Is there an ideal MTB for South Jersey?

Ideal bike for South Jersey/Greater Philly riding?

  • Single speed 29er

    Votes: 6 26.1%

  • XC bike

    Votes: 1 4.3%

  • Short travel trail bike (110-130 travel)

    Votes: 13 56.5%

  • Mid travel trail bike (130-150)

    Votes: 0 0.0%

  • Screw it enduro bro (160+)

    Votes: 0 0.0%

  • Hardtail

    Votes: 3 13.0%

  • E-bike

    Votes: 0 0.0%
  • Total voters
    23
robcleary

robcleary

Well-Known Member
I know this question has been posed many times on here, which I can only assume the answer lies somewhere between a Ibis Ripley and a single speed hardtail?

For context, I'm considering moving on from my 2018 YT Jeffsy 27.5. It's a great bike, but definitely starting to feel like too much bike for south jersey trails (Wissahickon, CCC, Allaires, White Clay, Clayton). It feels best on flowy downhill, which is few and far between around here. And the rest of the time it's a burly all mountain bike thats climbing performance is solidly "meh".

Does anyone else have any opinions or experience figuring this out?
 
I travel a lot with a Pivot Trail 429. Mine is setup 120mm R / 140mm F, but it comes 120/130 too. I rarely wish for less bike no matter how mellow the trail gets. Sometimes I wish for more bike, but in reality it's mostly perfect. This is my 3rd season on this bike and honestly it's super unusual for me to be on any bike this long.

I have some of these on closeout. Not sure your budget, but some builds are over 20% off.. We have other stuff on sale too.
 
jdog said:
I travel a lot with a Pivot Trail 429. Mine is setup 120mm R / 140mm F, but it comes 120/130 too. I rarely wish for less bike no matter how mellow the trail gets. Sometimes I wish for more bike, but in reality it's mostly perfect. This is my 3rd season on this bike and honestly it's super unusual for me to be on any bike this long.

I have some of these on closeout. Not sure your budget, but some builds are over 20% off.. We have other stuff on sale too.
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Cheers, yeah I'm kinda peeking at bikes in that 120/130 travel range (Ibis Ripley AF, YT Izzo, Pivot Trail 429, Norco Optic). I demo'd a Trek Fuel EX 9.8 a few months ago and it felt fast, albeit a bit on the burly side still (150/140).

Budget wise I'm looking to keep it around $3k or ideally under, so some options are way out of my range. But there's some good sales this time of year.

jdog said:
also a good answer. But depending on the condition of your body, you may never go back to a hardtail again. I'm in that camp.
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And yeah I'm a bit in the same camp here. I'm only 28 but I hate how beat up hardtails make me feel after a couple hours. But I do appreciate the instant power and nimble handling they have.
 
No one should ever own just one bike that's why I own 2 ebikes 😁
But down below the Dixie line I may be still pedaling a Me bike. 120-30 trail bike sounds about right.
 
Steve Vai said:
If I had 1 MTB, it would 100% be the Epic Evo over the hardtail. But where I am it makes sense. Chimney Rock is 10 minutes from my house. 6-Mile and South I'm on the Hardtail.
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If I'm being honest, that's all I need for everything I ride. That said, I really like having the SJ Evo because it's super forgiving of my lack of skill.

I think the EE is just about perfect for everything in NY/NJ/PA
 
robcleary said:
Cheers, yeah I'm kinda peeking at bikes in that 120/130 travel range (Ibis Ripley AF, YT Izzo, Pivot Trail 429, Norco Optic). I demo'd a Trek Fuel EX 9.8 a few months ago and it felt fast, albeit a bit on the burly side still (150/140).

Budget wise I'm looking to keep it around $3k or ideally under, so some options are way out of my range. But there's some good sales this time of year.


And yeah I'm a bit in the same camp here. I'm only 28 but I hate how beat up hardtails make me feel after a couple hours. But I do appreciate the instant power and nimble handling they have.
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Sounds like a Ripley AF would be fit in budget
 
I'll add a somewhat different angle to the bike choice process.

The terrain certainly plays a role in which bike may/may not be appropriate, but my mindset also includes the question, "How do I want to ride, and which bike is preferable for that?".

I've been a Monmouth County local for 30+ years, so I've been riding Allaire & Hartshorne/Huber on everything from a rigid early'90's toe clip-equipped Trek to my current 160/142 Pivot Switchblade.

For most of that time, my focus has been XC racing, so the bikes have been pointed at that. From 2007-2019, I rode rigid SS exclusively, whether I was at Clayton, Allamuchy North, or anything in between. Because the focus was being on the bike that was most suited for what I wanted to do, which was go as fast as I could as a XC racer, particularly uphill.

My last season of legitimate racing was 2018, and in 2019 I switched over to a Pivot Trail 429 and shifted my riding focus to bike handling and riding with more aggression. I pushed the rigid bike about as far as my abilities allowed, but if I attempted to ride the rigid SS the way I've been riding in the past 4 years, bad things would happen.

So, while it could be said that I'm overbiked at some of my regular riding spots, I'm now looking at the trails differently and making use of the bike's capabilities in different ways.
 
I've ridden the trails in the Philly area for over 30 years and have ridden everything from 26" rigid hard tails to 90's full-on DH bikes. These days, I spend most of my trail riding on my 2020 Spot Ryve 115 29er. 115/120 travel. It's a higher-end build, so it's pretty light and climbs exceptionally well. My Megatower can do everything the Spot can do, but I definitely have to work harder. It's also geared for park riding so steep climbs are... tough. The longer travel bike also needs a minimum speed in certain situations as the softer suspension can suck up momentum. As such, the Megatower is mainly setup for bike park riding. The Spot on the other hand, is very good at pumping through terrain and maintaining speed. I would suspect that is a trait of many modern shorter travel "down-country" XC bikes.

While I do have a hardtail (2019 Santa Cruz Chameleon) it's definitely my "third" bike and isn't ridden as often as the other two. It's fun to change things up now and then. Especially during the winter months when rides tend to be slower and shorter.

If I had to pare down to a single bike, it would be the Megatower with two sets of wheels - a lighter set for trail riding and a set with heavier tires for park riding. While I've done some enduro/DH type trails on the Spot, I've found I can quickly push the bike beyond my comfort zone on it. So until I get to the point where I don't ride at bike parks anymore, I will want to have multiple bikes.
 
MadoneSLR6_23_37416_A_Primary


😉
 
I'm down in Swedesboro & within 25~40 minutes I have: Ceres (where I ride most), CCC, GCC, Smedley, Brandywine, White Clay, Wiss etc...also like to get up to Clayton, Allaire when I can. I also was riding a Jeffsy (2021 Core 2, 29er, which I still have). Last year I picked up a Core 3 Izzo & LOVE it for all these trails. Many owners bump the front travel to 140, but I've left mine at 130/130. This thing is so much more enjoyable to pedal & is light, fast & snappy.

Jeffsy is a fun bike, but down here the Izzo is just more versatile. For the most part, I don't feel like I'm giving up much w/ the Izzo vs the Jeffsy. Sure there are some man-made features at my local spot that I'm not crazy about hitting on the Izzo...but for 98% of my riding, it's more than capable. I just don't enjoy pedaling a 150/150 bike around on the trails I ride the most.

The Uncaged 11 on sale for $4,250 right now w/ full GX transmission & Ohlins is pretty hard to beat: https://us.yt-industries.com/products/bikes/izzo/uncaged-11/606/izzo-29-uncaged-11/ (Maybe a little porky at 30.75lbs if you care about weight...but a tire swap would lighten it up).

Anyway, my two cents for an all around more fun experience on SJ trails is a light travel trail bike....

IMG_9963.jpeg
 
I don’t believe in to much bike but I do believe in picking a bike for specific rides. Sounds like you might want a “ down country “ bike( a xc bike with a little more travel and tire). Take a look at this…

2024 Siskiu D7 SE - Dual Suspension Mountain Bike | Bikes Online (USA)

This short-travel bike has a sleek aluminum frame, 120mm of front and rear wheel travel, and a qualit
www.bikesonline.com www.bikesonline.com

Fork and cranks are an issue but it’s not a lot of money for what you get.
 
I am thinking of a new bike after riding a titanium fat bike for the last 8 years. I used to race in the 90's, and early 2000's . I love xc riding. Not into shredding the bike parks at all. Like riding for fitness. Love climbing. The ti hardtail fat bike has served me well but now that I will be traveling more outside of NJ in the summers and riding in many different states as a semi retired dude at 55 I am at a loss for choices. Motobecane ORA titanium TAZ3 with 29x3" is on my list with a dropper (which will be new to me) with all GX 12 speed and a rock shox yari 120? Or should I bike up more than that????Or should I just buy a 29 wheelset?
 
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I really like fat bikes, I have motobacon Boris ( spelling). 2 things about fat bikes, pushing all that rubber is no joke and 2 is you spend a lot of time messing with tire pressure because tire is everything. To much pressure and you bounce off everything, to low and you will peak tire off the rim. A suspension fork helps….
 
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