All Things Bikes and Tacos! (...and every vehicle imaginable)

I wear the chamois that’s just like a pair of padded underwear. Put them on then whatever shorts I want.

 

I dabble in Cowboy Bebop

 

Are those hubs seen as inferior? Pardon me as I'm still learning the MTB parts market.

 

I hope everyone here did this at some point

 

Get a HT to go with your TB!

I like the Enduro because it makes steep trails way less terrifying and lowers the point of entry. The HT makes all trails more terrifying so the stuff you ride all the time stays interesting.

 

I know it’s carbon and all that jazz and it’s their entry level carbon, but $4000 should come with better hub engagement. $4k bike should have at least a $500 wheelset I think.

 

I wear both road and mtb chamois. The spesh road ones I have are the most comfortable but also the longest - so I dont wear them with my shorter shorts.

 

DBZ = teh big ghey Don't @ me.

 

Bingo! CC gets boring riding it for the 9000th time this season? Go ride it mach chicken on your hardtail!

 

I like where your head is at. I have a hard time thinking about parting with my TB because it's so good, and I feel like if I had a HT one of those two bikes would get neglected. I really want a Hightower to pair with the TB but...I have truck parts I need to fund first.

 

Not gonna lie, I usually reach for my hardtail over my Sentinel, but thats mainly because my two fav riding areas are both prime HT downcountry madness.

 

You get -1 point for using "downcountry"

 

Yeah and I feel like I'd totally be in the same boat, but I do a decent bit of bikepacking and where I'm at it tends to get rowdy and I don't really like going slow. Feel like the FS would be better suited for that sort of thing all around, which makes pairing an Enduro that much more necessary.

I do have 2 tabs open looking at HT's now though, so thanks for that...

 

Not gonna lie, I usually reach for my hardtail over my Sentinel, but thats mainly because my two fav riding areas are both prime HT UPDURO madness.

 

Everyone needs a solid hardtail in the stable.

I use mine when I visit tamer trails and during the rainy season, cleaning muck and sand out of pivots sucks.

 

I ride my hardtail more than my enduro. I wouldn't call it neglect, I call it preserving the $6000 carbon everything super bike from regular abuse.

 

I think I just threw up in my mouth a little

All this hardtail talk gets me thinking I need to just pull the trigger and get one...
I'm likely going to go used just so I don't have to deal with a 6month lead time, so my choice is probably going to be limited to what's available. But what I think I want is:
- 29er (not too stuck on this though)
- Carbon
- SRAM Gx eagle or higher (or shimano equivalent) build
- $2500ish
Essentially just looking for a bike that can be a good compliment to the rides on the Enduro - something that I can take on 30 mile excursions and not die, or just something I can have a better time on pedaling to the trailhead without 170mm of SQUISH.

I've been leaning toward the XC category but bikes like the chameleon seem sweet too, so I'm pretty torn here. Based on my limited research my top picks right now are looking like the Epic HT, Ibis DV9, SC Chameleon, and maybe something like a Kona Honzo.
What are yall's thoughts on those or general feedback?

 

I personally love the SC Chameleon and would have bought that if I had more self control. My wife has the Honzo, and for your needs the Hondo DL looks like it fits the bill other than the hybrid SX/NX drivetrain. That would need to get swapped out of course. I think there's other bikes in the category that might suit you better but those are the two I can speak on. However, maybe you can find a Honzo DL for a song and then put money into the drivetrain. The 140mm shock and dropper post make that bike a pretty nice build out of the box..

 

May be hard to find but have you looked at Nukeproof Scout?

 

i did a few years of riding my hard tail around the city to trails and wherever i could. once i got my patrol i had the same though, riding through town would suck, so i drove to all the trail heads. was trying to bump my mileage so i started riding the patrol everywhere, and wow, its fast. i really thought the dhf/dhr combo would be slow, i would be exhausted by the time i got to the trail head, etc, etc. nope. im setting prs on bike paths and climbs with this thing. obviously the downs are way faster too. maybe i was jump more amped to be out. maybe i was in better shape. maybe my gps doesnt work the same and im actually slower. idk.

but i would totally buy a hard tail to compliment my quiver