The NEW MTB FOR COLIN thread

[George]

I think a good bet is to go for a boardman MTB

[Marek]

I bought a MTB earlier this year and I love it. I got myself a cube Reaction XT from Downland Cycles in Canterbury. They have them on Chainreaction cycles. But Cube do a range of different bikes at different levels and on Chainreaction at the moment they are 15% off.

I have had mine for about 8 months or so and I love it. It is great fun and I think it was a pretty good spec for the money. DT Swiss wheels, XT groupset and a decent set of Rockshox forks which have a range of adjustments that I am still fathoming out.

I think they are worth a look.

Cheers

Marek....

http://www.chainreactioncycles.com/Imag ... 1518-1.jpg

[Dombo]

A couple of colleagues have Cubes and love them. As Marek says, great value for money. Konas are worth a look, too; but then, we're all going to recommend what we ride ourselves

[Andrew G]

I can't recommend anything specific as I don't know much about MTBs. However when I bought mine I went in to a couple of shops to see what they had and how the sizing and geometry fitted me. I ended up picking up a good deal on a previous years model being sold cheap for shop floor space for new models.

I'd recommend checking a few out as the geometries seem to vary wildly depending on the size of the bike. I was looking to get a Specialized but found that the small frame ones are weird. The geometry was all over the place so it felt like sitting on a BMX with an easy rider fork on it. The Giant felt spot on straight away. I think it's a general good rule with any bike, sit on a few and see what feels good. It isn't necessarily going to be (manufacturer) what you went in for or what you had in mind but you can generally tell quickly if it fits your body size and shape well. A well fitting bike is better than any superior model that doesn't fit you properly.

If like me you don't know much, or anything, about all the forks and shocks then a good knowledgeable shop should help get what you need for what you do as well. I've never been there but have heard good things about Nirvana in Dorking.

And yes Colin was going great guns on that rigid forked MTB of his on the trails.

[ceejay]

Marco - thanks for starting this thread. I'm guessing you were unimpressed with my lack of progress on the new bike and thought I needed a gentle nudge.

Thanks to all for the suggestions and advice so far. As my current bike-buying rate is one per 15 years, I could consider the £1500-2000 price point as well. What Mountain Bike's top 2 trail all-rounders in this range are the Lapierre Zesty 314 and Trek's Fuel EX8. Any opinions on these two?

Thanks,

Colin

[Dombo]

Here's a review on the Lapierre from my favourite mtb shop, Nirvana Cycles at Westcott on the A25 a mile west of Dorking:
http://www.nirvanacycles.com/news_zesty514.htm
It's the 514 but the essence is probably the same.
They have demo bikes too, and being at the foot of Leith Hill you can test them effectively.

[Wal]

I'm with George; the Boardman bikes are hard to beat for vfm. Unbelievable spec for the money and always get glowing reviews in the magazines.

My pick would be the Pro FS; with Rock Shox suspension, Avid Elixir brakes, SRAM X0/X9 drivetrain and Ritchey finishing kit it's a steal at £1300.

[ceejay]

All the front runners are turning out to be hard to track down at this time in the season, especially in the medium-ish sizes. However, I did test ride a Trek Fuel EX7 today. It felt pretty good and the differences in spec vs the EX8 seem fairly subtle at my level (http://www.evanscycles.com/products-com ... 7Cec016521). Any views?

Thanks,

Colin

[higg]

I just had a quick look around and it does look like there's not that many sizes seem to be sold out. I think you either way, EX7 or EX8 it would be more than capable of tackling the stuff we do locally and out at Leith Hill and any other trail centre you went to. You would probably notice the difference in lighter wheels and fork of the EX8 but whether it's worth it is your call. Everything (EX7 or EX8) these days at that price is fairly good.


These are some other options :

http://www.pedalon.co.uk/acatalog/giant_trance_x2_.html

http://www.pedalon.co.uk/acatalog/trek_ ... black.html

http://www.pedalon.co.uk/acatalog/giant_anthem_x4.html


Aodan.

[sonic909]

Full sus is for losers.

Boardman rocks, i have a 08 Pro Roadbike, and i work with the boardman brand day in day out and cant reccomend it enough, dont get me started on why its great and why it beats ALL the competition as i wont shut up.

Merida have a few nice cycles at all stated price points.

Get a good hardtail, esp if you are willing to go upto a grand.

Also does your employer offer Cycle 2 Work scheme? CHEAP ATB!



*if you do go for a Boardman (good choice) then PM me!*

[Andrew G]

If budget suits why not go full suss? A mountain bike ignoramus but can't you just lock out the rear shock for trail sections where you don't want full suss?

Anyway back to the bikes .

Don't know the equipment well enough to know what's good and what isn't but if you can go to the £2k mark then these look like reasonable/good deals.

[url=http://www.evanscycles.com/products/scott/genius-40-2009-mountain-bike-ec016245]Scott[/url] down from £2,600 to £2,000. I know Wal has a hardtail Scott so may be able to offer opinions on what they're like.
[url=http://www.evanscycles.com/products/lapierre/spicy-316-2009-mountain-bike-ec017804]Lapierre[/url], very nice looking bike and £300 off.
For a couple of reviews Nirvana offer...
[url=http://www.nirvanacycles.com/news_trancexreview.htm]Giant Trance X2[/url]
and
[url]Lapierre Zesty[/url]
which may give food for thought.

I'd still revert to what fits best as a first port of call for any bike though, and you can only tell that by trying them out. I think Nirvana let you test ride, don't know where but they're only round the corner from Peaslake so maybe they let you take a bike or two round Leith Hill.

[higg]

Lapierre Spicy is an excellent bike (I had one for a day in Italy earlier this year) but a bit of overkill for what we do. It's the kind of bike to take down deliverance. Zesty is more equivalent to to Trek EX series.

[Wal]

[quote]I know Wal has a hardtail Scott so may be able to offer opinions on what they're like.