Hi,
I’m looking to invest in my first full suspension bike shortly. I’m doing mostly trail and single track with a little road riding for commuting to work.

I have a budget of £1200 but could stretch a little over if needed. I’ve done some homework and have narrowed it down to a few potentials:
Giant Trance X3
Vitus Gravir II
LaPierre X-Control 210

I’d appreciate any tips or suggestions anyone might have

Cheers

Probably of no help at all, but i reckon a 1200quid single track hardtail would be more fun than a 1200quid full sus which will have many more compromises to reach the same price point…

http://www.paulscycles.co.uk/m1b0s1p4359/CANNONDALE-RZ-ONE-TWENTY-3-2012

You could get an awesome 2nd hand full sus for that money. I think brand new would stretch the budget a bit far and compromise.

Saying that, I think I saw an ad from Velocity Cycles in Portsmouth selling Saracen Ariel 160s for £1299.

Rockrider 9.2 £1100. I’ve got last years 9.1 and it’s a great allround bike. Fancying something a bit more gnar now though.

I was gonna say the Giant, but they’ve really down-specced them now compared to recent years. Some really poor kit on that.

Plenty of bargains starting to come up though as the model year ends and companies ditch 26″ wheels.

What size are you? This is much better value than the current Trance X3…
http://www.paulscycles.co.uk/m1b4s1p4427/GIANT-TRANCE-X2-2012

http://www.paulscycles.co.uk/m1b4s1p4427/GIANT-TRANCE-X2-2012

That looks like a hell of a buy.

Any s/h FS could need £200’s worth of bearings/bushings/shock-service needed – I’d go previous years’ new.

If you can stretch to it, and they have your size, I’d recommend one of these for the riding you describe…
http://www.evanscycles.com/products/trek/fuel-ex7-2013-mountain-bike-ec042090?utm_source=froogle&utm_medium=froogle&utm_campaign=froogle&utm_content=mkwid__pcrid_19178803256_kword__match__plid_

Thanks ll so far, clearly I’ve got a lot to think about!

I am looking at the previous year models as there do seem to be some bargains to be had, especially as the 2014 models filter out on to the market. The Ful ex7 is one I hadn’t considered so that’s another option ( thanks chakaping!). Similarly with the Trance X2 (thanks officialtob).

I’m a bit reluctant to go for a2nd hand bike in case I need to shell out extra cash.

The Canyon Nerve AL 6 looked decent as well but read one horror stories about customer service with them being direct sale.

My LBS was selling off Genesis Grapil 20 full suspension bikes for £1100 or thereabouts.

This

http://www.biketart.com/244829/products/genesis-grapil-10—vicar-green.aspx

Extra 10% off using voucher code HOT

Closest full susser you’ll get to a hardtail

I know peple with Canyons and they’re happy enough, but the geometry is way better on the Trek IMO and they’re not that far apart on value with the discount.

That Genesis is a good deal at that price, but was overpriced to begin with so is not quite the bargain that the discount suggests.

I’ve no loyalty to Trek particularly, but the Fuel EX is a bit of a modern classic and a lovely bike to ride.

Have a look at this I’ve had one for 2 months and love it took a bit of getting used to gears after 5 years of single speed hardtailness …climbs brilliantly ,lightweight easy to lock out suspension for road use and its shiny !! and within budget buy it through Quidco and get 2% back
Ghost Lector 5700

My stumpjumper 2012, excellent condition, reverb, medium.
You can have it for that ish 😉

Rockriders are great bikes, try the 9.1 for £800 and then spend £400 on upgrades 🙂

The Trance is a great first full susser and you can have my large 2012 for less than your budget if geologist’s stumpy is too small 🙂

I was talking about bikes with instructor on a skills course recently and I think he got it about right when he said that the Trance was a great vanilla bike. It doesn’t excel anywhere, but doesn’t have any quirks either. It’s ideal as a first bike as you can do anything on it from XC to some pretty extreme trails and it isn’t going to hold you back.

+1 for the Trance. I got an X4 a few years back on cycle to work when the base model was £1000. The one above has better shock/fork/brakes. I’ve only upgraded the wheels on mine so far, but its been a blast for Wales/Peaks/Quantocks weekends, FoD uplift day and recently a gravity enduro.

Its just a rock solid performer, won’t surprise you (nastily), can handle way more than it should, and gets top marks in all teh tests I’ve seen.

The link above is a bargain, and where I’ll get to on the upgrade path once I’ve spent £500 on forks and brakes.

I can build this back up to original spec. Frame and shock just been replaced under warranty.

http://www.pinkbike.com/buysell/1373755/

TBH jedi, the 9.2 has probably got more than £400 worth of upgrades over the 9.1. 130mm Sektors, Mavic Crossrides and Not Tektro brakes spring to mind. Also a platform damped shock.

The only upgrades I’d be making early would be wider bars and a shorter stem.

Only problem is seat tube is too narrow for a reverb

I am leaning towards the Trance but a bit wary of the rear shock ( Giant generic I believe) as there’s no damping etc. That’s why the Canyon and Vitus seemed quite appealing.

All the reviews I’ve read have been very positive so really wanted to hear what other people had to say.

I did read somewhere that upgrading the Giant Ai R shock to say a Monarch R was tricky because of the unusual i2i length of the frame.

Also, is there likely to be a big shift away from 26-ers to 650b or 29-ers? What are the benefits?

The rear shock on my X2 is a Fox RP2. No complaints.

I’d recommend a Canyon Nerve for value and handling. I’ve had mine for a few years now. It happily clocks up the miles in the Dales and is fantastic fun at the trail centres. Customer service was spot on when I bought mine.

But also as said above you could get a lot for your money buying SH. But if you are newish to fullsuss I would be carful buying SH unless you know what problems to check for.

When looking at bike reviews on forums I would look at what the general consensus is. It’s not unknown for rivals to post the odd crap review and manufacturers to post good!! Oh and take any BikeRadar review with a pinch of salt.

The s/h option does concern me as I am new to full suss but the offers are appreciated:-) reliability and comfort as well as cost are going to be the deciding factors.

I hadn’t considered Ghost either so it’s good to know that they are another option. If I went for the Canyon do they have any way of testing before buying? I have some bike shops local to me where I can test the Giant or Trek bikes. And at a push the Vitus.

I’ve just invested in my first full suss, a little more than that but worth more than twice what I paid for it when new, 2nd hand all the way….just ensure you know what your looking at, do your research and buy face to face.

Due to injury my little used (truly little) size large Spesh Camber Expert (26er) could go for £1200.

If you are interested let me know.

Saracen aerial 141

1249 quid

http://www.paulscycles.co.uk/m1b0s1p4430/GIANT-ANTHEM-X4-2012

And then spend a little bit of you change converting the forks to 120mm Rebas secondhand, a 70mm stem (on-one superlight),some wide handlebars (exotic 750mm carbons)and a charge spoon saddle.

I bought a Giant Reign from Paul’s a few years back. It was half price – a total bargain – and I had great customer service from them. When the rear hub imploded after a couple of months they be t over backwards to sort it out quickly as I had a trip away planned . Very impressed.

I have a Canyon Nerve and would recommend it. I would not worry too much about peoples complaints. You tend to hear them more rather than satisfied customers.

Dare to be different! http://www.rosebikes.co.uk/bike/rose-jabba-wood-1-583603/aid:583612
~£1250

Have to say, I have just picked up a Fuel Ex 8 and its my first full sus bike, its fantastic, the suspension system has very little bob under pedaling and it is so chuckable.

+1 for the fuel ex. Love mine. Feels nice to me. But it’s all personal preference. My friend doesn’t like the feel of my bike and I don’t like the feel of hers. You might as well start a “what tyre” thread. 😉

That Saracen is a bit of a bargain. But it was a bit of a rip off at full price. I’d love one of them, hmmmmm.