Help required choosing a £450 MTB please!

[yellowbentines]

Hi all, Im looking for a bit of help choosing a MTB for my wife. The criteria is that it must be brand new (its a Xmas gift, secondhand won't go down well) and MUST be from Evans Cycles, for the very good reason that I get 50% cashback over the year through my Pru Health plan, which maximises the bike I can get for the money.

Budget is £450 absolute tops, and Im swithering between these 3, but as I cant find any info on which groupsets/components rank higher in a manufacturers range than the other, Im none the wiser as to whish is 'best', your thoughts on these appreciated:

http://www.evanscycles.com/products/norco/storm-71...

http://www.evanscycles.com/products/cannondale/tan...

http://www.evanscycles.com/products/specialized/jy...

Ive ruled out unisex (mens) bikes as she's petite so needs a designated womans bike to get the size she'll need. The only one the local shop had to actually see was the Norco, impressive but says made in Cambodia, does that mean it's cheap far eastern rubbish?!

[yellowbentines]

Thanks chaps.

The Norco has 650b wheels from what I read, it states in the spec the rims and tyres are 27.5", Id ruled out 29ers myself due to her size, I think smaller wheels will be more nimble and suitable for her.

Im going to visit a 2nd branch of Evams today to see if they have any in stock to look at (went to my local branch yesterday and the display models were mostly Pinnacle), though Im swaying towards Norco if the components are on the whole better.

[yellowbentines]

Thanks, I have a Specialized myself and do like it a lot, otherwise that model probably wouldn't be in my consideration as for the price the spec seems lacking compared to the others - 16 gears, which is way behind and offers less flexibility, and mechanical as opposed to hydro disc brakes.

In all honesty she'd probably love any of them and never complain, it's me that's getting hung up on comparing technical specs and tiny detail!

[yellowbentines]

Thanks for all the input, took the plunge and ordered the Norco.

I went to 2 branches of Evans:

- Cannondale; plastic pedals, flimsy brake levers, cheap feel to seat pin and the like, lovely frame but everything bolted to it seemed a bit lower in quality and less well built for the same money.
- Pinnacle; 29er wheels and the fact it's a mens/unisex bike made it a no go purely for the fact she's small so I wanted smaller wheels and a frame with a standover/top tube more suited to her height/build, it seemed cumbersome even in the smaller frame sizes and limited gearing wouldn't help.
- Specialized; Just couldn't find one Specialized bike in any local bike shops to see in the metal and wasn't buying blind.
- Norco; only downside was the welds on the frame maybe weren't as polished and smooth as perhaps the Cannondale, but it seemed light and very well built with a good quality feel to all the components.