Which full susser circa £1k

[Woody]

Guys,
Thinking ahead over the next 6 months I'd like to start saving for a full susser.
Ideally looking below £1k, but could possibly creep up a couple of £100.
Riding consists of Trail Centres, Fire Roads and a fair bit of Off-Piste stuff.

Have narrowed my current choice to 3 bikes:
Boardman Team FS 650B (£999.99 - but potentially £800'ish with discounts)
Giant Stance 650B (£999.99)
Canyon Nerve 6.0 AL 650B (£1199.99)

I really like the look of the Canyon but can't help but think the Boardman is better VFM.

Not sure about the Giant as it's relatively new and reviews are a bit sparse, and those that are available aren't too sure about the rear suspension set up (uses 'flex point' as opposed to 'Maestro' on the Anthem etc.) and seems to have the lowest spec of the 3.

I have no preference over Shimano or SRAM - current Carrera Fury is all SRAM kit (bar the Suntour Forks...)
Another plus for me (I think) is that the rear shock on the Boardman is up out of the way.

Weight wise the Canyon is the lightest (sub 13kg - just!) with both the Boardmand and Giant tipping 14kg.
I'm sure that with a couple of carefull upgrades the Boardman could be brought down in weight.

So what do you guys think?
Are there any others that I should consider?

[anonymous-user]

Front and rear shock on Canyon are better than Boardman IMHO although the MonarchR is a very good rear shock., thats where you want to spend the money. the brakes arent great but you can upgrade those cheaper than you can upgrade shocks and forks. Rebas are fantastic forks and once set up fir your weight and preference, are supple and very responsive.

have a look at bike discount who may have some Cube or Radons around £1k too

If you dont want to wait for it, not sure what Canyon lead times are like at the momoment, this Giant is a bargain too. 4" of well set up travel is perfect for the UK...

http://www.paulscycles.co.uk/m1b0s1p4945/GIANT-ANT...

[lufbramatt]

IMO if you want a full suspension MTB for £1k you'd be better off looking at second hand stuff.

[anonymous-user]

lufbramatt said:

IMO if you want a full suspension MTB for £1k you'd be better off looking at second hand stuff.

Really? the Canyon has a Fox rear shock and Rockshox Rebas, although the rest of the bike is mostly entry level components, every component is from a reputable brand, mavic whelset, shimano groupset etc etc.

S/H full sus is ahuge gamble as you have no idea how people treat shocks and forks, service freq etc so I think £1200 for the Canyon is superb value for money.

[S13_Alan]

Check out Rose bikes too. I've got one of these on order (hopefully should get it next week) and for the price and spec, I couldn't beat it, and it will do me just fine.

http://www.rosebikes.co.uk/bike/rose-uncle-jimbo-1...

If you want something more XC oriented or whatever, then there's similar priced ones that are a bit lighter, shorter travel and different geometry.

[lufbramatt]

pablo said:

lufbramatt said:

IMO if you want a full suspension MTB for £1k you'd be better off looking at second hand stuff.

Really? the Canyon has a Fox rear shock and Rockshox Rebas, although the rest of the bike is mostly entry level components, every component is from a reputable brand, mavic whelset, shimano groupset etc etc.

S/H full sus is ahuge gamble as you have no idea how people treat shocks and forks, service freq etc so I think £1200 for the Canyon is superb value for money.

Yeah that Canyon looks nice actually- but that's a £1200 budget not a £1000 budget

[vwsurfbum]

is this on cycle to work?

[Woody]

vwsurfbum said:

is this on cycle to work?

No, not on cycle to work - my own cash.

[vwsurfbum]

Woody said:

No, not on cycle to work - my own cash.

Then i would go with the canyon also, an extra £200 could go a very long way?

[Woody]

The £1200 for the Canyon is the max I can stretch to being honest.
The Anthem from Pauls looks good.
Might see about a test ride on the giants from the local dealer and see what the difference between the Stance and Anthem rear set-up is.

[AndyWoodall]

While I'd always support the idea that spending a little extra cash, especially with a full susser, is a good idea, that Canyon looks stonking for the money.

I've had my eye on the 29er spectral for awhile at approx £1800, but that 650b one looks excellent. Lets face it, cranks and cassettes and mechs wear out and break, so they'll be upgraded in the first couple of years anyway, so long as the frame, shocks and wheel set are good to go out the box I'd not worry about the (perfectly acceptable) Deore kit.

[ecsrobin]

Do you need full sus? You can get a very good hard tail for that money. I ride very similar terrain to what you have stated and I leave my giant anthem locked out at the rear most of the time

[Silvs]

I was in exactly the same boat as you. I went with the Canyon and it is simply fantastic! It's comes to about 1300 quid after shipping. Get a spare rear hanger and with pedal it rounds up nicely.

I was told "buy second hand, you will get more bike". It's true but you know what your getting with something new!

The Canyon is really easy to un box. Comes with a shock pump and torque wrench. My best mate picked up a Stance last week. I have had a go and it's a good bit of kit for the price it just lacks some nice features compared to the canyon. Well worth the extra cash

I am more than happy to answer any questions you have!

Edited to add: The frame design is in a different class compare to the others and compared to almost any other MTB on the market at the moment.

Mine:

Edited by Silvs on Tuesday 13th January 20:30

[Willber]

Interesting topic seeing as i've just ordered a Boardman FS Team which I will hopefully be getting on Thursday. Mainly went for this one as after Halfords and British Cycling discount plus quidco cashback it should come out at about £750! I can't / don't want to spend any more so this was ideal for me at the minute. I've opted to build myself so will post back once i've got it all sorted. p.s.The Canyon looks superb!

[Woody]

Willber said:

Interesting topic seeing as i've just ordered a Boardman FS Team which I will hopefully be getting on Thursday. Mainly went for this one as after Halfords and British Cycling discount plus quidco cashback it should come out at about £750! I can't / don't want to spend any more so this was ideal for me at the minute. I've opted to build myself so will post back once i've got it all sorted. p.s.The Canyon looks superb!

Tempted by the same deal myself - just don't have the cash at the moment. For the price it seems a steal.
I have until midnight to reserve on so might smile sweetly to the OH and see lol.
Let us know your thoughts on it once you get it.

[ecsrobin]

Silvs said:

I was in exactly the same boat as you. I went with the Canyon and it is simply fantastic! It's comes to about 1300 quid after shipping. Get a spare rear hanger and with pedal it rounds up nicely.

I was told "buy second hand, you will get more bike". It's true but you know what your getting with something new!

The Canyon is really easy to un box. Comes with a shock pump and torque wrench. My best mate picked up a Stance last week. I have had a go and it's a good bit of kit for the price it just lacks some nice features compared to the canyon. Well worth the extra cash

I am more than happy to answer any questions you have!

Edited to add: The frame design is in a different class compare to the others and compared to almost any other MTB on the market at the moment.

Mine:

Edited by Silvs on Tuesday 13th January 20:30

That is a great looking bike I like my giant anthem for having a small rear triangle np it that frame looks great. The lines just flow.

I keep getting tempted by the canyon jump bikes and DH bikes but really need a cyclocross bike first.

[anonymous-user]

Woody said:

Tempted by the same deal myself - just don't have the cash at the moment. For the price it seems a steal.
I have until midnight to reserve on so might smile sweetly to the OH and see lol.
Let us know your thoughts on it once you get it.

Why seek permission when you can beg forgiveness...

[seadragon]

You can buy my full sus folding bike if you want. Very rare, top spec £800. Dahon Jetstream EX

[Willber]

Woody said:

Tempted by the same deal myself - just don't have the cash at the moment. For the price it seems a steal.
I have until midnight to reserve on so might smile sweetly to the OH and see lol.
Let us know your thoughts on it once you get it.

Impressed with Halfords service to be honest, bike was due to be ready to collect at 1pm tomorrow but had a call at 4pm this afternoon to say it had arrived and did I want it building up (I ticked the self build option when reserving) Went to collect it and the guys were very chatty and helpful and said just bring it back if any problems.

Really happy with the bike it looks superb and took hardly any setting up at all, just a slight tweak to the gears and aligned the brake calipers but need a rotor bending tool to tweak it properly but that's just me being anal!

The only think I would say is the saddle is very hard (have another on order anyway as I suffer from numb nuts) an the bars might have a bit too much sweep for my liking. But other than that it's a really nice piece of kit and I can't wait to get out on it at the weekedn, thinking of Dalby red route for it's maiden voyage!

I would be seriously tempted to go for it as it's such a good deal. The guys in the shop didnt quiz me over the British Cycling membership just saw I had the membership confirmation and said no worries. If you do job you can phone membership and they will send you a temporry membership card to use in store.

Hope that helps!

[Carl-H]

Personally I'd buy second hand. You'll get a better bike for your money and normally one that's already been upgraded in all the right places.

If your not too clued up on bikes there's a chap I know who deals in bikes. Could tell him what your after and your budget and in a few weeks he'll of sorted you out. I've sold 2 bikes to him and bought 1. Top bloke and every bike he sells is spot on.