BeaverCreaker

@RileyMarmesh: I've felt more confident on jump lines on other bikes of all types, trail and downhill. I cannot quite put my finger on what's making this feeling on jumps for me, but it's bothering my mind.

I bought the Status 160 two months ago and I like it but do not love it. Ask me anything. I listed mine for sale

@RileyMarmesh: I am so picky, it's still a great bike. 8 of 10 is still good. It's surprising because it's better at what I expected it to be worse at (chunk), and worse at what I bought it for (jumping). I'll explain but first, I should do it some justice. I've had so many bikes the past 10 years, I only keep what's "perfect" feeling for me. For the price this bike is unbeatable. I just got a job though, so I put mine up for sale in search of that "10 out of 10" bike for me. The S5 geometry and suspension (fork and rear end) is really good in chunk for me. That's where I enjoy this bike the most, and this is what has me debating keeping it (also it's such a cheap backup bike that's pretty darn good). I don't feel the back end being to short at all here, it feels great. I have played around with different set ups, and my favorite is the low bb setting, with stack raised all the way up. It feels really good in steeper sections and bashing through rocks. Where I am having an issue with this bike is drops, jumping and cornering. I feel the balance is off with short chain stays in hard corners. I have to guess where to distribute my weight a bit depending on the tightness and speed of each specific corner and it doesn't feel very "natural". That's the only issue with the chain stays I have I believe. I usually love short chainstays, but I have never paired them with these monster 515mm reach bikes we have today.. I find this bike very hard to manual, which tells me I'm on the wrong size and balance is just way off, doesn't matter how short the cs gets. I am having a balance issue where the bike feels top heavy on larger jumps and drops, and it's getting this slight twitch mid air that has me feeling scared I'm going to eat crap every big jump. Enduro-MTB mentions it in their review. This review here of the 140 also mentions it somewhat, how the Status is better for smooth flow and smaller jump lines. I feel like that translates to the 160 as well, and I feel like this frame is best suited towards the "aggressive trail" side of mountain biking. For me anyways..There are plenty who will disagree with me and that's fine. Meta AM is a much beefier bike, like a true enduro race bike. The thickness of the metal on the bike and welds just feel bulkier. Jumping it, the bike is very steadfast mid-air like a downhill bike. You can land a little sideways and the overall bike just handles it better than the Status. Specialized Enduro feels like this too. I prefer this big steadfast feeling, and they don't pedal any worse than the Status, if anything they are better (Enduro) or just as good(Meta AM). The 2021 Meta AM I had was a size Large. At 188cm I always feel in between sizes, and I usually size down to L instead of XL. When I rode the S4 Status (basically a Large), the bike felt short in terms of "height", which I didn't like as much but looking back it's probably a lot better for jumping although worse for going uphill all day. The Large Meta AM felt perfect for me with 495mm reach and 430 chainstays, and this is all basically an experiment for me on how long I can go on each of these measurements with the new bikes with modern geo.

@OwenKartusch: I was debating the Status 160 over the current Slayer, and I went Status because it was a thousand bucks cheaper Status is a good bike but it has not blown me away. I feel generous to give it an 8 out of 10 rating. My only real issue with it is the balance of the bike feels off in the S5 size, but it’s a big issue for me. I probably should have went S4, but I’m 188cm and the S4 felt cramped in the parking lot test I much prefer the modern Commencal Meta AM or Spesh Enduro, in terms of ride experience.

I have the 160. I do like the bike but I’m not in love with it. I would not call it a Superenduro bike or a freeride bike, more like a cheaper all mountain bike that works well everywhere. I much prefer the Spesh Enduro or Commencal Meta AM for bike parks and possibly racing.