Ddean profile

The 170mm OneUp dropper is installed - now all I need is to get the bike out in some steeps!!!

The OneUp dropper looks like a really nice priece of kit. Appears well made and I love the cable end at the dropper and the clamp at the lever. Way better than dealing with those little rod clamps at the dropper!

Wouldn't the Evil equivalent to a Slayer be a Wreckoning? Those are supposed to climb well too, and monster-truck their way down just like a Slayer.

The problem with the 2014 E29 is that it is more of a long travel trail bike than an enduro. The 67.5* head angle and the 29r hoops and the rest of its geo makes its awesome on almost everything but the steep stuff, at least with a 125 dropper.

170 one up dropper on its way! I’ll see if that opens up stuff and go from there. The E29 is my perfect bike except for that damn head angle.

Ive long lusted for Evils...Id buy one but they're harder to find, more dough, and the Rocky's are sexy local bikes.

If I could find a nice used Insurgent for a similar'ish price (versus the Rocky), I'd buy it! Don't see that happening

EDIT: If you're looking for a large Insurgent, Pros Closet has them on sale for US$3500 new. Too big for me.

I’m sure a new bike is in my future. I’ve sold two bikes in the last few months and have that cash set aside for another nice one. I can’t sell bikes and not replace at least one of them!!!! I’ll find a good barely used one and buy it. 

I think that a Slayer is the move but an Instinct or Altitude would also work well. In the meantime I’ll get the dropper as it’ll be helpful. That e29 has been awesome. I should be selling it now but from many respects it’s my perfect bike. It’s still soooloo good.....but I would hope so, the thing cost a fortune!!!!!

Neat - thanks!

Would I be able to fix the STA by moving the seat forward a bit?

Thanks all -theres a ton a great advice here. Ive been sick and not going anywhere near a bike so Ive been silent here for a bit.

I think that Im going to get that oneup 170 dropper regardless as my dropper is getting close to a servicing anyways. At minimum it will expand what I can comfortably do on the E29 and it might solve questions right there.

Unfortunately, the proprietary headset of the E29, and probably all the other bikes made by that evil empire,  means that I cant drop an angleset in there it seems. Im stuck with 67.5* which might mean that this E29 is stuck as a trail bike.

I will take the bike directly to the sketchy sections with the dropper and see what difference that makes. Maybe that will give me some clarity!

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!

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

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....