My pick. splits the difference between XC and ‘trail’. Mine doesnt wander everywhere on climbs and doesnt feel like it’s going to eject me on most descents. Handles well bike packing.
As MikeD said get out to a few shop demo days. Try a few back to back.
Coming from CX a XC bike will feel good initially. If your not going to race I’d lean you towards the XC side of trail stuff.
All right guys that’s really good, I need to sit down and digest the info. Lots of important points regarding buying new/second hand that I’ll keep in mind. Also I’ll try going out to a couple shops this WE if I get the chance.
I’d also suggest buying used but in good condition, something popular and commonly sought by others. Ride it, you’ll have a better feel for what you like. There’s no doubt as you get into you’ll get a clearer picture of exactly what you want you’ll be able to sell the used “trial” bike for little or no loss.
fwiw Specialized makes some very good bikes and It’s been years since I was paid to say this. Giant otoh is the Toyota Corolla of the bike world. Lots of bang for $'s but rarely do I lie awake at night dreaming of one. In saying that it’d be heard to go past a Giant XtC 27.5 for value and meeting the specs of your brief. Just my $0.02c worth 
^^^ have you ridden a giant lately ??? Haha I dream about riding mine all the time 
If you can find a Dragon 27.5 then I’d jump on it, Pro not the Sport. 853 = winning.
All of them.
Had a look at this dragon, quite like it. Those thin tubes are appealing.
steel= heavy though, just saying
Just saw giant now do an anthem SX.
Now I’m well on the path to old and soft this is a near perfect do it all bike that leans on the XC side of life.
Yeah, I saw one of the carbon ones at my LBS the other day. Looked like a bloody nice bike. Would be prefect for the trails around my place. Gotta say, full squish is pretty nice for those of us on the wrong side of thirty… especially if you want to get a little rowdy.
… that said I took my brothers full carbon Cube 100mm XC HT for a couple of rides when I was last in Wellington. Had a lot of run on some fairly technical trails. Climbing on it was a revelation. I guess all I would say is the answer is always N+1
The perfect bike hey, if it was tubeless
Iv had a lend on a Giant XTC 27.5 from my LBS.
It worlds apart from my 26" hardtail I ride atm.
2x10 seems awesome, godo brakes and a honest groupset.
I think they can be picked up on special for around $1600.
XTC 27.5 1 (2015) | Giant Bicycles / Giant Bikes | Australia
Okay, okay, I went for some test rides today.
After trying those I have to sleep on it and possibly get some more FOA advice. Being a snob, aesthetically my fave is the Focus, because it’s got thinner and rounder tubes, but it’s an alu 29er, whereas the Giant advanced is a carbon 27.5. The few rides around the block I had with the bikes made it difficult to feel a real difference between 27.5’’ and 29’’.
Component wise the focus looked like a mad bargain. Shimano xt, DT Swiss rims and hubs. The giants were more exxy but had a mix of deore and xt, and less good wheels, but with thru axles. They were more recent models.
My biggest problem is that the bikes didn’t feel lively. I was thinking about my riding the CX on trails and feeling so much more alive, so maybe I’m not ready for a MTB yet. I will give it some more time I reckon, and try more bikes. In the meantime give me your thoughts if you have any. The main flaw is that I didn’t try those bikes on a trail, it is somehow pointless to take MTBs around the block.
Another part of me says shut the fuck up and buy the Focus cos it’s a good bargain.
This.
A lot of what makes a MTB feel lively is down to weight, tyre choice and how the suspension is setup. Also you really do need to try them on the trails to get an indication of how they handle.
I would subscribe to Giant, Specialized, Focus etc newsletters to find out about their demo days and to some testing on the trails.
FWIW If you’re a brand snob don’t buy a Giant, Trek etc - you’ll just want to flick it on in a years time. Be patient and wait for the right bike to come up secondhand on R’Burn. (…They do, with reasonable frequency).
you want thru-axles. dont even think about that.
Righto, went to more shops, tried more MTBs, looked at my budget, read things, thought long and hard, hummed and haaed, and it looks like I’m getting this:
https://www.scott-sports.com/au/en/products/238233007/SCOTT-Scale-930-Bike/
Looks like it’s gonna be fun. I took a long time this arvo to try 27’’ and 29’’, S and M sizes, I prefer the S 29’’. I’m getting what looks like a bargain with close to $1000 knocked off the retail price. Last one in my size so they wanted to get rid of it.
If all goes to plan I should post in the purchase thread tomorrow. Thanks all for the advice/ideas, much appreciated. All errors remain mine as they say
Looking forward to a massive bearded grin in the PAPOYAYLP thread!
Sweet.
That’s unreal! Can’t wait to baptise it with dirt
Looks good, pretty fair spec list, should be lots of fun.
Nice work.
You’ve adopted n+1 with full gusto. I’m jealous.