I was in the same position as you ~2 years ago mate. I was a die hard DH only guy, reluctantly thinking about ditching the DH bike simply in order to be able to get more riding in. Around the same time, my riding buddies went through the same ordeal.
Now I'm riding a Nukeproof Mega, while my old DH riding buddies are now also on similar bikes. We're still riding heaps of DH on our new "do it all" bikes, and still getting the same thrill from DH. In terms of speed, some of our more unique shuttle tracks are actually faster on the new bikes. However, the smaller bikes do run out of legs quicker on the rougher, faster, traditional style DH trails (obviously). I've never ridden You Yangs, but from what I've seen in videos I think you would be fine.
In terms of uphill, people are always impressed with the new generation "do it all" bikes, especially those from a DH background. The ability to pedal for hours without completely hating life has allowed us to discover a heap of epic trails, far away from shuttle roads. We ride ours on the local XC loops a fair bit too, with no real desire to be riding more suitable XC bikes instead. But then again, we don't give a shit about setting Strava records on flat hardpack trails - perhaps if we did we could say that these bikes don't pedal well enough.
I think the move to a "AM" or "Enduro" bike would be the best move for you mate, as it was for me. Everyone in this thread seems to be pretty certain that you should get whatever bike they are riding, but I don't reckon you can too wrong with any of the current popular bikes. I dare say a burlier ~160mm, 26 inch bike would better for you (Spec Enduro, Rocky Mountain Slayer, Commencal Meta SX, Yeti SB66, Nukeproof Mega AM...).
Good luck with the decisions mate.
Edit: As an interesting side note - I've been able to do so much more riding on the new bike, that I'm now quicker than I ever was on the DH bike, on any track. And I'm much fitter and healthier. At the end of the day, the decision which gets you riding more is the best one!
Now I'm riding a Nukeproof Mega, while my old DH riding buddies are now also on similar bikes. We're still riding heaps of DH on our new "do it all" bikes, and still getting the same thrill from DH. In terms of speed, some of our more unique shuttle tracks are actually faster on the new bikes. However, the smaller bikes do run out of legs quicker on the rougher, faster, traditional style DH trails (obviously). I've never ridden You Yangs, but from what I've seen in videos I think you would be fine.
In terms of uphill, people are always impressed with the new generation "do it all" bikes, especially those from a DH background. The ability to pedal for hours without completely hating life has allowed us to discover a heap of epic trails, far away from shuttle roads. We ride ours on the local XC loops a fair bit too, with no real desire to be riding more suitable XC bikes instead. But then again, we don't give a shit about setting Strava records on flat hardpack trails - perhaps if we did we could say that these bikes don't pedal well enough.
I think the move to a "AM" or "Enduro" bike would be the best move for you mate, as it was for me. Everyone in this thread seems to be pretty certain that you should get whatever bike they are riding, but I don't reckon you can too wrong with any of the current popular bikes. I dare say a burlier ~160mm, 26 inch bike would better for you (Spec Enduro, Rocky Mountain Slayer, Commencal Meta SX, Yeti SB66, Nukeproof Mega AM...).
Good luck with the decisions mate.
Edit: As an interesting side note - I've been able to do so much more riding on the new bike, that I'm now quicker than I ever was on the DH bike, on any track. And I'm much fitter and healthier. At the end of the day, the decision which gets you riding more is the best one!
Last edited:
op2: