MTB - Which Full Suspension bike for under £2000?
Discussion
Reardy Mister said:
Ok so looking at the Fuel has lead me to look at the Superfly FS 8. BUT, its a 29er, I want 27.5. Can anyone think of a 100-120mm full sus xc bike with 27.7" wheels? It seems manufacturers try to "compensate" for the lack of travel (100mm was positively plush when I got my first set of Rock Shox!) with big clown wheels.
Commencal Meta V4 trail, 650b, 120mm travel. I just bought the AM 160mm version, won bike of the year on bike rader and video said it left bikes £1k more standing.Range starts at £1500 goes to £3000 frame is identical on the £3k bike to the £1.5k bike bar anodised finish.
http://www.commencal-store.co.uk/Mobile/MBSCProduc...
Will end up about £1980 on your door step in 3 days after ordering.
Edited by Herman Toothrot on Wednesday 20th May 11:14
Herman Toothrot said:
Reardy Mister said:
Ok so looking at the Fuel has lead me to look at the Superfly FS 8. BUT, its a 29er, I want 27.5. Can anyone think of a 100-120mm full sus xc bike with 27.7" wheels? It seems manufacturers try to "compensate" for the lack of travel (100mm was positively plush when I got my first set of Rock Shox!) with big clown wheels.
Commencal Meta V4 trail, 650b, 120mm travel. I just bought the AM 160mm version, won bike of the year on bike rader and video said it left bikes £1k more standing.Range starts at £1500 goes to £3000 frame is identical on the £3k bike to the £1.5k bike bar anodised finish.
http://www.commencal-store.co.uk/Mobile/MBSCProduc...
Will end up about £1980 on your door step in 3 days after ordering.
Edited by Herman Toothrot on Wednesday 20th May 11:14
Cheers for that.
If you're down Dorset way, Pedals cycles are having their Whyte demo day at Moors Valley Park on June 14th. They will also have a Scott Spark 710 in the shop from the 8th, which I have booked for the 13th to try out. Hopefully it will be great chance for a back to back test and then purchase. 
http://m.pinkbike.com/news/commencal-meta-x4-race-...
Pink bike just reviewed the Commencal meta V4, good all rounder basically the outcome, sticks to being an AM bike rather than the trend for Enduro racers to become single crown DH bikes.
Pink bike just reviewed the Commencal meta V4, good all rounder basically the outcome, sticks to being an AM bike rather than the trend for Enduro racers to become single crown DH bikes.
Edited by Herman Toothrot on Tuesday 26th May 14:43
Herman Toothrot said:
http://m.pinkbike.com/news/commencal-meta-x4-race-...
Pike bike just reviewed the Commencal meta V4, good all rounder basically the outcome, sticks to being an AM bike rather than the trend for Enduro racers to become single crown DH bikes.
Looks like a very nice bike. Pike bike just reviewed the Commencal meta V4, good all rounder basically the outcome, sticks to being an AM bike rather than the trend for Enduro racers to become single crown DH bikes.
Took the Meta AM for a gentle bedding in ride yesterday round the Chilterns, way more travel thans required for this terrain so won't use it a great deal locally but I love it and absolutely amazed how well it pedals for something with 150/160mm travel even with it not locked out. Will take it to Cwmcarn very soon to see what it's like on the downhills but I suspect this could indeed be the do it all MTB, if not into going fast DH just buy the Trail 120mm version job done. Makes my old old 4 bar link Kona Dawg seem a right old fashioned Dog.
My only changes to the Essentail Plus were to ditch the SRAM X9 shifter (as I hate the ergonomics) and mech for Zee/ XT and the SRAM Guide R brakes for Zee simply because I have Zee's on other bikes and love them and I have common pads across bikes. Also went tubeless so a roll of stans tape couple of valves and some fluid.
My only changes to the Essentail Plus were to ditch the SRAM X9 shifter (as I hate the ergonomics) and mech for Zee/ XT and the SRAM Guide R brakes for Zee simply because I have Zee's on other bikes and love them and I have common pads across bikes. Also went tubeless so a roll of stans tape couple of valves and some fluid.
Edited by Herman Toothrot on Sunday 31st May 09:17
Herman Toothrot said:
My only changes to the Essentail Plus were to ditch the SRAM X9 shifter (as I hate the ergonomics) and mech for Zee/ XT and the SRAM Guide R brakes for Zee simply because I have Zee's on other bikes and love them and I have common pads across bikes.
did you give the SRAM stuff a chance? I am shimano fanboy through and through, but I must admit that the X7 stuff on my hardtail has done incredibly well so far, and after the travesty that has been avid brakes for the last 10 years I would be interested to see if their recent revamp/remodelling of the brand has sorted anything outI'd have kept the SRAM if the upshift could be pulled by finger a'la Shimano, Shimano XT / Zee etc you can push if that way inclined or pull. SRAM doesn't allow a pull with a finger you have to reach past the normal nicely ergonomically placed downshift thumb lever to then push the leaver that's where your finger falls, awful as far as I'm concerned. This is the 2nd fully built up bike I have bought that I've had to ditch SRAM shifters from and hence mech. I did try for a day at Aston Hill with the last bike but I just swore lots and deemed them worth only of eBay. The guide brakes felt fine to be honest but I know and trust Shimano brakes faultless and bullet proof so made sense to sell on new Guides rather then part used.
Just done Cafall, Y Mynydd and what's open of Twrch on the Meta AM, best bike I've ever ridden bar none, absolute true AM bike, will post Strava trace later. It climbs almost as well as my Ti hardtail and downhills almost as well as my Supreme (bottom section of Y Mynydd 1 sec slower), ace bike.
Only think to make it complete maybe is a dropper post, I was so amazed at its ability after doing Cafall I rode up to the top to do Y Mynydd and set off and got to the big dropping hairpin before I thought balls Black DH can't be done safely with a seat post XC height, so had to stop and put it down.
https://www.strava.com/activities/316348363/segmen...
Cafall full trail
Only think to make it complete maybe is a dropper post, I was so amazed at its ability after doing Cafall I rode up to the top to do Y Mynydd and set off and got to the big dropping hairpin before I thought balls Black DH can't be done safely with a seat post XC height, so had to stop and put it down.
https://www.strava.com/activities/316348363/segmen...
Cafall full trail
Edited by Herman Toothrot on Monday 1st June 21:13
Wasnt planning on buying one so quickly but Ive just ordered a 2015 Stumpy Evo from Evans.
Was looking at a new Stumpy 29er with their trade in made it £1900 all in. Went online to browse and theyre all gone and the trade in deal ends today! Then noticed they have a few 2015 Evo's left at £1700 with a further £150 off trade in - £1550 for a pretty decent FS 29er. Now just have to get it past the wife.....
http://www.specialized.com/us/en/bikes/mountain/st...
Was looking at a new Stumpy 29er with their trade in made it £1900 all in. Went online to browse and theyre all gone and the trade in deal ends today! Then noticed they have a few 2015 Evo's left at £1700 with a further £150 off trade in - £1550 for a pretty decent FS 29er. Now just have to get it past the wife.....
http://www.specialized.com/us/en/bikes/mountain/st...
Edited by With these feet on Tuesday 2nd June 12:28
Herman Toothrot said:
I'd have kept the SRAM if the upshift could be pulled by finger a'la Shimano, Shimano XT / Zee etc you can push if that way inclined or pull. SRAM doesn't allow a pull with a finger you have to reach past the normal nicely ergonomically placed downshift thumb lever to then push the leaver that's where your finger falls, awful as far as I'm concerned.
Ah, see I love the thumb upshift that SRAM use, as it means I can keep my index finger on the brake lever at all times. I'm tempted to give the guide brakes a whirl next time I am in the market for such things as I loved my juicy 7 back in the day, but have utterly despaired at everything they have made since
Vladikar said:
I've just bought a 2010 Orange Five Pro for £1k off eBay, I'd fully recommend buying 2nd hand!
Another vote for the 2nd hand route.Just picked up a Felt Edict Pro - full carbon frame, XT throughout for £900......was a £3.5k bike 3 years ago.
Previous owner hadn't ridden it for 2 years due to a duff knee - still on it's original tyres and grips.
Had a great Saturday on the weekend testing out a Trek Superfly FS 9.7 and a Scott Spark 710. Of course this threads specifies <2k but the Superfly is on sale for 2400 because its a '14 model and the 710 is the bike Scott give you when you want to buy a 740, which is 2300. So actually, this story still doesn't qualify. Sorry.
Anyway, the Scott looked the best by far. And after some reading and drooling over them, I had already decided I wanted the Scott. I liked the dual shock remote adjuster idea and the 27.5" philosophy and the colour scheme is very nice too.
The Trek I took along as an outlier because it was so discounted, I really hadn't tried a Trek for a long time and I wanted to dip a toe into 29ers to see if I was right about "clown wheels" or if I'm just a luddite.
With the help of a mate (who usually rides a carbon Giant Anthem Advanced) I spent Saturday going back and forth across the New Forest with them both, swapping between the two.
I liked Scott's dual shock remote adjuster, it was really very convenient BUT, I didn't really miss it on the Trek. And by the end of the day that turned out to be the only card the Scott had to play. The Scott's rear triangle flexed noticeably, the riding position was awkward (my lower half felt cramped whilst my upper half felt out-stretched, even after numerous changes of saddle height and position), most pedalling but especially climbing with the shocks locked out lead to a very pronounced bob from the rear that would give you sea sickness and the Rocket Rons got two punctures (cant blame the bike for that). The XT shifters were nice and would also be on the intended 740, but they were no nicer than the SRAM X9s on the Trek. Yes, having no option of finger pulling the up shift was odd but I got used to it and this was offset in any case by how many accidental double upshifts I got with the XT shifters. The Scott also ran out of gearing going down hill very quickly indeed and considering we were in the new Forest, that's a concern. The Trek's gearing spread was far better I thought and the SRAM shifts were very positive and sharp.
The Trek's 29" tyres were hard to analyse on that terrain, there being little in the way of technical trails to bring them undone. But I can now say that I am no longer put off them. For the odd technical downhill that I hadn't laid eyes on before, I felt I could point them at anything and just bulldoze over or through it with confidence. I liked them.
The Scott's frame actually felt livelier. Perhaps the Trek's was deadened somewhat by the larger wheels but whenever I was on the Scott I wanted to do wheelies. A sure sign that I'm on a lively feeling frame. I wouldn't say the Trek was lifeless in comparison but needed to be pushed a bit harder wake up. Or maybe it achieves its abilities more quietly.
Either way, the Trek dealer is (hopefully) emailing me buying options for the Super fly and I gave the Scott back and said no thanks. The Trek won me over surprisingly easily. Pedals Cycle Centre in Ferndown and the Forge Cycleworks in Ringwood were both faultless and very helpful, taking the time to set the bikes up with me and fit my preferred pedals. And neither charged me for the demo.
FWIW, the Giant rider said overall he preferred the Trek also but still preferred his Giant above that.
That is all.
Anyway, the Scott looked the best by far. And after some reading and drooling over them, I had already decided I wanted the Scott. I liked the dual shock remote adjuster idea and the 27.5" philosophy and the colour scheme is very nice too.
The Trek I took along as an outlier because it was so discounted, I really hadn't tried a Trek for a long time and I wanted to dip a toe into 29ers to see if I was right about "clown wheels" or if I'm just a luddite.
With the help of a mate (who usually rides a carbon Giant Anthem Advanced) I spent Saturday going back and forth across the New Forest with them both, swapping between the two.
I liked Scott's dual shock remote adjuster, it was really very convenient BUT, I didn't really miss it on the Trek. And by the end of the day that turned out to be the only card the Scott had to play. The Scott's rear triangle flexed noticeably, the riding position was awkward (my lower half felt cramped whilst my upper half felt out-stretched, even after numerous changes of saddle height and position), most pedalling but especially climbing with the shocks locked out lead to a very pronounced bob from the rear that would give you sea sickness and the Rocket Rons got two punctures (cant blame the bike for that). The XT shifters were nice and would also be on the intended 740, but they were no nicer than the SRAM X9s on the Trek. Yes, having no option of finger pulling the up shift was odd but I got used to it and this was offset in any case by how many accidental double upshifts I got with the XT shifters. The Scott also ran out of gearing going down hill very quickly indeed and considering we were in the new Forest, that's a concern. The Trek's gearing spread was far better I thought and the SRAM shifts were very positive and sharp.
The Trek's 29" tyres were hard to analyse on that terrain, there being little in the way of technical trails to bring them undone. But I can now say that I am no longer put off them. For the odd technical downhill that I hadn't laid eyes on before, I felt I could point them at anything and just bulldoze over or through it with confidence. I liked them.
The Scott's frame actually felt livelier. Perhaps the Trek's was deadened somewhat by the larger wheels but whenever I was on the Scott I wanted to do wheelies. A sure sign that I'm on a lively feeling frame. I wouldn't say the Trek was lifeless in comparison but needed to be pushed a bit harder wake up. Or maybe it achieves its abilities more quietly.
Either way, the Trek dealer is (hopefully) emailing me buying options for the Super fly and I gave the Scott back and said no thanks. The Trek won me over surprisingly easily. Pedals Cycle Centre in Ferndown and the Forge Cycleworks in Ringwood were both faultless and very helpful, taking the time to set the bikes up with me and fit my preferred pedals. And neither charged me for the demo.
FWIW, the Giant rider said overall he preferred the Trek also but still preferred his Giant above that.
That is all.
Edited by Reardy Mister on Monday 15th June 11:36
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