Please delete.

[JTmofo]

Just throwing in my two cents -

I think for the riding you've described a 140mm-150mm trail bike would be ideal. Maybe even less travel.

I've done a fair bit of riding at the first three spots you've mentioned and found my 2017 remedy is more than enough to handle them. I think if I were to buy another bike I'd be looking at something a bit lighter on to make the climbing slightly less painful, and the descents more playful. Especially for lysterfield and the lower bit of arthur's seat.

Also keep an eye on Commencal in the next few days/weeks. Noticed Yoann Barelli possibly teasing a new bike on his IG account a couple of days ago.

This is good advice and what I was angling at in my earlier post.
A LOT of people are sucked onto the "I need an big F*CK off enduro slayer" bandwagon.... where in reality these are bikes for
A. People who are very fit and extremely skilled to drain every last ounce of the potential of the bike....
B. People who race gravity enduro where they "need" the geo and travel for every millisecond gained....

I've been there.... and done that! I will probably never go back to a big enduro sled (unless I decide to go racing) as I can have more fun on a bike that is less hard work.....

 

[volcanoman]

A LOT of people are sucked onto the "I need an big F*CK off enduro slayer" bandwagon

Couldn't agree more. I've also gone through two 160/170mm beasts myself, only to opt for bikes with less travel later on.

I think you'd want something that accelerates quickly as there's not a lot of high speed sections at the places you want to ride.

Can't speak for Buller though, I've only been there on the downhill bike.

 

[Nauht]

So it's kinda like sex - when you first start out, you think it's all about the inches. Then as you get better it's all about technique to get the most of your ride.

 

[johnny]

My first DH bike only had 150. My AM ride now has 150 and I've never bottomed it out.

For me it's not about the travel it's about having a setup that can stand up to my style of riding which is technically termed "a dire mixture of high ambition and low capability", or "hackplow".

 

[JTmofo]

So it's kinda like sex - when you first start out, you think it's all about the inches. Then as you get better it's all about technique to get the most of your ride.

Nail on the head.......

 

[BT180]

I find as I'm getting older, my manoeuvrability is on the decline, so it's good to have that extra travel in reserve for those 'oh shit' moments where I come off line or don't lift a front wheel enough on a roll down (that's actually a drop). Those few extra inches have saved my bacon a few times.

 

[nzhumpy]

I find as I'm getting older, my manoeuvrability is on the decline, so it's good to have that extra travel in reserve for those 'oh shit' moments where I come off line or don't lift a front wheel enough on a roll down (that's actually a drop). Those few extra inches have saved my bacon a few times.

^This is me, lack of riding time with young kids has impacted on the fitness, so come the end of ride when tiredness kicks in and a few questionable line choices are involved the extra squish has bailed me out.

I went through this dilemma not long ago looking at bikes in the 120-160mm range, ended up settling on the middle ground at 140mm.

 

[caad9]

I'm in total agreement with the above, unless you live in an 'Alpine' region, we don't have consistently long and steep terrain in Australia.

I raced some Enduro races on my Process 134 which was using a 150mm fork.
It was great for racing as my fitness was a strength rather than straight up downhill ability.

Any other time outside of racing it was pretty laborious to get around on and therefor sat in the garage collecting dust.

 

[asambell]

Not to want to sound like a 'yes' man, but I do agree with the above statements. I'm not after that elusive enduro monster of a bike, and will be much happier and more suited to a bike with around 140-150mm of travel. More than that is a waste. Would I then be right in saying that the following bikes I couldn't go wrong with?
- Canyon Spectral
- YT Jeffsy
- Scott Genius
- Trek Remedy

Particular spec for spec and around the $5-6k range, taking into consideration the style of riding and terrain.

 

[nzhumpy]

There's not a bad bike amongst those listed, the Jeffsy and Canyon were on my list with a few others.

Only thing I'd look into would be that there might be a few priporietry parts on the Trek.

Good luck with the shopping.

 

[Spike-X]

Cheers Spike. Had a mate snap his rear triangle after hitting a relatively small jump. Somehow these things stick with you, so Norco hasn't been on my radar. I understand that these things can happen with any bike, but not too familiar with Norco either.

That's the first I've heard of a Norco breaking like that.

 

[johnny]

There's not a bad bike amongst those listed, the Jeffsy and Canyon were on my list with a few others.

Only thing I'd look into would be that there might be a few priporietry parts on the Trek.

Good luck with the shopping.

I have a 2013 Remedy 9. Great bike but the warning regards proprietary parts/standards is important.

 

[hifiandmtb]

Please please buy a Jeffsy.

I want to know what it's like!

 

[asambell]

Please please buy a Jeffsy.

I want to know what it's like!

I'm quite tempted. Have read a lot of glowing reviews about them, but am not sure about their after sales service in Oz. Canyon has a service centre 20 mins from my place, which is reassuring (except for JT's experience, what a ride [pardon the pun]). The YT is quite appealing.

 

[asambell]

I have a 2013 Remedy 9. Great bike but the warning regards proprietary parts/standards is important.

Quite like the Trek, especially since I'll be supporting my LBS. The proprietary parts don't really bother me so much, as I've owned a Specialized where cable mounts cost $25 each, though I got around that myself. Love the rear suspension design of the Trek, but haven't ridden one yet.

 

[linkl8r]

+1 for the Spectral. Easy enough bike for what you are talking. More than comfortable at Bright on Hero/All Mountain/World Cup.

Sent from my Moto G Play using Tapatalk

 

[caad9]

Please please buy a Jeffsy.

I want to know what it's like!

If the Jeffsy came as a frame only I'd be so tempted to snap one up tomorrow.
My Kona loyalty has me holding out hope for a new Process 134 29er, there's definitely a long travel version coming but 130-140 would be ideal

 

[asambell]

Evil Insurgent with the 150mm forks.

Sweet looking rig, sick rear suspension design, fun fun fun.

Throwing a spanner in the works.

Thoughts?

 

[JTmofo]

Man.... just buy a bike an go ride.

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[asambell]

Man.... just buy a bike an go ride.

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Hehehe...yeah sorry mate. I'm recovering from a knee reconstruction, hence so many questions. Also, won't be able to ride/buy it until summer-ish. Apologies, but I'm loving the discussions so far.