Going a bit more hardcore

... a bit of over-the-top marketing hoo-haa

What's riding biased geometry? How does it differ from non-riding biased geometry? Should I stop riding my bike if it's not sufficiently riding biased?
Would have thought Titus' reputation would stand on its own without magazine editors throwing meaningless assemblages of words at it.

OK, rant over. Looks like a great bike for the purpose: short stem, slack geometry, four-bar rear end.

I'd be leaning more towards 650b if you can get it as there's a clear trend in the market towards bigger wheels across all riding styles.

I spoke to a guy today at Stromlo with one of these and he was very happy with it.

However.....

Without knowing what you're currently on and your riding style, I would suggest thinking about getting something with more travel.

Why?

Learning to handle a proper big bike (180mm upwards) will help you to carry over a HUGE amount of skills back to what you are doing on your XC bike. I have a friend who, after riding his new 7" bike for six months, rode the bejesus out of his C'dale Rush. A completely different rider and far better rider.

If you go for something with only a little more travel (again, I don't know what you're on at the moment), you might hit some slightly bigger stuff, but you also run the risk of outriding the new bike after 12 months. Then you're sort of back to square one.

Granted you will have a harder time riding to the top however a bigger bike might encourage you to hit harder, bigger lines that might be out of reach on the 150mm bike. If you're looking to build your quiver of skills, I'd strongly suggest looking at a big/DH bike. You might be able to get a demo bike from a local shop if you look around. Hell if you're 6ft plus and live in Sydney you can have a go on my V10 (gotta love 250mm of rear travel)!

Try riding a Trek Remedy9, good comprimise between XC and DH, Brookvale Bike factory does demo days at Manly Dam. Get in touch with them and take one for a spin. I find it perfect for good air and the rough stuff, and very good on the climbs to!

agree with above, upgrade your fuel for a remedy. plenty big enough for perth.
I love my remedy8. awesome bang for buck.
AND a fun machine for XC, all mountain like gungin trails & JF, or even throw it at some DH runs like mundaring, GF and Dwelli as i have.
love mine.
now you can choose wheel size too! if ur avg height go 26", if you are tall look at 650.

Whilst I'm into stuff that makes my riding more fun I don't like the way that everything in biking seems to be becoming more complicated & less compatible.
Previously I had three 26" wheel bikes, a Ti hardtail, a light 100mm travel XC duallie & a heavier long travel duallie. All ran the same disc sizes & 9 spd gearing. I could run any bike with any wheel set which was great as I could run aggressive wheels on the lighter bikes for general trail stuff or light & fast wheels for speedy less tech rides or races. Even swapping forks around was easy & finding out what worked with what was fun.
I recently built up a 29er 853 frame with durable but light kit which works really well as a trail bike & is fine for it's intended purpose.

With the maze of different headsets, yet more bottom bracket standards, the various wheel retention systems & now certain specific shocks (eg pull shocks on Scotts & the Trek DCRV) then all of the wheel options I doubt that I'll be able to do that again unless I sell everything & start afresh.

Maybe I should go head first into a new standard starting with deciding on the wheel size & retention system, something with 27.5" wheels 15mm thru axle, 142 rear & a taper steerer variable travel fork.
Something like a Santa Cruz Bronson plus a second lighter, less aggro wheel set?

Oh yes, the tyre choice isn't quite there yet... Damn...!

By the way, regarding the Trek Remedy. I was very very close to giving the green light on a Rem 9.8 the other week but with the 650s around the corner & the inability to swap out the rear shock (can be tuned though) I got cold feet.

I think that I'll put it all on hold for the moment, put it out of my mind & go out & enjoy riding what I've got!!!

Cheers for that Matt, I've just checked out the HDR while the jet lag is still waking me up at stupid o'clock here in Scotland &
think that you may have put me onto exactly the type of bike that I'm looking for.

I'm always a bit of a sceptic when a manufacturer says that it's that versatile tending to think "Jack of all trades, master of none" but I know a good few people here with Mojo's & they ride hard. They seem to have a good name.

Pete is a great advocate of the HD and HDR. And I'm certainly a big fan of the HD. If you go to MTBR.com, thereis an Ibis specific section where you can get some great and honest feedback. The guys from Ibis actually participate on thee a great deal as well which speaks volumes about their approach to customer service.

If you want to see what else the HD/R can do, check out the vids by Andrew Whiteford on Vimeo.

If your riding preferences are changing I would suggest not spending too much money until you have a clear idea on where they are going.
Once you get a taste for the skills component of MTB there is no telling where it will end up.
I started riding Manly dam on a K-mart bike & within 18 Months I had gone through 4 bikes and was hucking stuff at Oxford falls.
A few years later & I am a 50 year old dirt jumper with more metal plates & screws in my body than on my bike. (mid life crisis is a very cruel illness)

Yeah it gives you a bit of a warm fuzzy feeling, and your right about supporting the smaller (I heard someone call them “Boutique”) bike companies. Their passion is pretty impressive. I get amazed at the high calibre of bikes at races and also out on the trails that are getting about. Obviously the percentage is McDonald’s bikes, not the best burgers, but there everywhere. Does Mecco Sales not bring Devinci in anymore? Ibis mentioned that they would love to get more involved on a dirt level (dirt meaning good) in Australia but they need to do it in small steps, which can be appreciated.

Mecco Sales no longer import Devinci. That is where I got a really good deal on my frame.
Ibis could go the same way.
Love your coments. Why eat at Maccas when you can have Hungry Jacks.

Cheers for all of the inciteful & varied feedback gents, all food for thought.

Duncan, hmm. I see others nailing doubles & getting real air & feel pretty wimpy, then I either have a minor stack myself or see another go down & are reminded how much it not only hurts but how much time it buggers you up for! I'm definitely increasing my skills but at a pretty steady pace.

Whichever way I go I'm going to be out biked but so what. The CC DB also sounds tempting as I've previously tweaked forks & reduced a Fox can volume to give a different spring rate. I like a shock that responds to the small & still takes the large stuff.

The way I see it your Macca's comes as it is & will do the job but Mr B's boutique burger is made of all of the best ingredients & served with enthusiasm, you can also go light on the jalapeños.... Pity it costs so much!

Currently my burgers are homemade with ingredients sourced from around the world. They are unique & made with love, sweat & contributions to Little Creatures & the local wineries.

Hi all. I thought that I should give you an update as I did my first ride on the new bike today.
I ended up saving the $2500 difference to the Ibis & getting & building up an El Guapo frame.
Spec:
Lg El Guapo frame with Monarch RCT3 (would have gone for the CC DB if I was going for a more hardcore set up)
Revelation 150 RCT3 27.5s (9mm longer than the 26" version & more useful in future & give a slacker head angle)
Stans Flow wheels wearing Maxxis exo High Roller 2.4 & DHR 2.3 rubber (set up tubeless) bit heavy but hardcore.
Deore brakes on Icetech rotors 180/160
STX 10spd gears & mechs (clutch rear)
FSA 2 x 10 with bash guard 24/38
Reverb 30.9 420 125 drop remote.
70mm stem & 700 bars

Total build cost approx $2800

I'm really impressed with the bike so far especially the climbing ability & the trail setting on the Rockshox which tightens everything up & works far better than any other pro pedal systems that I've used. The only negative is that I should have gone for a wider bar (740). An easy fix.
I also think that with a bit of careful speccing I could get the weight down to below 13kg which would make the bike a fantastic trail bike that could do everything in Kalamunda without feeling out of it's depth.

T

Couldn't add on here so have edited the header pics with my bike.
Yes through On One UK. It came through pretty quickly although there was a mistake with the wrong fork being sent which was quickly remedied by Jamie who immediately sent the right one special D & reimbursed the postage for me returning the wrong one.

If you're going a bit harder I'd recommend a fat stantioned 170mm fork, the CC Double barrel & 203/180 discs. For a bit of everything the build I did is fine although if you're not the sort of person that switches stuff around, a 26" dedicated fork like the Pike or X Fusion Slant DLR may be better.

All the best
T

The Orange was $150 cheaper! Actually I prefer it to their Hammerite black, white or rough raw finish.
The frame has 150mm travel but has a low BB. On One recomend a fork of 150 - 170mm.
The Revelation 150 27.5/650b is 9mm longer than the standard 26" version (1mm less than their 160mm fork)so this raises the front end & slackens the head angle a bit.
I also got it at a very good price (It's a Scottish thing)and if I upgrade to a 650b in the future I have the fork already.
I have tried 27.5s in the frame but a large fabricated bridge prevents clearance. As this is only the lower section & the drop outs & brakes mount on the stays, I may see a fabricator/ rider I know about making up a new lower or modifying this one. It sounds drastic & isn't what I built the bike for but I think that with the low BB & not so slack head angle it'd work well. Obviously the fork is fine.

Oh, & some other good things that I've noticed in the time since the build:
It rides & lands jumps quietly & without fuss even from a few feet up, my other bikes feel mistreated being given this type of abuse.
For a long travel & not very light fun bike it climbs unbelievably well, even without the Rockshox RCT3 threshold stuff being used.
The Rockshox RCT3 Monarch & RCT3 Revelation (27.5 version) may not have the kudos of Fox but IMO they work just as well if not better. The midway "Threshold" setting (very noticeably) restricts the travel effectively tightening up the ride. The feeling is like riding the bike with 80mm travel each end or setting 50% more pressure with corresponding increased damping. That said, the tru 4 bar rear end works so well up hills that the threshold setting is only a plus if the terrain is nearly flat.

All in all the EG has turned out to be far more of an all rounder than I expected. It may not have the latest suspension design or must have wheel size but it really is a great bike for the Kalamunda hills & given the price it probably gives more performance per $ than anything else I know of.

It's funny that you should say that Andy, I've now had Nukeproof Warhead bars (760mm?) on it for the last month & they feel much better.
The only other changes made have been trying out different tyres & shock settings.