Hi – sorry but another one of those questions – which bike???

im looking for a full sus up to £2000 that i can use as a beginner to trails and also winter riding on bridalways.

I was thinking of either the trek fuel ex 8 or lapierre zesty 314 as both get good reviews – the trek looks better value but im really not sure what bike and wondered if you guys and gals had a plain favourite.

thanks

Well going from your posting history, I take it you won’t take “the buy a Hard tail” suggestion well, & we’ll gloss over the whole £2K for a ‘beginners’ bike…

[Personnally for me neither, but] They both have good reviews and a following on here, so neither will be particularly bad.
140mm is a little overkill for beginners trails/midlands, I believe 120mm is an almost perfect level of travel for most ppl/the UK.
As for Winter, well I’ve always had single pivot full sussers and never had issues due to winter, this may not be so true when you add in a number of pivots as per the Trek/Lapierre

If were going to talk value wise, then you have to take a look at the Canyon XC 9.0 very similar to the Trek but much better kitted out, and no silly pure XC angles (or take a look @ their AM range for ‘slacker’ angles). In fact you could buy a Canyon XC 8.0 or 7.0 and still have a better kitted bike, lots of ppl raving about em… same as the Zesty & Ex 8 really

Get a test ride & decide for yourself, try the Lapierre and Trek, then order a Canyon to test/keep or return if it ain’t up to the EX/Zesty standard?

Swinnertons @ Cannock have a 18.5 sized Trek to demo for a start, and Lapierre have a number of midlands dealer one must be able to help with a demo.

Perhaps you could consider this 2nd hand Trek Remedy? It looks it good nic and will save you a fair amount of money.
http://www.singletrackworld.com/forum/topic/fs-trek-remedy-7-2010-175-with-upgrades

to be fair im not really sure what i want – lol

im a road biker who is getting the attraction of the trail scene and was looking to build a hard tail on a £1000 budget but my plans and ideas kept getting bigger and bigger and a couple of mates said the full sus route makes more sense as il be going on trails with them but id also like to go on local bridal XC type routes on my own.

funny i was just looking at the nerve xc 9 and the kit for the money is awesome – I think try before i buy is the best advice really with most things in life.

thanks for the advice so far

^^^ I’d get a cheap hardtail if I was you, I’m basing this on the fact you’ve mentioned you’re road rider just getting into the MTB scene, on a hardtail, you really will learn your craft, there is sooooooo much to learn about off road biking that it really is for the best IMHO to start on a hardtail, then transfer those skills you learned later to a full susser.

Cue HT vs FS debate thread. * hides under rickety chair*

thats what i was doing originally and it does make loads of sense – the full sus idea came with the fact il end up getting one and then il have a hardtail doing nothing. I did used to trail ride years ago (15 or so) when i was younger and i did the hardtail days then but that was a full rigid GT. Great fun

Zesty 314

anyone got a canyon Nerve XC – just want to know some ones opinion on the build quality and ride.

value seems amazing

get a giant, try and get last years model as well as you will get a much better bike for youre money this one look grate http://paulscycles.co.uk/products.php?plid=m1b4s1p2855

carbon fiber GT http://paulscycles.co.uk/products.php?plid=m1b1s1p2486

This might be available soon, mail me if interested (frame, frame & fork or complete).

as above great giant bike for good money there

montylikesbeer – Member
as above great giant bike for good money there

Only problem with that great deal on the Pauls cycles link is they only have small frames left in stock, if the OP is small, then great, if not?

Or this for just a drop more, great bike for the wedge !

Whyte E120 S

edit: might not be in stock, grrrr

or this when they get more stock, cracker again for the money and a frame which you can keep for years and upgrade.

I would also pay for the RP23 upgrade as well making it right on the money

santa cruz heckler d am

Someone got there before me -I’d go for Whyte T-120.

Zesty every time!

If you’ll fit on a medium

This looks OK
http://www.bikescene.co.uk/Specialized-Enduro-Pro-23-0-0.html

OK, so it’s a bit over your budget 🙂

big range of choices – thanks guys – just need to come up with the money now but with all these choices thats the easy bit 😉

I’m not sure a 6″ travel Enduro is ideal for bridleways….

I think the Zesty/Canyon/Fuel are very good options. See if you can get a demo of a few of those.

buy a green one. green bikes are best.

hth.

The spin is you can get a fantastic deal on a 2010 model over a 2011 every time.

Pitch Pro?

Well, somebody had to suggest it. It’s the law.

haha….pitch pro for sure. If you fit on it…..get one! awesome bike for the wedge. I would have if I wasn’t inbetween the 2 sizes.

You couldn’t go wrong with a Boardman HT, and a £1k in the pocket.

I’m in a similar boat to you – started off with a lower budget which has slowly crept up 🙂 – but maybe I will reign it back in.

I’ve got the Trek Fuel EX 8 this weekend from my LBS and took it to Cannock yesterday – was very good indeed. Think I am testing out the Zesty next but I think maybe the Lapierre X-Control is more closer to the Fuel EX series?

http://www.bikeradar.com/mtb/forums/viewtopic.php?t=12778870

I’ve got an Nerve XC7 and love it to bits if you wanted to come and try it for size PM me I’m in South Cheshire

That looks sweet streetvw ! I must say I have been drooling over the canyon website. But the other half of me is saying to buy from the LBS a brand like Trek and Specialized for the unrivalled support / service.

Did you test ride any other bikes before buying the Nerve? just interested on your opinions compared to other rides?

3rd for Whyte T120…..and get £200 of accessories thrown in.I know somewhere that would bite your hand off if you wanted a medium.

If it were me, I’d spend £1500 on an entry level 120mm susser, something like a Spesh Camber and the rest on a hardtail for winter ragging.

streetvw that is exactly the bike i think il get in couple of months – even looking at their road bikes too.

what size did you go for and did you use their size calulator thing? are you happy with the fit?

fit is my main worry really as im 6’3″ but iv got short legs and super long legs so the frames that fit my legs leave me feeling stretched abit which on the road aint bad but trails could be restrictive with weight shifting over the rear???? 😕

iv got short legs and super long legs

errr ummm what da ya hmmmmm, ok.

lol – ye and i keep walking around in circles 😆

oops i meant short arms and super long legs – sorry i was dreaming about bikes while writing

wh1t3kn1ght

I didn’t try anyother bikes the only other FS bike I rode was my brother-in-laws Commencial meta 5.5 adn thought I like the feel of the fs but didn’t really like the ride position on the bike I’d been watching Canyon bikes for about 4 years, I was looking to get one of their Ht’s when I bought m y first bike but couldn’t get one on C2W scheme, so bought an xtc4.5, I was looking at the giant trance X3 but would have had to go with the 2010 model with the price hike that happened with the 2011 model so went and looked at Canyon again spent a little while trying to find out about them even translated some German forum stuff to get a feel for the build quality but decided that given the spec it was worth a punt 😀

logic1980

I did use Canyons size calculator to get the right size biek got my brother to help with the measurements to be sure that they were spopt on if you are unsure give the UK service centre a call they were really helpful

thanks streetvw thats really helpful – like you, i think il give them a go. got a couple of months now to save but think its a great bike at an even better price.