Scraping money together at the moment to buy a DH bike. My question is would you go for a shop bought "budget" DH bike {Mondraker Kaiser for £2500} or buy used bike for the same money from one of the perceived boutique brands{intense M6, Santa Cruz VP10 etc}?

Are you new to DH?

I doubt you'll need a v10 m6 etc. Why not get something like a spicy which can handle most UK stuff and still be fun on the trail?
If You're using it for racing I'd try and get a new glory second hand, very light and fast. Mondrakers look nice though

Mafiafish – what do you ride? I doubt you need it.

Look out for a very good condition 2nd hand bike… you could get something really good for that money…

You'll find lots of rich kids over on the SDH forum who build very nice DH bikes and then decide they aren't for them and sell them for a fraction of the price, £1500 would get you a good bike and leave some £££ for some 5.10 shoes, full face, armour etc.

Personally a 160mm burly bike is fine for UK stuff however if you are new to DH then a proper 180 – 200mm DH bike will help you get the most out of DH riding.

I progressed the most on my Turner DHR as I knew if I came up short or got something wrong the bike could handle it. Gave me the confidence to do gaps and drops etc. that I now do on my 160mm without thinking.

I doubt you'll need a v10 m6 etc. Why not get something like a spicy which can handle most UK stuff and still be fun on the trail?

Cheers for that, I've got a Meta6 already and a Cove Stiffee and had them down Innerleithen on uplift days and Fort William WC track and when I've been on my mats DH bike can really notice the difference. So think it's about time I get one of my own.

Why is it on here that folk always tell you don't need as much bike as you think you do?

I'd go SH. There's lots of barely used £4k plus bikes going for not much money on places like Pinkbike.

I've only ever bought one new bike/frame. There's really no need. Especially DH bikes, given how expensive they are and how little they're worth once used.

SH always wins.

I guess it's just because without the information that they are experienced and already have a similar bike they presume they are inexperienced and are over biking.
Having said that a m6 is overbiking for pretty much anything.
Yep second hand is the way to go DH are built to last and a new one will perform the same for a couple of grand less.

I sold my 224 for 1200, and the frame cost me that a year before. I obviously had to rush to sell it becasue I was so over biked.

If I got back into DH then I'd go second hand for sure

£2500 will get you a lot of second hand DH bike and no mistake.

To answer the question of the thread title, I'd say second hand every time, unless you can't afford to spend the time shopping around for 2nd hand, which can be considerable.

Go second hand. I've seen some obscene deals recently. Oh to have a few grand spare.

MussEd

Why is it on here that folk always tell you don't need as much bike as you think you do?

Probably because they've bimbled down the local the dh course on their 5 inch trial bike and concluded a dh bike is unnecessary – not actually realising that riding at dh race speeds and sessioning dh tracks is a different kettle of fish and is actually pretty brutal on a shorter travel bike on all but the smoothest and least technical tracks.

I am absolutly poles appart on budget for my DH bike but check out the £1250 Orange 223 I got offered on this thread, its a hell of a lot of bike for half the budget your talking about, I think the FOX 40 forks sell for over £500 2nd hand…

http://www.singletrackworld.com/forum/topic/show-me-your-budget-dh-freeride-bikes

Cheers for that Tinsy, hav seen a good few superb deals about that's why my head is turned. Totally agre with all the comments about more for the money etc.

Guess I'm just worried about warranty etc, I know DH bikes are built for strength but it isn't exactly unheard of for frames to crack is it? Also concerned I buy a bike of someone who has been riding the bike the way it's meant to have been ridden – i.e hammering it!

With that brand-new Kaiser I'll get the back up of a decent shop and the warranty should owt go wrong with it…

MussEd I am buying the Kona off the guy that responded on my thread, sub £400, it will get a thorough service a pair of new tyres and its going to the Alps.

I would reason that something like that 223 is an absolute beast of a bike if its in good mechanical order then I doubt anyone short of a world cup DH rider can get anywhere near its limits for strength and durability, buy wisely and its possible to get a massive 2nd hand saving, that said there are some supprisingly good new deals about especially given your budget and that would take any of the guess work out, and still be a hugely entertaining and satisfying bike.. the new Spesh big hit looks a great off the shelf buy.

You pays your money and you takes your chances. 🙂

I'd have thought it practically impossible to spend £2500 on a s/h DH bike. you'd get a great spec V10, Sunday, Glory etc. for about £1200-1500
so even if the frame cracks you've got a spare grand to buy another.

you could go down to innerleithen next weekend (winter series race) and have a look around the pits, there's bound to be a few bikes for sale and with cash in yer pocket you may well get a bargain.

BTW – an M6 and V10 may have similar suspension designs but ride quite differently. (coming from Coves for instance, I doubt you'd get along spectacularly with the M6s BB height) what bikes have you ridden? and why did you choose those? I don't how you ride, but I'd be looking at geometry before prices?