[ToonTownRider]

Alright, so I sold my Trance X to get something slightly burlier. Originally I was going to get a Nomad, but Santa Cruz is out of frames until the end of July and I do not want to wait a month and a half to get a bike. In which case I am looking for something that is similar, but I would like to stay with a smaller company such as Ibis, Intense, Yeti, etc. I'm wondering if anyone knows of any other smaller companies out there that make a bike similar to the Nomad. Share your experience, likes/dislikes, etc.

 

[nauc]

what about a Butcher

http://www.santacruzmtb.com/butcher/

 

[slowitdown]

I really like my Yeti 575. I have owned a lot of different bikes over the past 10 years, including a Turner 5-Spot, a Turner 6-Pack, a Santa Cruz Bullit, a Knolly V-Tach. I like the Yeti's geometry and suspension feel. I haven't ridden any VPP or similar (dw-link, Maestro, etc) bikes for any extended period of time, though I have ridden a friend's Blur 4X just to get a sense of how the SC VPP bikes ride. I don't really like the numb feel of VPP, personally. I prefer more trail feedback.

My 575 weighs between 28.5 and 30 lbs depending on tires & tubes. I ride it on all sorts of terrain, but it's best when the trail is technical and fairly gnarly. The amount of travel is wasted on buff singletrack, though the ProPedal on the rear shock helps firm things up to avoid any kind of inefficiency. My average rides are between 3.5 and 9 hours, so I've logged a lot of time and miles on this bike, and it's still my favorite trail bike.

The next best trail bike I've owned or ridden was a Horst-link Turner 5-Spot with a RS Pike 454 Air U-Turn fork.

Everyone likes different things in a trail/all-mountain bike. It might help on the recommendations front if you explain what you liked and didn't like about your Trance, and what you'd like your new bike to do.

 

[brokeONE]

The new Transition Covert is what your in need of.

 

[Sandwich]

I dig my Fuel very much....but maybe a Remedy is more of what you're after?

 

[spocomptonrider]

all I know is one of the dudes I ride with fairly regularly can do things on a Blur LT that would make most people think twice on full dh bikes, super capable albeit a bit steep (h.a.) for some tastes.

 

[chuckie]

Morewood Mbuzi dude!!

 

[BikeFan84]

hate to be such a proponent of TREK, but Scratch with 180mm fox 36 is the ticket.

 

[ToonTownRider]

Ended up ordering a Delirium from Chris at Knolly bikes today. Thanks for all the suggestions though.

 

[4xBoy]

Delirium looks ike a really cool bike, I would like to try one someday.