Decided on Hardtail, but which one for £1k?

[aserota]

Hi all,

Now decided that im deffinately after a lightweight hardtail, but am unsure which bikes i should look further into.

Ny budget is upto £1k (second hand or new), but am happy to spend far less.

Am ideally looking for a carbon frame (if in budget) and XT deore groupset. Frame would need to be 19-21.5" as im 6ft 1.

Lower price bracked would be a Specialised Hardrock Pro Disc, but am unknlowedgeable about Kona, Cube and other manufacturers.

Are there any brands that are very well built, that i should try and demo?



cheers all

 

[Mr Pig]

You really need to ride the things.

Whatever the brand, most of the bits on the bike are bought in from a handful of manufacturers, Shimano, Rockshox, Avid etc, so it's quite easy to compare the spec for different bikes. What you can't tell is what it'll be like to ride. Two bikes that look very similar on paper can feel very different because if differences in geometry and the way the frames are made.

Some bikes, like the Hardrock and Rockhopper, have a quite agressive riding position whilst other bikes are more upright and relaxed. It really depends on what feels right to you and what you want to use the bike for.

Good time to buy a bike though, sales coming up!

 

[Ludwig]

Go for one that looks good, with quality components, good gearing to suit your general fitness and type of riding you want to do. Do some research ie check the online bike shops and see what various parts cost. There are lots of review sites where bike are effectively lab tested to check their build quality and performance etc. Go to a mtb centre and have a chat with some of the riders. They will give you an honest assessment of their bikes.

 

[maurice]

Whereabouts do you ride and what sort of riding do you do?

 

[aserota]

Most riding (offroad) is down on flat trails, with gtavel, mud and roots, i do not use it for jumping.

I have tried taking my hybrid bike out with suspesnsion (front) on its lightest, but yet it seems to not quite be up to the job.

 

[GilesM]

You will get a very good hardtail for £1000, many shops will let you have a demo bike for the day, some will charge for this, and will refund the charge if you buy the bike, others will not charge, ring round your local bike shops and see what's available.

If I was buying a hardtail for a grand, this would probably be my choice;

http://www.orangebikes.co.uk/2008bikes/evo8-upg.php

Orange will tell you which dealers do demo bikes.

Giles

 

[Mr Pig]

If I had a grand to spend on a bike I'd buy one of these:

http://www.bikeradar.com/gear/category/bikes/mountain/product/altitude-20-9224

In the sales you should get one for closer to £800 I reckon.

 

[mr Mag00]

orange are a UK company too!

 

[GilesM]

orange are a UK company too!

Another good reason to buy one, I do think this is important, if you buy an orange bike and put as much Hope stuff on as possible you will have a great bike, a great bike designed for the british climate and you will be helping to keep good quality, interesting jobs in Britain.

Giles

 

[User482]

Orange may be a UK company but most of their frames are made in the far east. If you want a truly UK bike, you will probably have to go to a custom frame builder.

There are loads of excellent hard tails around the £1k mark. Use the magazine reviews to compile a shortlist and see if your LBS can arrange a test ride or two. Bear in mind that shops will be starting to discount the 2008 range soon.

 

[Mr Pig]

Ridgback, who make the Genesis brand, are also a UK outfit. The steel Altitude range are made in the UK, including the frames, except the entry level 00 model which is made in Taiwan. They are lovely bikes and the geometry is really nice off road.

 

[Ludwig]

Go to a site like Wiggle. They have a huge range of hard tails and if you ask what you are looking for, they will advise you on a suitable bike.
You can get a good Trek for well under a grand. You might want to consider getting 2 bike at £500 each with one being a road or commuter type bike.

 

[GilesM]

Ridgback, who make the Genesis brand, are also a UK outfit. The steel Altitude range are made in the UK, including the frames, except the entry level 00 model which is made in Taiwan. They are lovely bikes and the geometry is really nice off road.

I saw an altitude Bike on Saturday, (probably seen one before but never paid attention) it looked very good, even better now I know it's made in this country.

Giles

 

[aserota]

thanks for all your comments!

Ive been continuing to look and trying to decide exactly what components i would like and ideally need.

I have been cycling a lot more over the past few months (road only) and trying to do 100miles a week. My road bike is a full carbon trigon bike, with fsa pro and dura ace group sets and brakes.

From my research it seams like th deore XT is the way to go (MTB) as it is more durable from the XTR groupsets. Also i am very tempted to get myself a carbon frame if at all possible, but still have the aid of front suspension. I have seen this bike;

http://cgi.ebay.co.uk/Spin-Wheels-B...=39:1|66:2|65:3|240:1318&_trksid=p3286.c0.m14

which could be a nice little project.


I have also been looking into the 2008 bikes, such as the Specialized Rockhopper Pro Disc and on a slightly different tangent Treks 9.8 and 9.5

I think overall now, im looking for a very light bike, ideally equiped with XT kit and good v or disc brakes. Carbon is on the wish list also. 2nd hand will be the only way to go imo for this spec.


Any thoughts about the link?

 

[Mr Pig]

Looks like a nice bike. I also like the idea of a lightweight ridged MTB, I think it would be a lot of fun. I just depends what you're going to do with it, my suspension fork has saved my neck a few times.

I'm very wary of buying 'projects' second hand though, you don't know exactly what you're getting. A couple of years ago I looked at a car that was being sold by a guy I know, he's taken it as part-payment for some tuning/modifying he'd done on the owner's new car. The car I looked at was mildly modified, mostly styling stuff, but you had to look pretty closely to pick up on some of the undesirable things he'd done. For instance he's removed both front and rear tow hooks and smoothed over the bumpers. Not the first thing you'd notice but a real pain in the backside if you ever need to get picked up by the AA!

That bike could be a bargain, or it could be a nuisance. Your call :0)