It's time to part ways with my Salsa Spearfish 29er and get on something more suited for my style of riding. I live in Colorado, and ask a lot from my bike. I enjoy climbing as much as decents, but usually stray away from anything too crazy. (3' drops, etc...)
That said, I'm really liking the price-point of both the new 27.5 Bantam and Heckler. Does anyone have any experience with these in this wheel size? The specs leave a lot to be desired. I'm certainly not "above" a Deore setup. It'll do fine, I'm sure. I know nothing about the Sektor fork though.
The real question is do I go AM or Trail. Like I said, I don't want "too much bike", but I also don't want to keep improving and get to the point where the Bantam is just not enough travel for my style.
Any thoughts or opinions or either of these builds?
Thanks, mtnbikej. Totally agree. They're so similar. To be completely honest, I think I'd prefer more travel, but I don't want to be "that guy" that has an AM bike, but doesn't really push it to the level it can be pushed. Does that make sense? I'm a fairly strong rider, but not a huge risk taker when it comes to big drops. I love colorado technical terrain, but want to make sure I'm getting a bike that suits me best, not more than what I need.
You don't need to hit drops to have fun on your bike. I have a Blur LT (w/27.5" wheels) out here on the front range and it's absolutely perfect. Depending on where you ride, it's nice to have 150mm for the way down... As long as you think that's not going to hinder your climbing, go for it. Personally, I wouldn't worry about being "that guy"; maybe you'll just be the guy on the 150mm bike that kicks everyone else's ass on the climbs.
Another way to look at it is Bantam is to Solo as Heckler is to Bronson (basically single pivot versions of them). Lots of dialogue on Solo vs Bronson in these forums, so you may get some ideas there. I know Solo and Blur TR riders rave about how capable their 125mm bikes are, due to 68deg HA and lowish BB.
My heckler has 140 pikes on the front and fox rp23 on the back. Rides down a canal towpath just as well as my hardtail as I can fully lock out front and back.
140 is nice on any descent though, plush and comfy and I dont do huge drops.
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