Another What Bike? Thread...
Discussion
Just thinking about buying a new MTB because at the moment I only have the Boardman roadie and I'm missing not being able to hit the trails.
I would imagine it would be casual use, maybe once a week/fortnight (have the roadie for fitness) so it'll be when I can get to the local forest trails.
I'm thinking hardtail is best rather than to blow a four figure budget on a FS bike so popped out to the LBS' today. I dont want some rubbish which will put me off from the outset.
As it is always the case, I started with a fairly modest 2nd hand budget of about £400 and thought I'd buy a Carrera Fury or perhaps a used Boardman but having been out into the LBS' its got the budget spiralling.
From the local choices I have: Cube, Boardman, Trek, Canondale, Giant & Scott.
From those, I've looked at the Cube LTD series, Boardman Team/Pro HT, Scott Scale. I've had a bit of a go on the Boardman Pro and was very impressed but i'm waiting on the latest Demo's to arrive on the Scott's before I can try them.
Now as mentioned above, my budget was fairly conservative but I can see it going up already having had a go on the Reba shod Boardman. Air forks are now compulsory so anything with Tora's or less are out.
Anyone offer any advice on any of those above for VFM and performance? I'd fancy something fairly quick feeling but at the same time, good over forest singletrack. Do I dare look at 29'ers?
I would imagine it would be casual use, maybe once a week/fortnight (have the roadie for fitness) so it'll be when I can get to the local forest trails.
I'm thinking hardtail is best rather than to blow a four figure budget on a FS bike so popped out to the LBS' today. I dont want some rubbish which will put me off from the outset.
As it is always the case, I started with a fairly modest 2nd hand budget of about £400 and thought I'd buy a Carrera Fury or perhaps a used Boardman but having been out into the LBS' its got the budget spiralling.
From the local choices I have: Cube, Boardman, Trek, Canondale, Giant & Scott.
From those, I've looked at the Cube LTD series, Boardman Team/Pro HT, Scott Scale. I've had a bit of a go on the Boardman Pro and was very impressed but i'm waiting on the latest Demo's to arrive on the Scott's before I can try them.
Now as mentioned above, my budget was fairly conservative but I can see it going up already having had a go on the Reba shod Boardman. Air forks are now compulsory so anything with Tora's or less are out.
Anyone offer any advice on any of those above for VFM and performance? I'd fancy something fairly quick feeling but at the same time, good over forest singletrack. Do I dare look at 29'ers?
its the stock answer but you should be abe to get a year or two old specilaised rockhopper for that money if you hunt the classifieds. that would be my first choice. altenatively, they are a little harder to come by but a charge duster would be very nice.
if you have a budget of £400 and are content to get a second hand bike (no reason you shouldnt but i appreciate we all like "new" things) then you are better to just keep an eye on the usual classifieds and wait till a good deal comes up rather than have a particualr brand/model in mind. you can do a lot better than a carrera for £400 used notes. i wouldnt bother looking at 29ers on a £400 budget.
if you have a budget of £400 and are content to get a second hand bike (no reason you shouldnt but i appreciate we all like "new" things) then you are better to just keep an eye on the usual classifieds and wait till a good deal comes up rather than have a particualr brand/model in mind. you can do a lot better than a carrera for £400 used notes. i wouldnt bother looking at 29ers on a £400 budget.
If your budget is now at the £800 mark you have more to play with - I would be tempted to go back to the 2nd hand market with that budget and have another poke around! Why do you need an air fork? 
KHS Alite 2000 keeps winning awards and getting glowing reviews, not wild about the fork but it could be upgraded in time; http://www.khsbikes.co.uk/bikes/khs-alite-2000
You could go 'real' with steel on a Genesis Latitude; http://www.genesisbikes.co.uk/bikes/mountain/latit...
Orange Pure 7?; http://www.stif.co.uk/mtb/product/orange-pure-7-20...
Then there are the usual suspects, Kona, Spesch, GIANT, Felt . . .
Or, do what I did a couple of months ago and build your own! Loads of frames and components on sale at the moment, as long as you don't mind spending time surfing the web to ferret out the bargains you could probably build a half decent spec'd bike for £800! For £1,400 I built an extremely well specc'd Ragley Blue Pig, a similar build off the shelf would have cost circa £2k+!
KHS Alite 2000 keeps winning awards and getting glowing reviews, not wild about the fork but it could be upgraded in time; http://www.khsbikes.co.uk/bikes/khs-alite-2000
You could go 'real' with steel on a Genesis Latitude; http://www.genesisbikes.co.uk/bikes/mountain/latit...
Orange Pure 7?; http://www.stif.co.uk/mtb/product/orange-pure-7-20...
Then there are the usual suspects, Kona, Spesch, GIANT, Felt . . .
Or, do what I did a couple of months ago and build your own! Loads of frames and components on sale at the moment, as long as you don't mind spending time surfing the web to ferret out the bargains you could probably build a half decent spec'd bike for £800! For £1,400 I built an extremely well specc'd Ragley Blue Pig, a similar build off the shelf would have cost circa £2k+!
I've done a bit more research at some LBS' since I posted last. I've had chance to ride a steel P7, a Cube LTD Race & the Boardman Pro. The P7 kind of had an old school feel about it, great fork but something just didnt quite feel "Special" about it as I thought it would. So many people have suggested buying a Chromoly frame but quite honestly, I didnt really see the attraction. It was noticeably heavier which might suggest the reason for feeling not quite s
t hot.
The Cube was immense over rough ground, quick sharp and you really felt the effort was rewarding you. The Boardman I only had an opportunity to test it on the tarmac but it felt very smooth.
I think I prefer the sharper XC geometry, but would have liked to have tested a 120mm travel bike in anger. The 140mm just felt a bit too long on the front.
If anyone has a 2010 Cube Ltd Race they want rid of, let me know as it seems to have a better Reba fork than the Fox it has on now although I'm not sure whether I'd notice the difference.
t hot. The Cube was immense over rough ground, quick sharp and you really felt the effort was rewarding you. The Boardman I only had an opportunity to test it on the tarmac but it felt very smooth.
I think I prefer the sharper XC geometry, but would have liked to have tested a 120mm travel bike in anger. The 140mm just felt a bit too long on the front.
If anyone has a 2010 Cube Ltd Race they want rid of, let me know as it seems to have a better Reba fork than the Fox it has on now although I'm not sure whether I'd notice the difference.
If you thought the P7 had decent geometry but was too heavy, try the Crush. I don't "get" steel frames. People say they ride better but all I take away from them is that they're heavy.
I really like the Crush. It came 2nd to my eventual choice (Whyte) but I just know there will be days when I wish I had the choice of either.
I really like the Crush. It came 2nd to my eventual choice (Whyte) but I just know there will be days when I wish I had the choice of either.
Canyon Yellowstone 5:
http://www.canyon.com/_en/mountainbikes/bike.html?...
IMO not much gets close in terms of spec per £. Main downside is Internet order only, so you can't try before you buy - however their online sizing tool is good and their UK sales/ tech support is very good. Loving my Nerve XC.
http://www.canyon.com/_en/mountainbikes/bike.html?...
IMO not much gets close in terms of spec per £. Main downside is Internet order only, so you can't try before you buy - however their online sizing tool is good and their UK sales/ tech support is very good. Loving my Nerve XC.
No I dont really get Steel frames either. I love the look of the Ragley's but I dont actually think that as an only MTB, I could run something which such a slack angle. I preferred the racier XC style but would like to try a Boardman in anger and see if the 120mm fork made a difference
Just thought i'd update this. After nearly 2 months of looking, found a used 2011 Genesis Core 40 (used as in once or twice - its like new). Now this bike wasnt even on the radar when I started looking but it came up locally. Looking through some rather favourable reviews of it, decided to go and have a look, and managed to secure it for pretty much my initial budget! Had a good look over it this afternoon and plan to go out on Sunday with it to a local trail centre. Perfect compliment to my road riding at the moment!
Chicken Chaser said:
As mentioned, that budget was blown once I started looking seriously at kit again and its now looking around the £850 figure.
Amazing price on this at the moment: http://www.evanscycles.com/products/pinnacle/iroko...I bought one in August and have been immensely pleased with it. Look at the spec!
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