Hey Everyone, I've been riding a 2016 Giant Trance 2 (140 travel trail bike) for a few years since it was released in 2016. Stay in Cape Town (Southern Suburbs) and ride everything from greenbelts, Table Mountain to Tokai. Also venture out to Stellenbosch, Boschendal, Durbanville, Elgin. So terrain from XC to a little bit more chunky. I've done XC races on it (not for time but more for enjoyment). I do enjoy the downhills and the rougher terrain, want to get better at jumping and drops and technical features as the excitement for me far exceeds racing and Xc type trails. I would like to start doing some Enduro as the uphills don't matter and I can keep improving on the downs. My plan for the next year is where this question comes in. I would like to get a hardtail or shorter travel FS bike eventually for the XC races that exceed 50km and lots of climbing although the Trance for me managed pretty well on races like Fedhealth and such. My main focus would be getting a slightly longer travel bike with better suspension ( not that mines bad but current fork is - fox 32 performance ) , better wheelset as I'm running stock Giants and more focused on the downs. I could upgrade the Trance with a better 140mm travel fork fox 34/36 or similar and get another wheelset on one hand. On the other If I had the money the Ibis Mojo HD4 looks incredible. Unfortunately it's a hard one to get hold of for a test ride so I'm going on reviews and geo which i understand is not the best way to go about it. I see it as a bike that will far exceed what I'm capable of now and I wont have to upgrade anything on it for a long time to come. I do ride smaller jumps, drops and stuff on the Tokai DH lines so not a complete novice but there is always lots of room for improvement. Lots of the reviews are based overseas and the terrain there is a lot different. I'm just wondering if I would still be able to take the bike on more mellow routes (kirstenbosch trail) out climbing, farm rides of 50/80km without it being way too much bike and sucking on anything but the downhills. I like to spend a lot of time on a bike so would like to be able to ride it anywhere. I know it wont climb as well as others but could it be too much bike for local trails and more chilled weekend rides. Any other bikes to look at, comments, advice.. feel free! here to learn from those who have test ridden, raced and tried brands I perhaps have not. Thanks in advance!
