Help me pick a full sus bike for £2k

Or….

Dont buy off the peg?

I reckon i could build two (possibly second hand but bloody good) trail bikes with 2k.

You really pay a whopping premium to have brand new kit.

So, it comes down to picking a reasonable number to try out & you have to find a way to do that.
My current bike has mainly XT bits on it & Avid Juicy 7's along with some nice & light Reba Team air U-Turns, all of which I have acquired by getting them on offer but it would seem like a step backwards to spend £2k on a bike and it to be of a 'lower spec' than my current bike. I plan to build the old bits onto a hardtail and have designated ~£2k for a new bike.

If I test ride my shortlist & find that I don't suit them or whatever, then it would be back to the drawing board.
This is almost as complicated as buying a new car!!

Took me three years to find the "right" bike. I have a dodgy back and knee so I needed to find one that I felt comfy on and got no reaction to post ride. Tried a lot of bikes at test days and ended up with one that was not on the list…Kona Dawg Primo

For me, it's not just the fork but other bits too. The Five S comes with Deore front mech & SLX Rear mech, Deore Shifters, RF Ride cranks etc. whereas the Stumpy Elite for example comes with SLX front mech & XTR rear mech, SLX shifters & I think the crankset is Shimano un-named, but last yrs XT from reading on different sites. It also has the TALAS fork and seeing as I seem to use the U-Turn on my current Reba's quite often, I think I would find it useful.

For me at the end of the day it is how the bike rides and handles.

I rode a Cove Hustler all blinged up with the latest carbon super duper bits and it was crap imo. I rode a Stumpy with all the xtr and latest forks at a demo day and it was crap. At the latest test day I attended I rode a Yeti 575, hated it. Went with mate to test ride a 5 he was thinking of buying and had a go. Would consider one of them. He got a very good deal at Kudu cycles, Hawes.

Swoosh from your list I would try the Cannondale,Roscoe and Trek.

Trekster – I don't think I am that sensitive to bike requirements. Not sure.
My bike seems to have quite XC geometry, with a weight forward feel and it doesn't feel like it wants to turn particularly well.
Having ridden my friends bikes – Orange Sub5, Whyte E-120, Santa Cruz Heckler, Cannondale Jekyll All Mountain – while they all feel different, they feel more similar to each other than any of them do to my bike.

As I said above in the quote you refer to, if I ride the 3 bikes in my shortlist then find that they don't suit me I will look at other options. I am not THAT bothered by components to choose better components over how the bike fits & rides.
But if I test ride all 3, they all fit OK and they all ride (as far as I can tell) the same then it will come down to stuff like what one has the best spec.

OK, here's a slightly different proposal for your £2k…

Buy this Giant Trance X4 which has the same frame and shock as the X1/X2, but cheaper components, for £1k… Stick some of the cheaper bits on the hardtail you want to build, or sell them or whatever… You've then got £1k (or more if you've sold stuff!) to spend on tricking the bike out with some rather nice kit…

Personally think that the X4 looks nicer in it's Black/Silver colourscheme than either the X1 or X2 do…

Or just buy the X4, ride it how it is, realise how good it is, pocket £1k and only replace stuff as it wears out… 😀

But if I test ride all 3, they all fit OK and they all ride (as far as I can tell) the same then it will come down to stuff like what one has the best spec.

Sounds good to me.

I was in the same position re a hardtail recently. My old one decided to strip the bb threads so I persuaded myself I needed a long travel version, had to be steel.There are lots to choose from now.

I narrowed down my choice of full bike builds to P7 & Genesis 30. Frame wise I fancied a Ragley Pig. Had to cancel a couple of P7 demos and was leaving the Genesis to last because it was the one I really fancied.

Arranged a Pig demo down in Hope, met a mate, went for a very windy ride, came back and bought the frame 😆 Used my older bikes for donors until I can afford new bits like forks and brakes. The Kona and Bonty are in the loft till next summer at least.

MaverickBoy – that TranceX4 does look like great value!

This isn't getting any easier….

MaverickBoy – that TranceX4 does look like great value!

I reckon you could sell off the wheels, some of the own brand finishing kit, the Hayes brakes, and the cheapo cranks and any Deore stuff on here or on ebay for about £250 in total…

Then with your spare £1250, well… World's your oyster!

I'd suggest full XT (including brakes), maybe some Hope Hoops wheels, Thomson stem and post, Easton Carbon bars… The lot… You'd have an awesome frame and fork (it's got a Reba on it at £1000 for the bike!!!), and an awesome custom build kit on it, for waaaaaaay less than £2k I reckon… Or just buy last year's Trance X1 for £2025 from Pauls Cycles, which has Fox F120's, Crossmax wheels, Avid Elixir Brakes, XT/XTR drivetrain, Raceface Deus finishing kit…

And FWIW, I reckon the Giant Maestro suspension system pretty much has no equal out there at this end of the scale… Everybody who raves about their Orange 5's (not denying they're good bikes) you'll see reaching for their lockout lever on the shock every time it comes to pedal uphill or on the flat… You'll never bother using the lockout on a Maestro bike, cos they pedal that well without using it!

Everybody who raves about their Orange 5's (not denying they're good bikes) you'll see reaching for their lockout lever on the shock every time it comes to pedal uphill or on the flat… You'll never bother using the lockout on a Maestro bike, cos they pedal that well without using it!

I think you'll find most Five owners can't believe they don't need to use the propedal. I'd have happily saved a few quid and had a basic Float R rather than the RP23 if it had been on offer…

I literally only use mine if I want to climb something purely flat and smooth and feel the need to stand up. I've ridden a Maestro (Anthem X1) and I'd reach for the propedal if climbing pure flat and smooth and wanting to stand…

i would agree with the X4 and a bit of a fiddle with bits 🙂

those wheels are good, but a little bit heavy (not much though) and the freehub cant be replaced cheaply when it goes (took 3 years for mine to go)
ive got a front hub off one of those wheelsets and its still buttery smooth…. 5 years later. (actually buttery smooth, not made up)

i would also put new 140mm revs on a trance x myself
maybe change the Crankset for something nice and HT2.
also an inline thomson seatpost. (OE seatposts are fugly, as are laid back seatposts)

so to sum up.

wheels (hope hoops)
new revelations
XT crankset
Thomson Post.

top bike!

Cove Hustler @ Merlin

How about a nice Cove Hustler – on offer @ Merlin, currently £2,024 built up with Reva 2010 forks & new Deore groupo.

Everybody who raves about their Orange 5's (not denying they're good bikes) you'll see reaching for their lockout lever on the shock every time it comes to pedal uphill or on the flat…

Not everyone ➡

Not everyone

OK sorry, just my observation so far from the dozens of Orange 5 riders I've ridden with…

The Orange 5 does look an extremely capable (if overpriced in my view) bike and everyone that owns them raves about them.

I just think that there's better performing suspension designs out there (of which the Giant Maestro is one), and there's MUCH better value bikes on the market too… Don't get me wrong, if I got given a 5 to ride I'd be chuffed to bits, but I wouldn't buy one with my own money…

akira – Member
I've just picked up a Felt Redemption for good money with a good spec, more travel than you want but the Compulsion can be found for a good price with good kit on it.
Really nice ride so far.

Wow another owner! First i've seen/read in the two years i've had mine 😆

In terms of the OP's list I have only even seen the Giant Trance X1. First thing I can say is bloody hell it's light! For a trail bike it is a beautiful bit of kit! I would advise looking at one.

Having said that, the X4 idea posted above sounds good!

I just think that there's better performing suspension designs out there

Define better performing? Pedalling efficiency, climbing efficiency, traction, isolating you from the bumps more, small bumps, square edge hits, generally getting you to the bottom faster?

Pedalling efficiency, climbing efficiency, traction, isolating you from the bumps more, small bumps, square edge hits, generally getting you to the bottom faster?

yup, maestro has all that covered 😉

yup, maestro has all that covered

Of course 🙂

I just think that there's better performing suspension designs out there (of which the Giant Maestro is one), and there's MUCH better value bikes on the market too… Don't get me wrong, if I got given a 5 to ride I'd be chuffed to bits, but I wouldn't buy one with my own money…

I doubt at the moment if I will be buying another full sus bike.
I am having so much fun on my Pig.
Riding at the weekend with a friend who has a silly light & expensive Santa Cruz and he could barely keep up.
More to do with the rider than the bling 😆

I'd be seriously looking at a Chumba for that money.

I switched from a speccy stumpy 07 to a trance x 2 and it gets better with every ride. All I have done to it is change the usual pedals, saddle, and fitted some ergon gx1 grips. Got it in sept 09 and already put 400+ miles on it. Oh, one other thing I have done to it is lob 3/4 inch off each end of the bars. Now I barely "think" about making a turn and it's happened!

Never looked at a giant before this and since have bought the wife a giant talon.

hang on, this thread's 2 months old…