Best all mountain bike

Like you said, do as much reading as you can and try to sit on them/ride as many as you can at dealers. There are a lot of good bikes out there now. In my circle, I ride an Evil Insurgent and my buddies have mostly Santa Cruz Nomads, Transitions and Yetis.

I had several Intense bikes before this one and they were fun too but I love my Evil.

Question 1 is what's your budget.
That will put you into a carbon or alum frame camp. Then can go from there.

Giant trance or anthem are nice. The trance carbon is going to be next bike probably. They had a demo by me loved it. It’s also a 27.5

JBernard_401 wrote:

Question 1 is what's your budget.
That will put you into a carbon or alum frame camp. Then can go from there.

I’m looking to spend around 3500-4K max

Stumpjumper is an amazing bike, great for everything but not the best at anything.

i've had my Stumpy 29er about 6 years now, just put a different head and bars on, a dropper post, and the bike feels like a whole new ride. i would highly recommend a Stumpy. i think if i were buying a new bike i'd probably go 27.5 but i haven't ridden one to say. i do know i'll never ride another 26.

I'm in market as well for a 29r. The bike shop guy told me $3,000 was a tricky price point because that is the lower end of the high end bikes.
once you get an idea of what you want, check out competitive cyclist online. You can save 40% or more (I can see the shop local comments already).
I tried the used market, but was spooked away. You just never know because there are so many moving parts on a mtn bike - mainly the shocks.
Good luck.

Dcross829 wrote:

I’m looking to spend around 3500-4K max

Having a brand new bike is nice, but personally I'd grab something used. Reason being is that the resale is HORRIBLE on mtb. 8k+ new bikes bringing less than half that used. So you can get a really good bang for the buck used.
The new stumpjumper's are really nice bikes, there was a new model this year so will make it a bit tougher to find one used.
If you want a nicer build kit and not as interested in carbon, Commencal makes some great bikes that are super reasonably priced.

Pinkbike.com has a ton of for sale bikes, I'd browse around there.

X2 on the Commencal. I have a 2017 Meta AM that I got a year ago and I'm still stoked on it.

As far as the bike selection goes, I think you are looking in the right direction; get a 140-mm travel bike and it will do almost anything you ask. You won't have the best bike for the bike park, but it will still be feasible to ride there. Plus, you'll have a little better efficiency when pedaling. My bike is a 160mm/170mm fork, so I can ride bike parks all day long but I have to work a tiny bit harder on the climbs. Like anything, its a trade off.

In addition to Commencal (which are all aluminum,) you may want to look at Canyon and/or YT, which are also consumer-direct brands with great followings. They offer carbon models.

Check out Rocky Mountain bikes. I've had mine for years and love it still.

http://www.bikes.com

"All Around"?

I just picked up this Kona Process 165,, to me its a perfect all around bike,, goes up decent and goes down much better than decent... like meg huh?

That Kona is sweet. Nice bike, Rosebud.
This is mine:

You can search for demos too. I picked up a 4 star build niner rip9 rdo full Carbon bike for 3k a few years ago. That’s a $8,800 bike new.

I have an Epic Carbon 29er and thinking about a bit more travel
Narrowed my choices down to an Intense Spider or a Stump Jumper FSR both 27.5
As most have already mentioned, its hard to pick a bad bike these days.

Don’t forget about hardtails haha. I have a new Santa Cruz chameleon and have been having a ton of fun on it. It’s a 27.5+ with 2.8 tires and 130mm front fork and can be swapped to 29er as well. Hardtails aren’t for everybody but you can get a higher spec ht for the same or cheaper than a lower spec fs. They are kinda like two strokes! One of the big things that sold me on SC was the warranty, lifetime on frame and bearings if you get a fs. I’d say warranty is a big plus to buying new.

Also some bike shops will sell their demo bikes for up to 40% off and you’ll still get the warranty and they will go right through the bike before you buy it. I think that’s a better deal than going used from private party. Good luck

peelout wrote:

Stumpjumper is an amazing bike, great for everything but not the best at anything.

i've had my Stumpy 29er about 6 years now, just put a different head and bars on, a dropper post, and the bike feels like a whole new ride. i would highly recommend a Stumpy. i think if i were buying a new bike i'd probably go 27.5 but i haven't ridden one to say. i do know i'll never ride another 26.

I got a price on a 19 27.5 stumpjumper and might be taking it home tomorrow. Also gonna check out a leftover Kona 153 that’s 15 percent off.

peelout wrote:

Stumpjumper is an amazing bike, great for everything but not the best at anything.

i've had my Stumpy 29er about 6 years now, just put a different head and bars on, a dropper post, and the bike feels like a whole new ride. i would highly recommend a Stumpy. i think if i were buying a new bike i'd probably go 27.5 but i haven't ridden one to say. i do know i'll never ride another 26.

Dcross829 wrote:

I got a price on a 19 27.5 stumpjumper and might be taking it home tomorrow. Also gonna check out a leftover Kona 153 that’s 15 percent off.

i personally think you'll love the Stumpjumper. full suspension? the only time i'm wanting more suspension is at a bike park, but my 29 inch wheels have more of a hindrance than the suspension. if i could go back in time i would still end up with the Stumpy. i absolutely love my bike.

This is pretty much what mine looks like. It's a Canadian company.

TXDirt wrote:

This is pretty much what mine looks like. It's a Canadian company.

that's a classic.. i loved my Flat Line Pro.. awesome little bike

peelout wrote:

Stumpjumper is an amazing bike, great for everything but not the best at anything.

i've had my Stumpy 29er about 6 years now, just put a different head and bars on, a dropper post, and the bike feels like a whole new ride. i would highly recommend a Stumpy. i think if i were buying a new bike i'd probably go 27.5 but i haven't ridden one to say. i do know i'll never ride another 26.

I had a Stumpjmper M2 with XTR components and Rock Shox Mag 21 forks back in the 90’s. Damn, I had some good times on that bike.

Anyone ride a trek remedy 27.5? I can get a good deal on one of these but the knock block is scaring me away

I would look at a YT Jeffsy. They are a all online bicycle manufacture. I have found that you can get a lot more bicycle for your money.

If you want to stay with your local dealer buy a trek slash, carbon or aluminum options. Aggressive moto dudes tend to love the feeling of a 29r a lot more due to being able to monster truck over everything. 2018 bike of the year.
They yt jeffsy is an awesome direct to consumer choice especially for the price. 140mm travel, incredibly nimble and snappy, but it may leave you wanting more in the gnarly sections, a 160 fork makes this bike an animal. you could always go with the yt capra if you wanted more travel.

Ive spent a lot of time on mid to long travel 29s and my current weapon of choice is a yeti sb5.5. 140mm rear with a 160mm fork. its the best of both worlds, you can smash the climbs and doing down it feels like more than 140mm with the switch infinity. The yeti is a decent amount more but you can get used ones priced pretty reasonably.

I always recommend buying lightly used mtbs because you can save heaps of money. I scan pinkbike daily looking for deals. I usually buy a used bike, ride it for a year, and sell it and recover all my money or make a little even. It can be done if youre smart about it.

Dcross829 wrote:

Anyone ride a trek remedy 27.5? I can get a good deal on one of these but the knock block is scaring me away

Ive had a slash 9.9 with the kncok block, you dont even notice its there. I would not let that scare you away. If you get the remedy, get a 2019. The pre-2019 have a full floater rear shock and it doesnt work as well. There were a decent amount of warranty issues on the through shaft shock on the treks.

-ex trek employee

I have a 2017 Stumpjumper 27.5+ (6fattie). Love the bike, headed into my 3rd season riding with it. Came from a full suspension Rocky Mountain. I mostly ride pretty technical XC with some mild-moderate DH runs thrown in. It's perfect for that type of riding. The plus-tires climb rooted-out uphills better than any of my friends' 29ers or standard 27.5's. Occassionally I venture into the Catoctin mountains for some more serious DH, and it does okay but the suspension gets overwhelmed once the terrain gets super rough and the dropoffs get steeper. If I keep the bike I will probably upgrade the shock to a reservoir unit with more air volume and a larger shaft.

I've ridden two full seasons and beat the piss out of this bike, 15-20 miles per week in the spring and summer and it has been almost totally problem free. Just routing maintenance and adjustments.

Like others have said the Stumpy is really good for almost every type of MTB riding, but not necessarily the best at anything. Mine is the base FSR alloy. I got it brand new for $2800. If I could do it again, I'd probably spend the extra ~1200 for a carbon model as the weight is the only real downside to my bike.

I have a 2019 Specialized stumpjumper ST. Im in love with it and I’m moving away from moto to do more mtb, at least during the dry hot Aussie summer. Here’s another vote to the stumpy. Great bike!

Fresh wrote:

I have a 2019 Specialized stumpjumper ST. Im in love with it and I’m moving away from moto to do more mtb, at least during the dry hot Aussie summer. Here’s another vote to the stumpy. Great bike!

Nice! I've basically moved to MTB as my primary hobby. Almost as fun and much, much more accessible

Fresh wrote:

I have a 2019 Specialized stumpjumper ST. Im in love with it and I’m moving away from moto to do more mtb, at least during the dry hot Aussie summer. Here’s another vote to the stumpy. Great bike!

mxdude105 wrote:

Nice! I've basically moved to MTB as my primary hobby. Almost as fun and much, much more accessible

Much more accessible and much cheaper! I just love Unloading from a ride and not having to worry about washing filters or changing oil or buying more fuel for next time. I feel great fitness wise after a long mtb ride too, there are a lot of positives