I posted a thread about 1Kish full sussers. A few people recommended getting a good hardtail for that sort of money.

Apart from the fact that a hardtail at that price would have better components is there any other reason for going for a hardtail? Price being equal will the hardtail ride better etc?

Who’s the bike for?

And what’s it for? Each have their advantages and disadvantages…

most eventually end up with both 😆

The bike would be for me. It is for a bit of trail riding. Im not down with the lingo, but it is a bit techy. Nothing hardcore.Dropoffs a couple of feet maybe? Would also help if it was ok for doing up to 15 mile road rides.

I was thinking along the lines of a Canyon Nerve XC 6 to begin with but have had lots of other suggestions. Im even more confused, but all the looking is fun!

It will be my only bike. Between saving for a wedding and kids I certainly wont have more than one bike!

The bike would be for me.

So why are you asking us then you nutter?
Go ride some.

Well my LBS is shite. They don’t do test rides. I dont drive and would have to spend money travelling over to Glasgow and Edinburgh only to be met by a bunch of unhelpful tossers. This is speaking from past experiences.

I’m not looking for someone to say this is the bike for you. Being armed with a bit more info than I currently have can do no harm.

In the end I will pick it on price and looks anyway! 🙂 Kidding!

I started with a £1000 orange crush hardtail bought on bike to work scheme but being slightly older have a bit of back trouble. Last year I got a boardman team fs and love it. Ride mostly gisburn/ dales/ lakes and for a grand its a great bike. orange hardly gets used now and component wise theres not much in it.

The FS will be more comfortable to ride, ie kinder on the @rse and back. The FS will abosrb bumps in trail better so feel more in control on the descents.

The hardtail will pedal better and will in all liklehood have a better fork so with a bit of skill development you could ride it better on the descents than FS.

I’d say you have a classic dilema, because at 1k you’ll get a pretty nice hardtail (possibly a “cooler” niche brand and decent travel/quality fork) and an average mass market FS where the rear shock and linkages are using up a chunk of your budget.

FWIW if you continually do 2 foot drops on a 1k FS you may find that breaks before a more suitable/burley 1k hardtail. If it were me I’d go for the hardtail at that price point.

My suggestion would be to think about what’s important to you and then make a list of the different bikes available, by looking at that list I think the decision will become clear.

you’ll probably have to go a way to beat the Canyon in terms of spec.

I’d personally opt for a HT with 120mm of travel. If you shop around you can get some great deals and then get a bike shop to build it for you (I’d imagine you’d get a nicely specc’d bike that way.

Cheers grim. How do you find the rear suspension? Is there a massive difference?

bobbyg – where in Central Belt are you , and what trails (where) will you be riding ?

http://singletrackworld.com/forum/topic/the-wifes-new-bike

I recently got this for my wife (I had a few bits but for a grand I reckon you could easily do something similar)

all the parts where ordered from Merlin cycles and came the next day

Jambalaya and efton. Thanks!

I ride an old 04 Rockhopper at the moment and I dont mind not having rear suspension. But then again Ive never even ridden a full susser so I am wondering what Im missing.

Ive only recently got into biking again(15 years absense) and Im slowly getting my confidence back.

15 years ago I used to throw myself down anything, and that was on a rigid Muddyfox! The joys of being 16.

Iain I am in Fife. Local trails are Middleden, Lochore meadows and Falkland Hill. There is also lots of woods that I go round with some decent tracks. I dunno if these are ‘trails’ like you guys ride mind you.

bobbyg – I am Glasgow area but have ridden over there a few times. My money would go on a decent hardtail – Merlin Malt 4, Boardman etc – as said above 100-120mm travel, decent components and light. Particularly if you are doing a bit on the road. I have full suss and hardtails, and for the type of riding you decribe would most often choose the hardtail..

Bobby, buy what you want & if thats a FS, then do it.
Their great (& so a are HT’s) and no matter what some ppl would suggest, they don’t simply fall to pieces at the drop of a hat, but yes they will require a bit more TLC.

If you earn’t you stripes on a HT (which I assume a lot of these posts think you haven’t done yet), now try a FS, and if you don’t get on with it them sell it.

Thanks Iain. I think Falkland is the only place that I would ‘need’ a full suss.

So a grand on a hardtail? Is this going to be a worthwhile upgrade over my Rockhopper? I mean framewise. The frame is in great condition with deore lx and elixir brakes. Shite Manitou Axel fork. Is it worth just upgrading the fork or will a new frame be worth the outlay?

If you don’t mind getting the shit beaten out of you on every ride buy a HT; there’s always a place for a quality HT and it’s not the canal.

If I could only have one bike it would be a hardtail.

TBH while Im just gettin into it mtbing again, I like to think I earnt my stripes on a rigid!

bobbyg – I just read your other thread, oh yes so many upgrade options !

Given the newish drivetrain components on the Spesh you do have the upgrade option and you’ll get a few quid for the rock hopper frame and fork if you sell it on.

FWIW I started out on a 350 Hardrock then switched to FS (Reign) which was a good move (I did spend way more money though) and the softer ride is not to be ignored (I got into MTB at 45). I’m guessing you are riding on some reasonably rocky trails so the softer and more “planted feel” on a FS is going to be beneficial. Instant skills compensator. What I would say is that the new FS bikes like Trance pedal pretty well, I wouldn’t put the road performance of the bike too high up the priority list, most XC/AM style FS bikes will pedal well enough on the road/up hill and in any case that’s just commuting to to the fun bit.

I think at 500 it has to be hardtail, 1k probably a hardtail and 1.5k-2k FS – so much choice !

Have you tried your mates Boardman ? BTW not buying the same bike as him, if you like the ride, is daft, just sayin’

EDIT: For 600 for you buy a steel hardtail frame (eg Cotic BFe / Prince Albert Classic are 300 right now) and a decent 120+ front fork and put all the other bits from the Rockhopper on that and see how you go. Lots of money left to change some others bits too. The frame will definitely be an upgrade on an 04 rockhopper.

the rockhopper is a good bike, and a fork upgrade would certainly soften it a bit. It is however a harsh frame I think – I had an 04 or 05 one and found it gave me quite a pummelling on the local trails, so I bought a steel hartail (Rocklobster 853) which I still have and love and use more than my Orange 5

DO NOT buy a FS without at least trying one first. Different people have different preferences. Neither is wrong.
One thing I will say is; given equal skill levels; a FS will be quicker down the hill.

Ive not tried his yet. He just got it and I wasnt being the one to put the first scratches on it!

I will give it a go. If I was to push my budget to this what do you think?

http://www.canyon.com/_uk/mountainbikes/bike.html?b=2556

I ride a 120mm hardtail, I’ve not much skill as I’ve only been at for a couple of years and I’m as quick as all my riding buddies up and down bar one and they all ride fs. I will say that I hurt more than the rest of them the day after though!

FS or HT, that question again, well i can give you my recent experience. I brought an Canyon nerve XC (small) = (first ever FS i have tried) in October and now the frame and a few bits are on e-bay this very moment and i should have a nice cotic soul frame by the end of the week. It’s not that it was a bad ride, in fact it rode great, really noticed the difference over roots, rocks and so on. However i like to stand and hammer (was surprised at how well the FS copes with standing but just not the same as HT) and after several comparisons between my current HT and FS i just preferred the HT.

If you can try a FS for a bit before you buy then i would highly recommend. I think FS are great fun but at this time i just prefer HT but glad i gave it a try and some one should get a good deal on the frame i am selling!

Hope this helps

Many thanks for all the help and advice. Theres alot to think about. Im going out on my Rockhopper to throw it around and try and see what more I want(rather than just some new toy) Ill also try my mates Boardman at the weekend and see how I get on with that.

Cheers again!

Try and find a 2nd hand Soul. On anything other than really , really rocky stuff mine’s just as quick as an fs if not faster as it’s so responsive.

If you are not crying out for a FS now because your current HT is beating you up then another HT is an option. You can always soften up the ride with a USE suspension seatpost if needed, and you would keep the good pedalling of the HT. Even a titanium seatpost and flite flow saddle have a bit of useful give.

Some FS designs pedal really well though – so you get all the benefits.

If I were to have only one bike it would be the Turner Flux as it loses nothing to my HT imo.

I would look at a 2nd hand giant anthem if you want to go FS – as they pedal well.

bear in mind the extra maintenance on the FS, like getting the rear shock serviced.

Going on from what some others have said, try sticking at the HT to start.

What I would do:

Look at the classifieds on here and get a 120mm fork to upgrade the current frame. £200 should be enough. Ride for a while. Then decide if a new frame (HT or FS) is what you want.

The new fork should be a great upgrade and you’d be surprised at how it transforms the whole bike. To back this up, I did this a few years ago as I was in the same situation as you. I now own the same HT and a FS and a hybrid/tourer.

Fs just feels that bit smoother. Im heavy handed and tend to crash down things.

I enjoy riding my fs but it does feel like a barge compared to my hardtail. Best option is to have both if you can afford/justify having multiple bikes. What i’m doing at the minute is doing the bigger stuff on the fs first so i’ve got the confidence, blat off it on that then start doing it on the ht to get it smooth 🙂

Also, i used to ride a rockhopper but never really felt confident on it, switching to my trailstar was much better.

Bobby – I’ve got a rockhopper, spent some money on it turning it into a lightish bike at under 23lbs – made a huge diference to the way it rode. I then bought a Soul, transfered the components across and it was even more of a revelation – more precise on the limits (of my ability anyway), rear end better tied down and more compliant, less harshness.

Keep the rockhopper and upgrade the fork – marzocchi bomber 100/120 or rockshox recon/revelation/reba. 2nd Hans will get you something decent. Or Maybe check retrobike for a 2nd hand full suss, there is a nice Klein mantra on there frame for £150!

I have not been any where where I have thought I needed a full sus bike over a hardtail/rigid (I have both), I have been places where I have felt I need more skills though! I have seen people do 10ft dropoff on hardtails before at Chicksands, have you seen the tricks trials riders pull of on there bikes.

If I had £1000 to spend on an MTB I would spend it on a hardtail. The money spent on a full sus frame and shock does not get spent on wheels or something else crtical.

That said there are some resonable full sus frames. I think you will have to travel and test ride a few on some trails. Its like buying a car, test first.

If the shops around you are hopeless then I feel for you as scotland is a vast place.

For £1000 you could build up a pretty damn good HT from a mixture of new and ebayed parts – maybe £160-200ish for a decent steel frame, £150 on wheels, £200 for a reba, etc.

Swapped from Recon’s to Reba’s on my rockhopper. Although the former were a nice solid fork for 80% of the time, the reba’s just gave a more plush and compliant ride and i could ride a bit harder.

Thanks for the suggestions guys. The thing is if I dont spend the cash now then i wont be able to do anything for a good while.

If I just buy forks then the rest will end up on kids,wedding stuff, bills, bar lunches etc.

Whatever I decide on will be my bike for the next 5 years, apart from replacing anything through wear an tear.

The nerve frame costs £1050 on its own. The nerve represents true value for money and I think you should buy it

I know that’s what you want to hear but I actually believe you will have regrets (in your own mind and that’s all that counts) if you don’t. It exactly what you want

The canyon nerve is a great bike