XC full sus under £700

[karl922]

Hi all,

Sorry for the question but i cannot seem to make my mind up and make a decision. Basically im after a full suspension bike to use for cross country and occasional long rides out in the lakes etc.

My max budget is £700 and i would consider used/old models/or new bikes.

It seems the Kona King Kikapu seems a good buy for the 2007 model at around £670 new. But that maybe a no go as im 5. 10" and they only have a 16" frame.

Is there any other bikes I should be looking at?

My old bikes, (few years ago) was a GT iDrive (base model) and a carrera fury 2 years ago but that was stolen, so im not really clued up when it comes to bikes.


Sorry Off topic
Also anyone know of a decent bike rack to fit a 350z?


Thankyou for reading.

[Roman]

karl922 said:

Hi all,

Sorry for the question but i cannot seem to make my mind up and make a decision. Basically im after a full suspension bike to use for cross country and occasional long rides out in the lakes etc.

My max budget is £700 and i would consider used/old models/or new bikes.

It seems the Kona King Kikapu seems a good buy for the 2007 model at around £670 new. But that maybe a no go as im 5. 10" and they only have a 16" frame.

Is there any other bikes I should be looking at?

My old bikes, (few years ago) was a GT iDrive (base model) and a carrera fury 2 years ago but that was stolen, so im not really clued up when it comes to bikes.


Sorry Off topic
Also anyone know of a decent bike rack to fit a 350z?


Thankyou for reading.

I suspect you're looking at FS bikes from Pauls Cycles. Shame about the Kikapu but I think you will need a medium size (17-18").

The Mongoose Canaan Comp looks good though:
http://www.bikeradar.com/gear/category/bikes/mount...

[gradeAfailure]

Carrera Banshee X? Decent spec for the money (hell, the £3k Orange 5 Pro uses the same rims!) - would try them out in the shop though as at your height you might fall between the 17" and 19" - FWIW at 6' I found the 19" to be spot on.

http://tinyurl.com/39cbm8a

Alternatively, if you can stretch the budget a bit then the 2010 Trance X4 was voted by MBR as the best FS under £1k and got 10/10.

Edited by gradeAfailure on Wednesday 8th December 13:45

[shalmaneser]

Don't buy a FS bike new for under £1000.

Should be able to get something decent on Ebay for your sort of budget.

The ususal suspects, Specialized, Giant, Trek, Kona, Lapierre or Commencal if you're lucky.

Try and get air front and back, make sure it's from a decent brand (Fox, Rockshox, Marzocchi, Manitou) and bear in mind you're paying for the frame not the parts at that sort of price, expect bits to break and wear out sooner rather than later especially with a 2nd hand bike.

[Roman]

shalmaneser said:

Don't buy a FS bike new for under £1000.

There are exceptions such as the Boardman Comp & Decathlon Rockrider 9.1 or buying a good £1k bike at a sub £700 sale price

[shalmaneser]

Roman said:

shalmaneser said:

Don't buy a FS bike new for under £1000.

There are exceptions such as the Boardman Comp & Decathlon Rockrider 9.1 or buying a good £1k bike at a sub £700 sale price

The Rockrider is horrible but the Boardman looks an alright buy if you're happy riding Halfords own brand bikes (and I'm not being patronising!)

Certainly bikes under their RRP would be fine - maybe I should have said 'bikes with RRPs lower than £1000 are not worth looking at'.

It's a useful rule of thumb though.

[anonymous-user]

shalmaneser said:

the Boardman looks an alright buy if you're happy riding Halfords own brand bikes (and I'm not being patronising!)

yes you are. They have received very good reviews from many different cycling magazines. Have you ridden one?

[Roman]

shalmaneser said:

Roman said:

shalmaneser said:

Don't buy a FS bike new for under £1000.

There are exceptions such as the Boardman Comp & Decathlon Rockrider 9.1 or buying a good £1k bike at a sub £700 sale price

The Rockrider is horrible but the Boardman looks an alright buy if you're happy riding Halfords own brand bikes (and I'm not being patronising!)

Certainly bikes under their RRP would be fine - maybe I should have said 'bikes with RRPs lower than £1000 are not worth looking at'.

It's a useful rule of thumb though.

I know what your saying but I can't see what's so horrible about the Rockrider (boring matt grey?)

It shares the same frame as higher end bikes as opposed to the cheaper models in the range, isn't too heavy, gets good reviews and comes with Tora air forks, SLX groupset & spd's for £750!

However, I do agree that either a lightly used second hand bargain or reduced £1k bike would be the preferred option at £700 - so long as the used bike didn't need lots of additional money spent on renewing the drivetrain or servicing the suspension.

[the_lone_wolf]

karl922 said:

My max budget is £700 and i would consider used/old models/or new bikes.

Can you spanner?

I built this from basic components except the wheels for roughly £700:



All XT drivetrain save for SLX shifters and Deore crank, all used but "as new" parts save for the chain, BB, seatpost, saddle, stem and bars.

Had no experience building bikes but wasn't difficult, has survived several hundred miles and two days riding (and crashing) in N.Wales including the black runs without incident

Extremely happy with it

[Gooby]

pablo said:

shalmaneser said:

the Boardman looks an alright buy if you're happy riding Halfords own brand bikes (and I'm not being patronising!)

yes you are. They have received very good reviews from many different cycling magazines. Have you ridden one?

I would have to agree with shalmaneser, and also point out that the boardman full sus is £850, not £700. The reviews are superb but I would have to question the longevity of things like the brakes and performance of the shocks / forks. I am not boohooing a popular bike just questioning what saving you are making because I am pretty sure months down the line (if you do some challenging riding) you will be looking to change quite a bit of the componentry.

At the OP's desired spend there are some great hardtails as opposed to (with an overpriced exception) some rubbish full sus.

[gradeAfailure]

shalmaneser said:

Boardman looks an alright buy if you're happy riding Halfords own brand bikes (and I'm not being patronising!)

Except that they're not Halfords' own brand - that's Carrera (and there's nothing wrong with them either!). Boardman are a completely independent company who simply happen to have an exclusive distribution deal with Halfords. But you already knew that, right?

[Louisa911]

Mongoose Teocali!

I bought mine second hand for £400 on ebay, added new chainset, chain and shifters and its brilliant.

[paulrockliffe]

Second hand, ebay. It's a couple of weeks before Christmas, everyone has spunked out on presents, no one is buying bikes. It'd be rude not to fill your boots if you've got the cash now!

[shalmaneser]

gradeAfailure said:

shalmaneser said:

Boardman looks an alright buy if you're happy riding Halfords own brand bikes (and I'm not being patronising!)

Except that they're not Halfords' own brand - that's Carrera (and there's nothing wrong with them either!). Boardman are a completely independent company who simply happen to have an exclusive distribution deal with Halfords. But you already knew that, right?

Yes, but to an end user Halfords is their only point of call. The difference is some accounting but that's about it.

Gooby said:

pablo said:

shalmaneser said:

the Boardman looks an alright buy if you're happy riding Halfords own brand bikes (and I'm not being patronising!)

yes you are. They have received very good reviews from many different cycling magazines. Have you ridden one?

I would have to agree with shalmaneser, and also point out that the boardman full sus is £850, not £700. The reviews are superb but I would have to question the longevity of things like the brakes and performance of the shocks / forks. I am not boohooing a popular bike just questioning what saving you are making because I am pretty sure months down the line (if you do some challenging riding) you will be looking to change quite a bit of the componentry.

At the OP's desired spend there are some great hardtails as opposed to (with an overpriced exception) some rubbish full sus.

This is really my position, for a grand you can get a great hardtail!

pablo said:

shalmaneser said:

the Boardman looks an alright buy if you're happy riding Halfords own brand bikes (and I'm not being patronising!)

yes you are. They have received very good reviews from many different cycling magazines. Have you ridden one?

Yes I have and I can see why some people like them, the componentry is top notch for the cash. Having said that unless I was maintaining the bike myself I'd not buy from Halfords, the quality of workmanship varies wildly up and down the country, and even within one store!

Edited because I got all excited over a £1000 bike, which isn't very helpful!

Edited by shalmaneser on Thursday 9th December 21:45

[shalmaneser]

All this bhing is getting us nowhere....

How about some recommendations:

http://www.evanscycles.com/products/genesis/latitu...



£764.99 - forks look too much like Toras to me, but it's a lovely frame and with a couple of choice upgrades in time (forks/crank) would be very nice indeed.

http://www.evanscycles.com/products/kona/kula-2009...



£799.99 - starting to push the budget a bit but if you go in store and ask nicely you'll get 10% of the bike's value in bits, especially at this time of year as it's as dead as a doorknob. I don't know why we have so many of these left in stock, they're awesome bikes with an amazing spec.

[Gnarlybluesurf]

shalmaneser said:

Yes I have and I can see why some people like them, the componentry is top notch for the cash. Having said that unless I was maintaining the bike myself I'd not buy from Halfords, the quality of workmanship varies wildly up and down the country, and even within one store!

?? Why do you get free servicing if you buy a bike from elsewhere ?? Or could you just do what everyone else does and buy a Boardman bike with same parts as the equivalent Specialized or Trek for a few hundrend pounds less. Then if there's a repair or moidification you can't handle yourself use some of those hundreds you've saved to take it to a LBS you trust.


In answer to the Original Post why not go for a second hand Boardman Team or Pro. If you're choosy about your bike there are many good ones on ebay. Also if you can wait as they are bringing out a new range in the new year these will drop in price further on ebay and still be great bikes for years to come.

[Raven Flyer]

Yep, I agree.

If that is your budget, a second hand Boardman will be the best bike you could buy by a very long margin.

[BRE77M]

gradeAfailure said:

Carrera Banshee X? Decent spec for the money (hell, the £3k Orange 5 Pro uses the same rims!) - would try them out in the shop though as at your height you might fall between the 17" and 19" - FWIW at 6' I found the 19" to be spot on.

http://tinyurl.com/39cbm8a

Alternatively, if you can stretch the budget a bit then the 2010 Trance X4 was voted by MBR as the best FS under £1k and got 10/10.

Edited by gradeAfailure on Wednesday 8th December 13:45

Please don't buy a Carrera Banshee X
Purchased mine in June ,it went back to Halfords 3 times in less than 8 weeks for repair
I then snapped the frame when riding in Brectha forest (It was a long walk back )
Halfords did not want to give me a refund so i had to go to the small claims court to reclaim my money
Buy cheap Buy Twice

[Magistrate]

Is this one a good deal?

http://cgi.ebay.co.uk/Boardman-Mountain-Bike-Comp-...