hi all, as title, i am in market for a new hardtail, have up to £700 to spend,

the options are (all 2011 models)

Cube Acid
Trek 4900
Specialized Rockhopper
Marin Bobcat

of course ill have a look and get on them in person, but i am pretty naive and when it comes to hardware i havnt much idea of which one comes better equipped for the money spent etc, so thats where i need your help

cheers

neil

My advice is not to worry too much about getting the best possible equipment for the money and instead just try them all out and buy the bike you enjoy riding the most. Seriously. You’re going to have good days and bad days and the difference between the two will easily be a much bigger contributor to your riding performance than the quality of the components. You’re supposed to be having fun on these things rather than worrying whether you got the best possible deal IMHO 😉

Z

I happen to agree with Zakamuffin for the most part, but I would add that I would get something with a RockShox Tora or better fork. Those cheap Suntours are bobbins. Have you looked at Canyon (out of your price range, sorry) or second hand? Right now you don’t seem to get much for your cash, second hand would be the way to go for me.

Second hand is a great way to do it. There’s someone with a 456 Scandal for something stupid like £400 built and posted. You’d have change to uprade and customise it to your needs too.

My road bike’s 2nd hand as is my mtb frame, wheels, GD etc. I’ve had a few new bikes but it’s like Trigger’s broom. There’s always something coming and going on the setup.

New bikes have really gone up in price in terms of where “decent” starts. Rockshox/Marzocchi forks and Deore is a good indicator. Or see if there are any 2010 sale bikes still about, you’d be surprised how many linger!

Gotta be 2nd hand, look at the classifieds here. Sure people will offer advice too.

By the way, where are you based?

APF