Hi,
I'm after a bit of advice, I'm after a new bike probably the cycle to work, which is not limited like it used to be so it opens up a couple of options, currently I have an old 2015 Scott Aspect 670 which was in my friends garden rusty but I've managed to fix it up and get some decent rides out of it but now I want something better. My local rides are steep with some singletrack and really heavy bridleways the ups on a normal run are about 1000ft of fire roads and some lanes, I don't want an electric. I've looked at the Bossnut and some hardtails but I'm torn really as to the best option, any ideas or pointers would be a great help thanks!
I'll let the more informed on here direct you towards bike choice but at the moment just getting the bike you decide on could be extremely difficult/impossible.
Might be worth checking availability on the ones you are considering as that might help you decide too/narrow it down.
Cube Reaction TM ?
https://www.cube.eu/uk/2020/bikes/mountainbike/hardtail/reaction/cube-reaction-tm-greennblack-2020/
I know I will probably have to wait, but I know that some places have stock as my friend has just purchased one, the Cube looks nice
has anyone got a Bossnut? what are they like
I have managed to get it down to 3 Bikes any input from anyone that owns them would be great,
Calibre Bossnut
Cotic BFE
Vitus Sentier
3 very different bikes.
Bossnut is well reviewed and is a pretty middle of the road full suss. For the money it’s decent.
BFe is probably a fair amount more expensive than the Bossnut - you’re laying a lot for the privilege of a steel frame - but it’s not going to have much of a whippy steel feel as it’s overbuilt to take a lot of abuse. The best quality frame of the 3 though.
I have a Sentier - it’s good fun - probably the lightest of the 3 bikes and I guess it’s the equivalent of the Bossnut in a hardtail. It’s not as hardcore as the BFe but it’s not an xc bike either. It’ll do a bit of everything quite well.
What’s the budget if a BFe comes into the reckoning?
I'm looking at a max of £2000, it will be my only bike, what do you ride on the Sentier have you upgraded anything ?
I’ve got 2 bikes - a full suspension Bird Aether and the Sentier.
I bought the Sentier as frame only and have got 140mm travel Rockshox Pikes, Sram gx 11 speed groupset, DT Swiss e1900 wheels, Sram code / guide re brakes. So it’s quite a robust build.
With a £2k budget I don’t think I’d get a Sentier, a BFe or a Bossnut tbh.
Have you ever ridden a full suspension bike?
Yes I used to have a Nukeproof Mega AM I loved it but ended up selling it a couple of years ago, I did a couple of trips to the alps with it and it was a really good all-rounder, not too heavy it flew up and down that's what I'm looking for but I've not been in the buying market for a while so just getting a few ideas.
OP wanted some firsthand Bossnut experience. Not sure mine will be very useful but.....
Long time roadie. Last September I ressurrected my old Scott Sawtooth, rigid circa 1990's. Had a lot of fun and decided to get a full suss bike as I felt at aged 72 I needed as much help as possible.
The Bossnut has been great and I've gradually tackled more and more testing stuff, probably not that testing for most here. I ride Swinley, Porridgepot, Frith, Tunnel Hill, Mytchett, Minley etc.
My impressions of the Bossnut is that it's a bit on the heavy side but I guess I'm comparing that to the road bikes I'm used to. SRAM SX gearing doesn't impress me too much but a range of 11-50 is certainly impressive. Nothing has failed on it though.Will probably change to Shimano when the time comes.
I've had no problems or failures. I've done about 1,000 miles on it since September
However, I thought I'd buy a spare mech hanger (don't need it at the moment). None available, lots of people complaining and response from Calibre is pretty non-existent. Put down to Covid I guess but at the very least Calibre could communicate better. It has made me more concerned over how good warranty backup would be. I suspect - fairly sketchy. I guess you get what you pay for.
Having said that, the purchase,PDI and handover etc were all good at my local Go Outdoors.
Sorry I can't comment on the technical details or the nuances as to how it rides but I do know it will handle far more than I can throw at it.
I think the Vitus Mythique might be worth a look, or the Sonder Evol.
Both can be had with a better spec and would therefore be lighter than the Bossnut. Not quite as burley as a Mega AM but decent all round trail bikes.
The Vitus Sommet is bigger / slacker but might be too much bike for what you want.
If you look round in sales you may find something like a Giant Trance for the top end of your budget possibly.
cheers for the info, ye weight will be a bit of a factor as I do have a ton of climbing to do, ill keep looking
+1 to Calibre being a bit on the heavy side. I've a Triple B (slightly beefed up Bossnut), it was my foray back to FS after hardtail & road riding for c10 years. My previous FS were light XC bikes (Fisher & Klein). I took the weight as the offset for buying a bike at just over £1k.