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All Mountain bike for short/light person (5'6" 145lb)

2K views 9 replies 5 participants last post by  LaXCarp 
#1 · (Edited)
*** Update: Bike Purchased. All Mountain bike for short/light person (5'6" 145lb)

So here's the deal: I've been riding a custom build Giant XTC 17" hardtail for way too long, and i want to upgrade to a full suspension.

I do mostly XC riding (i.e. lots of climbing and fast descents). However, when i'm ripping downhill, my hard tail is all over the place and i want something more stable.

I'm a huge fan of light-weight bikes, but i realize i'm going to have to sacrifice a little to get some travel in the rear. Over time, i built my hardtail to weigh in just over 22lbs.

My current set-up:
Giant XTC Frame 17"
Manitou Fork (80mm travel)
Sram 2x10 set-up
Spinergy Spox 26" Wheels

I don't need my fully to be super light weight, but i think given the weight of myself (145lbs) it's an absolute must to keep it under 30lbs.

The terrain i'm riding isn't super rutty, but i love drops and riding my bike hard.. until it eventually kicks and rides me :/ (the joys of riding hardtail).

I really don't know how much travel i need. I'm going to do a drop-seatpost so i can be more aggressive on the dh, but other than that i'm lost. I know i should go demo a few bikes, but quite frankly i don't have the time, and San Francisco sucks for this reason.

Any help/suggestions/questions are welcomed... Thank you!

** EDIT: I should also add i'm really only looking to spend <$2,000 on one.. and i have some patience to look/shop for a used bike to get more for my money. Also i'm not getting any bigger at my age... maybe just ~5lbs over the next 5/10 years.
 
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#2 ·
I don't really have any specific suggestions for you as I'm not quite sure what you like to ride but I will say this: Don't get too hung up on the weight of your bike/components. I am the exact same size you are and ride a 31lb trail bike. Every bike I have owned has gotten heavier than the last: 22lb hardtail, 25lb xc full-susp, and now my current 31lb rig. I ride way faster on the 31lb bike than I ever could of dreamed of riding on the others.

I buy burly parts as I want the bike to be able to be ridden hard w/o much worry of something failing on me.

For your first FS bike, I would look into something that has around 120mm suspension front and back, top tube around 23", and a headangle around 67-68*
 
#3 ·
I ride a lot of tight, technical single-track with a lot of climbing. I start/stop in the same place, so equal amounts of up & downs.

The most "abusive" riding is large rocky descents with small(er) drops (4-5ft.). I want to be able to plow through a lot of this, and i want a bike to handle it without going overboard.
 
#6 ·
I think given my personal weight, I can in turn save a few lbs in weight on the bike (I.e. no need for a burley wheel-set). I'm still looking to spend less than $2k, and I'd actually rather prefer to buy used so I can get more for my money. Thoughts?
 
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