Which do-it-all bike? orange/santa cruz/specialized

[adam@gothikon.com]

Hey all,

I'm having a hard time deciding on a new bike and need some advice.

Until recently I had pretty much my dream bike a Santa Cruz Chameleon with Fox Vanilla RLC. Unfortunately it got stolen a month or two ago. If I was going to buy another HT I'd get one of these again without any doubt, my only possible regret being that it's not a full suss.

However I've got a bit more money to spend this time around and as I've already owned a Chameleon I'm thinking of trying something different. I've got a limit of about 5k but I think I can most of the bikes I'm looking at under this with sale prices or second hand deals.

My short list at the moment includes:
Orange Five
Orange Patriot 66 (probably XC spec)

Specialized Enduro (whatever spec is the best I can get for ~5k currently a 2005 expert) This has got some pretty great reviews as "the one" bike goes.

Santa Cruz Heckler (for the price I wouldn't buy a new one but some good second hand deals)
SC Blur 4x (I think this bike is going to be closest to my old Chameleon)
SC Nomad (only a fraction more than the Blur frame)

The Nomad is definitely pushing it price wise and the Enduro is my least favourite in terms of looks.

I think a Patriot 66 might be overkill, but if knew how much it weighed it'd be a little easier to compare with the others. I'd rather have too much bike than not enough. I'm feeling a little uneasy about the durability of the Five, but that's only because Orange don't rate it as as much of an all rounder compared to the Patriot.

I'll be using whatever I get for bombing around town, drops, stairs, small jumps etc, long trail rides (hoping to spend a few weeks riding abroad early next year), technical single track and commuting to work, when I've got a bike I tend to live on it. I'm not in to racing XC, serious DH or DJ , although I'm always trying to push my skills. I've no problem sacrificing speed on the ups as long as I don't have to get off and push where others can ride.

The Chameleon was my ideal HT bike and handled everything I threw at it more than happily. I was more than happy with the geometry and weight (somewhere about ~30lbs/13-14kg, although it would have been less with better wheels).

One of the biggest snags I'm facing is that apart from the Spesh I can't find anywhere to give one of these bikes a shot in Melbourne.

In an ideal world I'd have another Chameleon and some kind of full suss. Maybe the question I should be asking is what would a Chameleon be if it was a full suss bike?

Anyway, I'm getting pretty overwhelmed at this stage I've got bike stats/figures/reviews coming out of my ears and I don't think I can survive without a bike much longer! Any advice or experiences with any of these bikes would be great.

Most importantly I want a bike that's going to be fun to ride whatever I'm doing.

Sorry for the long post,
TIA!

 

[.:Alan:.]

Ive was thinking of getting a bike like this a hile ago although stuffed the idea as if i did i'd want another bike anyway. IMO by what it looks like you are going to be doing there a a heap of options, if your were to build up a bike a Morewood shova st, ndiza st, or blur would be a great frame IMO, although complete the giant and specialized range look the best, giant a trance1 or reign 1 would almost be the perfect complete bike for what you want IMO

If you are doing jumps regulary i reckon a hardtail would be more enjoyable or the SC blur or Morewood Ndiza, although I would prefer a hartail for almost everything I do except when racing DH or doing DH out of town.

 

[adam@gothikon.com]

I've had a look at the morewoods, they're pretty tempting but I think I'd take an Orange over a Morewood if i go single pivot. I've owned a couple of Giants in the past and can't say I'm a huge fan. I'm also after something a bit more unique. Apparently you can build a Patriot 66 up around the 32lb mark which weight wise makes it the same as the Nomad and Enduro. I think I'm going to see if I can find some bikes at the LBS with similar geometry, although I think it's a bit of a long shot...

 

[.:Alan:.]

Another option are the cannondales some of them would be a great (prophet MX, rush)

Giants seemed to have stepped it up recently and IMO i belive lots of there range works great and is extremely well specced for the money and now have great quality, even if you dont like the giants it may be a good idea to use the spec from a giant and use it on a frame of your choice.

 

[rayza]

heres MY opinion

my opinion, some may disagree. if you want mare travel and a bit beefier, go the enduro for sure, theres just something about those bikes that feels 'right', otherwise a blur 4x would be a sweet do it all bike and take all the abuse you want. plus you get that sana cruz bling factor.
sweet!

 

[Refreshinglygood]

Hmm

At the moment, I have a Blur classic, and an orange 5.

I sold my Heckler to get something like a Mountain Cycle San Andreas, came across a great deal on the Orange so got that instead.

The Orange is a great bike, but is very different from the Heckler.


The Heckler had a shortish top tube which made it great for bombing, the Orange is a little better on the flat stuff, but all up the Heckler was way more refined alround.

If I had my way, I would go back to a Heckler.

The Blur is amazing. gotta keep on top of the maintenance, but the travel is floorless, and so refined that getting on the orange is more an exercise in being reminded how farkin good the blur is. Just gotta keep on top of the maintenance.


Have you thought of looking at the Blur long travel.


If your tough on bikes, and are a little slack on the maintenance side (like me) go for the Heckler. You could run it over with at truck and it would keep rollin, light, climbs well, and feels like it has 8 inches of travel.

Hmmm, think I just talked myself into selling both my bikes and getting a new heckler.

 

[adam@gothikon.com]

Thanks for the replies guys.

I have thought about the Blur LT but the Blurs are only 300 AUD cheaper than the Nomad and at that kind of price it seems silly not to take the Nomad over the Blur.

I'll see if I can test ride the Enduro today...

 

[rayza]

i didnt want to sound biased before, but seeing as a few people have recommended it, i will too, heckler! i have a heckler myself and its a blast. tough as nails and light too. great all round bike. but saying that, if i was to have ONLY one bike for everything, it would be a tough call between my heckler or an enduro.

 

[adam@gothikon.com]

I test rode an 2005 Enduro Elite today, only had a few minutes on it. It was a 19" Frame with a longish stem, and a 66 RC. Really didn't like the Geometry but I think it mostly came down to the fork being massive. I'll have to see if I can find another one next weekend. My guess is an 18" with a Fox 36 would have been a lot nicer.

 

[Turley]

I would suggest either the Enduro or, SC Heckler. Ridden Enduro's and they are a realy nice bike, would say it is more XC inclined thoug. While in canada saw people doing 20ft+ drops on hecklers so I got no doubt about the do it all ability of the heckler! I would also suggest a Ironhorse hollowpoint, I got an 04 model and can't fault it! Hope this helped

Turley

 

[gothikon]

I meant to say what these quick test ride really hammered home to me is that finding the right bike is much more about geometry than suspension design and components. On all the bikes I tried I really missed the agility and responsiveness of the Chameleon. I have to say a Kona Dawg Deluxe was one of the nicer bikes I tried, it felt much less wallowy than the Enduro with the 66. Most people seem to be steering me in the direction of the Heckler and it looks like it's handling is probably closer to that of the Chameleon than the other bikes.

I was in the UK only a couple of months ago, literally a stones through away from Glentress, I wish I'd gone along to the Hub, I could have tried out most of the Santa Cruz and Orange range on some great trails

Anyone able to compare the feeling of the Heckler and Chameleon?

 

[tnankie]

get a nomad.
you will love it.
it will love you.
'nough said.

 

[Oddjob]

I went through the same process at the beginning of this year and it really came down to a competition between the SC Heckler and the Morewood Shova ST. Both are tough, low maintenance, light and handle very nicely with great geo. I went for the Shova becuase the guys at Bling http://www.blingindustries.com.au made me a really good deal and I liked the idea of having a boutique bike.

If you get either the Heckler or Shova do yourself a favour and get the best buildset you can afford as they are both top shelf frames and get travel adjustable forks, it will make the bike much more versatile.

BTW Neezy have some sweet deals on ex demo SCs check out http://www.neezy.com.au/shop_exdemo.htm

 

[velocity_cycles]

I would have to agree with some of the other guys and recommend a Heckler. A bit biased since I have one myself, but it truly is the perfect all-rounder. Equally at home on Cross Country or even on the road (with a fork lockout) as it is on rough stuff. Also it is a lot simpler and easier to maintain than the Blur, plus it will take more abuse if you stray towards the more hectic downhill stuff... If you get a Heckler, get a coil shock as well - completes a perfect package. And get the anodised frame... far more resilient and better looking than powdercoat.

 

[gothikon]

Yeah, I'm glad Neezy finally got a website! They have a really nice deal on a Heckler at the moment, not sure about the fork, heard the DUC32 is meant to be pretty good though. I'm >< close to buying it, if only I could take it for a test ride...

 

[banshee69]

hey
in my opinion i would have to say the santa cruz nomad
they ride very goood
if your like me and do downhill and xc i would strongly recommend the santa cruz vp-free
good luck on the selection!

 

[spongebob]

Hi Adam [?] - have a read of thread 'All hill or down mountain' started by Alister on 13/7 - apologies if you have already seen it . I am biased to Spec. enduro, myself & 3 mates ride em , with the 36 Vanilla [coil] forks in preference to the air forks. Bloody fantastic all rounder but more for down than up .If you can wait a bit , the 2007 enduro looks to be a completely new & lighter model trying to inject a bit more climbing agility & speed .

 

[adam@gothikon.com]

Yeah, I've had a look over that other thread, thanks though.

I saw some comments about the 2007 Enduro over at bikemagic, sounds pretty awesome and like it could be more of an all rounder being well under 30lbs. I'm hoping to try out another 2006 Enduro this weekend, hopefully they have a medium.

 

[Refreshinglygood]

decisions

made a decision yet?

 

[gothikon]

Not made a descision yet.

I tried out a Giant Reign 3 this morning. Not something I was looking at originially and I'd deffinetly go for a higher spec model, but the frame felt pretty good, could ride it all day quite happily. Although it felt small for a 20" frame and a bit more XC orientated.

I'm just about to go and try and Enduro Elite or Expert in medium this time, the large with the 66, laid back seat post and long stem was crazy. Apparently I can borrow this one for a weekend if I want, so I'll see if take it out to the country next weekend. On the other hand I'm going mental without a bike and really close to breaking point! So tempted just to go down to BSC and order another Chameleon, especially as I'd have to wait a few weeks for them to get a white one in... Having said that the reign restored my interest in getting a full suss so I'll see how I got with the Enduro.

Later!