final decision on sub £500 hardtail

cakeypigdog

Righto I have wasted a silly amount of hours researching entry level hardtails this week.
I think I have exhausted all the options. I was going to get the old tax super 06 but I have not had much joy sourcing one. I fancy the 07 super a bit as it has such a strong review in mbuk but I read a much more negative review in another magazine.
The following are my possible choices… does anyone recommend any of them or think that I ought to axe any from my list. There is a reasonable price range here: cheaper would be better but I am willing to pay a bit more for better quality.

Specialized hardrock sport disc £369 - leisure lakes - excellent reviews
Gary Fisher Tassajara £350 - Evans cycles discount - excellent reviews
Giant xtc se 2006 - pauls cycles £400
Gt avalanche 2.0 disc £400 evans hydraulic discs
Gt avalanche 3.0 disc £300 evans
Mongoose tyax elite £279
Mongoose tyax super £400
Carrera fury Halfords £450

I will be popping down to a few bike shops tomorrow to try stuff out.

supersonic

I'd axe the hardrocks. Lardy frame, heavy, and poor forks. You need to try and test the others, which you may not be able to do with some of your choices and places. Obviously the next model up in the GT and Tyax range is going to be better... spend what you can, its worth it.

cakeypigdog

cheers supersonic! i was least keen on the specialized.... will see how it goes in store over the weekend.

The Big Cheese

I would straight away scrub the Gary Fisher, mate bought one for his first 'real MTB' and it rides like shite. heavy and all 'out of sorts' with itself

I would probably go for the Tyax super or the carrera, both have recieved good reviews and I tried the carrera fury and it's a real nice ride for the money

cakeypigdog

i had a play today and am suprised to say the specialized won out for me!
its just a really fun ride!
i had a play on a mates rockjumper at christmas (didnt know what it was at the time) and LOVED it. the hardrock with hydraulic discs was discounted to £369 and while it was not as light and fun as the rockjumper it is still a wonderful bike. top banana. cant wait to collect it next week!

i would really recomend leisure lakes as a seller they were really helpful and even let me test ride stuff in the rain! other shops wouldnt!

supersonic

Did you get a test on any of the others? As long as you like it, thats what matters! I just can't stand them hehe

Panhandling Prince

I was looking at the XTC 4.5 and the rockhopper but settled on the Trek 6500 Disc in the end. Great bike. I pushued my budget up for the better spec which should be worth it. £600 is a good deal with extras thrown in and services etc.

Pick it up this week.

XC race on Oct 7th, had better get fit.

lol

Panhandling Prince

I ave just decided on the Trek 6500 Disc, and found out that Manitou who make the forks are no longer in business.

Should this affect my descision to buy?

russ0228

three words "commencal combi disc"

The Spiderman

Panhandling Prince wrote:

I ave just decided on the Trek 6500 Disc, and found out that Manitou who make the forks are no longer in business.

Should this affect my descision to buy?

I used to have Manoitou Splice forks on my XTC,which worked fine,but I did have a pair of Axels on a Rockhopper which failed after a year.Trying to find anyone to service them is a nightmare if anything does go wrong.Rockshox and Marzocchi are much easier to get fixed.Having said that you can pick up a reasonable pair of forks for as little as £100 these days,which isn't much more than a cost of a service.

To a certain degree,I think of most forks on bikes at this price range as a disposable commodity,which will get upgraded after a year for something much better.

cakeypigdog

Supersonic: i had a play with the gt avalanche 2.0 and the scott reflex 45. I just loved the feel of the hardrock. I am the first to admit that the front end feels a tad heavy but it is just a lovley riding position for me. I have proportionately pretty short legs and i find most bikes feel a bit too long. I would say it just felt the most fun of the bikes i tried. Plus i had a mate who uses it in much the same way as i intend to and he enjoys his so much that he has had 3 in a row of them (they keep getting nicked). The only thing i didn't like about the hardrock (and the thing that stopped me just buying at the begining) is i personally find it pretty ugly to look t. The GT was much more my cup of tea in looks but looks are not much of a consideration when one bike just feels so much nicer to ride! I am sure its just personal taste. thanks for your help though: its great that people on here with experience are willing to answer (what seam to be often repeated) questions from us beginners.

HJ1976

Another question for anyone in the know.....I have had my Scott Timber (rigid) since 1996 and it has done me well with just the odd tye, tube and cable needing replacing.....I now want a Hard tail, and have the same sort of budget as was mentioned on this thread.
I know some love and some hate the hardrock by specalized, but does Scott have any front sus bikes preferably with (hyd) disk brakes for this price that are worth looking at?

Atz

As another poster said above, Commencal Combi Disc (Hydro in this case)