So yesterday [Sorry this was late - Jimbo] saw the annual Quest Adventure demo day when JP gets as many of the shop’s brands to bring their demo fleets along for anyone to turn up & try.
It’s always a good day with lots of options to try over a 5 mile loop up over Cissbury Ring. This allows you to see how each bike handles climbing, descending & twisty singletrack before heading back to the shop to grab the next one.
The selection of bikes this year was the best I have seen so far with Marin, Whyte, Scott, Niner & Tomac all represented with at least 50% of the bikes being 29ers, Quest Adventure really are getting in to the whole big wheel revolution & they certainly proved popular choices on each of the 4 rides. Nice one JP.
I’ve been exclusively riding 29ers for about 4 years & have tried a lot of different styles & types from 25lb hardtail’s to fully rigid steel frames to a 5” travel full susser. I normally ride a 21” frame being 6’5” & as a result I had arranged tests on the Marin NailTrail 29er the Whyte 829 & the Tomac Flint. I was looking forward to seeing how they would compare back to back given they all sit in roughly the same price bracket & have the same travel upfront & frame material.
Marin Nail Trail
First up was the Marin Nail Trail. I went for the 22” rather than the 20.5” frame & the first thing that struck me was the length of the stem, 120mm! The bike was set up how I wanted it by Neil who is the product trainer for ATB Sales who import Marin & Whyte to the UK & we were ready to go.
Lifting the bike I was struck by how light it is. A mixture of the alloy frame, Sun Ringle Black Flag Expert wheel set (same as Stan’s Crests as I understand it) & Fox 32 Float’s help to keep the weight down nicely & the mixture of Shimano SLX, XT & HG74 drive chain keep things functional in the shifting department. Brakes are Elixer 7’s which felt nice & powerful given a 7” rotor upfront & 6” outback. The rest of the kit is a mixture of FSA, WTB & Marin own brand bits.
Riding the bike it felt like it really wanted to be pushed on the climb’s but without the front end popping which sometimes can happen on a 29er. On the open trails it again felt like it wanted to be ridden fast & when pointed downhill it was stable and inspired confidence. I was worried about how that 120mm stem would affect the handling in the twisty stuff but I have to say that my fears were largely unfounded. The seating position is quite upright so this doesn’t feel like an out & out race machine but it wouldn’t feel out of place lining up alongside some of the £3000+ carbon machines you often see & I can see it would lend itself very well to the rider who wants to do 12 hour enduros or rides such as The Southdowns Way.
All in this is a well put together bike which at its price (£1699) is hard to beat. Marin have given it a good starting spec with scope to upgrade some bits as the mood takes you but the frame, forks & wheelset are keepers for me. The only thing’s I would change if I were to buy one would be a bolt through front fork & possibly a slightly shorter stem (100mm) to really sharpen up the steering but that’s just personal choice.
If you’re looking to get a 29er & are unsure where to start you could do a lot worse than to put your money down on one of these.
Whyte 829
This is, I guess, the comparable UK designed 29er in the ATB offering & I’ve seen these quite often in Quest Adventures but never had the opportunity to try one for any length of time as when JP had one in as a demo it was always out which I took to be a good sign.
This looks to be more of a race bike than the Marin with a longer lower looking stance & I guess that it’s more of a race machine being the 20.5” frame has only 1mm shorter top tube that the 22” Nail Trail. This bike only comes in 18.5 or 20.5 with the larger only being recommended for riders around 6’2” so was always going to be a bit on the small size for me being I’m 6’5” but not too much.
Spec on this bike is a slight step up from the Nail Trail with an alloy frame, Fox F29 fork, mainly XT drive chain & the impressive SLX brakes. However the wheels are Whyte own branded hubs & rims which felt heavier to get up to speed.
Overall this bike didn’t feel as responsive on the climb as the Nail Trail but that could in part be down to the fact it was slightly too small for me. However, I do feel those wheels had something to do with it as well. It handled the twisty singletrack nicely & when pointed downhill was able to be given its head and didn’t feel like I needed to reign it in until it got really fast and there seemed to be a bit of frame buzz coming through the bars, something that one or two other rides commented on during the day!
Overall this isn’t the sort of bike I would normally go for as it’s too racy a set up but I’d imagine that in the right hands it could fly. Cost wise the spec is about what I’d expect to see at £1899 but if it was for me I’d pay an extra £100 & get the carbon framed 29er C which still offers a reasonable spec for the money.
Tomac Flint 2
The final test bike of the day I was out on was the Tomac Flint 2. Now I’ll say straight out that this frame was much too small for me being a large & I really shouldn’t have taken it out but I wanted to see if it would be worth asking if getting an XL in to demo would be possible.
The spec for this was reasonable with an alloy frame, Rockshok Recon forks, Easton XC wheels & full SLX, XT drive chain including the crank. Bars, stem & post are Easton & the saddle is a Fizik however the SRAM Elixir 3 brakes really let this down, I’d upgrade to SLX or similar straight away if I were to buy this bike. Frame only price is £450 but I’ve been unable to locate a full bike price so if you’ll have to contact Quest Adventure for this I’m afraid.
I’m not going to pass judgment on the ride given the frame was not the right size for me but I will be asking if JP can get the XL in for me to take out for a proper ride sometime in the near future.
Summary
Overall my favorite bike of the day was the Marin Nail Trail. It offers a great value bike at a price which won’t break the bank but also gives scope for upgrading over time. Looks wise it’s not the prettiest of bikes on offer but once you’re riding this won’t matter because it’s the bike that will put the biggest grin on your face.
@WorthingSi
