Evening all,

Long time lurker, first time poster. I’ll save my shoe and size, favourite Disney film and all that type of nonsense for another day.

Brief bike history,
Specialized rockhopper pro with some pithy suntour 120s
Dialled Prince Albert on 140 manitou sherman dual crowns
Devinci Hucker on 120 shermans
Cove Stiffee on 140 bombers

I’ve been out of the game for a year or so mainly due to life getting serious and want something ready made to get me back on the trails of South Wales which, incidentally, appear to be multiplying like tadpoles.

I’ve had my head turned by the 2015 Orange Crush and haven’t been able to find many worthy competitors.

I’m sure the wise heads of this forum will be able to offer up some tasty alternatives.

The criteria;
Hardtail
New
Budget; 1400
Min 140mm travel
Low-ish maintenance

Thanks in advance.

Nukeproof scout is worth a look, around your budget, looks good and great reviews

Bird Zero?

The Crush would be ace no doubt.

My mate has a On One Parkwood and likes it very much. Great spec for the price.

I’ll save my shoe and size, favourite Disney film and all that type of nonsense for another day.

No dice.

Saracen Zen.

gofasterstripes – Member
I’ll save my shoe and size, favourite Disney film and all that type of nonsense for another day.
No dice.
POSTED 8 MINUTES AGO # REPORT-POST

It’s defo Frozen, no question. But are you an Anna or an Elsa man?

What about Kona Explosif?

I test rode an Orange Crush and hated it. It was a few years ago and can’t really remember why. Teeth nashingly rigid frame and pretty average components.

Now got a Cotic Bfe with 150mm Revelations and built almost entirely with used bits from here and I love it.

456, ti if poss

+1 for Burd Zero. Amazing spec for the price.

45650b from on one?

by criteria of 140, combined with history, i’m making the (potentially wild) assumption that chasing lap times is secondary to plain old fun.

How much can a slackline take? No personal experience but everyone seems to love ’em. There’s also the stock Soul answer although the learned would point to 120 being the sweet spot.

My brief experience with a friends 456 ti (the one with the funny top tube) was ace, light, fast but also really nice on the way down.

Nice problem to have.

Actually with your budget I’d build a Stanton switchback

You could build a nice Stanton Switchback for that money.

I test rode an Orange Crush and hated it

Changed a bit since then. Not to say you wouldn’t still hate it though.

Another vote for the bird zero, I’ve had one for just over a month, fantastic bike.

secondary to plain old fun

Bingo 😀

In the ‘what I ride’ tradition, a BFe would do you nicely.

Been on a 650b crush for the past year and it’s been fantastic. Binned the Avid Elixirs and went 2×10 pretty much straight away but that’s sorted with the latest model. Now got full XT drivetrain, 35mm stem fatbars, bigger rotors…it does everything I ask of it, ups, downs, and jumps flawlessly.

Stanton. No contest.

Even if I factory order a Stanton we’re talking April delivery at the earliest…

Sigh.

Are you looking to buy complete? or frame only and build up? Would definitely consider the Whyte 905. Had previous year’s model and was fantastic. Also as a leftfield choice the Mondraker Vantage; bit of a Marmite looks wise but uses their “Forward Geometry” concept.I haven’t ridden one yet but own a Foxy which shares geometry etc and have been blown away by the performance of it. it’s also available frame only at around £350-400 which would leave you a grand for better spec than complete bikes.

There’s at least one, possibly two switchbacks at my LBS, Tamed Earth in hindhead at the moment.

Edit: not complete bikes, but I’m sure Tom could put something great together for your budget

456 Carbon?

Boring answer I know but it’s a Relatively cheap, relatively light, slacker geo trail riding HT, 1xN drivetrain to keep maintenance down… A reasonable reintroduction to MTBing…

I’ve got a bird zero with an angle set (£50 extra). Only got it 0.5 degrees slacker than standard at the moment, but can go to – 1.5 degrees as they supply all of the cups too. It adds some flexibility for £150 less than buying one after market.

If you can wait for the switchback I would. If you’re not bothered about wheel size, I’d get their slackline.

Mondraker Vantage

Oooh. Hello….

…secondary to plain old fun…

Bingo

Fun huh? Well i’ve some news for you. You’ve only been away for a short while but the game has changed dramatically. So much so that right now, there’s only one type of bike that’s fun to ride. I must warn you that this bike is so much fun that your mouth will hurt from the grinning. Fun will emanate from you as you ride past infecting all around. You’ll probably get the word fun tattooed onto you calf in a fun and flowing typeface. You may even name your first born Fun Jr.

Take a seat and prepare yourself for the most fun ever on two wheels (and the cheap, crap mainstream ones fall within your budget), i give you the funfatbike…

LOOK AT THE FUN HE’S HAVING!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!

Bird Zero or 456 are around your budget if you aren’t interested in true ‘fun’.

That looks almost as fun as moon boots, or a pogo stick!

Looks like it will be the Crush.
I’ve managed to negotiate a 10% discount, free Fox float upgrade, blue v12’s and matching grips thrown in.
Residuals on Orange bikes look pretty sweet too, just in case…

Going back to the Vantage. Anyone ridden one yet?