Dictas

Hello all,

Thank you in advance for your time and help.

It has been 3 years since I had my hardtail Whyte 905 stolen and now I am finally over it and looking to start riding again.

This time I am looking for a full suspension bike (most likely 27.5 and not 29) that will allow me to both enjoy some long rides but also enjoy the trails and maybe attempt a few jumps etc but nothing crazy.

I was looking some bikes from YT and Canyon but I am open to any suggestions.

Afew questions:

1) Do I really care about a carbon fibre frame and if yes why?
2) the front suspension, is there a sweet spot between being able to do long rides but also ride the trails?

Really appreciate your help.

Thank you,
Leo

qclabrat

Welcome @Dictas, and good to have you back, bike thieves are lowly beings...

For your price point, I'd avoid carbon and look for lighter wheels and better parts.
$3K is a solid number for an aluminum, but I see the AL Jeffsy is pretty much out of stock at the moment.
I'm not that familiar with the Canyon offerings, but I've heard great things about them since going direct to market like YT here in the US.
The Jeffsy is a perfect, do anything bike, and is right in the 130-140mm range for those new to full suspension

Another bike to consider if you want to go carbon are Intense bikes, they come in 27.5 and 27.5+. I'd suggest demoing both sized tires for any bike before you chuck out the plus tire option
https://intensecycles.com/collections/trail

For trail bike I ride a Banshee Prime and highly recommend it with either a DVO or CCDB shock. They also make a 27.5 model called a Spitfire, they only come in AL but the new hydroformed frames are real pretty. Other AL frames which come to mind are Knolly and Foes. Though don't discount the bang for the buck companies like Giant and Jamis.

JonathanGennick 

YT and Canyon are good brands. Are you in the States? Here in the States those brands seem to be often sold out of their affordable aluminum models.

I favor aluminum for what that's worth. I just don't like the constant worry over whether a scratch or a ding in carbon is structural. Having said that, carbon seems to be doing well enough in actual use these days.

Bigbus

I have a full suspension Giant aluminum 27.5 that I really love. It's become my go to bike. Only downside is that I have the rear suspension cranked as stiff as it will go because I don't like the way it droops when I'm standing on the pedals and putting on some downward energy. Feels like a waste of energy and traction. But that's just me. Good luck,

qclabrat

which shock is it, too much pressure is defeating the purpose of the shock.
Consider switching to one with a lock out. You can't avoid some pedal bob, but new shocks and better linkage designs have improved this issue quite a bit in the last few years

Bigbus

I keep threatening to do that (lock out) but the bike needs so much other stuff I just keep tuning it and riding it. One of these days I might tear it down and add some upgrades, but I'm not convinced the frame is worth it. There are some much more drool worthy bikes on the market that might be a better investment in the long run.