Best ful sus for under £1k
Discussion
As above,
looking for a new bike.
So far I'm looking at,
Giant Stance - £950 but not available until week 3 in January
La pierre X control 110
Btwin Rockrider 700s and 9.1
Boardman 650B
Carrera Banshee
Rockrider 520s which I have ridden and was nice.
Use - Nevis trail centre, laggan wolftrax etc
looking for a new bike.
So far I'm looking at,
Giant Stance - £950 but not available until week 3 in January
La pierre X control 110
Btwin Rockrider 700s and 9.1
Boardman 650B
Carrera Banshee
Rockrider 520s which I have ridden and was nice.
Use - Nevis trail centre, laggan wolftrax etc
There are starting to be some really decent entry level full sus. The giant looks good and has had some good review but there is deliberate flex in the frame for the rear shock to work. Apparently it is less than 1mm but clearly likely to fatigue the frame at some point.
I was in the same boat as you but upped my budget a little. Just got a Canyon Nerve AL - £1270 quid all in. It is a beast! It has scored very well in reviews and was winner of entry level full sus in MBR.
if you are not in a position to up the budget, I would personally go for the Boardman, Fairly well kitted out bike for the money and they are always forgotten about when people look for something new. A mate has Rockshox Sector forks and rates them well. The running gear seems fair for the price and I have heard good things about their frame quality.
I was in the same boat as you but upped my budget a little. Just got a Canyon Nerve AL - £1270 quid all in. It is a beast! It has scored very well in reviews and was winner of entry level full sus in MBR.
if you are not in a position to up the budget, I would personally go for the Boardman, Fairly well kitted out bike for the money and they are always forgotten about when people look for something new. A mate has Rockshox Sector forks and rates them well. The running gear seems fair for the price and I have heard good things about their frame quality.
Edited by Silvs on Thursday 27th November 08:24
Personally I'd go second hand unless its a cycle to work scheme purchase.
You can get forks and shocks, bushes etc serviced from TF Tuned for under £200 and then you have the major components sorted and reliable. I know there are other parts that may wear out but an entry level FS bike will be full of low end components to hit the price point, remember this is probably only £550-£600 at wholesale costs. From experience, low end parts fitted to new bikes will wear out just as quickly as higher spec parts on second hand bikes.
Dont restrict yourself to certain brands, just keep an eye out on pinkbike etc and see what comes up, be decisive and strike quick. There will be laods of Giant Anthems/Trances around as they got glowing reviews a few years back and Giant couldnt make enough to meet UK demand.
I'd avoid the Lapierre X-Control, I rode one and it was appalling, the frame was very flexy and the rear shock was awful. The Anthem X2 at PAuls Cycles looks like a good buy.
http://www.paulscycles.co.uk/m1b0s1p0/Mountain-Bik...
Its worth having a look on www.bike-discount.de too as there will be good well priced Meridas and Radons that are far better spec than the popular brands. Radon et al are not imported into the UK but popular on the continent.
You can get forks and shocks, bushes etc serviced from TF Tuned for under £200 and then you have the major components sorted and reliable. I know there are other parts that may wear out but an entry level FS bike will be full of low end components to hit the price point, remember this is probably only £550-£600 at wholesale costs. From experience, low end parts fitted to new bikes will wear out just as quickly as higher spec parts on second hand bikes.
Dont restrict yourself to certain brands, just keep an eye out on pinkbike etc and see what comes up, be decisive and strike quick. There will be laods of Giant Anthems/Trances around as they got glowing reviews a few years back and Giant couldnt make enough to meet UK demand.
I'd avoid the Lapierre X-Control, I rode one and it was appalling, the frame was very flexy and the rear shock was awful. The Anthem X2 at PAuls Cycles looks like a good buy.
http://www.paulscycles.co.uk/m1b0s1p0/Mountain-Bik...
Its worth having a look on www.bike-discount.de too as there will be good well priced Meridas and Radons that are far better spec than the popular brands. Radon et al are not imported into the UK but popular on the continent.
SheikhYerBouti said:
I've got the Boardman FS Team 650B. I'm very happy with it and would recommend it. Halfords have them discounted at times with 10% off so it's worth keeping an eye out.
Extra 10% by being a British Cycling member (£28/year) and you can get another 10% buying Halfords vouchers online.Silver940 said:
SheikhYerBouti said:
I've got the Boardman FS Team 650B. I'm very happy with it and would recommend it. Halfords have them discounted at times with 10% off so it's worth keeping an eye out.
Extra 10% by being a British Cycling member (£28/year) and you can get another 10% buying Halfords vouchers online.Got my Carrera Fury for less than £400 with BCM, online codes and quidco cash back.
There is no "Best full sus for under 1k" just a sliding scale of s
tness. Stick £500 on that and get a previous year clearance, or stick with a hardtail. Or go secondhand if you must. Otherwise you'll just be looking at a nightmare of pogo stick damping, blown seals, no service parts, heavy unispiring bland crap.
Sorry.
tness. Stick £500 on that and get a previous year clearance, or stick with a hardtail. Or go secondhand if you must. Otherwise you'll just be looking at a nightmare of pogo stick damping, blown seals, no service parts, heavy unispiring bland crap.Sorry.
Spuffington said:
ecsrobin said:
The best full sus at that price is a secondhand full sus.
This! eBay is your friend. Find yourself a top end bike of several £k which is now languishing around the £1k mark.
ecsrobin said:
Something like this http://www.ebay.co.uk/itm/Yeti-575-Mountain-bike-2...
That's the ticket! 
ecsrobin said:
Spuffington said:
ecsrobin said:
The best full sus at that price is a secondhand full sus.
This! eBay is your friend. Find yourself a top end bike of several £k which is now languishing around the £1k mark.
I paid £950 for this Orange 5 last year and its been superb!
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