New ride in the offing but limited budget. Only ore requisites are a 29er, forks /shocks with 110-130 travel & reliable lockout, and 3 ring crank ( my increasing years means I need a granny ring)!

Whyte T-129 fits the bill. £1699 sure to barter to £1600, 120mm, has double but a 22 small ring so no different to a triple at the bottom end.
I show you a pic of my T-129s but it’s to cold to go and get one.

vitus?

(chainreaction)

they’re on sale right now, £1200, a proper bargain.

I’m sure with a bit of looking around for 2nd hand components you could build up a new Solaris for that budget though I don’t know why you’d want an outer ring on a 29er unless you like mashing big gears or ride a lot of road on it as well ! 😉

http://www.evanscycles.com/products/trek/fuel-ex-6-29-2014-mountain-bike-ec054520

I’m sure you could haggle one of these to within budget. Reasonable spec with none of that sram rubbish on the drivetrain. Think the shock is a proper lockout rather than propedal but not sure.

Marin
http://www.winstanleysbikes.co.uk/product/54075/Marin_Rift_Zone_XC7_29er_2013_Bike

Cube
http://www.winstanleysbikes.co.uk/product/55370/Cube_AMS_Pro_29Inch_2013_Bike

Thanks so far guys:-). I’d looked at the Trek fuel EX 6 as it goes. LBS had one in but had just sold it so no demo for a couple weeks. The whyte is one I haven’t considered and looks like its worth checking out. I’m guessing the need for a granny ring might be a bit psychological.

I’ve got a SRAM X5 drivetrain on my hard tail and never had any issues until recently; shifting is getting a bit random as up/down will sometimes skip two or three cogs, or just not shift at all. Are Shimano more reliable?

Haggling could be an option as well, cash purchase normally helps I guess!

My friend has the whyte t129s very nice bike. I personally have the Marin Rift Zone 29er which i think is superb, its a bit of an underdog due to Marin being seemingly unfashionable . Handles really well and suspension set up is excellent really efficient, for a 29er full suss it feels very nimble on my local xc trails. Its also a good buy due to being unfashionable with good keen prices in sales. Certainly worth a look as is the Whyte 129 or my fave the M109 too. Rubbish pic….