you can't go wrong with the three bikes mentioned - nomad, reign, and spartan.
That being said, as a biased spartan owner, it gets my vote. At the low setting, HTA is 65.8, so not much steeper than the nomad. Awesome descender, adequate climber - the Weagle split pivot gives it a truly bottomless feel. And, it's cheaper than the Nomad - and a Canadian company, if that matters to you.
norco range as well, but so many others. process 153, patrol, any number of quality used bikes from a few yrs ago. probably a good 15 bikes that would be great. a number of 29er if you like the big hoops. scour NSMB reviews and others, endless!
how does the Nomad handle the more technical slower stuff on the shore?
Most bikes as slack as the Nomad (all of the three named) do require a bit of finesse/ and or practice to be navigated in tight berms or corners. Like a full on DH-sled. The wheelbase just IS a bit longer, because of the head angle.
It certainly is doable and even enjoyable though, you just need to get used to it a bit.
Like a 29er does take a slightly different approach to cornering. Not really better or worse, just different. Tends to upright itself a bit more in tight corners and needs to be pushed a bit more downwards through the outer end of the bars.
The slack headangle is great for super steep trial sections, less OTB-feeling.
Of course I haven´t ridden the Nortshore stuff, just steep slow techy stuff over here in Europe. But I´d guess it could apply overseas as well =)
I´d recommend wide handlebars at the same time, gives better leverage to fight the slightly sloppy feeling when you´re riding or climbing a slack headangle-bike in moderate terrain. When you´re riding slow with not a lot of weight on the frontwheel, it tends to flop to the sides a bit.
And some trails tend to feel a lot "easier". But I guess there is no shortage of really difficult trails on the Shore?
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