I have been out of mountain biking for a few years and most recently I have been just sticking with typical road biking. My last mountain bike was one of the last Gary Fisher frames, along with SLX level components and Hope Pro 2 Hubs + disk brakes.

I have recently become fairly settled where I live and I know a number of people who are mountain biking around where I am ( Manchester ) and want to get a bike sorted and join.

Does anyone have any recommendations on what I should be looking for < £1000 and perhaps any good deals on pre-built bikes right now?

I am tempted to get a custom bike built again with the XT M8000 groupset along with some Hope Pro 4 hubs + some wheels along with a good frame etc.

Simply put what do people recommend, if I am to go the custom route. Where would be a good option for full wheels, is the above groupset a good choice and what frame etc.

If I go the pre-built does anyone recommend a brand or any current bargains with it being the end of the bike year?

Any help would be greatly appreciated!

Was your previous Gary Fisher a hardtail or full susser?

You’re unlikely to get an XT8000 and Hope Pro4 build bike for < £1k, for that kind of amount you could get an older XT spec and Pro 2 build 2nd hand bike eg. something like a Giant Anthem, Trek Fuel, Specialized Stumpjumper, or Cotic Soul if hardtail is your preference.
I’d place more emphasis on the quality of the frame than components as they’ll wear out.

You’ll get more bang for your buck if the bike is a 26″ wheel version, but for £1k you could get a 27.5 or 29er.

The classifieds on here, Pinkbike or ebay would be where I’d be looking. Bikes do tend to cost a bit more on ebay but there’s more choice and variety on there.
You’re probably less likely to be ripped off by buying off here as you can search on the history of a seller.

Buy hope hubs and SLX gears, brakes. Plus a 2nd hand frame like a Transition etc.

DONT join THAT club.

THAT club ( single front ring )?

My last bike was a hard tail

It depends on what you’re looking for,there’s some bargains to be had here, http://www.paulscycles.co.uk/
I’ve bought a couple of bikes from them,never had any problems with delivery

Random look on eBay, how does this one look? https://www.ebay.co.uk/itm/112079527678

I also noticed this on Paul’s cycles and looks good for the money. http://www.paulscycles.co.uk/m1b0s182p6747/CUBE-LTD-PRO-2X-27-5-2016

If your an inch or two either side of six foot…

Superfly Guy

absolutely nothing good has happened to bikes since 2011 – get your old Gary Fisher back

I sold it a few years ago for like £200 =(

If you’re looking at Hardtails then this may be of interest (no link to the seller)

http://singletrackworld.com/forum/topic/santa-cruz-highball-1

Here was my previous Gary Fisher which I sadly sold for peanuts http://www.boxrick.com/bike1.jpg ( like £250 in the end …. )

Unfortunately still yet to find a bike and I plan to go cycling with friends the week after next, I think I got my last wheels from https://www.moonglu.com/collections/mountain-bike-wheels

Any more thoughts?

Hardtail or full-sus? easy pootling about or something more challenging?
Then you’ve got the wheel size thing – 26/27.5/29.
Agree with Danti about upgrading components as you go.
Some suggestions:
– bike discount (german online store – good reputation); radon is in-house brand, they stock cube but can’t supply uk due to existing distribution, centurion isn’t a brand I recognise; google the name, search on bikes and away you go. Their prices are in euros (so divide by about 1.15 for £), include vat but shipping is extra
– cycle gear in halifax; clearance usually includes genesis, ridgeback & saracen
– chain reaction; search for recycled which is where they list their ex display/demo stuff
– winstanleys bikes; search their clearance section
– evans; select clearance and then ex display/demo; they have a nice looking BMC down from £1800 to just over £1k
– leisure lakes/ribble/merlin are all in north west
– any local bike shops will probably have some clearance stuff, typically end of year/end of range, as they want to make space for shiny new in time for christmas
– drakes cycles in leeds; go to offers
If you buy remotely try to be clear about your sizing.
I know my suggestions are mainstream but these guys always have stuff hidden away.

Don’t forget Planet X with their permanent sale/special offer/flash friday deals; quality can be variable but they’re pretty good (not perfect) at sorting problems.

As for eBay – there are some good looking deals on there but narrowing your search to local area so you can try before you buy might be sensible.

Good luck!

Should have said…..Planet X – go to menu, choose bikes, choose mountain bikes and there you go.

They would also be a possibility if you wanted to buy frame & components separately for a build.

They have a full carbon sample in medium(?) with deore/xt & marzocchi fork for £750; it’s been tested by them for ‘half a season’.
It will have a cursory rub down but looks dirty; they usually check over ex test bikes. From experience you should be able to negotiate either on price or getting some free stuff.
Caveat – what warranty and is it ‘sold as seen’.

Cheers for the awesome feedback guys!

How is a < 12 month old Specialized Stumpjumper Comp Evo for under £1000?

http://www.bikeradar.com/mtb/gear/category/bikes/mountain-bikes/full-suspension/product/review-specialized-stumpjumper-fsr-comp-evo-650b-14-48306/

Sadly only seems to get average reviews, but the 2015 Edition was looked at very favourably.

I picked up the following off Ebay, whilst its not top of the line by any respects. Mostly decent components and a good £600 level ish bike for £300 isn’t too bad.

http://www.ebay.co.uk/itm/232111813982

Any suggestions on my first component upgrades, or just ride it till it falls to pieces and get something better?

That looks decent for the money. Assuming everything works as it should I’d just ride that as it is through the winter (possibly get some decent mud tyres) and then see how you feel in the spring.

Depends how much money you have to spend. Some new wheels would save a bit of weight (and look bling) and if it were me i’d get rid of the heavy chainset, but overall that looks great.

As Bregante says, ride it over winter as is and see how much you enjoy mountain biking again.

Im happy to spend a few hundred getting some better bits, if I upgrade the chainset what are the bits im going to have to change with it.

I also assume a 29er can’t take 650b wheels.

I’d ride it a bit before upgrading and see what takes your fancy.
For the riding I do, my first upgrade would be a dropper post but not everyone finds them as useful.

Its quite obvious how bad the front crank is when riding so far, would be nice to just get a decent double of some description.

Any advice regarding a front crank and maybe front derailleur and then possibly some wheels for later down the line?

Pick up a second hand deore perhaps?

you could get a new 10 speed Deore drive train for around £150 from merlin or chainreaction or an SLX drivetrain for around £210.

I don’t know if a replacement 10 speed chainset will play nicely with the 9 speed chain, and I wouldn’t be spending good money on a 9 speed chainset if I thought I’d be upgrading to 10 speed in the near future.

there are plenty of deals around for 10 speed stuff, new prices don’t seen too far off second hand.

superstar components are well thought of for wheels and have some keen prices.

I picked up a Triple Deore chainset, front derailleur and bottom bracket for around £40 from these forums. Whilst it won’t be perfect I expect it to be a good deal better than what is on there.

I can see how I get on with that then do some proper upgrades in the future 🙂

I will have a look at superstar components for wheels.=!