Berger and Chips
New Member
I am trying to find a good deal on an upper mid level hardtail, I have surfed the web and looked in the local lbs's recently.
Generally speaking I am horrified these days what is available at the moment in terms of the cheesy groupset and forks offered.
No good deals on last years and the year before's bikes and £600+ bikes with Darts when a couple of years back these would have been Recons and last year Toras.
So far my current shortlist is this
http://www.wiggle.co.uk/p/cycle/7/Focus_Black_Forest_2009/5360037562/
Here is its supposedly superior brother but the forks look more suspect to me, seem like a downgrade from the Fox forks.
http://www.wiggle.co.uk/p/cycle/7/Focus_Black_Forest_Expert_2009/5360037560/
The other two I have my eye on are:-
http://www.decathlon.co.uk/EN/rockrider-8-1-66759353/
http://www.decathlon.co.uk/EN/rockrider-8-2-34963146/
Any one know of genuinely better deals elsewhere?
My main criteria is high quality, durable components not a bike that the bike mags reckon rides amazingly well, even though it has some crappy cheap parts such as the base Rockhopper 09 - which recently got 10/10 in a review of best £600+ bikes despite having Rock Shox uber budget Dart forks and Tektro disc brakes.
Basically a fast, high quality bike that could go for 3 years without needing repairs or upgrades.
Anyone know why the first Focus is so cheap, seems to me the forks are about £600 on their own which means the rest of the bike is about £110!
Generally speaking I am horrified these days what is available at the moment in terms of the cheesy groupset and forks offered.
No good deals on last years and the year before's bikes and £600+ bikes with Darts when a couple of years back these would have been Recons and last year Toras.
So far my current shortlist is this
http://www.wiggle.co.uk/p/cycle/7/Focus_Black_Forest_2009/5360037562/
Here is its supposedly superior brother but the forks look more suspect to me, seem like a downgrade from the Fox forks.
http://www.wiggle.co.uk/p/cycle/7/Focus_Black_Forest_Expert_2009/5360037560/
The other two I have my eye on are:-
http://www.decathlon.co.uk/EN/rockrider-8-1-66759353/
http://www.decathlon.co.uk/EN/rockrider-8-2-34963146/
Any one know of genuinely better deals elsewhere?
My main criteria is high quality, durable components not a bike that the bike mags reckon rides amazingly well, even though it has some crappy cheap parts such as the base Rockhopper 09 - which recently got 10/10 in a review of best £600+ bikes despite having Rock Shox uber budget Dart forks and Tektro disc brakes.
Basically a fast, high quality bike that could go for 3 years without needing repairs or upgrades.
Anyone know why the first Focus is so cheap, seems to me the forks are about £600 on their own which means the rest of the bike is about £110!