Favorite current 150-160ish bikes

I don't think the previous gen stumpy evo is good as your 'big bike'. I read a review that said it's a bike that's great with a 36 but not so much a 38 and after trying it out on mine, I agree with that. My stumpy only sees blue trails on long pedal days at this point.

Cahal had a cool video comparing s4 and s5 current stumpys and it made me contemplate replacing my s4 stevo with an s5 current gen stumpy. But I already have a big bike so it didn't make sense for me - but I think it could be a good fit for your use case.  S5 has a 1288 wheelbase, which is pretty long imo.

The hightower has a 1264 wheelbase which I find is just under the sweet spot for my experience riding in cali (socal, northstar). I'm also a fan of sc, so if I had to go to one bike that pedals and handles everything decently well, it would be a hightower with a chain dampening device. Also does well with either 36 or 38 stanchion forks.

Happy hunting for the next rig

The V5 Bronson is an awesome ripper that pedals very well and is fun pointed down. You can turn it into a mini-nomad with a longer stroke shock, too. 

transition sentinel v3 would be on that list for me

I was shopping in the same bracket of bikes and ended up with a v4 hightower.  I sorta hastily moved up my purchase timeline once the new colors were released... I really had a thing for the purple 2025' color way.  So far, it's more then met my expectations and this iteration of VPP with significantly lower anti-squat has been really impressive.  It's for sure more active under pedaling and with choppy pedal strokes, I can get it to bob slightly even while the chain is under tension.  The upside is that it has more traction climbing ledgy/rooty stuff then the previous iterations of vpp I've been on.    I haven't yet been tempted to put an ochain on it, but the ochain has been one of the favorite things I put onto my v6 nomad, so I may go with one at some point but with only 4 degrees of float (I really like 6 and 9 on my nomad).  

I digress... It's not a light bike/build but I do a lot of 5-7k' elevation days on it, and I'm no worse for the wear.  From a descending perspective, it's more capable then my megatower 1 was and for everything but the biggest hucks... it feels more composed then a megatower 2.  Truthfully, I went back and forth between the ht4 and the bronson but ultimately went with the hightower.  For my situation, going with the bronson would have made it an obvious choice to ditch my nomad 6, and get a v10... but I still like to take the big bike out from time to time and pedal it, so the HT4 was the obvious choice.  I did ride the bronson and ht4 back to back, and I was surprised how the HT4 felt closer to an MX bike then any full 29r I've ever ridden.  I think a lot of that has to do with the high stack, which combined with a sag % of 32-33, makes it feel like you can drive the bike with your feet.  

I of course have a healthy amount of confirmation bias, but the ht4 is for sure worth a look.  I did also try out a sentinal but wasn't in love with the rear suspension performance when compared to the ht4.  I think the ripmo is worth a look as my hunch is that you're giving up 10% in descending performance to the ht4, but gaining an equal amount of climbing performance.  The new sj15 is truly a great package and if you're coming off of a stevo, you owe it yourself to demo one.  

RAAW Madonna? Maybe a little heavy but seems really dialed and has a gazillion ways to tune it for your needs.

Blister just posted their review of the latest Evil Offering. Sounds like a really fun bike.

I'd also look at Canfield bikes. They punch above their ... travel. 😅 They are built for abuse so the Tilt, although only a 140mm bike, may fit your needs as well. And they seem to be having some good deals going now.

Apologies for the unhelpful contribution but it needs to be repeated until they change course...

If Scott hadn't fallen for cable tourism I think the Genius would deserve a place on the list.  Your choice of Twinloc with a 150 mm fork or a standard 160 mm fork for more aggressive riding.

I’ve been looking in the 150ish range, mostly cause i wanna stick with a Lyrik/36 and most 160 bikes use a 170 fork, and honestly the only things that are of any interest to me are the Bronson and Druid. Druid obviously being way less travel but also punching way above its travel. Know a few people with both these bikes that love them. 

The latest Devinci Troy is an absolute weapon. 

Since it's on your shortlist, I have to recommend the Commencal Meta. I have a Meta V5 Ohlins with a coil shock and it's unreal. I used to have a large V4 (27.5,) but now I'm on an XL - it's definitely heavier, but I still feel like it climbs more efficiently. Definitely a long-wheelbase machine, though! (Size?) It will mash anything, but don't ask it to turn around in a narrow area.  

I would suggest you don't rule out the current gen SB160. I have one. It easily matches or out pedals anything in the big bike class and IMHO gives nothing up as a daily driver compared to most 140-150 bikes. But its a got an amazing 'game on' dual personality when you want it to. It's by far the best handling bike I've ever owned and i've ridden pretty much everything. The lean angles and ability to maneuver while still be super stable still blow my mind after 2yrs of riding on it. 

With the writing on the wall for the upcoming 6bar next gen bikes you may see some crazy good deals on the existing SB bikes. I would not be surprised to find complete builds with full factory suspension and better than decent drivetrains in the 4k range once the new bikes drop. 

I like my aluminum Stumpy EVO and as you said- lots of them around and can get some crazy good deals on used.  

Mine has been setup lighter with a 160 fork and now currently it is my 'big' bike with a 170 travel 38 on the front.  Plenty of adjustments provided to do either decently well imo.  

Probably not a dream bike for most, but has been competent and durable for me.

The Norco Sight is a sleeper option here. Its a super lively bike - combo'ed with the high pivot, you get the best of both worlds. Its a sick kinematic - playful and poppy but when you put it in a straight line is can plow. Been on one all year and love it. 

I'd echo this report. Great deals to be had on the SB160 right now. If you like to race, it will reward you when you attack and ride at your limit. It seems to get better when ridden aggressively. 

so many killer bikes these days. I think its pretty hard to go wrong with any of the major high end brands and even many of the more mid tier priced bikes. I'd love to try a Firebird, Bronson, Hightower, Nomad, Slash, Stump 15, Sentinel (on sale) Spire... and many more. 

I had a Nomad and sold it to go down to a Bronson. If you're looking for a poppy and energetic ride, a 160/170 bike with 38mm fork is just not the same. I tried setting the Nomad up with that intent and it's just not the same.  

Bikes are so good, I’d take any one mentioned here sight unseen!

I know multiple enduro bros who bought a stumpy evo as a second trail bike and ended up selling the enduro and keeping the evo.

I’m a big fan of the spire.  Quite lively for a 170/170.  You could also get a shorter stroke shock and make it 160 too.

Both are really good bikes and can work on a wider range of applications than the numbers say. I went from an overforked Stevo to a spire and the biggest thing I noticed was the spire was a little bigger in fit and stiffer in the rear but both were really good at everything.

Is the genius still in production? All I've seen on their site recently is alloy previous gen builds from 23. I think the cable tourism thing legitimately killed that bike. 

I'm just here to say I'm really enjoying all Stevo references (thanks autocorrect!)

S4 Sight is a possibility, chainstays appear a bit short at first but they do sit around 445 at sag if that's your jam. I also rode a fugitive at one point and the Sight is much more capable, even with the full 29-Fox 36 build. If you like the idea of a mid pivot bike, it executes the design pretty well.

Gonna echo my sentiment on that other post, but the Ripmo V3 should definitely see a solid demo ride on your localish trails. I took one on a test ride on a local system that has both old school bench cut in limestone with new school flow/jump/freeride lines and it was an eye opener. My ownership niggles were/are slight, but without knowing your personal dimensions or wired/wireless dropper post the bummer one (dropper insertion due to tube in tube routing interference) may not apply. TBF, the other one (sealing around the storage) may be a commonality no one discusses. I've a week long trip planned to hit Duluth this fall so will see how it handles strict DH runs then, but it ended up replacing two bikes by how it felt on that initial test ride. Handled everything without having to lug around a heftier rig. Throwing on a lighter set of wheels (tires main diff) made it better for all the local pedal-to-from-home rides, while the stock set up sees more gravity oriented days. Never thought I'd be a carbon MTB owner, but here I am.