Happy New Year all!! Mate just texed asking the above , ive not bought a full suss for several years as my Trek Remedy 9 is still fine for everything I do in the Lakes plus ive now got a fatty, I always seem to end up with Treks, what can anyone suggest in his budget, i`m not even sure to send him down 27.5 or 29er route. He said he might wait a bit but he has the money and I said now was a good time to buy,Cheers in advance
Cheers Daddy for the link , the Capra looks sweet but all sold out and I could not find any shopping links anywhere in UK to send him!!
Giant Anthem 29er - and £500 under budget. Try the 650 as well before realising how nicely the 29er rides!
Depends what hes planning to use it for.
If its for Racing (hes a roadie so he may well be!) then I'd be looking at an anthem, a spark or something with no more than 120mm travel at the back. Anthem frames can be had for 700 quid, so you could get a really really nice custom build for that kind of budget. Use to have an anthem, loved it. I hear they ride quite well in SX flavour as well, so maybe a bit more vesatile.
For general riding I'd suggest the Trance. For 2.5k you'll get last years top of the range model I would imagine. Last year I picked up the Trance 1 with Carbon wheels for around 1800
Never been to the lakes so no idea what the riding is like round there, however for anything other than the Alps and pure downhill runs I always felt having a big 160mm 'enduro' bike not really worth it.
Obviously I'm a mincer, but then again I'm assuming your roadie mate probably doesn't have Danny Hart skills either.
Either way the German mailorder brands are fantastic value on the face of it (i've had 2 canyons, great bikes, nothing against them) but they are rarely reduced, so shop around and you can probably find a discounted model of a mainstream brand for similar value.
Cheers for replys hes no racer so mainly general hacking round the South Lakes mainly, will look up the Anthem and the Tracer, cheers.
Personally I'd say 275 for max flexibility and keep it a bit different to his roadie exploits
Cotic Flare (a little over budget)
http://www.cotic.co.uk/product/flare
To be honest there are a lot of good bikes out there. If he's willing to shop used he can get a very good bike for £1500 and see how it goes.
Also suggest he spends some money on a skills course after he's had a few shakedown rides. It will really kick start his MTB-ing
CRC have some great deals on last years cube stereos. Add in a British Cycling discount and a bargain can be had. I got a 140 hpa race for just over £1500, saved £1,000.
Given the depreciation on bikes, why not get a 1-2 yr old one for £1200 and spent the balance on upgrading his road bike!? 🙂
