thinking about getting the alloy spire (gx kit) as my only bike, i love riding park and local trails and it seems like the spire is going to handle the job very very well
Can you do the same comparison for Patrol vs. Sentinel? I’m curious if the Sentinel is more of a Spire baby brother or closer to a 29er playful version of the Patrol.
I’d like to see that as well. I got the Sentinel in June. My perception so far is that it’s a blend of both. Super slack with 29s and 160 travel instead of the 170 on the Spire. I also own a TR11 and love that bike but after learning about the option to put double crown on the Patrol I might have to order than in the spring. I was originally eyeing the Patrol over the Sentinel until they went mullet.
@@Flutiedb I’ve been eyeing the Sentinel as my new bike but a lot have reviews have been saying it’s plowy and I want to make sure it’s playful as well as I like to point and shoot but also like to get up on the hill sides and bunny hop and what not.
@@ryananderson9394 so far the only adjustment for me has been the 29s. But the carbon is super light. The more I ride it the more I love it. The geo is perfect. You can tail kick berms pop jumps and then hit gnarly rock sections. It’s literally the perfect all around Bike. If you want one bike to take to a park and then an all day ride with climbs it’s perfect. The Spire is 170 170 and the sentinel is 160 150 so more in line with the Patrol specs.
@@ryananderson9394 I demoed both sentinel and spire. Sentinel is definitely poppier. Much better all day bike. A lot of it is bike setup, but with sentinels progression I didn’t have much issue getting it off the ground. A lot of people overshoot jumps on sentinel. Good luck on bike search
Hi Ryan, Dan here. I own a Sentinel, and honestly it's one of my favorite bikes of all time. I'm fortunate enough to also have a downhill bike and an Evil Following, but if I only owned one bike, it'd still be the Sentinel. I'd agree with your categorization of the Sentinel as a smaller Spire, but almost an insignificant amount - 2cm is less than an inch. Here's what I'd do. Do you ride at a bike park more than five times a year? Get a Patrol or a Spire. Otherwise, get a Sentinel or a Scout. You'll have more fun on them the majority of the time, and still be able to have a blast at the bike park the handful of times you go. Or, given the current state of affairs, just get whichever one is in stock! Cheers - Dan at Fanatik
Im getting the spire alloy deore kit small. For the price is pretty solid. And i want to try a 29er. Coz im running mullet now. And the geo of this bike pretty much fit on my body. Hopefully🙏🏼. Thanks for the review.
Do the two bikes share a front triangle? I have patrol but would be curious to see how it rode with a longer chainstay out back. not sure if you could put a rear spire triangle on it
My kid is growing, he is on the small size. He is doing enduro races, taking all the jumps he can, climbing to going downhill, learning dirt jumps in bike park, having fun and still learning to doing curves, reading lines, clearing gaps and so on. A lot to learn, a lot of progression and climbing. I am thinking on a Small Patrol, I can´t demo here in MX, what do you think is the best ?
Hi Fernando! It's really incredible how much mountain biking is exploding all over Latin America! It sounds like a Patrol or a Scout would be an awesome bike for your son! The Scout is so much fun and so capable I had to throw it in there as well. - Dan at Fanatik
My question constantly when looking at the patrol is why did they design/spec it with a 160 front fork? It seems 170 would have been better now swapping will slacken an already super slack head angle…. Thoughts?
We've seen some people running a 180mm or 190mm fork and a 27.5" front wheel. I suspect they did it so everyone can find a happy medium. Want something more pedal friendly? 29 front wheel and 160mm fork. More bike-park-y? Smaller wheel, more travel. Speculation though, I don't know for sure. Cheers - Dan at Fanatik
Here is the mucky nutz fender www.fanatikbike.com/products/mucky-nutz-face-fender If you can find them Fox also makes a bolt on fender for the new 36's and 38's. We are currently sold out but they do exist if you want a bolt on version www.fanatikbike.com/products/fox-xl-bolt-on-fender-mud-guard-for-2021-36-38-forks
i just got my medium xt patrol in blue last week ,people are saying if you bump the front travel up to 180 you can run 27.5 up front ,do you know if that is true or not thanks ,
It's your bike, you can do whatever you want with it! But in all seriousness, yes, people have done that. Are you not liking it as a mullet? Cheers - Dan at Fanatik
Do you have a downhill bike? Do you want a downhill bike? My personal opinion, as a Sentinel owner (along with an Evil Following, similar to your Spur, as well as a DH bike), is that the Sentinel can ride any trail, of any difficulty, that I could ride. It's also more fun on anything easier than the hardest of hard, since it's snappier feeling. I think if you race enduros, where you're riding DH-level trails as fast as you possibly can, than check out the Spire, but otherwise, there's a little too much overlap between the Spire and the Sentinel, with the Sentinel being more usable. And if you really want a super long travel bike for park days and shuttling, but also want to keep the Sentinel, look into a full DH bike. Even with 170mm travel, the Spire doesn't feel quite like a full-on DH rig. Cheers - Dan at Fanatik
@@FanatikBikeCo thanks for the insight. I don't ride bike parks too often at all but it would serve that purpose the few times I do. I live in Montana and like to ride burly rough mountain trails as fast as possible, that take a lot of climbing to get up to. I just got the sentinel this year and it's been awesome. I'm a huge fan of the geometry and handling of the bike. I would be curious about having more travel though, I think I'd be able to push harder in really rough terrain. Although I think my biggest holdup is with the 36 on the sentinel. My wrists take a beating. I've tried a lot of different settings and played with tire pressure but maybe I just need to play around with it more.
@@CCWclassic I actually have been trying a 170mm air spring on the 36 on my Sentinel, just to differentiate it even more from my Following. I decided I like how the bike feels better with it at 160, and will change it back when I get off my butt. It just feels too tall up front, I think. Not enough to be totally out of whack, but I think 160 was better. Anyhow, here are some considerations about Spire vs Sentinel in regards to your qualms with it. You mention your wrists being the main "pressure point," which, like you say, is indicative of it stemming from the fork instead of the rear suspension. Now, the Spire runs a 170mm fork, so when it comes down to it, it's not a huge upgrade over the 160mm Sentinel. 1 cm is less than half an inch, I suspect not enough to just make the problem disappear. You said you've played with the suspension plenty, but I think you should do a bit more on that front before giving up on the fork. It has enough adjustments to make it hard to set up, but conversely it has enough that you can get a wide range of changes out of it. I've encountered a lot of people that go way overboard with volume reducers in an effort to get a "plush" feel at the top. What can end up happening is you run too little air pressure, and the fork sags too much and ends up "packing up" in the harder portion of the travel. Might you be falling into that trap? - Dan
I just did that exact thing. Could not recommend it more. Just rode some double black jank on the Spire and it was like riding a magic carpet no matter how chunky it got.
@@FanatikBikeCothat's good to know as I was considering bumping up to 170 myself. I had someone recommend cleaning out the excess grease on top of the spring to see if that might be causing some of the harshness. Took it to the shop and they said there was an excessive amount of grease packed in there. I only have 1 token in there right now, but going to experiment with running quite a bit less rebound to see if it might be packing down. May also drop the pressure just a bit and ads 1 more token. I'm about an hour away from any riding that justifies the sentinel but I'm heading up for a ride tomorrow so we'll see if any of that makes a difference. Cheers 🍻
Very similar! Both are big 170/170 bikes that are meant for smashing, but totally capable of being pedaled around all day. Their geo's are very similar. Spire is slightly longer and slacker but overall the ride is very similar. The Spire does win out in the weight category though so if you were looking for a big bike and it was your only bike for everything Spire might be a better option. I owned an Enduro for a season as my only bike and had no complaints. The Spire is also available in alloy or carbon so if your budget is a little tighter and weight isn't a concern the alloy spire is an option. Good news is you won't go wrong with either one! If you have more questions about these bikes don't hesitate to reach out to our customer service team at sales@fanatikbike.com and they can help you figure out your next enduro bike! -Rich
Thanks for the reply. I guess I was hoping the spire was going to be better as it’s a newer beast. Really seems like they nailed the geo and suspension on the enduro. I’ve been on a sb150 for 3 years and now want some thing that ploughs through the rock gardens with a bit more ease. Think I’ll get the enduro. Keep up the great reviews! Cheers
@@lafflaird5156 Im on an SB150 too, looking for some change. Its a bit too race-like and I now realize that fun is more my thing. Whatd you end up with and how are you liking it?
I ended up on an enduro. To be honest I haven’t gelled with it yet. We have had a super wet winter here in NZ, so it’s been hard to get some consistent riding in. So I need to give it more time. The enduro is definitely more stable in the chunk but takes a bit more to get round tight corners. I reckon the patrol could be a good option for fun factor. Cheers
I’m really struggling to decide if I’d rather a sentinel or one of these two bikes next. Currently have a 2021 status 160, it’s a good bike but the weight is something that can wear me out on the climbs. I want something that’s fun but composed when it needs to be and something that isn’t going to kill me on the climbs back up as I’ve literally never been to a bike park and only occasionally (once a year maybe) go to an uplift DH track (based in Scotland)
Cody's running X01 11-speed. He says he finds it a bit more reliable (and also, of course, a bit cheaper). He also sticks to 27.5" wheels, and has found that the longer pulley cage on the 12speed is more prone to hitting stuff with the smaller wheels. He's also coming from Utah, where there's all sorts of big, pokey rocks all over they place. Cheers! - Dan at Fanatik
We have. Unfortunately no one really buys them so its not worth the work involved to get them on the visual builder. If you are in the market for a DH bike from one of the brands we sell reach out to us at sales@fanatikbike.com. We can do custom DH bikes but not going to have them on the builder at this time.
Which bike would you pick, the 170mm, 29" Spire, or the mulleted, 160mm travel Patrol?
170 mm 29er of course!
Spire
I’m looking at the Patrol. Purely for fun factor! 🤘🏼
Don’t want to make things too easy 🙃
@@chimps4gimps For most of us it is all about fun! Cheers - Dan at Fanatik
You can make the patrol with 170mm too
Those stripped down aluminum GX cranks look SICK; perfect fix for those cranks where the finish starts to rub off immediately
thinking about getting the alloy spire (gx kit) as my only bike, i love riding park and local trails and it seems like the spire is going to handle the job very very well
I'd completely agree, that's all you need!
Cheers - Dan at Fanatik
Can you do the same comparison for Patrol vs. Sentinel? I’m curious if the Sentinel is more of a Spire baby brother or closer to a 29er playful version of the Patrol.
I’d like to see that as well. I got the Sentinel in June. My perception so far is that it’s a blend of both. Super slack with 29s and 160 travel instead of the 170 on the Spire. I also own a TR11 and love that bike but after learning about the option to put double crown on the Patrol I might have to order than in the spring. I was originally eyeing the Patrol over the Sentinel until they went mullet.
@@Flutiedb I’ve been eyeing the Sentinel as my new bike but a lot have reviews have been saying it’s plowy and I want to make sure it’s playful as well as I like to point and shoot but also like to get up on the hill sides and bunny hop and what not.
@@ryananderson9394 so far the only adjustment for me has been the 29s. But the carbon is super light. The more I ride it the more I love it. The geo is perfect. You can tail kick berms pop jumps and then hit gnarly rock sections. It’s literally the perfect all around Bike. If you want one bike to take to a park and then an all day ride with climbs it’s perfect. The Spire is 170 170 and the sentinel is 160 150 so more in line with the Patrol specs.
@@ryananderson9394 I demoed both sentinel and spire. Sentinel is definitely poppier. Much better all day bike. A lot of it is bike setup, but with sentinels progression I didn’t have much issue getting it off the ground. A lot of people overshoot jumps on sentinel. Good luck on bike search
Hi Ryan, Dan here. I own a Sentinel, and honestly it's one of my favorite bikes of all time. I'm fortunate enough to also have a downhill bike and an Evil Following, but if I only owned one bike, it'd still be the Sentinel. I'd agree with your categorization of the Sentinel as a smaller Spire, but almost an insignificant amount - 2cm is less than an inch. Here's what I'd do. Do you ride at a bike park more than five times a year? Get a Patrol or a Spire. Otherwise, get a Sentinel or a Scout. You'll have more fun on them the majority of the time, and still be able to have a blast at the bike park the handful of times you go.
Or, given the current state of affairs, just get whichever one is in stock!
Cheers - Dan at Fanatik
Glad to see them making alloy bikes again.
Im getting the spire alloy deore kit small. For the price is pretty solid. And i want to try a 29er. Coz im running mullet now. And the geo of this bike pretty much fit on my body. Hopefully🙏🏼. Thanks for the review.
what bike is better for climbing up
This is a great showcase of these bikes.
Do the two bikes share a front triangle? I have patrol but would be curious to see how it rode with a longer chainstay out back. not sure if you could put a rear spire triangle on it
My kid is growing, he is on the small size. He is doing enduro races, taking all the jumps he can, climbing to going downhill, learning dirt jumps in bike park, having fun and still learning to doing curves, reading lines, clearing gaps and so on. A lot to learn, a lot of progression and climbing. I am thinking on a Small Patrol, I can´t demo here in MX, what do you think is the best ?
Hi Fernando! It's really incredible how much mountain biking is exploding all over Latin America! It sounds like a Patrol or a Scout would be an awesome bike for your son! The Scout is so much fun and so capable I had to throw it in there as well.
- Dan at Fanatik
Awesome video!
Aluminum is king. Easier to lose a pound than pay +$1,000 for carbon that's more prone to damage.
My question constantly when looking at the patrol is why did they design/spec it with a 160 front fork? It seems 170 would have been better now swapping will slacken an already super slack head angle…. Thoughts?
Agreed. They should have made it 170 stock and 64/63.5 at the slackest
We've seen some people running a 180mm or 190mm fork and a 27.5" front wheel. I suspect they did it so everyone can find a happy medium. Want something more pedal friendly? 29 front wheel and 160mm fork. More bike-park-y? Smaller wheel, more travel. Speculation though, I don't know for sure.
Cheers - Dan at Fanatik
what fork mudguard is the patrol rocking
It's a Mucky Nuts fender. What fork do you have?
@@FanatikBikeCo I have the new patrol with a fox 38
Here is the mucky nutz fender
www.fanatikbike.com/products/mucky-nutz-face-fender
If you can find them Fox also makes a bolt on fender for the new 36's and 38's. We are currently sold out but they do exist if you want a bolt on version
www.fanatikbike.com/products/fox-xl-bolt-on-fender-mud-guard-for-2021-36-38-forks
@@FanatikBikeCo thank you!
Anyone know what pedals that patrol is rocking? 🧐
Deity Bladerunner!
www.fanatikbike.com/products/deity-bladerunner-pedal
i just got my medium xt patrol in blue last week ,people are saying if you bump the front travel up to 180 you can run 27.5 up front ,do you know if that is true or not thanks ,
It's your bike, you can do whatever you want with it! But in all seriousness, yes, people have done that. Are you not liking it as a mullet?
Cheers - Dan at Fanatik
@@FanatikBikeCo I have only ridden it twice at silver mountain I am pretty happy with I was just wondering about it,if I had that option or not
@@dannywild100 write back if you do, be curious to hear what you think!
Cheers - Dan at Fanatik
So tempted to add an aluminum Spire to join my spur and sentinel
Do you have a downhill bike? Do you want a downhill bike? My personal opinion, as a Sentinel owner (along with an Evil Following, similar to your Spur, as well as a DH bike), is that the Sentinel can ride any trail, of any difficulty, that I could ride. It's also more fun on anything easier than the hardest of hard, since it's snappier feeling. I think if you race enduros, where you're riding DH-level trails as fast as you possibly can, than check out the Spire, but otherwise, there's a little too much overlap between the Spire and the Sentinel, with the Sentinel being more usable. And if you really want a super long travel bike for park days and shuttling, but also want to keep the Sentinel, look into a full DH bike. Even with 170mm travel, the Spire doesn't feel quite like a full-on DH rig.
Cheers - Dan at Fanatik
@@FanatikBikeCo thanks for the insight. I don't ride bike parks too often at all but it would serve that purpose the few times I do. I live in Montana and like to ride burly rough mountain trails as fast as possible, that take a lot of climbing to get up to. I just got the sentinel this year and it's been awesome. I'm a huge fan of the geometry and handling of the bike. I would be curious about having more travel though, I think I'd be able to push harder in really rough terrain. Although I think my biggest holdup is with the 36 on the sentinel. My wrists take a beating. I've tried a lot of different settings and played with tire pressure but maybe I just need to play around with it more.
@@CCWclassic I actually have been trying a 170mm air spring on the 36 on my Sentinel, just to differentiate it even more from my Following. I decided I like how the bike feels better with it at 160, and will change it back when I get off my butt. It just feels too tall up front, I think. Not enough to be totally out of whack, but I think 160 was better.
Anyhow, here are some considerations about Spire vs Sentinel in regards to your qualms with it. You mention your wrists being the main "pressure point," which, like you say, is indicative of it stemming from the fork instead of the rear suspension. Now, the Spire runs a 170mm fork, so when it comes down to it, it's not a huge upgrade over the 160mm Sentinel. 1 cm is less than half an inch, I suspect not enough to just make the problem disappear. You said you've played with the suspension plenty, but I think you should do a bit more on that front before giving up on the fork. It has enough adjustments to make it hard to set up, but conversely it has enough that you can get a wide range of changes out of it.
I've encountered a lot of people that go way overboard with volume reducers in an effort to get a "plush" feel at the top. What can end up happening is you run too little air pressure, and the fork sags too much and ends up "packing up" in the harder portion of the travel. Might you be falling into that trap?
- Dan
I just did that exact thing. Could not recommend it more. Just rode some double black jank on the Spire and it was like riding a magic carpet no matter how chunky it got.
@@FanatikBikeCothat's good to know as I was considering bumping up to 170 myself. I had someone recommend cleaning out the excess grease on top of the spring to see if that might be causing some of the harshness. Took it to the shop and they said there was an excessive amount of grease packed in there. I only have 1 token in there right now, but going to experiment with running quite a bit less rebound to see if it might be packing down. May also drop the pressure just a bit and ads 1 more token. I'm about an hour away from any riding that justifies the sentinel but I'm heading up for a ride tomorrow so we'll see if any of that makes a difference. Cheers 🍻
Great comparison thanks.
Great looking bikes.
They are indeed!
Good vid Thanks
How does the spire compare to the specialized enduro?
Very similar! Both are big 170/170 bikes that are meant for smashing, but totally capable of being pedaled around all day. Their geo's are very similar. Spire is slightly longer and slacker but overall the ride is very similar. The Spire does win out in the weight category though so if you were looking for a big bike and it was your only bike for everything Spire might be a better option. I owned an Enduro for a season as my only bike and had no complaints. The Spire is also available in alloy or carbon so if your budget is a little tighter and weight isn't a concern the alloy spire is an option. Good news is you won't go wrong with either one! If you have more questions about these bikes don't hesitate to reach out to our customer service team at sales@fanatikbike.com and they can help you figure out your next enduro bike!
-Rich
Thanks for the reply. I guess I was hoping the spire was going to be better as it’s a newer beast. Really seems like they nailed the geo and suspension on the enduro. I’ve been on a sb150 for 3 years and now want some thing that ploughs through the rock gardens with a bit more ease.
Think I’ll get the enduro.
Keep up the great reviews!
Cheers
@@lafflaird5156 Im on an SB150 too, looking for some change. Its a bit too race-like and I now realize that fun is more my thing. Whatd you end up with and how are you liking it?
I ended up on an enduro. To be honest I haven’t gelled with it yet. We have had a super wet winter here in NZ, so it’s been hard to get some consistent riding in. So I need to give it more time. The enduro is definitely more stable in the chunk but takes a bit more to get round tight corners. I reckon
the patrol could be a good option for fun factor.
Cheers
Cool video!
Potete mettere i sottotitoli in italiano? Grazie
I’m really struggling to decide if I’d rather a sentinel or one of these two bikes next. Currently have a 2021 status 160, it’s a good bike but the weight is something that can wear me out on the climbs.
I want something that’s fun but composed when it needs to be and something that isn’t going to kill me on the climbs back up as I’ve literally never been to a bike park and only occasionally (once a year maybe) go to an uplift DH track (based in Scotland)
A Sentinel is probably the ticket!
28T ring! Someone is riding some steep and long grinds. I use a 30T with Eagle for that reason.
Cody's running X01 11-speed. He says he finds it a bit more reliable (and also, of course, a bit cheaper). He also sticks to 27.5" wheels, and has found that the longer pulley cage on the 12speed is more prone to hitting stuff with the smaller wheels. He's also coming from Utah, where there's all sorts of big, pokey rocks all over they place.
Cheers!
- Dan at Fanatik
@@FanatikBikeCo I sure like his polished DUB cranks too!
@@ThunderStruckMTB They look pretty fly with that purple :D
have you ever thought about having an option to build up downhill bikes?
We have. Unfortunately no one really buys them so its not worth the work involved to get them on the visual builder. If you are in the market for a DH bike from one of the brands we sell reach out to us at sales@fanatikbike.com. We can do custom DH bikes but not going to have them on the builder at this time.
Will the patrol become available in carbon sometime soon you think??
I don't know, but it wouldn't surprise me if they have one in the works. As to whether it'll be available soon, I have no idea.
Dan at Fanatik
No one is talking about what happens to the spire if you put 27.5’s on er’. It’s a thing. Trust.
subtitles?
D-townnnnnnnnnn
What trail is this?
Its the North Mountain trail network outside of Darrington, WA. Pretty awesome place to ride bikes!
www.trailforks.com/region/north-mountain-12300/
Also a pretty unique story on how the trails came about thats worth checking out!
ua-cam.com/video/yPiOfl-DJ3s/v-deo.html
@@FanatikBikeCo Rad of you to share that link! Definitely changes peoples perspectives when they know the origin story of the trails
Description says Sentinel not Spire lol
Good looking out, thanks!
Not really a VS video is it .. more a comparison
We'll throw them in the octagon and let them fight to the death next time!
I want an electric version of the Patrol but I guess it will never happen 😟