XC bike?

Posted by: Hepcat

Interesting project. I commute on the road to the trail head too and have long sought that balance of road/trail worthiness.

I had a dedicated XC race bike for a while and that mostly worked. 

Lately I'm running faster tires on the long travel bike and it's working too. Next step is to throw a Fox DPX2 on there for the lock-out. 

In the future may try something like the Process 111, or a new Commmencal TR 29. 

Looking forward to seeing what you come up with.

Yeah, it's finding what I feel to be the right balance between being able to do 50-100km days in relative comfort on a bike that has some chops and can handle a bit of tech. So something like Severed or say Crinkum/Leppard should totally be in the wheelhouse and say the steeps on TNT would really be pushing the limit mainly due to wheel strength and fork.  I get you on the tires and how that can make a huge difference and add a little pucker factor at times which is always fun. So it could become a game of building a small travel, lightweight frame with a slightly burlier wheelset and tire combo that can handle the odd foray into rocky goodness. 

The more I poke around on the web the more it seems something like the newer FS Revolvers with a decent wheelset/tire combo could be the ticket. There are a few for sale but price is an issue as they push the budget well north of my $1200 magic number. That's what made my 2003 Explosif work so well, I picked it up for $500 and besides spending a few bucks on a new RD when it came time to replace the chain and cassette, it's cost me nothing and has served me very well. The main drawback to that bike is the geometry though, particularly on steep climbs as the front end tends to wander a bit.  I don't really wanna go with a longer stem and upgrading the fork is limited due to the straight steerer. I could spend $$$$ on a great fork and also move up to  27.5 wheels, but at that point I might as well just go for a new ride and get modern/better geometry. 

I've done a good job min-maxing my last two rides and I want to continue that trend and pull off another winner. Ultimately budget will determine what I come up with.

Posted by: syncro

That's a good point - thanks.  I'm probably going to nix that Satori as like you say there's too much overlap with my Warden and I want to push a bit more to the lighter/xc end of the spectrum. That Rootdown is a possibility. The advantage of getting just a frame/fork/wheels for what I'm after is finishing the bike off with parts I have which puts the build under the $1000CDN mark which is ideally where I'd like to be.

One bike that marked a lot of my check boxes was the Commencal Meta AM HT. $530 brand new, threaded bb, lightweight, 29/27.5+ compatible, slackish geo with 150mm fork, or quicker xc geo with a 130mm fork.

Posted by: UFO

One bike that marked a lot of my check boxes was the Commencal Meta AM HT. $530 brand new, threaded bb, lightweight, 29/27.5+ compatible, slackish geo with 150mm fork, or quicker xc geo with a 130mm fork.

damn, they have them right now for $280

Posted by: syncro

Posted by: UFO

One bike that marked a lot of my check boxes was the Commencal Meta AM HT. $530 brand new, threaded bb, lightweight, 29/27.5+ compatible, slackish geo with 150mm fork, or quicker xc geo with a 130mm fork.

damn, they have them right now for $280

Pretty sure the one on sale is the old version, which is 27.5 wheels only. Still a good buy if you want to run that wheel size.

going to add a 2014 rocky instinct into the mix. older bike but more modern geometry and it's in nice shape. thoughts?

I was looking for an XC bike as well but when I looked at the geo of my 2014 E29, its a lot closer to modern XC bikes that I would have thought.

I would confirm that the geo of the bikes you're looking at is different than what rides you might already have because as things evolve over a year or two, lines get blurred. My E29 is very modern Stumpjumper'ish.

Posted by: gdharries

I owned a 2014 Rocky Instinct 950 (photo) and loved that bike. So versatile and just plain fun, everywhere. I sold the Instinct because it was too tight; I bought an XL when I should have had a XXL. Rocky's bikes tend to run small, so if you're looking at a Large, it will fit more like a Medium.

yeah I've read that and comparing numbers to my Warden it's basically 30mm shorter in wheelbase and effective top tube.

if you don't mind me asking how tall are you?

Im drooling over lots of Rocky's these days - I think that Im going to add a Slayer. My Maiden is just too awesome (I ride mediums, Maiden is a large FYI).

If an Instinct works in your quiver, GO FOR IT!!!!!

Don't buy something form 2014, it's way out dated already. 

Keep looking for a Process 111 or a Norco Optic alloy. Skimp on Rootbeer to up the budget to get into something current that wasn't designed with geo from prehistoric times.

Thanks. I'm just a bit under 5'11" so I pretty much fall right at the cusp of most manufacturers medium/large split. On the Warden I went with a large and the setup is pretty much dialed in a nice balance between climbing and descending with a 50mm stem. I've even been thinking about bumping it up to 60mm and bringing the seat forward about 5mm.

It's interesting, I'm just comparing measurements on my Explosif to my Warden as the Explosif tends to wander during steep climbing while the Warden doesn't, yet the Explosif has a 100mm stem compared to 50 on the Warden so you would think the Explosif might be a bit better. The chainstay lengths on both bikes are basically the same, but due to seat tube angle when the seat is raised for the climbing position the seat on the Explosif is about 90mm closer to the rear axle which would explain the wandering front end on steep climbs.

The large Instinct comes up 30mm shorter than the warden for top tube, wheelbase and stack and 23mm for reach, but the Instinct has a much steeper seat tube. The difference tho is the Warden STA is an actual measurement and the Instinct is an effective measurement. Looking at the Rocky webpage I'd guess the Instinct actual is about 71, so still steep than the Warden. I guess what I really need to do is test a large Instinct out for sizing.

Posted by: earleb

Don't buy something form 2014, it's way out dated already. 

Keep looking for a Process 111 or a Norco Optic alloy. Skimp on Rootbeer to up the budget to get into something current that wasn't designed with geo from prehistoric times.

Don't forget that this is more an XC bike than trail, so with some of the bikes I'm looking at geo isn't that far out of whack. The budget started off at $1200 and I'm already stretching it by $500, doing what you suggest puts me up another $500 or so which is getting close to double of what I originally wanted to spend.

I find that Geometrygeeks.bike is really good at comparing bike geos....give it a shot if you have not

close to pulling the trigger on an Instinct, but it's 2x10 and not 1x11. seeing as this is a xc/light-duty bike I'm not sure the 2x vs 1x thing is such a big deal as it is for a rowdier bike.

I don't think that I could ever go back to 2x.