Hi all - I think it’s getting to be about time to replace my 2019 SC Hightower. Much of this is triggered by riding an S5 Stumpjumper with a 505 mm reach, so looong compared to my Hightower with ~470 mm, and feeling surprisingly comfortable on it and actually having quite a hard time adjusting back to the Hightower.
So I’m looking for something with ~485 reach, 160 mm front travel. I wouldn’t mind something that’s a snappier climber than the Hightower. My local trails are pretty chunky, so looking for something that holds its own in technical, slower terrain (both up and down).
The ones I’m looking at right now are: Trek Fuel MX, Evil Offering, Transition Sentinel, and the latest Santa Cruz Hightower. The heart says Evil Offering, but Trek’s pitch for ABP staying active under breaking sounds pretty appealing for the terrain I ride. (Before the HT, I had two Ibis and enjoyed those, but I’m sort of ruling out the current Ripmo because I’m between sizes.)
Pretty sure all of these bikes are great and there’s no wrong answer, but might as well geek out, right? Unfortunately, I won’t be able to demo any of these bikes on trails familiar to me (best bet would be riding the Evil in Bellingham, but those trails are very different from the ones here in Santa Barbara).
Would love to hear any ride experiences, and also experience with their reliability (my Hightower has been incredibly reliable, needing basically no service beyond the usual wear and tear over 6 seasons, while previous bikes I usually had to sell after 2-3 seasons because everything started falling apart).
RAAW Jibb V2 is a little longer than you’re asking for (495mm for an XL Jibb V2 – RAAW Mountain Bikes ) but looks really dialed and has lots of adjustments if you’re looking for that.
Of the bikes you listed I only have experience w/ the Sentinel which I loved. I rode a 5010s for about 5 years before switching to a full 29 and ultimately settled on the Smuggler over the Sentinel because most of what I ride is pretty pedally.
I replaced (after it was stolen) a same generation Hightower with a Pivot Switchblade v4. The Pivot was better at most things but especially techy climbs where it seemed to stay much higher in its travel. The other bike I would consider in this space is a Revel Rascal, which descends much better than a 150/135 bike should!
I’ve been on the new offering for a few weeks now. It’s excellent. Climbs as well as my shorter travel giant trance did, but SO much more fun when things get rowdy. I test rode the new stumpy, sentinel and the offering. They were all great but I liked the offering the best.
For the Canyon Spectral: It probably should, but for some reason that I can’t quite put my finger on, it doesn’t excite me? (And the L is maybe a bit longer than I want.)
Unfortunately almost everything in that category has got heavier and a less snappy climber. Not just because of the extra weight but also most suspension systems now prioritise plush over punchy pedalling. That includes both versions of the Hightower since yours. Latest Stumpjumper Evo feels pretty soggy under power in stock format as it only has one spacer in the Genie can, but with three or more in it really comes to life on the pedals. It’s also relatively light for the category. Other options I’d suggest would be the Yeti SB140 Lunch Ride which loves a tech or torque climb or maybe finding a second hand 2019 Hightower in a longer reach.
For the Yeti SB140, what does the hive-mind expect to happen? New version soon? Is Yeti bringing the 6-bar suspension from their e-bikes over to the regular bikes?
The general chat on the MTB rumor forums is that yeah, Sixfinity will be rolling out to their regular bikes over the next while, no ideas when the SB140 will get that treatment though…
