Vala or Bullit as one bike to cover all

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Renton

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Keen to hear everyone's thoughts.

Looking to move to a Vala or Bullit C from a gen4 Levo comp alloy.

Nothing particularly wrong with the Levo is just you cant get away from the weight of the thing. On our weekly rides I am always coming back with 30-35% battery remaining and so a Vala or Bullit with the 600w battery would be ideal and then the option to add the Range extender would be ideal

Ive stuck a 170mm fork on the Levo which gives it a higher front end which I like and the trails I ride are a mix of all sorts but no jumping:

Afan
Cannock
FOD
Wyre forest
Local bridleways etc

Im n0ot sure which way to go? I know guys that have 180mm travel bikes like the Whyte e180 and they ride everything on it.

Not much of a weight difference between the Vala and bullit. The only real difference would be the much steeper seat angle, not sure how the would affect day to day riding.

Next year I want to go more off piste and look at the Lake district, Scotland etc.

What are your thoughts?
 
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The bigger bike will feel a bit pants on the more mellow stuff. I'd just get the Vala, unless you are riding super chunky steep Enduro stuff then it's probably more than capable.


I ride all the steep/tech Scottish enduro stuff on a 150 Forbidden and it's more than up to the task then doesn't feel soggy on the mellow flow stuff like a bigger bike will.
 
I’d probably lean Bullit based on your description. I ride my Vala everywhere and it’s a great bike that’ll get down anything, but when I’m chasing my 170+ buddies down the steeper jankier stuff I do wonder.
 
Two of my friends have e180s, and two e160s, I'm the odd one out with the Bullit...seems to be the best of both worlds for jibbing about in the woods, local single track and a bit of downhill flowy stuff.
 
I’d vote for the Bullit. It’s basically a burlier Vala, unless you don’t ride really steep chunky stuff.. I personally have a Heckler SL and. Bullit. I like both a lot. But if it was only going to be one it would be the Bullit. But riding the Heckler is a nice experience too. Great going down hill. I dont lose much time with it going down and its a different experience riding uphill tech.. A bit more maneuverable and better exercise…. But if you’re riding with full fat people it cant keep up on the ups
 
Vala it was for me, for exactly the same reasons you describe, coming back from a ride with 30-40% battery left. Why do I carry that weight anyway? I'm thinking of adding the Range Extender next year for the long days out. However these do not happen very often when I look back at data from my last 4 years of riding...
 
If, given your initial post you are mainly doing 'trail centre' type stuff and want the most fun from each ride then definitely the Vala.

I found the Vala mote agile than the Bullet when testing them back to back a few months ago and it was very capable on the harder enduro and off piste stuff around Golfie.

My actual riding and long version of the above...

 
I have a fairly new Bullit. For the first time in my life I might have bought too much bike. Don't get me wrong, it's fun, but the head angle is a little bit on the slack side for being good at everything. It requires deliberate front weighting to keep front end traction on anything that is on the flatter side. But it slays on the steep stuff or when going fast.

The Bullit suspension doesn't have a DH feel (fimer and poppier than DH), but has a DH head angle. The Vala's head angle being a slight bit steeper at 63.9/64.2* makes it more versatile. That's still plenty slack for any steeps or slabs.
 
The age old question more or less travel on ya bike.
Only you can answer this question

There's a few schools of thought.

Spec for biggest features/trail you will ride.
Advantages:- Never underbiked, You can ride all trail features at any time.
Disadvantages: - Heavier bike with more suspension which is less playful on the easier stuff.

Spec for your most common trail conditions/type you ride
Advantages:-You get an optimized bike for the majority of your riding
Disadvantages: - You could be over or under biked on other trail types. Your most common trails may not match your most enjoyed riding style. If underbiked for the the bigger less common features you may limit your max level of silly that you want to undertake. More chance of injury on the big stuff.


Spec for your most enjoyed style of riding.
Advantages:- You will have the biggest grins when riding this style of terrain
Disadvantages: Maybe underbiked or overbiked when not riding your most enjoyed style.

Personally I roll with, spec my bikes to my most enjoyed style. Which also happens to be the biggest features i ride. So i'm all in for a big travel. I am grinning the most when I'm hitting the biggest lines. I'll withstand the longer travel bike on the easier trails be whooping and hollering on the big stuff.
 
mehukatti said:
Vala is a true do-it-all bike, while Bullit is more of a DH bike. If you ride Bullit on a mellower trails, it tends to take fun out of them.

I'm selling my Bullit to switch to Vala.
Click to expand...
It depends entirely on what your top end of "do it all" means.

For me the Vala would tap out too early and not "do it all" and the bullet would "do it all" but be a bit less responsive of the easy stuff.
 
Plummet said:
It depends entirely on what your top end of "do it all" means.

For me the Vala would tap out too early and not "do it all" and the bullet would "do it all" but be a bit less responsive of the easy stuff.
Click to expand...
Same for me, I'll take the compromise jibbing around the local woods so I get to enjoy the extra ability on the bigger downs :)
 
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