Cross Country FS ride
 

I'm looking for a new rig... typical post I hear you say! I've been riding a hard tail for many years now and have come to realise I get a kick out of XC riding, looking to bust the steeper hills. I'm not big on jumping, lost the bottle a few years ago! With a budget of $2500 - $3500 I'm looking for a light bike (13kg) to match my hieght and weight (187cms/82kgs), FS bike, 100mm travel, at least XT groupset or equivalent, and have reviewed the following - Specialized Epic, NRS (comp frame), Sata Cruz Blur. Would welome any posts on these bikes, problems, etc, and/or other bikes in their class. Cheers, XC Down Under

cheers. have you heard of the FS bike "Faunus LSD" from the German company Bergwerk - these were the guys that partnered with Specialized a few years back to help them (Specialized) out with a few problems and it was they that produced the Brain shock as we know it today.

my dad has an epic and the suspension works great and the whole bike is great to ride. i have also ridden and blur and its great too. havent tried the NRS but ive heard bad things.
you should go down and try them at your LBS but id personally give the NRS a miss

For the budget you're working with I'd go with the Epic. It's pretty much the leading design right now.

That being said, I ride an NRS, but I only paid 1,400 for it. It rides great, and - really, it's all up to YOU as the engine how fast you're going to go on the bike. I've smoked people on Epics, and been passed by guys on cheap old hardtails. It's all relative. FWIW, if I were willing to spend that extra thousand dollars I would have gone with the Epic as well.

1) Epic
2) Rocky Mountain Element
3) Giant Trance

Just ride them and see which one you like the best. The Blur supposingly has low bottem bracket, so you may hit things on the trail....Great bike nonetheless, but you pay much more for the name "Santa Cruz"

Good Luck

Ming

of the three ...I agree... the Epic.

Outside the three you mention ...go Titus RacerX 100. Titus uses the FSR rear linkage suspension on their RacerX100 too.

thanks all for the input, I'll let you know what comes from it.

Fisher 292.

You want a 29er - it rolls, and that makes so much more difference than the suspension. Try one out before you buy anything else. They're not for everyone, but they can inspire some serious love.

Of those three I'd go with the Blur. I've ridden the NRS a couple of times and - sorry NRS riders - it sucks! I like the Epic but the Brain Shock isn't quite as intuitive as it needs to be just yet. I'd also take a look at the Stumpjumper FSR Pro, Turner Burner and Intense Spyder if I were you. The Burner may be at the top end of your price range and the Spyder may be just above it, but both are supposed to be incredible rides.

Cranx:

I take no offense :p Just curious why you think the NRS sucks? Good component group (lx), light weight, hayes sole hydraulic brakes. I'm having a few break in hassles, but overall the bike seems good to me. I've only had it for about 3 weeks though, but I've ridden the crap out of it (150+ miles of singletrack) and I like it fine.

When my Stumpy was being replaced, I had about a two week window where I was without a bike. My friend was going to be out of town and, therefore, not riding so he let me borrow his NRS 2. I took the thing out on the trail and it felt like it weighed about 10 pounds more than my old Stumpy even though it was only - maybe - 2 pounds heavier. The single pivot design used by the NRS felt really "squishy" on the climbs and was just not nearly as plush as the my Stumpy so - IMHO - the suspension was totally substandard (the suspension was set up properly as well since both he and I are approximately the same weight.)

Perhaps the Stumpy is just a superior design but, overall, I just hated the bike. I rode it a couple of times and was completely and utterly disappointed in the product that Giant had built.

My friend, who owns the bike, loves it though so you never know. One thing to consider when listening to his opinion however is that the NRS is his first and only MTB so he doesn't really have any basis of comparison.

Hopefully that answered your question.

To each their own :)

Cheers.

Yeah, I shoulda pointed that out as well. The NRS is not single pivot in any way, I'm not sure where he's getting that information.

That suspension design is known as a "single pivot." It's not an FSR design nor does it fall into the third category (I forgot what it's called.)

Okay, I'm familiar with 3 rear suspension setups:

Cantilever, Linkages, and Unified Rear Triangle.

When you say single pivot what exactly do you mean? The FSR and NRS both fall into the Linkage category.

sure, I understand Bergwerk is owned by or has an association with Merida. Picked this up on the Web, so it's gotta be true... okay so don't hold me against it.

sure, I understand Bergwerk is owned by or has an association with Merida. Picked this up on the Web, so it's gotta be true... okay so don't hold me against it.

No it's not a single pivot The Warp is a single pivot, not the NRS
http://img105.exs.cx/img105/1449/nrs8xo.jpg

NRS is like a walking bar system. Biggest difference between a walking bar and a true single pivot is the leverage ratio applied to the shock thoughout the stroke of the shock. Otherwise performance is pretty similar.

My bad. From all appearances it looks like a single pivot design; I guess I'm not as educated on suspension design as I thought I was. Based upon what you said however, it sounds like they're very similar designs. Regardless, I still don't like the NRS. :D

Multiple names for the same thing. For the longest time I thought a stinky was a four bar. It isn't. Nicknamed the faux bar it has the performance (brake jack etc..) of a single pivot, but spread the pressure on the shock out (changes the leverage ratio throughout the stroke)...something like that. I am going from memory, been a while since I cared

oh and I don't like the nrs either. Not my cup of tea. If you are gonna use a dually, what the point if you don't have negative travel, thats the biggest bonus.

Yeah, I'm familiar with the "faux bar" or "pseudo 4-bar" design. It was a way for other companies to try to rip off the Specialized look without providing the performance that the true 4-bar system provides...especially on the brake jack side of things.

As fore the NRS, I totally agree; I just don't get the design at all. Hopefully their new FS setup is better (it looks prettier at least :lol: )

I have been a big fan of the SC single pivot (superlight in my case). There is much less to go wrong and less bob than my old FSR (horst link). The ride of a single pivot is less active than a 4-bar, which is a hit or miss- I personally like not feeling the suspension all the time.