I’m coming from Saint John, which some of you lucky dogs know is the home of the very rough and tumble bike wunda land known as rockwood park. I know what type of bike excel’s here however im coming to halifax without a trail bike and looking to get on a new one for new season. On thats caught my eye is the GT Distortion. Although its more aggressive (which i like 66 degree head angle but climbing post angle and 4" travel) what are your thoughts of a bike like this on the local trails? I had been riding a Camber Comp 29 from the shop i was working for here this season, but had to give it back 
I understand the different advantages of both wheel sizes as well so give me your thoughts on the halifax trail systems and wheel size. I know the 29 kicks the crap out of 26 in rockwood in every way shape and form
I really like my 29er for all the trails here in HRM. I ride a 29er with 5" of travel and it’s great for all the trails, and the yearly trip to Sugarloaf. I’d suggest sticking with a 29er for the trails here.
I’ve been eager to try the 650b size since it became available a couple of years ago. It just seems to make sense.
Have a look at Ideal Bikes as they stock KHS, which runs a full fleet of all-mountain trail bikes in the 650b, or 27.5, wheel size. Everyone raves about the 'tweener size as being the best of both worlds. Norco also has some in this size as well, which are also available locally in HRM…
I ride a 26er Norco trail bike and love it, but have never ridden any other wheel size. One of my riding buddies picked up a Trek 29er and loves it on the trails here…
Hi, David. Looking forward to having you around for some rides. Trails around HRM aren’t too different from Rockwood, with the exception of Whopper and Fight, which have a lot more open granite. A lot of the trails are fairly technical - rocky and rooty, ledges, drop offs, steep and tall rock faces. Trail bikes with 4-6" suspension work well here, so the Distortion with 4" front and back should work out fine. Slack head angle would be great for the steep rock faces, but a lot of the trails are twisty, like in Rockwood, so a nimble bike helps too. The 29’er guys seem to swear by their rides - I wondered about 29’ers ability to navigate the tight turns on some of the trails, but the guys say they rarely have a problem.
The only thing about GT is I’m not sure which if any shops around here sell them, so dealer support might be an issue. Although I’m a fan of Specialized bikes, and CyclingGirl and I both ride Specialized, there currently is no Specialized LBS in Halifax. The nearest Specialized dealers are an hour away in Truro, Wolfville, and Mahone Bay, so again dealer support a potential issue. There are shops for most of the other majors - Norco, Giant, Trek, Kona, Cannondale (I’m probably missing a few) in town.
Not sure your price range or riding style. Pepperjester is hard on bikes, and so far seems satisfied with his Spesh Enduro. The Enduro 29’er sounds really interesting - long travel (6") on a 29’er. Maybe too much bike for general trail riding tho.
A lot of people around seem to be on Giant Trances and Reigns. Next year, Giant’s going big into 27.5’ers, so maybe waiting for next year’s models would be worth the wait (although I wouldn’t want to be off a bike for that long!).
It’s true I am a big fan of my Enduro. Such a fun bike!
Sportschek does GT…(no snide comments as I’m working there now, I know what folk’s first reaction is.)
Can you order the high end GT’s from Sportcheck thou? I’ve only ever seen the lower end stuff stocked for obvious reasons.
Yes, any model can be ordered in. I’m not sure of the process of doing so yet, but the higher end models are available.