A lot of good mentions here so far. I would add to the mix the Santa Cruz Blur TR and the Pivot Trail 429. I demo’d a lot of bikes last year and ended up with a Blur TR for Marathon and some light trail work. Demo as many bikes as you can and buy the one you can’t live without.
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I just ordered an Intense Sniper Trail to be my sole MTB, so you can probably guess what my vote is…
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Sniper Trail is on my top bike list too own, it is a very nice bike! But i really want to have remote lockout front and back on my bike. Not many have it stock from what i can see. So for me Orbea Oiz TR is the best choice i think.
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- Keep an eye out for announcements next Tuesday…
I guess you men the new Trek Top Fuel? Seems like front/back remote lockout from the pics. I wonder if it is as light as the Oiz. Surely a nice bike too. 
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I’d focus on fun. My do it all is the ultimate “forever” bike. 100% about smiles, not at all serious, and I’ll never get tired of it. Giant BMX basically for ripping trails or just the woods on our farm with my kids.
Custom steel slacked out hardtail with flat pedals, burly finishing kit, mid tier components and tons of flexibility. I’m a pretty pure roadie, though I started on mtb as a kid. I love having a bike I can ride in jorts and a T-shirt with my pump and multi tool in my back pocket and never stop smiling.
Could easily swap some light 29 wheels/tires, shorten the fork, tweak the cockpit and have a go fast geared or singlespeed xc ride too… Doesn’t hurt that the builder is a friend and all around great guy too. His newer trail hardtails are actually waaaay swoopier and cooler looking than my utilitarian rig.
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I loooove my Epic Evo, previous bike was an S-Works Epic and wanted something a little more forgiving, but at 60kg so many of the burlier bikes felt too unwieldy and took the fun away. The Evo is perfect and handles the descents so much better without too much of a penalty on the climbs.
Somewhat similar situation here, albeit with a lot less experience. I could only really accommodate 1 MTB (limited space) so was looking for a do-it-all but capable all day XC bike.
Went to Outerbike (with a large bias towards straight light XC full suspension), tried a bunch and quite frankly had a lot more fun and good times on the Ibis Ripley (v3 at that time). A very capable climber (also tried Yeti sb100/150, Specialized Epic Evo, in the same space I think, but preferred the Ripley by far).
Spent extra $$ to get higher end and keep weight down. 6 month in, just added a power meter. So far, no regret, a lot more fun.
(Word a caution, I have pretty limited experience overall, having growing up on MTBs but mostly a roadie these past 10 years or so).
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Based on all the various bike recommendations above, I think the overall theme is that any popular bike brand’s modern geometry XC/Trail bike in the 100-130mm full suspension range is going to be very good. After that it comes down to personal preference and your setup, possibly your own body geometry being a factor as well. You almost can’t go wrong and at this point it’s down to the rider’s abilities. More travel allows for more room for errors.
My brother, long time roadie recently turned MTB, has a Pivot Mach 429. He loves it and thought I was crazy bringing my SCOTT Spark to CO and Moab. He and others said you’re WAY under biked, you won’t be able to keep up with the group (on trail/Enduro bikes) you’ll break your fancy XC bike and it won’t be any fun. Well, I dropped him and others on the climbs and descents, bike handled everything I threw at it and it was a blast.
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I believe this is the geo on the new Top Fuel.
It’s definitely looking like it’s a lightweight trail bike rather than a pure XC rig with those numbers! Could be a great option.
Demo’d a Spark 910 this weekend, think it had 120 F/R suspension and it was really great. I loved everything about it except the color way, it’s not pleasing to my eye. Ok, I thought it was downright ugly, but a blast to ride. The remote lock out was definitely needed as it didn’t climb well unless locked out completely. Also really appreciated XT brakes as I demo’d a Specialized Stumpjumper (150mm) earlier and brakes weren’t nearly as sharp as the XTs, which I have on my current bike so perhaps I’m just used to the or the SRAMs needed to be dialed in.
Looks like the geometry is VERY similar to the Norco Revolver 120, so I’m leaning in that direction once the 2020s are released due to receiving a shop/team discount. Thought 120mm might be too much coming from a hardtail and now I think it might be the “sweet spot” for my kind of riding and (lack of) skills.
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Looks like a great bike, but stories about the “brain” scare me. 
Ditto. Spesh used to have a killer in this category with the short lived Camber EVO. It was a great blend of XC and trail.
The new Epic EVO looks great in many ways, but I also don’t buy into the Brain. I haven’t ridden the new design, but the proprietary nature of it is a negative for me.
As a former stumpy S-works rider, I’ll never go back to a brain fitted bike. When the brain is on point, it’s fantastic, standing on a 130mm bike with almost no bob is pretty cool, but sending it out once a year or more is just silly.
I guess i’m a loner. My one bike quiver is equipped with a Jet-9. Remember when that was Niner’s XC FS bike before the rkt? With the supplied wheels/tires it is very much at home on my local chunky trails, and now that i’ve got a separate XC wheelset for racing. My JET-9 RDO is far more capable than my stumpy going downhill and in chunkier areas, but doesn’t climb quite as well since it is about 2-3 lbs heavier (much of that since the stumpy was a 26er)
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Yeah, that is ancient by current standards. The new Stumpy (at least 2 generations newer than yours) is a completely different machine. It is far more capable with the 29er wheels and revised geo to make it a versatile trail bike on par with any other bike in the category.
Yeah, I demo’d a RIP-9 around the same time I bought the stumpy and that was when 29ers were quite sluggish from the longer chainstays. Dropping off and stepping up ledges was nothing like what I was used to. Now with boost, the stays are shorter and ride feel is back to what it was like on a 26er. That and the new bikes also have shorter stems to go along with the slacker geo and most bike manufacturers have done the same. Coolest part about the newer gen bikes, is that my current one is only a 3 star spec’d bike, so mostly XT, which is the other part of the weight penalty, but servicing/replacing XT has a much better pricepoint!
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I ride a Canyon Spectral and have no complaints. It’s a great all-rounder at a great price point.
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Intense Primer. 140 front 130 rear. It climbs like a beast and the weight is good if you get the right build. Also, it has the guts to do real tech riding. I take it to smaller parks and it is just fine.
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Probably too much XC, but the new Pivot Mach 4 SL is swinging towards the trail direction.
All it takes is $12,000 and you have the bike of your dreams…seems reasonable.
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