Looking for a new Full Suspension XC bike - Please explain "New Geometry"

[Muskokawildman]

All,

My current Mountain Bike is a early 2000's hardtail Devinci. I've been mostly road and gravel riding the past few years. I'm now looking to build a new full suspension XC bike. Looking for max 120 mm travel front and back. Something light enough to do a couple of xc races or 8 hour races with.

I keep hearing the term new geometry. I understand how bike have evolved but not sure I am up on all the nuances with XC mountain bike geometry.

Can someone explain which bikes on Aliexpress have new geometry?

I was thinking of the following bikes. The Lexon Riot 10 , The Trifox MFM 100 or the Carbonda FM 936.

Looking forward to some feedback.

Thanks  Mark

[carbonazza]

The new geometry is Long slack low.
Longer reach.
Slacker head tube (and fork)
Lower BB.

I moved from years of 29er hardtails with 90mm, 100mm forks to an FM936.
The big changes are the above geometry, a full suspension and a dropper post.
And 10kg of bike instead of ~8.

I have much more fun now, especially on descents.
Harsh climbs are easier too, with suspension always fully open.
And not being as beaten up after long rides is priceless.
Especially for multi days events.

[endo.alley]

The new geometry is Long slack low.
Longer reach.
Slacker head tube (and fork)
Lower BB.

Add to that a steep seat tube angle.

[RongGearRob]

The new XC geometry (long, low and slack) has turned into a new category of bikes called "Downcountry" so much so that the big manufacturers are creating two models of their XC bikes - a more traditional race oriented bike and the slacker, more travel Downcountry bike.   Pinkbike just released a video series on YouTube covering "Downcountry Bikes" from Scott, Trek, Specialized, Santa Cruz, etc. It is worth watching to get an understanding of how the new Downcountry style of bike impacts performance - good and bad.  FWW I recently purchased the Lexon Riot frame and I'm in the final stages of the build to replace my 2014 Specialized Crave hard tail.  I too was looking for a full suspension bike, but one that I could push a little harder on the downhills without losing too much climbing efficiency.  While I haven't had it out yet on the trails, I am happy with the frame quality. 

[Zomb1e]

I was thinking of the following bikes. The Lexon Riot 10 , The Trifox MFM 100 or the Carbonda FM 936.

From those three only Carbonda have definitely modern geometry and Trifox seems to be new-ish. Keep in mind that new geometry assumes using dropper seatpost, short (really short, 35-50mm) stem due to long reach and shorter cranks due to lower bottom bracket. And yep, Carbonda is not a frame for pure XC racing bike, it is frame for downcountry bike - a class that sits in between xc and trail nowadays.

[carbonazza]

...Pinkbike just released a video series on YouTube covering "Downcountry Bikes" from Scott, Trek, Specialized, Santa Cruz, etc. ...

Do you mind to put the link of that video?

I almost watched that one entirely, but didn't get that downcountry information you mentionned, just comparing some brands.

[FullCarbonAlchemist]

Give the Carbonda FM 1001 a look; it’s normally a 135mm frame with a 185x55 shock, but you can run it at 120 with a 185x50 and 140 fork, and there are no flex stays to worry about. It’s still fairly light at 2300g but has enough beef to give piece of mind and always has that upgradability to 135mm with a 150 or 160 fork if you need it later.

It’s on the “trail” side of XC, but that’s basically what XC full suspension used to mean before we subdivided all the old categories…

[Muskokawildman]

Thanks guys. Something to think about.

I too have watched the Pink bike Downcountry videos and as such have stroked the Canyon Liv off my list.

It seems like the Rocky mountain Element and the Trek Top Fuel were the clear winners on Pink Bike. (The Trek choice may be scrutinized by some as the sponsor of Pink Bike is Bontrager.) Never the less Trek does make a quality product.

If any of you are up on geometry do you know off hand which bikes have a similar geometry to either the top fuel or the Element. I do get that the Element has to position that adjust.

Looking forward to reading the replies.

Mark

[Muskokawildman]

How does the Tideace FM-XC191 stack up to the bikes mentioned in this thread?  I see that the seller has a great promotion on it right now.

M

[RongGearRob]

The Tideace FM-XC181, which is the frame I think you are asking about, is definitely more XC with it's not so slack head tube angle at 69.7.  IMO it would not be considered "Downcountry" by today's standards. To that point and as a comparison, the Santa Cruz Blur TR CC with its 67.1 HTA was one of the steepest HTA bikes in the Pinkbike downcountry field test. I believe the XC181 has been around for several years now, which could be the reason for the special offer. I can't speak to the quality of the frame or how it rides, but I'm sure if you search here you will find more info covering that.  It comes down to what you will be riding, do you plan on racing, do you prioritize climbing efficiency over bombing downhills, are you looking to be more aggressive and more confident on the downhills...I was kind of lucky when trying to decide what I wanted in my next bike, after 7 years of riding my XC HT, I got to borrow a Kona Honzo for several months.  While the Honzo was a blast bombing downhills I missed the agility and climbing ability of an XC bike. The Honzo was a workout climbing and didn't pair well with the trails or type of riding I enjoy the most.  Plus I race a few times a year, I won't be on the podium any time soon (middle of the pack CAT 2), but I wanted a bike that I could feel was at least somewhat competitive on race day which is why I went with the Lexon Riot.  The Lexon is more XC than Downcountry with its 68 degree HTA, but it should get the job done for the type of riding I enjoy the most.

Here's the link to the Pinkbike Downcountry Field Test...BTW Mike Levy from Pinkbike, coined the term "downcountry" a few years ago.

https://www.pinkbike.com/news/video-welcome-to-the-2021-fall-field-test-trail-and-downcountry-bikes.html