5 Full Suspension Bikes That Cost £1200 Or Less

Believe it or not, we are probably at a point in mountain biking when we can pick up a very capable bike for a relatively low-price.

Yes, there are superbikes out there which cost upwards of £10,000, but even brands that used to demand such a premium have looked at their pricing and made major changes.

For this piece though, we’re looking at the bikes at the other end of the spectrum. These are the bikes targetting riders on a budget, new riders or people looking to upgrade from a hardtail to full-sus on the cheap. We’ve chosen to look at bike costing £1200 or less, and we’re pretty surprised by the choice on offer. Take a look below:

Norco Fluid FS 650B 2018 – £1200

We reviewed the Norco Fluid 7.3 FS last year which uses a very similar suspension setup and specification as the 2018 version. Norco uses the same frame on a few of its bikes so is certainly worth thinking about if you want to head down the upgrade route in the future. That said, with Rockshox suspension front and rear and a Shimano drivetrain, the spec is good enough to get you rolling out of the box, although a dropper post would certainly go on our birthday/Christmas list.

Norco Fluid FS 650B 2018 highlights

• 120mm travel alloy full-suspension frame.
• Rockshox Monarch rear shock.
• Rockshox Recon Silver 120mm fork.
• Shimano Deore 1×10.
• Tektro hydraulic disc brakes
• Price £1200

Calibre Bossnut Evo – £999.00

Calibre impressed us with the Bossunt V.2 when we tested it last year, and now it has been fine-tuned to Evo spec it looks even better than ever. Our V.2 test bike came with a 2x drivetrain, but for the Evo version Calibre is using an SRAM NX 1×11 drivetrain and also added stealth dropper routing to keep things neat when you upgrade.

Calibre Bossnut Evo highlights:

• Alloy 130mm full suspension frame with stealth routing.
• Rockshox Monarch R rear shock.
• Rockshox Recon RL 130mm fork.
• SRAM NX 1×11.
• Shimano MT500 disc brakes.
• Price £999.00

Boardman MTR 8.8 – £1200.00

Boardman budget full-suspension bikes are no stranger to us in the Singletrack office, but the MTR models are new for 2018 and feature a refreshed geometry. The refreshed frames all come with a 67° head-angle, longer reach and a shorter seat tube to allow riders to size up. The 8.8 is the mid-range model, and bike prices actually range from £1000 – £1600. There’s also a women’s specific model too.

Boardman MTR 8.8 highlights:

• Alloy 140mm full-suspension frame with updated geometry.
• Rockshox Deluxe R rear shock.
• Rockshox Recon RL 140mm fork.
• SRAM NX 1 x 11.
• SRAM Level T disc brakes.
• Price £1200.00

Polygon Siskiu D7 – £1165.00

The Polygon Siskiu also comes in a variety of specification options, but what we’re most interested in is the design of the frame. The single pivot suspension with linkage driven shock looks very similar to the Canyon Spectral reviewed last month and isn’t a million miles away from the look of the YT Jeffsy, both are bikes with very playful characteristics.

Polygon Siskiu D7 highlights:

• ALX 120mm travel alloy full-suspension frame.
• SR Suntour Epixon LO-R rear shock.
• Rockshox 30 Silver 120mm Solo air fork.
• Shimano Deore/XT 2×10.
• Shimano BR-M365 disc brakes.
• Price £1165.00

Jamis Dakar A2 2018 – £1000.00

The Jamis Dakar A2 2018 is a completely redesigned bike compared to the original model. The new frame is much cleaner and has a more modern geometry following current trends. The specification is on par with the rest of the bikes on the list plus there’s the option to splurge another £350 on the A1 with upgraded suspension and SRAM 1x drivetrain.

Jamis Dakar A2 2018 highlights:

• Triple butted 6061 120mm full-suspension frame.
• Rockshox Monarch R rear shock.
• Rockshox Recon RL 130mm fork.
• Shimano Deore 1×10.
• Shimano M315 disc brakes.
• Price £1000.00

Which of the five bikes listed would you choose to own? Or if you already have one of these bikes please tell us what you think about it in the comments below.

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