camber expert evo vs mach 429

[betadine]

I'm in the market for a new rig and the camber expert evo and Mach 429c are coming out as the top contenders. My riding is fairly trail oriented and I do like to cover some distance and get out and about. That said, I am finding I am also starting to enjoy it more and more as the trails point downhill and get more challenging so I'd like a bike that can cope with this duality.

Has anyone ridden both of these bikes that could shed some light on :-

How they climb?

How they cope when the descents get a bit gnarly (rocks, tree roots, etc)?

How agile are they when the trail gets twisty?

Thanks for any help.

Cheers

BTD

 

[99_FGT]

I can only comment on the 429c, but rode Tallboys, lapierre, niner jet 9's, anthems in 650 and 29 and the only thing that came close was the tallboy. Coming off a TRC, I didn't give much away descending with 120 up front, gained a lot climbing, and lose a little bit in the twisties.
Test the best is doing the rounds, so jump on the camber and see if you like it.
Al..

 

[Ackland]

Look at a jet9 alloy....
Carbon if the budget allows.
Alloy frame with a nice build will ride better than carbon with poor build kit....

 

[betadine]

I can only comment on the 429c, but rode Tallboys, lapierre, niner jet 9's, anthems in 650 and 29 and the only thing that came close was the tallboy. Coming off a TRC, I didn't give much away descending with 120 up front, gained a lot climbing, and lose a little bit in the twisties.
Test the best is doing the rounds, so jump on the camber and see if you like it.
Al..

Thanks for this. That's a strong endorsement for the 429c when you compare it to the line up above. Will definitely demo the Camber. Would love to demo the 429c but not sure where. Any tips on where to in the Sydney area?

Cheers

 

[betadine]

Look at a jet9 alloy....
Carbon if the budget allows.
Alloy frame with a nice build will ride better than carbon with poor build kit....

I could stretch to carbon with a good build. Have you ridden the Jet9 compared to the 429c or camber evo? Would be keen to hear your thoughts on where it's strengths lie compared to the other two.

Cheers

 

[Clyde Dave]

You should definitely put the Tallboy on your list as well mate. I've had one for three years and love it.
Truly is a do everything bike, climbs really well, and descends like a beast, especially with a 120mm fork on it.
I'm 105kg and own the carbon version and it has been bullet proof the whole time. Has grease ports for the bottom pivots so is easy to keep the suspension feeling good, and if you do happen to need to do some work on the bearings you just take out the linkage and work on your bench. No pulling bearings out of a painted frame!

 

[99_FGT]

Test as many as you can. I think the thing for me was the geo of the pivot suited me better, I didn't expect to like it, but I did...
Well, that and my 15 mo son said "daddy - I like that green bike"

 

[Ky1e]

Have owned anthem adv, now have 429c. Have ridden s works camber a few times (a mates).

The camber is nice but I really love the handling of my pivot. So agile in the tight stuff. I put a pike 120 up front and that really livens it up!
Climbing is no problem for the 429 either, I feel it climbs better than the anthem, and definitely better than the camber.

Definitely get along to a pivot demo day!

 

[betadine]

Have owned anthem adv, now have 429c. Have ridden s works camber a few times (a mates).

The camber is nice but I really love the handling of my pivot. So agile in the tight stuff. I put a pike 120 up front and that really livens it up!
Climbing is no problem for the 429 either, I feel it climbs better than the anthem, and definitely better than the camber.

Definitely get along to a pivot demo day!

This is excellent info, thanks! The pike 120 sounds like a nice option - same fork as the camber evo. I am guessing that the climbing differences you noticed would be even greater between the 429c and expert evo compared to what you've observed on the S-works.

Will still try and ride both but this helps. Now, just need to find a Pivot demo day. Would be also good to have a ride on the new Mach 4c. That looks mighty nice too but I am very keen on the 29'er.

Cheers

 

[SF Trailboy]

This is excellent info, thanks! The pike 120 sounds like a nice option - same fork as the camber evo. I am guessing that the climbing differences you noticed would be even greater between the 429c and expert evo compared to what you've observed on the S-works.

Will still try and ride both but this helps. Now, just need to find a Pivot demo day. Would be also good to have a ride on the new Mach 4c. That looks mighty nice too but I am very keen on the 29'er.

Cheers

Let me know when you find those pivot demo days please....

 

[Ackland]

I could stretch to carbon with a good build. Have you ridden the Jet9 compared to the 429c or camber evo? Would be keen to hear your thoughts on where it's strengths lie compared to the other two.

Cheers

Hey mate, you mentioned that you're in Sydney...
In a few weeks, when they open the doors, pop your head into Summit Cycles and they'll sort you with everything you need to know about a Jet9!

My 2c... Niner have 29er geometry spot on and the suspension system feels more plush than 100mm whilst still performing well under acceleration and climbing.
If you start leaning more towards full time trail that still pedals well, also look at a Rip9... mate had one with a Pike and raced Gravity Enduros on it.... was probably ~12kg with dropper

https://www.facebook.com/summitcycles.bike

(I don't work for these guys, just love Niner and know that the store will have every model on the floor when they open)

 

[99_FGT]

Good info Ackland. Do you reckon they'll have demo's?

Found a link to the spec test dates.
http://www.specialized.com/au/en-au/news/latest-news/17194
Might need to make a trip up to Newcastle, but I assume that is just as far as they've got (the bus starts in Cairns and moves its way down the coast by the look of it)

I was (am) lucky in that my LBS runs their own demo fleet and has run multi-brand demo days in the past (how I got to ride so many prior to deciding)
If they are going to run another one I'll post up - flights from Syd-Bris are pretty cheap... Much less than you'd lose buying a bike you didn't like...

Al..

 

[creaky]

The big problem with a Niner is that George Bush rides one. That kinda rules them out of consideration.

 

[Lard_ass]

And they stopped importing the EMD, one of the best niner models, I was looking at a rip in alloy but have been waiting over a week for importer to get back to me

 

[Ackland]

The new Air9 Alloy kinda makes the EMD redundant and with the BIO EBB30 it can also be a pretty nice singlespeed.

Did you contact the distro direct or via your LBS? I have always found my LBS can get a response faster than if I tried to contact them

 

[betadine]

This is great.

Thanks everyone for the replies.

I'm not feeling the love out there for the camber but it feels like some passion and energy for the pivot and the jet. That said, I'm on the central coast so i'll make a quick trip up to Newcastle to the specialized demo days in December. I'll also check out Summit cycles when they open. The last piece will be to line up some Pivot demo's.

At the moment, on paper at least my heart is leaning towards the 429c. It just sounds so good.

Thanks again for the input.

Cheers

 

[4dabush]

I've only ridden the standard lower end camber ( and an sworks for 30 minutes on the test the best day). I thought the camber was awesome. Was very close to pulling the trigger on the evo as like you wanted a bit more aggressive bike. Was offered a BH less than the Evo and went that way. BH is awesome. My opinion camber was better than the trek fuel ex 9 and trance ( both 27.5 and 29) that I demo'd . This opinion is after coming from a 6 inch 27.5 ride previously. Have no experience on the other rides. The BH is such a capable bike...leaves very little behind to the 6inch bike pointing down. But it climbs like nothing else. My gut feel says the geo on the Evo is very very close to the lynx, which is the ONLY reason I got a lynx without riding it. So the Evo should also be capable and a bit playful. Hope that helps.
Meant to add, ALL the new bikes are outstanding rides...the camber suited me better is all.

 

[dano_mtb]

I currently own a Pivot 429C set with 120mm Pikes,60mm stem,740mm wide flat bar, American Classic Wide lightning wheels with fat tyres and a dropper post.

Last week I just sold my Tallboy LTC carbon and the bike had all the best bling bits on it.
The tallboy jumped a tiny bit better, handled the really nasty stuff abit better but the Pivot is very,very close to it on the downs.

But the 429C pedals wayyy better and climbs so much more efficiently and is over all a faster bike.

Ive also owned a Pivot Mach 5 and Mach 5.7C aswell as a Transition Bandit 29er and yeah they all had there strengths and weaknesses but overall the 429C is my favourite of the bunch.

Sometimes I crave a superlight weight weenie race bike and other times I want a burly carbon 650b all mountain shredder.

But then i think "what for?, the 429C does it all anyway"

 

[betadine]

Another strong rap for the 429c

I currently own a Pivot 429C set with 120mm Pikes,60mm stem,740mm wide flat bar, American Classic Wide lightning wheels with fat tyres and a dropper post.

Last week I just sold my Tallboy LTC carbon and the bike had all the best bling bits on it.
The tallboy jumped a tiny bit better, handled the really nasty stuff abit better but the Pivot is very,very close to it on the downs.

But the 429C pedals wayyy better and climbs so much more efficiently and is over all a faster bike.

Ive also owned a Pivot Mach 5 and Mach 5.7C aswell as a Transition Bandit 29er and yeah they all had there strengths and weaknesses but overall the 429C is my favourite of the bunch.

Sometimes I crave a superlight weight weenie race bike and other times I want a burly carbon 650b all mountain shredder.

But then i think "what for?, the 429C does it all anyway"

Another strong vote of confidence for the 429c. Is there anyone out there that has ridden it and didn't like it?

I'm exactly in your camp - Sometimes I'd love the superlight XC racer, and then other times the 650b all mountain shredder. My question on the 429c is whether 100mm rear travel is just too short. From reports like yours it sounds like it rides bigger than that. Just need to get on one and find out!

Cheers

 

[betadine]

I've only ridden the standard lower end camber ( and an sworks for 30 minutes on the test the best day). I thought the camber was awesome. Was very close to pulling the trigger on the evo as like you wanted a bit more aggressive bike. Was offered a BH less than the Evo and went that way. BH is awesome. My opinion camber was better than the trek fuel ex 9 and trance ( both 27.5 and 29) that I demo'd . This opinion is after coming from a 6 inch 27.5 ride previously. Have no experience on the other rides. The BH is such a capable bike...leaves very little behind to the 6inch bike pointing down. But it climbs like nothing else. My gut feel says the geo on the Evo is very very close to the lynx, which is the ONLY reason I got a lynx without riding it. So the Evo should also be capable and a bit playful. Hope that helps.
Meant to add, ALL the new bikes are outstanding rides...the camber suited me better is all.

The BH was on my original list. It sounds like an awesome bike. I'm thinking there are some great bikes on the list to choose from. I think it's ultimately going to come down to what I can ride and what I like. I'm very unlikely to by a bike that I haven't ridden.

Cheers