Last time I was home in Northern California I rode my dad's Banshee Paradox that I built up for him, and I realized that a good 29er hardtail is probably the most fun trail/all mountain bike I've ridden in a long time. My Nomad C is staying in my stable, no question, but I have slowly been turning it into less of a true all mountain bike and more into a mini DH bike (by the way, I'll be posting a 1 year review about it soon). I want to get a hardtail back into my stable as my winter/mess around bike for when the ultra-high elevation areas are snowed in, and also for those 50-ish mile epics I do once or twice a year.
The reason I'm asking about this here because a lot of you guys look for similar handling traits in a bike as I do. Once you've been on a decent DH bike, cornering prowess and confidence in the gnar become a much bigger deal and a requirement for all of your bikes (at least in my experience). I'm looking at frames like the Chromag Surface/The Roots Down, Canfield Yelli, Banshee Paradox and Transition TransAm 29. Do any of you guys have one of these 29" circus bikes as a compliment to your DH sled? Which ones do you have experience with, and which do you like best?
The reason I'm asking about this here because a lot of you guys look for similar handling traits in a bike as I do. Once you've been on a decent DH bike, cornering prowess and confidence in the gnar become a much bigger deal and a requirement for all of your bikes (at least in my experience). I'm looking at frames like the Chromag Surface/The Roots Down, Canfield Yelli, Banshee Paradox and Transition TransAm 29. Do any of you guys have one of these 29" circus bikes as a compliment to your DH sled? Which ones do you have experience with, and which do you like best?