After a trip to Afan last weekend my brother has the bug to get a bike!!
Me personally, I always build my bikes up, so don't really look at new complete bikes, but he will be taking advantage of the C2W scheme, and wants something he can use of some occasional commuting and the odd trail centre.
He doesn't want to spend more than £700 really (price before C2W discount).
At this price I'm guessing most of the big names will have pretty basic specs, and with him not being the best at spanner wielding, some reliable componentry would be high on the list.
Looking around at the cheaper names I've come across a couple that seem well worth a look,
Focus Black Forest Expert £699
Reba's, XT/SLX, looks nice, only thing I'm unsure of for trail type use would be the bars & bar ends, but suppose he could get another bar. Does look pretty good to me for the cash anyway.
Cube Ltd Team RX £760
http://www.winstanleysbikes.co.uk/product/27971/Cube_LTD_Team_RX_Bike_2010
Similar spec, but Recon's & Formula RX brakes (heard good & bad about these). Nice finishing kit. Looks just as good apart from the fork, which I gather an '09 would have had the Reba for same price - shame.
So, any opinions on those two, or anything else to throw in to look at? Boardman HT Pro was a consideration from me, but they are out of my brothers budget (£999 iirc).
