What do you think is best out of these three?
Or if that’s too vague, which would you choose?
I won’t be able to test ride any of them.
I ride general XC down South, not too clumsy or gnarr.

http://www.evanscycles.com/products/breezer/lightning-team-2012-mountain-bike-ec032193

http://www.paulscycles.co.uk/products.php?plid=m1b65s155p4266&rs=gb&vid=15682

http://www.paulscycles.co.uk/products.php?plid=m1b67s2p4217

Cube looks quite nice. Worth a look at as well?

http://www.canyon.com/_en/mountainbikes/bike.html?b=3009

I would take the breezer, but I remember them from 20 years ago, and have met joe. And it would have to be a 29er…
http://www.evanscycles.com/products/breezer/lightning-29-pro-2012-mountain-bike-ec032187

Or I can do you a nice salsa elmariachi at a silly price.

A steel one, with aforementioned larger wheel. Perfect for “the daahns” as you Southerners call them. 🙂

If I were buying again I’d likely pick the Salsa. Beautiful bit of kit.

C456

I’d love a go on that Cannondale. I think Al is goldeylocks here

I was expecting at the very least a poor joke, if not a half decent one!

Rubbish 🙁

Probably the Cannondale if I had to have a bike instead of a joke, as much to try the fork as anything else. Might be tempted to try and SS it as well, fancy trying a light 29″ single speed

And the bar man says…

What are you lot doing in my pub…

OI cannodale you are barred you are not alloyed in here.

Breezer you steel here, get out.

And carbon bike, you are banned too after what you did with your cubic hair.

+1 for salsa

was it a titanium bar?

The cannondale, as it’s

a) cannnondale
B) 29er
c) lefty

Who owns the Breezer brand now? I can’t imagine he’s still making them himself but if he were, now that would be the one to have.

Advanced sports international. Given the one steel frame and countless alloy and carbon ones, I am certain they are not actually made by joe… But when did Gary fisher or chris boardman last make a frame?

That’s a relief i thought this was going to be a roof rack carpark barrier interface anecdote. Of the 3 cannondale ftw. But all cannondales should be red or possibly Volvo blue.

For XC, the 29er hands down from that 3.

cannondale

Like the look of the Cube nearly got one myself but opted for THIS ended up getting it for just over £1000 at Start Cyles in Newcastle and its great. Very light and really good up and down hill.

They’re all great bikes.
The breezer is a classic.
But i’m old….

The canondale looks like its been ridden into a wall I hate the Faux “steel is real heritage” nonsense that’s applied to an otherwise run of the mill bike such as the breezer, therefore the Cube for its “just get on with, it’s only a bike” wins it for me

But when did Gary fisher or chris boardman

Well quite, but still, if Joe Breezer was still making them himself, they would be pretty desirable, at least for some people.

Agreed, I like the breezer but if joe was making them they could cost far far more. Apparently a Tom ritchey made by Tom himself frame is $5000 usd competed to £800 for a production frame

I doubt joe made the 1990s frame himself.

And a Taiwanese guy who makes frames five days a week is probably better than an old guy doing a few a month.

But that is off topic, stick to deciding which bike is best, although we are comparing different wheel sizes, brands, and materials.

Ignore the brand, make the choice on what material and wheel suits your style.

Steel, over the hills long rides
Alloy. Sprinty
Carbon. I think I am a pro and every gram counts.

Wheels:
26: Betamax midget with delusions of gnar
29: bandwagon jumper, better over the hills.

I think there should be a font called “sarcasm”

None – where’s the Ti option? – or is that the joke? (best option not included)

Joe still works for the owning company as a bike designer.

The ti option is hanging up in the garage,
with a crack in it. 😀

And a Taiwanese guy who makes frames five days a week is probably better than an old guy doing a few a month.

I wouldn’t necessarily agree with that. The world is full of people who aren’t terribly good at their jobs.

Experience is not always a good indication of competency. In some professions there is a stronger link between the two, for example in the medical profession or airline pilots where the simple accumulation of hours of experience gives you many more mental models to refer to and therefore improves your proficiency.

But there are many other variables involved in being good at your job, such as your motivation for the work, the metrics by which you are evaluated.

Taiwan is about mass production at an acceptable quality, it’s not about exceeding quality expectations and charging a premium.

There’s nothing wrong with the quality that comes out of Taiwan but the guy is being measured on doing 50 frames a week at an acceptable standard, not one or two a month that you could hang on a wall (and there in lies the point to some degree; they aren’t being built to hang on a wall).

toughy, I’d be happy with any of them, they all appeal for various reasons, pretty much the steel/ali/C ones charlie mentioned. Think it would depend what mood I was in when I had the credit card in my hand.

I’d take the Breezer every time there. That Cannondale looks like it was dropped from a great height during transit. Hideous!

how about a 650b?

I love my 29er – but it’s definitely more of a wheels on the ground bike and does make stuff a lot easier but sometimes the wheels feel just too big (I don’t know if that’s a size thing or just a bike geometry thing).

I also love my 26er as I can throw it around more, get the wheels off the ground more and you can make even something boring a bit more fun. But then that bike is a long tail carbon framed hardtail.

My Taiwanese Ti Hard tail still like looks like new after 7 years of absolute hammering (touch wood) – DH runs and everything.

Are people really still buying 26ers for XC ? 😐

I’d go for the cube as the wheels look to be marginally superior to the other 2? Also carbon frame should be lighter…

Are people really still buying 26ers for XC ?

Oh please, give it a **** rest would you? I’ll ride what I damn well want, whether you think it’s ok or not.