Epic 29er to: Camber29er Vs Stumpy29er Vs Stumpy650b

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Epic 29er to: Camber29er Vs Stumpy29er Vs Stumpy650b
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flag lebca
Posted: Nov 3, 2015 at 10:31 Quote
I've ridden a 2012 Expert Epic 29er XL (I'm over 6ft) for the past 3 years on most trails in the SF bay area: Santa Cruz Campus, Demo, Saratoga Gap, Rocky Ridge, Dogmeat, Limekiln with almost no problems. Three wishes if I could alter my bike are:
--More travel (as I bottom out occasionally and more plush feels good)
--Little shorter footprint (not super agile on the switchbacks)
--Perhaps a slacker headtube angle

Given these preferences, the Camber seems like an obvious upgrade choice. However, I think of the Camber as trying to meld the Epic with the Stumpjumper and so I think maybe just grabbing the new Stumpy might be a more effectively awesome decision since the Stumpy does better at what it's for than the Camber and the Epic does better for what it's for than the Camber. Plus, I haven't been on a bike without a brain in a long time. Which then brings about the decision between 29er Stumpy and 650b Stumpy.

So questions are:
-- Is the Stumpy too much for the trails I 90% of the time ride?
-- Does the 650b's nimbleness over the 29er make up for the decreased climbing ability?
-- Too much to race a Stumpy in an XC race?

Edit: I have been reading the Stumpjumper thread where the member from MN asks a very similar question. I'll take a look at the videos once I'm in a place to do so.
flag seanondemand
Posted: Nov 11, 2015 at 10:19 Quote
I've ridden the 2016 Stumpies and Cambers in all their wheel sizes, but I'm no geometry expert, so this is all strictly my relatively uninformed impressions of the bikes, and I haven't ridden in that area... now, that being said:

The new stumpy, while really agile and fast for a 150mm bike, is still a lot of bike; it is neither light nor the best climbing option out there, although it's certainly not bad. But if you're used to riding around on a Epic 29er, it's going to feel obese. If you want something more playful and versatile than your Epic, I'd say go Camber; it's a more aggressive, slack, and IMO fun bike than the kinda buttoned-up, serious Epic, and the perfect amount of bike for the kind of trails it sounds like you ride.

Having ridden both 650b and 29er versions (and the 6Fattie SJ, which is another thread altogether), and being a relatively small 5'10" 150 lb rider, I personally prefer the 650b versions of both, as I tend to prefer a nimbler bike to pick my lines and be a little more flick-able. Bigger dudes have the power to move a 29er around, which I simply lack, and so when things get steep and technical, I start feeling out of control on a 29er. But if you're riding an XL, I'd guess you're the kind of guy who'd have a strength to move those bigger wheels around. I'd try to make it to a demo day to try both wheel sizes to be sure, but that's just me.

And for an XC race, the SJ would be a lot of bike to haul around. It's slack and you'll slay the downhill sections, but on technical climbs you'll get passed a lot.
flag ddean
O+
Posted: Nov 29, 2015 at 8:46 Quote
I have an sworks epic 26 and I recently moved to a place where free riding rules, so I now also have an sworks enduro 29.

Since I got the enduro, the epic feels like a tiny hardtail. I needed to get a bigger bike to ride the local trails and it came down to a DH bike or an Enduro. It doesn't sound like you're in the same situation, so maybe a little smaller, like a Stumpy is what you need.

The Enduro is a lot of bike. My rides start off with 1500ft climbs to the trail tops and while its no Epic, the big Enduro gets up there okay. Once it heads down, it all makes perfect sense.

If it's an XC race, I'm not sure why you'd want to be on anything but your Epic.
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