Are you searching for the do-it-all bike, or do you want bike that does one thing well? - How many different segments of mountain bike niche can you count, what are they?
depends on personal needs and preferences. most bikes i'd say can "do it all" to a certain degree just with differences in performance of course. the most versatile bikes imo if you go from road to trail would be a fully xc with different sets of tyres and suspension lockout.
Rampage bikes will never race XCO or vice versa, but… my Zerode does pretty much everything I do. 140/150 climbing and descending local trails or 160/170 ripping at a bike park. It’s terrible for XC, but so am I.
I had a choice between the Whyte T-140 and E-160 and I plumped for the T-140 as the majority of rides would be with my family on easy stuff. It was definitely a compromise as I would have preferred a lightweight xc bike for with the family and an enduro bike for out with the boys.
For me a do it all bike is a bike for people who aren't racing, its a trail/ all mountain bike, a bike you pull out the shed and go riding wherever and whenever you want.
All I need is one summer bike and one winter bike. Normal people that work for a living and have to pay for life can't afford to have a bike for every situation. I have a bike that is suited to the trails I ride and the state I live in, why would I want a down hill/enduro bike if I have no trails around me that support it and I don't race. All I want to do is go out and have fun!
Where I live an Enduro bike or dh bike doesn't make much sense. I have a bike park 4 hours away. And one set of trails that actually make use of an Enduro bike. Other than that a 140/130 trail bike is all I need for all the trails around me.
Racing bike, road bike, track bike, crit bike, city bike, hybrid bike, gravel bike, downhill bike, mountain bike, trail bike, cargo bike, fat bike. That’s 12 bikes marketed to separate segments, not counting e-bikes. Pros and really talented riders might participate in one or two categories and excel. Ordinary people make do with one or two… usually something in the middle. The others put OCD on full display in the hope of impressing people on social media… as if the ability of transferring a pay check to bike companies indicates something other than the fact that they’ll be working forever.
I’ve got a Transition Spur and loving it’s versatility it has to be the closest I’ve had to that do it all bike. I’ve built it pretty light with some carbon wheels and it just flies, not only that it is also very capable and constantly surprising me what it can ride. I never feel over biked or under biked wherever I’ve taken it. A well designed 120mm 29er is probably all that most people would really need in the UK to be honest.
I think the modern short travel agressive trail bikes with their slack headangles and steep seat angles are about as close to a "do it all bike" as one can get. Very stable and confidence inspiring but still light enough for long rides or long or technical climbs. My Giant Trance with 130/120 travel and a 65 degree headangle is a good example, I use it for everything from XC rides to uplift days at the bike park and the bike takes it all in it's stride!
Unless you are racing at the highest levels, you don’t need all these bikes. One, maybe two will suffice. If you want lots of bikes, hey go for it, but they are not necessary. Just to piss everyone off I’ll say it- the best do it all bike is a big enduro style, beefy built Class 1 emtb. The motor means you can build it as burly as necessary with the geo to match to hit the steepest, gnarliest trails, but the motor means it will still be a hoot on more mellow stuff. And properly designed they will still soar like an eagle. For non racers, your typical 65ish degree HTA with anywhere from 120-150 rear travel and 130-160 front travel (or even a hardtail) (whether full 29er, full 27.5 or mullet) can do everything- it might be a bit slower on XC stuff and not give you as much safety net on the more extreme stuff, but it can still do even that stuff. If you find yourself constantly blaming your bike, or saying “if only I had ____ I could do that,” then the truth is that it’s probably not the bike but you. Bottom line- if you want a do it all bike, work on your skills. Better skills will allow you to do more with any bike than poor skills and multiple bikes ever will.
I do blue/green trails and bike packing. The hard tail I have suits my needs for now. My transmission can probably use a good upgrade, I’m also thinking about going tubeless. Lots of parts to collect and switch out lol.
My Trek Gen 6 Fuel EX is as close to a do it all bike(XC, Trail, Downhill) as I think you can get...lots of compromises but it works well enough for all the types of riding I do.
One bike to rule them all? 27.5 hardtail, get your skillset on and you're good for anything! Btw GMBN, we are not racers like you guys/gals... we don't care about our times, we care about having fun!
I have only one bike... actualy ebike... Trek Rail 9.7. I am using it for riding with my daughter with kids shotgun pro (gravel / light trail) and it is also use for trail / all mountain / enduro when I am alone. It can cover all :-)
I have a 2022 Stance 29er full suspension trail bike with 120/130 travel. I've swapped out the handlebars, grips, dropper post lever (all PNW components) and tires, went from Forekasters EXO (F&R) to Dissector DD (R) DHR II DD (F). The bike performs amazing on all the trails, it's even impressed other riders I met on the trails with $5,000+ dollar bikes that it can do the same trails/lines they ride. The best thing I like about it is that I didn't go into debt financing the bike with a credit card company which makes it even better.
I'm just getting back into it now. I've only got/can afford one bike right now, but I'm pretty happy with it. It suits my purposes well enough. I got a new 2022 Specialized Stumpjumper Alloy S3 on a killer sale in 2024. I have my qualms with the shifting, but otherwise I'm loving it. And having been out of the saddle for 15 years, and just getting back in? I'm going to give it a while before i even consider changing anything. My bike is a decent Jack-of-all-Trades for trail related, but it is certainly not for roads if you're looking for speed. Great for exercise, just not speed on flats. It's very agile and I'm happy with the travel, suspension lock-outs and brakes...now I just gotta get some conditioning back and get on some real trails.
I have more bikes than I ever thought I would: gravel, road, tandem road, xc hardtail, trail hardtail, full suspension trail, full suspension enduro, and fat bike. All accumulated over several decades of riding.
My first full suspension was a gary fisher sugar 4+
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I had only one bike 15 years ago. Hard tail 26" Scott Yecora with idk 60mm of travel. Now it's different, I personally own 4 (DJ, XC, Enduro, E-Enduro). Depending on the use, I grab the bike that fits. Either pump track, short/long ride out at home, bike park with or w/o uplift. It all depends on circumstances I suppose.
My do it all bike is ironically my Specialized Turbo Levo. It can handle everything from any mountain trail I'd ever ride to bombing through the city streets. all the while keeping a giant smile on my face!!.
Agreed versatile is key - would you want a bike that you change for different days out - switching wheels and or links or even shocks out to have one bike to do it all - but with some changes? Cheers Owen
@@OwenBikeNerd I have a Giant Trance 29, 120 Rear and 140 front suspension. It is my do it all bike. I sold my SC Chameleon, my Scott Genius and kept this. I have 3 sets of wheels. 1 for more aggressive trail; 30 mm ID and heavier, knobby tires. Number 2 are a set of carbon 25 mm ID with Vitorria Bazro's for more XCish mellow flow trails. The other is an older set of 22 mm ID carbon wheels with gravel tires for the 4-5 times a year I ride gravel. Added up still cheaper than 1 more bike.
I have a Very modded 2024 alloy stumpjumper with 160mm fork. It now has evo / 15 geo, it bombs down the hills i ride, it can climb back to the top. It can do just about everything an xc - enduro will. I have a gravel bike for pavement and mixed gravel and smoother dirt trails.
I think I'd rather just have a slightly heavier hardtail that I could XC and All Mountain on with different wheelsets. THOUGH I do appreciate the idea that a bike can be modular and easily modified to suit the ride of the day.
Yep one main bike an AM. 130 Atherton does everything I need in my riding, a mixture of xc/trails occasional Bike Park. Do have my owned from new but much upgraded components 1998 Kona Kilauea… that I ride from time to time just for that 1990’s feel.
My stumpy can do it all but I still have other more focused bikes. However, i can take it anywhere and get by while still having fun. I run it 160/160 but stayed with a 36 instead of a 38 and I have 2 different wheelsets for more mellow or DH use
I think one of these gravity oriented do-it-all bikes would be noce to do local mellower stuff and change it to the bigger configuration for the semi regular bike park visit
If you are anything near serious about biking you need (at least!) a second bike for redundancy. In the two years after starting with MTBing on a rather cheap XC alloy bike, I often was waiting for spare parts or a timeslot in the local bike shop to get that one bike fixed. Missed many opportunities to go riding that way. That alone was reason enough to get a 2nd bike (trail fullsusser), and it allows me to start train my bike handing skills on more challenging trails.
For me the do it all bike would be the scott genius (ST) it has 160/150 mm of travel, the twin lock system allows you to switch from full travel to just 100mm front and rear or full lockout So you can ride anything from gravel to some enduro or bike park
I think the era of many bike genres comes to an end thanks to the crisis in the industry. We can already see that brands shrink their lineup in favour of adjustability.
I built up a We Are Arrival with intend suspension. It’s set up as 130/140mm, but with the removal of some spacers I get 140/150. And if I change the linkage and remove more spacers from the fork, it’s 152/160. That’s versatility!
My pimped 2022 alloy Specialized Stumpjumper is my do it all bike. At my level of riding, it does everything I need it to do, and it does not affect me negatively if people on much lighter bikes can leave me in the dust. It is solid enough that I doubt that I could extend it beyond its design brief.
That G1 is way better than you described. It's designed as an enduro bike with a 180/170mm fork and 162 or 175mm on the rear, just flip the chip and change the shock progression and travel. Their mutators adjust chain stay length and BB height independently, no need for a new linkage like you said. To change travel all you need to do is change the shock (and matching fork) and then you can alter the BB height to suit, super simple job to do. In short mode the travel is 142/155mm and in long it's 182/200mm. I think it's overlooked how insane having all that in one bike is. For most people you can have an enduro bike that can be set up specifically for your body and riding style. Buy an extra fork and shock and you have a dh bike ready for your annual Alps trip or bikepark weekend after an hour in the garage. The same is true if you want to rally with shorter travel. Then you factor in the quality and durability of the handmade frames with properly sealed bearings ready for all 4 seasons of the UK winter with arguably the best customer service and geometry in the industry. Best bit its a bike they want you to keep and grow with for years, not replace with next year's colour way and I think the industry needs more of that eco minded, consumer friendly mentality
Also a wheel/tyre swap makes a huge difference to how your bike rides. Enduro/trail bike with a light, fast rolling trail set and sticky downhill set has been my go-to for years now. Unsurprisingly a G1 is next on my list.
Well, that second part happened to me... From Specialized Epic FSR i went to Stumpjumper FSR... Then I opened my law firm, gained some money and now I have gravel, eBike, all mountain bike (can't call it enduro since is 170 front and 140 rear, set up as mullet), and then I have steal framed hardtail with 150mm travel fork, then one cross country hard tail wit 100mm fork, and in the end, yes I do have roadie Scott Speedster just in case... 🙄 🙄 🙄
I feel like a modern 140mm trail bike can now do most things. Obviously not at a competitive level but it can get by in most categories. No way I’m going through the trouble to change a bunch of stuff. I don’t even mess with flip chips. Set it to where it feels best and then I forget about it
I've got my personal do-it-all-Bike last year. A Nicolai Argon GAM Pinion. Aggressive Hardtail, able to go down (much better than me), go up, go in the air, go on long distances and even with a lot of Bikepacking gear. I just have a second Wheelset to switch between asphalt/fire road and the gnarly stuff. Sold my Full-Sus and will sell my Gravel in the near future, because the Nicolai does anything.
Had an xc hardtail (Giant sth): broke XC Fully (Specialized Rockhopper): broke Allround fully (Winora sth): broke Freeride (100mm front 120mm back in 1999 was freeride...) fully (Haibike Haiend 2): blew 2 RockShox coil shocks on that but i still have it today (and en e-enduro - propain ekano 2 al - not broken 😅 till now) Verdict: if you go hard, get more bike. 🎉
Just getting back into riding, lost almost 140lbs over the last 2 years! Would a modern hardtail not be the do it all? Like they’ve came out with gravel bikes that are just 90s mountain bikes😅 and I know some stuff is pretty gnarly, but you just clip in and go fast!
Welcome back to riding - bikes are awesome right? Modern Hardtails - agreed are supremely versatile - and depending on where you live and what trails you ride - of course they can be the one bike! but then some of the new shorter travel trail bikes can be great too... Again welcome back to riding! Cheers Owen
Built up 2 older bikes, but still quite capable and they cover all the bases for me. GT Zaskar 9r 100/120 for XC. Trek Fuel EX 130/140 for trail and even crosses into enduro and DH to a degree. Between the 2 bikes I can ride all the terrain and even bike parks without thinking of another bike to fill the gap. Some can get by just fine with a 120/130 trail bike too.
the only problem is the bike world forgets that not all riders can afford a more than one bike and to get the one bike that does it all the bike shops and ridding groups tell you you have to have the most expensive bike and equipment
I think you are putting a horse before the cart: for a price of one modern do-it-all adjustable bike you can get two-three "outdated" bikes it is supposed to replace.
My Ibis Ripley AF 120/140 with 30mm wheels can do XC riding fine and can handle some spice when the going gets down. My one bike is lonely though. It needs a stable mate. Just dont know if its a "bigger" bike or "smaller" bike
A Enduro Bike is a do it all bike in my opinion. I‘ve done XC weekend rides with my dad who is riding a canyon lux for xc. We‘ve done 2500m of climbing per day twi days in a row and next weekend I went to Leogang for 2 days. For normal riders a Enduro Bike is all you need
The outgoing 2023 RM Altitude with the Ride9 has been my goldilocks bike handling everything from 15-20mile xc rides to double black dh trails. A few friends have done the same with Ibis Ripmo/Mojo HD. Canyon spectral, and Specialized stumpy Evo/Enduro
Guerrilla Gravity (rip) were the first brand I noticed that made each of their models modifiable into a longer/shorter travel version to suit the type of riding you wanted to do. Yeah, other brands have easier and cheaper ways of doing it, but GG bikes allowed you to go from 125mm all the way up to 170mm rear suspension whereas other brands only differ 10 to 30 millimetres.
Too many adjustments are a marketing gimmick for 99% of the riders. Most people don't touch any adjustments and ride the bike stock. Even if they do, they can't discern the difference between these small adjustments. Stumpjumper Evo is a prime example.
I know, you know what I'm going to say... When I through a leg over a Fatbike, my world changed. It does everything. Obviously its not a full sus downhill monster but it can cope with most trails and keep up. It can do XC/Enduro/trials/singletrack like a beast/bikepacking/touring... the list goes on and its simple. Very low maintenance. ok, Come join me guys. See you in FoD. I'll get my coat.
We used to hit the gnarliest trails on rigid MTBs in the 90s. The idea of suspension blew our minds. We had to ride the same bike home on the pavement at the end of the day. I think Full sus bikes are awesome, but personally I feel like they are too specialized for a do it all bike. To me, the do it all bike has to be equally at home doing 100 miles of pavement and ripping down a double black diamond trail. While I would love to have the money and space for a bike for each type of riding, that is not my reality. My do it all bikes are my gravel and hardtail XC bikes. A XC with drop bars, or gravel with 100mm of travel up front would be pretty versatile. I feel like the industry has gone away from do it all bikes, because too many people want a bike specific for the discipline that appeals most to them. For some, that is road, some gravel, some hard tail XC, and some full sus/DH. Do it all bikes exist, most people just don't want to take them to the trails if they have the money for something more specific. There is also a big divide between being competitive in a discipline, and capability. "I wouldn't want to" as Anna said.
you missed hardtail bikes :D with 140-150 mm travel, 2.3-2.8 mm tyres, dropper post and so on... not for racing of course but you can still race for fun. you can do bikepacking, enduro/downhill tracks, dirt jumping, bikeparks, gravel/roads... but with limitations. if you want to be best in one category, buy bike that is built for that.
I ride a Transition Patrol everywhere. I have not had a need for another mountain bike. I would like a gravel bike and just be a two bike quiver. There are some others I'd enjoy for racing but I'm okay with one to do downhill to XC. I like being on one bike. I like working on one bike.
2:34 I think of you like mtb you should have a trail, and a DH or enduro depending on preference, if you want more cardio rides then get a gravel bike also. I don’t think you need a 5-6 different bikes. It would be nice but unnecessary, in my opinion
@@Underdoglemon oh gee thank you - it was awesome - so, so, so many new bikes and kit to see - hopefully the videos shared my energy! Which was your favourite bike from the show? Cheers Owen
@@OwenBikeNerd Loved everything nicolai did and the very creative dangerholm bikes. I've been a fan of his instagram for ages, so seeing those in the flesh was amazing. Sadly I didnt have too much time for going around as we had our own booth in the startup area
Latest gen of the YT Jeffsy in a XXL for my 6'5" self. The only qualm I have is thay the wheels deflect way too much to inspire much confidence in them. Then again...I am a VERY long time BMXer and am used to/prefer very responsive/stiff wheels
My Trek Fuel EXe does 90% of my riding. I have it beefed up with a bigger fork and shock so i can ride park and enduro/light downhill type riding, I also take it cross country riding comfortably as the battery assist more the makes up for my lack of fitness, and I can up the power to give the ride a bit more thrill if the ride is starting to get a bit stale. Only exception is when I do proper downhill riding, I have to load up the purpose built DH bike.
One bike I feel depends where you like riding plus your ability so bike brands could offer biulds that can suit at least two styles you like and can help you achieve it as components, tyers and types of suspension mix can change a bike? 😮😊
I think most people could do well with 2 bicycles to cover most things, or 3 at the most. -Full suspension trail bike with about a 150 to 160 travel. Mountain trail, steeps, jumps, some XC use. -Hard tail bike for trail, street, gravel, backpacking with 100-120 front travel. Do everything, durable, not particularly optimized for anything particular. -Street/pavement bike with drop bars, carbon fork (or damping system), focus on light weight and rolling efficiency. Pick your above category, or two, or three. All the other bikes on the market are pretty specialized bikes that go beyond the above list, or focus on jump/park riding, racing, DH, or something else most people are just not going to do.
I have two bikes, HT and a 150/140 full sus that I ride exclusively now and have used it for everything since getting it. The one bike that does it all leads to a question I've been trying to get answered, for an average rider at a downhill bike park is a super enduro good enough or should you really go with a dh bike? This will be my next bike down the road.
I really only need one bike I have trek Remedy 9 and I do basically everything with it do long rides more in the realm of Xc but I also do downhill in bikeparks with lifts and I never felt that the bike was holding me back but to be honest sometimes in some downhill situations I wish the suspension was a bit better.
Have we gotten so used to mountain bikes being as expensive as some cheap used cars, that Anna has to say that the price of the entry level new gen Trek Fuel is for the whole bike and not frame only? If so, that's really worrisome.
I think if your budget allows it ofcourse you can buy multiple bikes, most important is that you have fun even if it is on a do it all bike. 😁(Kona is from Vancouver)
#askgmbn how do you find grip on rocks? I've tried lowering tire pressure and slowing down my rebound. But I still slides around every time. Any advise?
An enduro bike does it all. all this talk about cross country is boring. I would say Cross country is dead. I used DH bikes for over a decade (16 years) as a do it all bike. Cross country is a roadie sport now.
#quiz - this is an interesting one - Kona was founded in a Canadian 'Province' (British Columbia), but then set up it's HQ in Ferndale which is just down the road in Washington 'State'.
Big heavy enduro bike (privateer 161) with downhill tyres setup mullet handles everything i can throw at it i do still have the 29” rear wheel setup with a lighter casing tyre for more xc rides however if im riding im climbing and descending off road i have no interest whatsover in riding gravel paths 😴
Here's my vent for the day....why are people claiming such rubbish for tyre and rim widths these days? For example the etrto and multiple rim manufacturers state a 21mm rim suits roughly 35c-62c tyres but ask anyone these days and they claim that 21mm rims max out with 42c tyres. Rubbish. Where has this crap came from and why are people stating such rubbish. I have internal 23mm rims and my LBS reckons I can't go over 50c lol...meanwhile I raced 2.6 tyres on 21-23mm rims for years.
