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Thanks all. Mostly mirroring my feelings, a heavy steel fork is pricey to replace so probably best prioritised, live with cheaper drivetrain and other bits then replace further along.
£1000 and new/non-sale because I have a C2W window coming up (and it's Halfords so most brands I can get but not go-outdoors or Decathlon). Inclined to hang on a bit for 2019 stuff to come along but for the last few years bikes have felt poorer and poorer value as specs get trimmed. The question was mostly from the feeling of looking around and not finding anything that seemed decent value once you started looking down the spec sheet.
I think that c2w might be the real compromise here.
As noted above, there's lots of dead good bikes for £1K (bird, sonder, voodoo, etc) as well as second hand options which mean none of the compromises mentioned need to apply - except they're either not in your provider's scheme, or charge a whack for the use of the voucher.
To answer your actual question, I agree with the others start with the fork as everything else is sufficiently functional, or cheap to replace.
Of those listed I'd also start with the fork but has anyone mentioned the frame?
Struggling to see where the huge compromise is on the £850 Voodoo Bokor from Halfords...?
Internal dropper compatible frame with decent geo and bolt-through rear.
New Judy Gold forks, so no steel. Boost as well!
NX 1x11 drivetrain.
SRAM Level T brakes.
Folding Maxxis tyres.
I mean, stick a Brand-X dropper and your preferred pedals on that and what else do you need!?
C2w and tied to Halfords tightens the spec a lot!
I think the bottom line is that £1000 will buy a very nice bike to commute on, which is what is intended. I added a couple of hundred at the till for my current Crosslight a couple of years ago which is still a beautiful ride. It’s going to buy a compromised mountain bike at that price though unless you can roll in discounts and wait for a sale in which case a nicely spec’d Boardman that would easily stand up to trail riding would be possible.
In fact, after a quick look, those GX 11 & Pike FS Boardmans are still there at £1300. If they had my size and I had the extra £300 that’s exactly what I’d do.
Struggling to see where the huge compromise is on the £850 Voodoo Bokor from Halfords…?
...
New Judy Gold forks, so no steel. Boost as well!
But only 30mm stanchions (I think?). There's the compromise right there, although you could punt them on and buy some proper forks I suppose...
Suntour Epicons piss all over similarly priced (and some more expensive) RS but they’re not badge enough, are they?
Even mid range, xc you'd be looking at a world cup worthy axon against a reba, or more enduroooooo a (by all accounts very good) Auron vs a sektor or, if you're lucky a revelation which even when it was a fork in its own right (as opposed to a not very good heavy pike but you know, RS badged so in all black fancy name dodgy transfer ports et al), wouldn't be difficult choice between the two.
Reba wouldn't be my choice fork but nothing bad on that spec at all
A lot of unnamed stuff but certainly worth a look to see what the "hydraulic disk brakes" and things actually are.
@ andreasrhoen
You’re not happy with fox float, manitou m30 or recon golds for a grand then?
If you dispense with the non essentials, a grand will get you a nicely specced light rigid singlespeed.
What could be better?
You can add the frippery later if you want...
Really, the key decision as always is what you want the bike to do.
If it’s to be a proper MTB then while it’s FS, if we’re staying at Halfords I’d stand by the Pike and GX Boardman. I believe Halfords accept 10% BC discount with c2w so it’s £170 over budget which for the increased spec is awesome value.
If it’s to be more of a commuter and towpath type bike then I wouldn’t see any of the heavier and lower spec’d forks etc as a problem, and possibly actually an improvement in terms of reduced maintenance and lower nickability.
I'd prioritise the frame and fork. Everything else is functionally the same whether its NX or XTR, budget or carbon wheels, they still click and go round, all that really changes is weight. I'd even consider a fork above the frame as long as the frame was OK, at that sort of price you could end up swapping it for for something from the sales if you fancy.
But it depends on the likely budget for upgrades, if I had £1k now and thought I'd have £600 in a couple of months I'd maybe be less picky about the fork.
a nicely specced light rigid singlespeed.
What could be better?
Comfort, gears, tracking, traction... There's a whole world of out there that makes modern bikes better for those of us who don't aspire to the Amish way of life. 😉
Edit - before i start some big argument, i really like my rigid ss, is great in winter and for some rides but it's utterly horrid for some too and if i had to choose between it and a normal ht I'd pick the geared suspension forked ht which is ok all the time as opposed to the rigid ss which is awesome 20% of the time, ok 30%, not good 30% and terrible 20%.
Virus sentier is worth a look, I bought the + model for 850 then added the band x dropper to make it 980. The fork is a bit basic, but the wheels are ok the tires are really good and most importantly it rides well. I will swap the fork out so by the time I have sold the recon that came on it and stuck a Reba or Rev in it the cost will be around 1300 which i think is reasonable.
I ride Marin Nail Trail 7.
Cost £950 plus some beefier tyres.
It has 1x11 slx.
Light frame, light wideish rims.
Dropper.
Yari.
Longish, lowish, slackish.
Paint job is 'meh'.
BB bearings only lasted 6mths.
I'm struggling for much compromise there.
Edit – before i start some big argument, i really like my rigid ss, is great in winter and for some rides but it’s utterly horrid for some too and if i had to choose between it and a normal ht I’d pick the geared suspension forked ht which is ok all the time as opposed to the rigid ss which is awesome 20% of the time, ok 30%, not good 30% and terrible 20%.
Depends what your local riding is.
Rigid SS might be awesome on 20% of trails in the world, and that depend on rider ability, fitness, willingness to suffer and compromise. I don't really feel like I miss gears, even when struggling up some lake district pass because the reality is I'd still be out of breath with gears, it might be easier on some sections but equally the SS makes it harder (more fun) on others. No point being able to clean something with gears if you know in your heart you couldn't do it on SS, you've just set yourself to easy a challenge!
If I lived in the Alps I'd definitely have different opinions.
If I lived in Wales, maybe.
Peak, possibly
Lakes, mehhh (the climbs tend to be drover roads so follow shallower gradients IME).
Anywhere else, hmmmm, I don't think the lack of gears (or suspension in the 100mm XC variety) holds me back riding round the Deepcut area. I can gurn my way up most of the climbs. A 130mm+ travel bike would undoubtedly be faster down a lot of the trails, but I'll beat it back up again and I suspect the margin on the descents is tighter than the "modern bikes are so much better than 5/10/15/25 years ago" evangelism would have you believe.
At the end of the day there's probably a best 150mm hardtail, 125mm, 100mm (and you could SS any of them) the 150mm is going to be horrible (almost) anywhere outside the Lakes or N.Wales and even then I personally never got on with them although longer chainstays these days would probably help the rear end keep up, equally a 100mm (or rigid even) bike will be harder work coming off Helvellyn. Someone suggesting a 140mm travel bike because it's a lot of bike (travel and burliness) for the money is no more right than any other opinion, especially if the reality is that a 20lb SS would be all some riders need.
My current HT was waaay under 1k and I have no immediate desire or need to replace anything, the primary "compromise" was not buying new stuff, £50 for an older commencal frame, got a pair of used Rebas for £70 both from ebay, used my existing 1x10 deore drivetrain, bought some of those cheap WTB rims PX had for sale and built a pair of wheels up...
Most expensive part? Works components -2* angleset for £75...
Bit I'm most pleased with? Probably the forks, certainly not top of the range, but I'd rather have a decent used pair with aluminium stanchions, an air spring and reasonable damping than an overpriced weighty pogo stick...
Thing I'm most likely to change? Probably the frame at some point, it works and has convinced me that 29ers are what I want to ride, but the geometry is a bit "dated" now, I'll probably keep it for a couple of years as is though...
I Can't imagine spending £1k for a heavier, worse spec'd bike just because it's new... That said there are still some bargains to be had.
Trying to avoid this being a “haven’t bikes got expensive?” thread. Shopping around for a £1000 hardtail, ideally that I’m not going to feel the need to replace things straight off, and there are definitely compromises at that price point. So which of these are you absolutely fine with, would you put up with, or would put you off entirely? (all seen on various bikes around that price):
– Heavy steel stanchion forks (XC30, Judy Silver, Recon Silver, etc) – this is a really common one
– 2x drivetrain
– 1x but 10-speed Deore with a Sunrace cassette
– Alivio shifters
– Tektro Auriga brakes
– Shimano sub-Deore brakes (m315, m365, etc)
– no-name generic hubs & rims
– QR front and rear
– wire-beaded tyres in a tread only suitable for the dry month of the year
If you up the budget by just £170 then you'll get none of the above compromises.
http://www.chainreactioncycles.com/vitus-sentier-vrs-hardtail-bike-slx-1x11-2018/rp-prod159772 for £1170 after BC discount (and it's been on sale much cheaper).
– Heavy steel stanchion forks - alloy stanction rebas
– 2x drivetrain - 1x SLX
– 1x but 10-speed Deore with a Sunrace cassette - 11 speed 11-46T SLX cassette
– Alivio shifters - SLX shifters
– Tektro Auriga brakes - SLX brakes
– Shimano sub-Deore brakes (m315, m365, etc) - see above
– no-name generic hubs & rims - Novatec & WTB
– QR front and rear - bolt through boost front and rear
– wire-beaded tyres in a tread only suitable for the dry month of the year - 3C compound Maxxis tyres front and rear
Plus the brand X dropper worth £120.
Job done. 🙂
No point being able to clean something with gears if you know in your heart you couldn’t do it on SS, you’ve just set yourself to easy a challenge!...
... especially if the reality is that a 20lb SS would be all some riders need.
For purely off or on road use, ss isn't too bad (though i think there's a fair amount of evangelism in most ss riders too, just like the long low slack fans etc) but the biggest reason i wouldn't choose ss as an only bike is any gear i can drag up a 1 in 5 on road, let alone off (i run a 34/16 and every time i have to GOaP keep thinking i should drop my ring to a 30t but never quite get around to it) is bloody useless for pedaling, especially in traffic. Any gear i can pedal in traffic at suitable pace (my commuter ran ss on a 44/14 for a while and it was still short on tarmac) and still be human enough, post commute, that my body odour doesn't see OPCW turning up at my desk is awful up hill and especially off road. It's (IMO) way too much of a compromise for a single bike.
Likewise rigid is great on road, It's pretty reasonable off road on big rocky tracks and great on woodsy singletrack but 20 miles of broken tarmac, farm tracks, baby heads, cobbles and the like which is what a big chunk of off road here is, is agonising. I'd rather take a rigid down hellvelyn than the cobbles down the Rossendale way from the top of cowpe lowe. Again great as a second (or 3rd etc) bike but not for me as an only bike.
More to the point though in regards to the OP it's certainly not a compromise they [i]need[/i] to make, consider it certainly, but don't think a great spec ss (which they don't to my knowledge offer from halfords on c2w) is necessarily a better option than a geared hardtail, especially not if you actually intend to cycle to work on (possibly busy) roads, it might be of course, but it might not.
Of course with the suggestions of second hand, I got the exact (29er, decent forks, about right travel, geo etc and a dropper) bike I was after for 1k, you can get a lot of you wait, I wasn't looking but knew what I wanted...
Of course the down side is you may have to wait a long time for what you're after to come up!
I was going to mention Marin as above. They seem to be turning out some well priced and well spec’d bikes atm.
I also enjoy it when people come on these threads and suggest second hand, especially when the op has stated they are limited to c2w through Halfords. Well done.😂
I ride Marin Nail Trail 7.
Cost £950 plus some beefier tyres.
It has 1×11 slx.
Light frame, light wideish rims.
Dropper.
Yari.
Longish, lowish, slackish.
Paint job is ‘meh’.
BB bearings only lasted 6mths.
I’m struggling for much compromise there.
I'm with Matt on this - I bought one on clearance for £900 a few months ago. Did 150 miles on it last week. Including two village 30 mile VTT / MTB events in France - tight, sloppy single-track in the woods and wide open tracks, rode it to LaRochelle up the coast path and round the Ill d'Re.
Not much compromise with the spec. I'd used my full suss Rumblefish in the VTT events many times before and I didn't find the Nail Trail much of a compromise. Mech hanger are Maxle were made of chocolate though.
fox 34s from the germans – 200
I was was going to suggest this.
Get a cheaper bike, and add good reduced price forks (and tyres) as, without buying a more expensive bike, or getting a bargain on an old model that happens to be your size, the forks will be junk. Always budget for proper tyres at this price point or lower as well… but that could wait 'till after the summer… tyres fitted likely to be "fine" on summer trails.
The reason I suggested SS wasn't a bit of evangelism, but that way the OP gets the fundaments of a very good bike, namely quality frame, quality wheels and components.
Then as he has the money to spare he can add the extras, good fork, quality derailleur.
And in the meantime he won't be riding around on an upmarket BSO.