I’ve been looking at buying/building up a fun bike for more gravity orientated duties. At the cheaper end I seem to have a few choices. Specialized Status, Canyon Torque, Scott Voltage or I’ve found a good deal on a Kona Entourage. Are there any more second hand or new bikes which might suit at the lower end of my budget? Cheers

Was going to suggest the Entourage, was insanely cheap on CRC

Later Spesh Big Hits 2nd hand, great bikes. Mates had a Kona Entourage from CRC, really good deal.

I take it you’ve looked on Pinkbike? Some great 2nd hand bikes. Avoid anything resprayed.

Marin Quake?

Got my Voltage fr30 for £370 and it’s awesome for dh/fun stuff. I’ve pedalled it for longer rides and its been fine as well, though a bit more sluggish on the flats. Definitely recommended unless you’re really tall as they’re not that long in the tt.

I’ve got a large giant trance x frame that I’m about to put up for sale. 170mm travel, pedals well and jumps brilliantly.

Email me on worldeliteAThotmail.com if you are interested.

Can’t believe you only payed £370 for your Scott Voltage. What a bargain. I had seen the Entourage on Chain Reaction but I think I’d need a large size which is a shame as it looks really nice. Don’t really see many come up second hand either. I have had a look on Pinkbike and there seems to be a lot on there. I hadn’t even thought about a Marin. Will go check them out right now.

What’s your budget? 2nd hand Intense are a good price: http://www.pinkbike.com/buysell/list/?q=intense&category=5&pmin=&pmax=&region=5

Should have said mine was just the frame/headset/post and clamp. But still a bargain!

I hired a specialized status for a day in tignes last week, it was the status 1 , so the bottom of the range, I think it retails at around £2k.

I dont have a massive experience of downhill bikes, but my thoughts on this were :-

– it was fairly heavy @38lbs
– the brakes were terrible – absolutely awful – not sure how much if this was because it was a hire bike, but they were avids which arent reknowned for being brilliant.
– It was fast when the going got rough or steep
– Suspension only had rebound adjustability, but it felt controlled enough and plush enough to me.

Edit: Not a trance x, it’s a reign x! Got two giants and brain isn’t working today.

If I just bought a frame, what forks are reasonably priced to go on it? I’ve got Fox on my XC bike but I know nothing about longer travel forks. Are there any to steer well clear of or any that are unsung heroes?

What’s “reasonably priced”? It would help if you gave us an idea of how much you want to/can spend 😉

Older Marzocchi 66’s. Totems. Good nick Boxxers can be had for under £400. Alot of dual crowns are a bit too used to buy unless you know whats what.

Was hoping to buy/build one up for around a grand. The cheaper the better really. I know Kona Stinkys seem to be about the cheapest you can get but I was interested in anything else which might come within budget? Iron Horse Sundays seem to crop up a lot but I’m not sure if they’re a little too “DH” and slack for me? Really wanted something a little more “bike park” if that makes sense?

Norco Shore / A-line?

Voltage is supposed to be brilliant though

You can build something nice for a grand if you shop around. You will get something even nicer if you buy complete, but you can’t spec the bits.

I’d say you are on the money with what you are looking at, full on DH bikes are great when you get them up to speed, but I have more fun on a shorter travel bike in the UK.

Voltage is a good shout. Also have a look at sx trails. I’d stay away from stinkys as they weigh a ton.

Orange patriot from 2007 or thereabouts should be well under budget and a great bike.

Lapierre froggy maybe.

For a grand I’d buy as late as I could find Iron Horse Sunday.

julians- i had one of those statuses in tignes as well and i agree with you on every count. the x fusion suspension was simple and there was basically no adjustment, but it was very, very effective. the brakes were absolutely gash! what an amazing place for a bike holiday- free lift passes, brilliant terrain, relaxed atmosphere, the weather helped the week i was there but i totally loved it. back to the o.p question….how about an sx trail? older than a status so you wont pay the premium price, but doesnt everybody love them? ive got an enduro from 2006 which is basically the shorter travel version, its heavy but if youre strong enough its a top play bike. theres loads of sx trails out there with bomber 55s or 66s on them, some of them go for bargain money.

How about one of these: http://www.pinkbike.com/buysell/1398861/
Gets a good write up: http://www.pinkbike.com/news/Kona-Entourage-Tested-2012.html

ive got a 170mm travel yt noton im thinking about selling for around the grand mark depending on spec. could sell with freshly serviced lyrics or totems.its a medium but the top tube is quite long. about the same size as a large nuke proof mega id say. also got a large[18″] 160mm travel 2011 kona stinky tl frame i could do for £300, bought it new about 6 months ago,pretty light for a kona and good angles, could do a complete build on that for around £800.

going off on a tangent here, but…

i had one of those statuses in tignes as well and i agree with you on every count. the x fusion suspension was simple and there was basically no adjustment, but it was very, very effective. the brakes were absolutely gash! what an amazing place for a bike holiday- free lift passes, brilliant terrain, relaxed atmosphere, the weather helped the week i was there but i totally loved it.

did a day trip to Tignes from Morzine & whilst i agree about it being a great, chilled out place to go – what with the free lift passes and all – they have some work to do. couple of the main tracks (gypsy & black metal) were closed due to construction of a new lift but the stuff in the bike park was good. the blues dropping into val claret from val d’isere were okay, as was the stuff on the val d’isere side, although we didn’t ride everything. the blue running all the way back into la daille was ace towards the end – really unexpected.

fwiw, what they really need is more people to go and ride the trails & realise there is some money in it. then they need to take a leaf out of the avoriaz trail building crew’s book and get some decent trail builders in to build & maintain proper tracks (some of them definitely felt like they were built by non-mountain bikers). and finally sort out the calamity that was their lift boarding system – one lifty holding 2 bikes and another to put a third bike on the lift?!

didn’t ride any of the enduro trails, but i reckon they could be on to something if they stick to those guns as they have a lot of space to play with & don’t mind digging up the terrain, as evident by the 4wd & mx tracks dotted around.

reckon (hope) mtb will take off their big time over the next few years, just need to get the right people in.

That secondhand Entourage would be spot on I reckon, very upgradeable.

peachos- i never noticed that the gypsy and black metal runs were closed :wink:. I thought theyd just forgotten to put the signs back out! http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ZARz26jiw04
i know what you mean about it all being a bit rough and ready, but when you see how many people in yellow t-shirts are being paid to entertain the tourists its obvious the government is trying to get people up there during the summer. Hopefully that will filter down into them spending some money on the tracks, it could be a mecca with a bit more work. Or maybe their summer season is just sooooooo short that they feel they wouldnt recoup the smoney theyd have to spend?

http://www.decathlon.co.uk/rockrider-fr10-freeride-mountain-bike-black-id_8193612.html

Just been looking at the decathlon website, yep i’m bored, but this bike looks great for £1200 ish.

2013, Nuke Proof Mega, 2 months old…1700 pounds, pls see my ad 🙂