which "all mountain bike"

Anonymous

ok, i know this is a boring question but please indulge me (if nothing else, use it as an oportunity to do some fantasy shopping, c'mon, dont tell me i'm the only one who does it!!)

with some help from the wife and my impending trip to the falklands, ive got 1700 to spend on a replacement for the reign.

my short list is:

07 enduro comp £1500
scott ransom 10 £1700 (ex demo)
Iron Horse Mk III £1100
Rocky mountain Slayer 50 £1500
Bionicon Edison £1850

has anyone got a valid opinion of my choices or perhaps a suggestion of some blaring ommission?
i want a 5 or 6 inch travel bike with weight aroud the 30lb mark for doing trail centre typestuff and possbly future trips abroad.

I'm leaning towards the enduro at the moment so any helpfull advice is welcome

Andy B

Glaringly obvious omission....



with a few upgrades weighs 28-29lbs.

nicklouse

SX? or is that just over both value and weight?

fortune

have a look at the marin quad taras - the cheapest is £1250 and i think the top is £2200 the top one got a better review than the patriot in the last mbuk and it gets a good right up in mbr aswell.

jacktheoc

http://www.winstanleysbikes.co.uk/index ... 9&brandID=

i would go for that looks amazing and a massive reduction :!:

ddoogie

07 Enduros were plagued with faults. A guy on here bought one and has sent a fair proportion of the bike back and forth from Specialized over the year. Supposed to be a nice ride though.

What's wrong with your Reign? I've always thought they were one of the better AM bikes around.

Look at Skyline cycles website. They always have a sale section of ex-demo/display models that go for super cheap prices. A mate of mine bough a Commencal Meta 5.4 for £600 last year and it was in pristine condition.

They have a Dawg Primo going for £1350 and a few Meta 5.5.2s for around that price as well. Also, a v. tempting Coilar at £1900!

russ0228

i think you just don't like spaecialized as you always rip into them. and just because there was a guy on here that had a problem doesn't mean they were plagued with faults. if they were i would know about as i know the main guys at specialized as does my boss and we talk to them now and agian person to person. if there were any major problems then i would know about. simple as that.
the forks did suffer from the first batch but that was rectified f.o.c. no other faults have sprung to mind. hell i can go on for days about certain other brand and their rubbish after service. as far as after service i am sorry but spesh leads the way by a far. their warrany warehouse is massive and their workshop team are the best you will ever see. i don't even own a specialized. i am just stating the facts which sometimes doesn't happen in the forums.

ddoogie

i think you just don't like spaecialized as you always rip into them

See my bike? Perhaps your statement seems a little daft now?

Now I'm going to proceed to smiting down your other argument with a barrage of quotes from various owners of the Enduro SL:

after the first few rides the rear shock started getting stiffer and stiffer both in compresion and rebound, to the point where with max rebound dampening it doesn't extend anymore, the rebound dampening also started interfering with the compresion, when I slow down the rebound, the compresion gets stiffer, I'm more or less able to live with that, but then the front fork started developing some ridiculous stiction and small bump sensitivity went to zero! the fork doesn't even fully return now when compressed!

Forks developed a knocking from day one, were replaced by dealer for a set with a leaking air cartridge, this was replaced and have just started to develop the knock again.

I have had this bike for about 8 weeks and the rear shock has already been replaced by Specialzed. The shock gradually lost oil and it felt like the suspension was topping out. The shaft of the shock always had a thin film of oil weeping from it and eventually it gave out altogether!

I liked it, and could deal with the shortcommings but at the end of the ride the rear shock was spitting oil like a cobra and had a clanging noise.

When purchasing the bike I noticed lateral play in the fork. Rhode the bike till a new fork was shipped. Two weeks later, the rebound dampening was messed up on the rear shock. It keep topping out. Specialized overnighted a new rear shock, and has been fine since, except for the little bird sounds when the shock rebounds. One week later the new fork was installed, and on the first ride the fork would not hold air. After much anger and frustration, put the bike in the back of the truck and heard a loud pop, and looked to find the top external seal blew off the stantion. I instantly pushed it back on and drove home. The next day the fork was completely deflated, so I pumped it up and has been holding air ever since. Now the fork clanks when it tops out unless I crank up the return dampening almost all the way.

I am aware that these are, of course, just the average internet buyer's views and that they hold little weight when critically analysed. However, I cannot help but see a pattern forming with the problems. Certainly not something I would want to rush out and spend £1500 on. It is also worth noting that the problem that Joey (the guy that I originally referred to) had his shock sent back just recently, along with a few other issues that don't immediately spring to mind.

EDIT: All this is relevent as the model that was listed in the initial post, as a potential, was a 2007 batch. I'm sure Specialized have got wise to the large number of warranty replacements that they have issued and have sorted the problem out for 2008.

KA-POW.

russ0228

five people out well lets just a high number of units sold would be considered a huge success in anyones guess. as far as rear shocks leaking oil that was made by fox. so does that mean fox plaqued with faults. no.
i already mentioned that the forks had a FEW people send them back. the shop i work at is one of the biggest dealers in the uk and we sent back three shocks. out of christ hundreds. its part of life min, things can sometimes happen. but when they do thats when you will see just who the good brands are. as i stated before no company except hope can touch spesh for back up.
you can smitten me down all you like but it won't work mmm ha ha ha ha.

ddoogie

No, that was 5 unhappy customers out of about 20 reviews. Kinda speaks for itself. Also, the fact that Fox made the shock is is irrelevent as they are apparently faulty and feature on the bike as standard.

russ0228

i also heard that the giant anthem came with rubbish tyres so they must of been plagued with faults aswell!!! lol this place is always good for a giggle if anything.

The Spiderman

Back on topic,I had the good fortune to have a quick spin on a Ransom yesterday,and absolutely loved it.

I've ridden an older Enduro,but found it a bit too soft and unresponsive.

I normally ride a hardtail,though..

habitrail

buy a hardtail and become a man!

prob with rear shocks sorted!

trail jacker

i totally agree, hardtails are always overlooked, and take lots more skill to master. a true mans choice!

davydesign

How about an 06 Marin Quake AL7 (£1495 from Royles) or Iron Horse 6point 4?

I've had a Ransom for a year, fair enough the alloy one snapped but I've got a 07 Ransom 10 now. I had a look around for what else I might buy when i was waiting for a decision on the warranty, but for the money and type of riding, weight, travel etc, the Scott still seems like the best available. Make sure you get a decent warranty if its an ex-demo

I've ridden a Slayer and its quite good but doesn't climb nearly as well as the Ransom.

The commencal meta 5.5.2 gets great write ups too - never ridden one myself tho.

Have fun deciding mate!

supertee

I am trying to make the same choice now. I ruled out the enduro as I did not enjoy the ride personally. The ransom is a awsome bit of kit but it was expensive, but now with the 07 models going so cheap this is definately at of near the top. I have not ridden the edison but I have the golden willow and that was fantastic. Hard choice. I have ridden them all and still cannot make my mind up.

Father Faff

Well I've got a Commencal Meta 5.5.1 (slightly blinged version of the Meta 5.5.2 "Best sub-£1750 full-susser long-travel in WhatMTB) and I would thoroughly recommend it. If you are 5'10" or more go for the Large size frame - normally £1699 there is one 5.5.2 left in stock at J D Cycles of Ilkley for £1275.

russ0228

i've got a meta aswell v.i.p custom. uphill, downhill around the hill you name it

stevebrock

Why dont you look ath the new Spesh Pitch's.....150mm bike and they have put a RS pike up front and Fox RP2 a the back, good finishing kit all for £1400.
Ive ordered one anyway!

Anonymous

well ladies and gentlemen, the new bike is here.

i'll be honest, i havent taken it for a run yet but its light, well specced and believe it or not, cheap as chips.

i dont know if theress a "top bike shop thread" but top of the list has got to go to ste and his mrs at abbey cycles in liverpool, mega service, got some freebies in the shape of a stans kit and some new spare brake pads and i feel like ive got an excellent future servicing back up behind me.

the bike is a golden willow 1 and has upgraded tyres plus it'll be no tubes after ive had some fun on it. you would not believe how light it is considering its bulk and travel and the spec is first rate

ddoogie

Is that one of those funky "changeable geometry on the go" bikes?

Anonymous

it is yeah, it's really noticeable when you drop the front, but not so when you drop the rear, its difficult to find a balance between the 2 tho!!

jacktheoc

very nice bike , what forks do they have on the front?

Anonymous

hey jack, hows it going, good to see you yesterday, the forks are called double agents and are made by bionicon specifically for the bike. they have 75-150mm of travel and can be compressed by pressing the orange buton to help climbing, this automatically extends the rear shock and severely changes the bikes angles.

the opposite can be done by pressing the button and leaning backwards, this extends the forks and compresses the rear shock to slacken the angles and make descending more stable.

at all times, the rear shock travel remains constant as does the bb height.

jacktheoc

nice bike, very happy with the giant , cant ride for another 2 weeks , im going to try and get out on it on fri, getting my stitches out on tue so should help a little.
cheers again for the bike