Well damn, what do you want us to rely on? Trust you local LBS opinion?

Fair enough, and no – I’d certainly not recommend you listen to us, we all have vested interests. Although we do tell the truth!

Ultimately, as others have said, these are all good bikes and will make you smile.

My comments weren’t aimed directly at you. I’m advocating trying bikes out and people deciding for themselves, rather than relying on what someone they don’t know, says. We invest a lot of money in demo bikes so that people can do just that. I do realise that it’s not always practical for everyone, though.

To give an example of the sort of thing I was expressing dismay about – we’ve had customers stood in the shop, interested in a bike, but rather than taking it for a free test ride themselves, want to go home and read about what other people online think about it. That seems like a shame to me and not the best way to decide whether a bike is right for you.

Hi folks

As many of you know we’re dealers for both Transition and Pyga. In my opinion both the Smuggler and the OneTen are great all-round bikes, with the Smuggler slightly more biased towards the downs and the Pyga slightly more towards all-day up-and-down rides – but both are a blast (our Smuggler demo hasn’t arrived yet so that’s not first-hand though if it’s anything like the other bikes it’s safe to say). I’ve spent a fair bit of time riding the Pygas.

Also, I keep hearing about these deals on 2014 models, but I’ve never seen an advertised price

We need to up our advertising, obviously 🙂 We’re working on a new website to allow us to do this better but there never seems to be enough time in the day. We have blogged and put out quite a bit of information about our Pyga deals – frame only is £1399 (reduced from £1749) on the remaining 2014 frames. Custom builds from £2000 (but if you can spend £2500 the package is much better).

I’m always amazed that people place so much importance on what journalists say, or want someone else to test the bikes side by side for them. Why not come over to mid-Wales (or another shop which stocks the bikes you’re interested in) and try them out side-by-side for yourself? I’m pretty sure if you ride the Pyga, like Alex, you won’t want to give it back…

If anyone wants to try a Pyga or a Transition – or for that matter a Merida, Saracen, a Mondraker or anything else we stock, and can’t make it to mid-Wales for a demo, get in touch and we’ll see about sending you a bike, or arranging a weekend rendezvous at a convenient trail centre.

Surly would be my first thought if the budget is “around” £1k. We have a fleet of them (Disc- and Long-Haul Truckers) for people to try, we use them for cycle-camping tours, and definitely recommend them.

Genesis Tour de Fer, or Ridgeback World, would be my recommendations if they need to be fully kitted out (racks, mudguards etc) for no more than £1k.

We’ve done (more than) a bit of touring ourselves, happy to advise/discuss if it helps.

Yep, plenty of old maps here in Hay!

Is the old 1″ to 1 mile data not online somewhere, though?

it did put me off not being able to find a uk distributor.

As above, there is a UK distributor who holds stock. Several retailers dealing with them I believe. Fraser is a decent bloke and very helpful. The jackets look good and I would certainly expect them to perform well. They come across as a very decent company to work with.

@drovercycles – that is exactly what I want it for TBH.

You won’t regret getting one then.

Frame RRP has come down to £599 now. £499 is a good deal and doesn’t strike me as expensive for what you get.

The Rabbit Hole rims are a bit special and when you handle them you realise why they cost what they do (we just build another one up today). Dually is a bit cheaper but not nearly as much to it.

They’re great bikes – a blast to ride and very capable, and versatile.

Genesis Longitude (also a great bike) is quite a bit cheaper, but in my mind is more like the ECR than the Krampus. Krampus is the one to get if you want a “fun” bike which can also do bikepacking stuff, the ECR or Longitude is an adventure touring bike first and foremost (which is also fun, of course…)

They’re not cheap, but they’re worth it!

What size are you after? We’re selling the last of our ex-hire bikes from last year – very well maintained and in great nick. Saracen Mantra Pros – we sell them at £395 with a few upgrades from the original £599 spec.

Great bikes – would wholeheartedly recommend.

I’m pretty sure there wouldn’t be enough space on the rear of the Suppressor to run 650b unless a very low-volume tyre.

If you’re going to the expense of a new frame – and they are fantastic bikes – then surely you don’t want to cut corners? Your drivetrain, brakes, finishing kit, etc can all be used – but I’d build in the price of new wheels and fork if I were you. If you’ve got decent hubs, why not have a nice new set of wheels built? If not, an inexpensive set of Mavic, Hope, or similar wheels need only cost a small-ish amount and will help you get the most out of your new frame.

If you’d like to have a test-ride before deciding, give us a shout – we’ll have a Patrol demo set up shortly.

Surely your LBS could get you some with their next order? Most shops will be ordering from Madison at least weekly I’d have thought.

In which case Deore calipers might work but levers obviously won’t. If it’s a flat bar tourer then yes, Deore would be the way to go.

Depending on where you’re touring, a ruptured hydraulic hose in the middle of nowhere is much more difficult to deal with than a snapped or frayed cable.

I don’t think you’ll find a longer-travel full-sus 29er which will work well in sizes below a medium, to be honest. There’s just too much to fit in! How tall are you?

If I were you I’d forget about wheel sizes and find a bike which has the right capabilities, and fits you. Whatever size wheels it has should surely be secondary?

All that said, a Mondraker Crafty comes in a small, all sizes seems to have loads of standover clearance, and looks like a cracking bike.

Or, if anyone has enough experience of 29ers to crack the geometry for small size/long travel, it’d be Niner. Maybe take a look at their WFO 9?

The Smuggler is a stunning bike. Very interested to see how it compares with the Pyga OneTen. We have the Pyga, and will have the Transition too, as a demo so looking forward to trying them both out.

http://www.drovercycles.co.uk/pyga-framesets-save-350/

green??

Thanks for the mention Charliemort – my thoughts exactly. As R53 says, the deals are great on the Pygas at the moment. Give us a shout if you’d like to know more.

Your local Rockshox dealer should be able to sort this for you, or give us a shout and we will.

“Carbon frame with flax bio fibres incorporated in the seat stays for extra comfort.”

On some of their bikes Merida use flax fibres in the carbon matrix to add a greater degree of flex and hence comfort. It makes their hard tail MTBs and more sportive-oriented road bikes more comfortable over rough stuff.

They’re exploiting the advantages of cf manufacturing which I see as a good thing – otherwise why not just buy someone else’s design from an open mould?

They’re great racks – very solid mounting and no worries at all about failure. We’ve been using one to transport hire bikes for the last year or so. Very quick and easy to fit.

£262 is a very good price for the Mini Bomber 2. Not far off what a stockist pays!

The point is that very few fit the OP’s full spec list, so people are providing options that he may like to consider instead.

Fair enough. I guess my point was that quite a few of the options being suggested are a long way off what the OP asked about. I’m guessing he/she knows his/her own mind in terms of what they want.

My suggestions were ways the OP could get what was asked for. I’d imagine most dealers would be happy to swap out a chainset and shifters on a £1500-£2000 bike sale.

Lots of nice bikes being suggested, and in many ways I’d agree that OP might be wise to widen the net.

Apart from Merida, any others out there which tick all the boxes?

OP said he wanted 100mm, threaded BB, 3×10 and £1500-£2000.

So far – apart from the Merida – suggestions have been 120mm, BB30/PF BBs, 2×10 and over £3k for complete bikes…

TR500 is nice but would (I’m guessing) be a pretty basic spec for the money.

You might be pleasantly surprised – but yes, it wouldn’t have BOS forks or Fox 40s for that price. Marzocchi 380s or Boxxers, decent wheels, no corners cut anywhere.

Yes – have to agree on the VFM offered by Commencal – excellent spec (apart from the wheels which in our experience don’t last long).

Medoramas has it, spot on – the Merida Big.Nine range is really impressive and superb value for money. Proper high-tech carbon frames and great spec for the money. Have a look at some recent reviews.

You could go up to the Big.Nine 6000 if a friendly dealer would swap out the double for a triple, too – even better value IMHO 😀

We’ve sold a couple of Tail Wagons over the years…. in both cases the customers and hounds appear to be delighted.

They do seem ridiculously expensive, mind. Second-hand has got to be a good way to go on this.

As above, Genesis Longitude, or our ex-demo Krampus which would be in-budget and available on C2W.

We’re selling our Genesis High Latitude 2×10 ex-hire bikes at the moment if you fancy a bargain – they’re in good nick and well maintained.

Plenty of dropper posts for 27.2 – X-Fusion and KS probably the better ones.

I have my own High Latitude too – great bike.

OP, if you are interested in a TR500, feel free to give us a shout and I can suggest you some specs.

Yep – we did Wales to Saintes, carrying 10-15kg each, on Genesis Equilibriums with 25mm Duranos. Absolutely fine.

Myst Pro is also a very good shout. Or a custom built Transition TR500.

They’re quite long in the top tube if I remember rightly so a medium might well fit you.

Great bikes – quite heavy but bombproof. Any reason you’re not going for the V4 though?

That depends on the service level available from one’s LBSs.

Absolutely – that’s why I said

There are good direct sellers and bad ones, good LBSs and bad ones, good manufacturers who sell through the trade – and bad ones.

I’ve then had to tell the customer the ‘good’ news (and there’s NO way the shop owner is paying out of his pocket….he charged labour for warranty work!).Endured a tirade of abuse and lost a customer.
Only for them to return shortly afterwards after contacting the company directly and getting the issue resolved……making a mockery of the shop!!!

I know exactly how you feel. Which is why we’ll not take no for an answer unless we are assured that the customer will be told the same.

BTW we’re having a problem with some brakes off a bike we sold at the moment. Customer has long ago been sorted out (by us) and we’re now trying to get the supplier to play ball. If they don’t, we’ve already taken the hit – because there was obviously a problem, and it seemed like the right thing to do. The customer shouldn’t have to put up with what we’re putting up with.

Your LBS would no doubt wait a week just to get an answer back from the manufacturer.

Thats it. No-one had to wait for a decision from a manufacturer or otherwise, which means he gets back out asap with minimum fuss.

If an LBS is waiting a week to get an answer, they’re doing something wrong. We’d expect to resolve things at least for a customer at least as quickly as you have in the example above. We might have the necessary part in stock, in which case we’d sort them out there and then.

And of course your customer has had to wait for a decision from the manufacturer – that’s you. It’s just that you’ve made that decision very quickly and given great customer service. Lots of LBS’s, and the manufacturers we/they work with, also do that. I’m not sure this is a reason to choose one distribution model vs the other. There are good direct sellers and bad ones, good LBSs and bad ones, good manufacturers who sell through the trade – and bad ones.

One distinct advantage in using an LBS is that if the manufacturer is giving grief, an LBS has a bit more clout and better connections than your average end user and can usually help resolve things. That’s not necessary when a manufacturer does provide excellent service as in this example, but it can help a great deal in the occasional circumstance when things don’t go so well.

Pros and cons with both models but I think suggesting that buying direct gets you better service is a bit disingenuous IMHO.

It’s the best part of a year since the event, and many are still there.

Bit disappointing for those living nearby though.

Agreed, and I’ll make sure this gets fed back to Neil. I’m sure this wouldn’t be intentional and – knowing how small business works – I can understand emails getting overlooked. But yep, it’s not great and hopefully not something that will happen again.

Same frame, different colour, no?

If you wanted the RR frame I’d have thought a friendly Mondraker dealer would sort that for you though. We would.

As above, absolutely no way you can tell the difference from the outside.

If you’ve made a loss, you don’t owe tax.

Just because you’ve spent more than you’ve earned, you’ve not necessarily made a loss, though. But if income minus (allowable) expenses is a negative figure, there’s no income tax to pay.

IANAA

We do!

Small and Large in Red/Black currently in stock – can check on availability of other sizes/colours as required.

It didn’t look like there’s enough snow for any of the gullies to be in great nick to be honest and it hasn’t had long to consolidate, but I’ve not been high up to have a close look.

Mind you, winter climbs in south Wales being in good nick is so rare that anything goes….

There’s a bit around – quite a lot has melted in the last day or two. It’s only high up, and even on the summits is not looking like it’s mainly confined to the gullies and sheltered patches for the most part.

If you’re looking for snow, I think you’ll be disappointed. If you’re wondering whether stuff is rideable, you’ll be OK although it’s pretty muddy and wet as you’d expect.

Commencal?

http://www.commencal-store.com/PBSCProduct.asp?ItmID=14495067