£1k Mountain Bike, what is best?

[tjdixon911]

Have been thinking alot about upgrading my bike but having looked at the price of bits and peices the best option seems to be a new bike. I could easily spend in excess of £1k on my bike and not be any better off than say a bike that can be had for £700.....


So if you had a Grand to spend on a "new" mountain bike what would you buy?

Assuming the following;

The Bike is New (current model / previous )

The bike will be used mainly on local trials around Thetford Forest.

Hoping to get the occasional trip to some decent centres next year.

It would be good to buy british but not essential

Obviously the less of the £1000 spent the better.

Probably will be a Hardtail.....

Also what benifit will a £1000 bike have over a £400 bike?

[Alex12]

To be honoust if i was spending 1K on a new bike it would have to be a Giant reign, you can get the 06 giant reign 2 these days for 1K and being a biased owner of a reign i would say go for one of them, there great for all types of riding, it gives you so much more confidence than say a £400 bike would as you know its well built and all the components on the bike are up to whatever you can throw at it, when i first started mountian biking i didnt understand why people spent so much money on a bike, but what a difference a decent bike makes to your rides.

[Dr Bob]

Well, IIRC the Boardman from Hellfrauds scored a 10 in MBR for the 2008 model...
...that was a grand - and I guess it'll be discounted soon, or you could find a discount voucher or some such thing.

Ta, CH

[thehappyotter]

Orange P7

Cotic Soul

Can you tell I like British steel hardtails... (yes I know the P7 is assembled abroad)

[littleandy0410]

I agree with Dr Bob, I'd go for a Boardman Pro. But that's because I've already got a Spesh FSR XC Expert full suss, so obviously I need a hardtail to add to the collection!

[tjdixon911]

thehappyotter said:

Orange P7

Cotic Soul

Can you tell I like British steel hardtails... (yes I know the P7 is assembled abroad)

I like the look of the Orange Bikes, I also like the Crush which is £999....

Whats the difference between Aluminium and Steel Frames? Obviously the material, is Steel Stiffer? Heavier??

[anonymous-user]

http://www.stif.co.uk/gear/select_options.asp?prod... Orange Evo (is it the 8 now, its as bas as Mitsubishis!!) definatly a hard tail though as at that price a full sus will be low on componentry and shock quality. i like the orange geometry, it really suits long hard thrashs on singletrack.

heard a few bad things around about the boardman bikes sadly, under specced and over priced was the most frequent comment but the fact that they only come from hellfrauds says a lot. you have to buy one, have a hellfrauds bike monkey build it, then take it to your regular bike shop to have it built properly...

Edited by anonymous-user on Wednesday 20th August 14:43

[ewenm]

tjdixon911 said:

thehappyotter said:

Orange P7

Cotic Soul

Can you tell I like British steel hardtails... (yes I know the P7 is assembled abroad)

I like the look of the Orange Bikes, I also like the Crush which is £999....

Whats the difference between Aluminium and Steel Frames? Obviously the material, is Steel Stiffer? Heavier??

Aluminium is a harsher ride, more high frequency vibration passed up through the frame. Steel is a softer ride.

Edit: Personally I'd always choose steel over aluminium (having owned both) but then there are the carbon and titanium options too (but maybe not at £1k). The usual principle is to get the best frame you can for the money as the components can always be upgraded piecemeal at a later date.

Edited by ewenm on Wednesday 20th August 14:49

[Nick_F]

I'm not sure I buy the 'steel is softer' argument for MTBs - can you really feel the difference through a 2.3" balloon of a tyre at 40psi?

Fundamental choice is hardtail or full suss; spend £1k on a hardtail and just ride it or £1k on a full suss and then upgrade the brakes and transmission as needed over time.

Cannondale Prophet won the £1k full suss test in MBR.

[Parrot of Doom]

I've always thought frame material counted more for transmission of power from the pedals to the rear wheel than anything else.

[ewenm]

Parrot of Doom said:

I've always thought frame material counted more for transmission of power from the pedals to the rear wheel than anything else.

That needs stiffness regardless of material.

I could definitely feel the difference between a steel bike and an aluminium one, but this was 10+ years ago. Things may well have moved on. I'd recommend trying a few bikes out, you can get a "wrong" feel quite easily so can eliminate some choices.

[mk1fan]

pablo said:

heard a few bad things around about the boardman bikes sadly, under specced and over priced

Can't believe anyone who knows what they're talking about says that . I'd say only Decathalon seem to offer better specs for the money.

The Boardman Pro, for example, has Reba Race forks, X-9 / X-0 component mix, Ritchey finishing kit and Juicy Sevens - all for under a grand. And it's a decent weight. I don't see how he does it and still makes money.

MBR ran an article about five issues back about what to buy for a grand. As in the previous two issues they had reviewed HTs for a grand (Boardman came out on top) and then FSs for a grand (Cannonadale came out on top).

Their conclusion was that you'd need to spend money - overtime - upgrading the 'Dale whereas the Boardman was 'Good to go'.

From the type of riding you described I'd opt for a HT. I would certainly test ride a Boardman Pro, an Orange P7, a Genesis IO ID / Altitude / Core and a Commencal Combi or Super Normal. I'd also look at and try a Specialized Hardcock and the bikes from Sarracen and Trek.

I would try and get a ride on any bike you're considering - even if it's just round the car park.

[s4avant]

The Genesis Altitude 30 is a great bike and could be available for around the £1000 mark if discounted. If not,the Altitude 20 could be worth a look.

[GHW]

The Crush (and the SubZero above it in the range) is a bike for abusing. It'll roll over pretty much anything you point it at, which is nice and reassuring when you're pointing it down an epic descent. However, it's a bit of a big heavy bd, so it's not the kind of bike you'd choose if you've got a mountain to climb.. The build spec is pretty good too - all the components are very good bits (although again, maybe chosen more for durability rather than weight). I've got a 2007 Crush, and with the possible exception of the hubs, I don't see any parts on my bike that I'd want to upgrade in any hurry.

Ultimately, if all you're going to be doing is UK trails and avoiding any of the downhill courses, then you'd be better off with a P7 instead - it'll be much nicer going up the hills and more than competent enough for the way back down too.

[PooPoo]

STEEL= Orange P7 (Pro if you can push) or how about a new 'older' bike like an 07' Kona Kula primo (about 1200 if you can find the right size) RRP £1600-1700. (Aluminium) Kona are good bikes.

[Hard-Drive]

I'm quite a believer in getting "last year's model" as there are some bargains to be had. My Trek Fuel was £950 and I think it's a lot of bike for the money and worth upgrades if I see fit (although the spec is very good anyway). http://www.flickr.com/photos/23284229@N05/26978101...

If it's your first decent bike you really won't notice the lack of teh absolute latest technology...and for instance with the new version of my bike, altough the new ABP rear pivot is supposed to be very good ride wise, there have been some failures reported...

[rhinochopig]

I'd almost be tempted to build your own around something like a Kinesis frame. I bought one last year and have been really impressed with it. Although you don't get such good value for money as you would with the boardman, you can make sure all the contact points fit you.

[village idiot]

get yourself a custom steel frame from one of the british builders and then spec it up as far as you can within your budget... you can replace the kit as and when it wears out (gears etc are consumables afterall), but you will always have a wicked frame which was built just for you.

[gbbird]

Merlin Malt 4 with top spec has to on this list i think.

http://www.merlincycles.co.uk/?fn=product&prod...


Also, how about a Cove Stiffee built to spec (although you might be struggling to keep it under a grand)

[mk1fan]

How about this then??

http://cgi.ebay.co.uk/Cove-Stiffee-FR-16-Marzocchi...

Looks like an 05 or 06 model. Bargaintainious.