Looking to see whats out there.
Currently riding an all-stock 2002 Specialized Stumpjumper FSR XC.
Comparing the following bikes:
https://99spokes.com/compare?bikes=specialized-stumpjumper-alloy-2022,cannondale-habit-4-2022,marin-rift-zone-29-3-2022,giant-trance-x-29-3-2021,specialized-status-160-2022,ibis-ripmo-af-deore-2022
My riding style is:
-Most rides around 4-5 hours or under. Rarely >6 hours.
-I can climb pretty well
-I'm still hesitant to just absolutely bomb and blitz downhill, ever since my friend broke his Ulna in 2010.
-Most terrain around here in Santa Fe is singletrack through pine/aspen forests and/or high desert foothills. Usually small rocks, no giant rock gardens like you'd see back east. Trails tend to have rocky sections with squared off, jagged rocks covering the width of the trail or small, broken up cantaloupe sized rocks strewn around. Also some hardpack/gravel/sand.
-I probably won't ever do massive jumps, but am not opposed to jumping on a flat or downhill section if it's in the trail. Otherwise, I'll probably try to avoid massive air.
With that said, what do you guys think would be the best bike out of those above? Are there any others ~$3k you might recommend?
Thanks!
Get the stumpjumper or the ripmo. The status is tempting, but the very short chainstays make it a bike that caters to more advanced riding styles imo. The habit and the riftzone are decent bikes, but there are things in the geometry charts that would send me elsewhere that are very in depth to explain. The giant trance x29 is a solid bike... (i have a carbon version as my trail bike) but at that price, I would go with the stumpjumper over the giant. The Ripmo has the best spec out of all of them, and it should for the extra cash required to jump in.
The bikes other then the ripmo have some price point products on them that I particularly don't like. I have very nice hardware on all my bikes, but I'm not a bike snob. I've demo'd plenty of bikes with deore drivetrains, and marzocchi suspension or fox rhythm forks and dps shocks that I thought were wonderful. That being said, SX Eagle sucks pretty hard and the rockshox 35 fork should be avoided at all costs IMO. The ripmo has componentry and frame design that everyone but the biggest bike snobs would be happy to ride and wouldn't be itching to change out parts on. That combined with dialed geo and dw link kinematics which are sorta perfect for your stated usage and riding area, it's a no brainer.
The Ripmo AF sounds like a goodt option but with the description of your trails you might look at the Ripley AF as well.
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