Let's offroad / mountain bike / mtb / ride dirt

Looks at teh specs

K 120mm 68.5ha
KM 140mm 67.5ha

There is no need for di2 on 12spd mtb, it also does not exist. 12spd mechanical is bombproof.

And it's super easy to change 1 cable, especially if you put 1 solid outer all the way from shifter to derailleur, takes 2 mins.

Give Cotic a call. They’re extremely helpful and they’ll let you know availability so you can consider/cross off list

I'll probably get shot down for this but @hippy does On One big dog tick the boxes?

Well, maybe if you added some decent components to it it would get in that ball park, but in comparison to a true XC lightweight it's still quite heavy. Mine comes in at a smidge under 12kg I'd guess, but that's with a dropper added and XL frame size.

I elected XC vs something more capable like the Fuse for example, because I need to ride up hills all the time here. The other reason is because it acts as limiter for my stupidity: I know the bike is not a trail bike and I won't try ride it like one even though I lack the skill.

That said, it's taken me down some pretty bumpy stuff though where on my gravel bike I'd have died for sure. And on the rockier uphills I nearly matched some times I set on my Wolverine, even when they were set when I gave it a red hot try.

Sram AXS wireless mtb stuff is mega

The chisel came with Deore/SLX mix. 12 speed with 32 front and 11-51 back. Pretty sweet and shifting is as good as any shimano stuff I have ridden. Can't believe that's the budget option.

i don't really get all these super long/slack geo frames. feels like it is something I have completely missed. are they all just for hucking drops ? surely not ideal for singletrack

So Krampus will handle a bit quicker but has bigger tyre clearance? I thought it would be the other way around.

12spd mechanical is bombproof

That's what I like to hear

Yeah, I forget I'll not be hanging off aerobars for half a day at a time and it'll be 1x. A full length outer then is a must.

Boost
29x2.4 max (but, mummy I want 2.8!)
700 quid (I love frame prices with three digits)

What won't I like about it?

Steady on man, maybe an email but "talking" to someone?! u cray cray ;)

Yeah, weight for me is less of an issue. I got tired of seeing 600W pegged just to get my fat arse and the Tripster up the steeper stuff here. Now I have the 30T up front I can chill out a little bit more but it makes my rest days less resty and more "ow, my back".

My brain is my limiter so I'm not sure having a trail bike would make me try dumb stuff. What it would do is allow me to fuck up on the stuff I do ride, less, I hope.

When you compare the two, their geometry is nearly identical except that the Krampus can handle a 3 inch tyre but the Karate Monkey can only handle a 2.5 inch tyre, the difference in head angle that skinny quoted is purely down to the longer fork.

Both are relatively short compared to say the Cotic, so run longer stems (70 mm stem on the surly, but cotic always recommend their 35 mm stem).

It depends how long, low and slack but they can be very fun even on mellow singletrack, you just have to ride them differently. Even XC race bikes are getting that way, the new spesh epics and Scotts are long and I think Nino now races with a 50mm stem!

Is there much of a price gap between SRAM and Shimano in MTB world?
I'll almost certainly stick with Shimano but I know SRAM are more like over in the dirt world so I wouldn't dismiss them out of hand, especially if a deal comes up with it already installed on a bike or whatever.

With availability as it is, you’ll more than likely be getting Sram

https://ridefarr.com/int/product/farr-atb-cromo-29er-frame-kit/

£350 bought in Aus plus your own shipping. No experience of it but ticks a lot of boxes.

Surlys are heavy and silly expensive for what they are.
Would like to try a Solaris Max.
Stanton Sherpa slightly more old school. Love my Mk2, best riding steel 29er I have ridden. Good mile muncher but only one bottle mount.
Pipedream Sirius worth a look.

A frame that can take 27.5 x 3 for the gnarly or 29 x 2.4 for the long, opens a lot of options

Longshot is Cotic's name for the longer/lower/slacker geometry. There was a previous edition of the the Solaris Max that predates the LLS geo.

I went with the rigid fork for weight saving mainly, and suspecting there wouldn't be too much gnar on the route. I've also got some 140mm Revelations that I can swap in for less bikepacky/more techy riding.

What's with all the bottle mounts on the DT though!?

Lots of options for bottle cage placement/frame bags.

"Exclusive Cotic Designed Reynolds 853 34.9mm seat tube"
Does that mean non-standard, pain in the arse to find later on, seatposts?

No, that's the external diameter. It takes standard 31.6mm posts.

I personally would choose Shimano if my budget was for cables (Same as for road bikes). Their new 12speed stuff is soooo good, even down to Deore level. SRAM AXS is excellent though and not just a gimmick but you have to pay £££ for that

700 quid... What won't I like about it?

You won't like that it was only £200 when I bought one about 2 years ago

If you want the option of 2.8" (for rigid fork non-trail stuff or something) I had 27.5"×2.8" in mine

My brain is my limiter so I'm not sure having a trail bike would make me try dumb stuff. What it would do is allow me to fuck up on the stuff I do ride, less, I hope.

Considering the daft long events you tend to ride, a more 'forgiving' ( bigger tyres/relaxed geometry/extra squish ) bike would seem appropriate when you're falling asleep in the saddle

I love my Di2 and hate cables though. #sadface

Same here, but mountain bikes get crashed/run off down the trail without you, as part of the expected use. Di2 mech replacement cost was too rich for my blood, based on the expectation that it'd be required.

I can't recall how tall you are Hippo, but you'd be welcome to ride both of my LLS bikes back to back to see the difference between hard tail and full suspension, and if you could source a more XC orientated STS bike then you may be able to draw some conclusions as to what suits you better.

Just imagine the frame bag you could get in this:

(I've sorted the cables out now).

“So then I dialled back the low speed compression damping a couple of clips and the extra traction was just mental. I mean even on the singlestack stuff it...”

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(no more barspins now)