Hi Guys I'm seeking your opinions here since I'm now g@tvol of watching countless reviews and reading forums on bikes and I am too scared of buying a bike that doesn't suit my riding perfectly. I bought myself a 2018 Scott Spark 950 at the beginning of the year and I ride it HARD! I love it, but I've outgrown it. The reason I went for a XC bike is because I ride (and enjoy) alot of XC events and stage races in the Western Cape, but I really enjoy some gnarly trails. I spend most of my time riding the Durbanville & Stellenbosch trails (Majik, Bloemendal, Contermans, G-spot, Jonkershoek) and the Spark handles it well, but it takes quite a beating and doesn't feel too stable in the gnarly stuff. I'm now starting to look at longer travel bikes (120mm-140mm) that are built for a bit of both. I've been looking at the Pyga Stage Max, Evil The Following, Santa Cruz Hightower and the Scott Genius 930 (even though its more of a trail bike). My biggest focus point is getting a bike that you can spend all day in the saddle in (and a efficient climber) but also an awesome trail shredder. In simpler terms, I'm looking for a bike that will tackle a 70km, 1800m climb, race day and also be very fun and capable on the trails. Also taking best value for money into account. My mate bought himself a Scott Genius 750 in April. I've taken it for a few short rides and it shreds coming down but the climbing does become sluggish after a while, not too bad but you can definitely feel it and I can only imagine that it will take a toll on you in a long race. I'm open to any opinions and recommendations.
