Marin B17 or Specialized FSR XC

Dispatches

Hi all,

my first post here and sorry yes it is a which bike to buy post :oops:

well i've got £1000 to spend but wanted to get helmet and gloves with that too so that pretty much puts my spend at the £700-800 mark.

I was looking at hartails originally and was taken by the Marin B17 (but it is a little heavy) and the Specialized Rockhopper Comp Disk but I've heard the rockhopper gets skittish on any tight singletrack or rough terrain.

So I thought I was all set with the B17 when the guy in the shop suggested spending a bit more on the spec FSR XC or the GT Idrive 5 4.0 to get full suspension.

My problem is that I will be using the bike for everything, riding to work about 3 times a week (15 miles round trip) and mily trails on the weekends but some of my buddies venture off to wales for singletrack, downhill and even a little north shore stuff so I'm sure I'll end up going with them at somepoint so I want a bike that will be able to do it all and wonder if I should spend the extra for an FSR BUT I'm kinda lazy and know the bike won't get cleaned and maintained as often as it should so will the FR just die on me.

so in short

Marin B17

or

Spec FSR XC or GT I Drive 5 4.0

please let me know your oppinions and even other bikes to consider

Ticaboy

That's quite a mix of activities! IMO, hardtail all the way then. You can't really just abuse and leave a full susser without maintenance, and 700-800 will be getting you in at the lower end of full-suss. £700-£800 hard-tail will getting you in at a pretty good level, and certainly more than capable of taking on single track and the like. However, never maintaining any bike will end up knackering it, so this isn't a great solution either. Just 5 mins on the chain will do wonders for a starting point.

The Rockhopper is obviously hard-tail, but there are plenty of other (better?) bikes out there that would fit the bill too. Have a good rummage around the on-line bike shops (Evans/Wiggle/Chain Reaction etc), and see what's available for your budget, and then seek them out for testing.

Something designed around 130mm+ front travel with lock-out might be getting close if you want to do a bit of DH and commuting. But, I'm sure plenty of others will give their advice too.

Dispatches

3 votes for the FSR XC and 1 pretty sensible sounding post pro hardtail. hmm this is not making things easier :?

Dispatches

Bump bump bump

supersonic

have you tried them out? What are your feelings on the ride(s)?

Also have a look at the GT Aggressor XCR at Halfords.

ranvir

personally i'd go for the B-17

supersonic

Doesn't look very well specced. 8 spd, single piston brakes, nasty crankset. Hope the money is in the frame!

royboy11

rockhopper disc http://www.specialized.com/bc/SBCBkModel.jsp?spid=22178

Dispatches

supersonic wrote:

have you tried them out? What are your feelings on the ride(s)?.

no I've not tried them but I wouldn't know what to look or feel for as I'm completely new to the sport.

Obviously I've asked my buddies for there advice but they just say get a 2nd hand fuss sus off of ebay for the £700 yet evey bike shop (and a few websites) has told me def don't do that as it'll cost far more in replacing worn parts and I don't think maintaining a full suss is really my thing.

just looked at the halfords XTC review on this site and it wasn't very possitive, poor geometry and unresponsive steering. The review of the B17 was what got me interested in the bike but my lack of knowledge means all the specs mean pretty much nothing to me!!!

I need help :?
Cheers for all the help

Wolf

If you are new to this, don't go for full-sus. You don't need to spend too much money to get a decent do-it-all hardtail. Halfords Carrera Fury should be reduced from £550 (i've seen it sub £500) and is a great bike with adjustable, dampened fork, and great kit. The marin is unluckily underspecced for the money. They tend to be on budget level bikes, but they make wonderfull mid-high spec ones. GT avalanche 1.0 is a fine trail bike too, should also be reduced from £500 rrp due to 08 model coming soon.