Merlin bikes £900 to spend, which one?
LancashireAsh
Posts: 17
Novice looking for some advice and opinions.
I'm coming back to mountain biking after 10 years and cannot believe the product you can get for your bucks nowadays.
I like to support my local economy - I'm trying to do more of this than hand money to the big corporates. I went to Merlin, they were excellent. However, dilemma...
I was expecting a particular bike to jump out at me for price v ride qualities. However I couldn't separate the Malt 4 or the Rock Lobster - certainly not riding them around the block on smooth roads. If anything the Rock Lobster felt slightly more springy. But what about on the trail when the going gets tough. I'm 12.5 stone and 6 ft.
QUESTION: Would you go for the Rock Lobster Tig, full XT, reba forks and easton elite tubing, for just over £900 or the Malt 4, full XT, reba and kinsium tubing (marginally lighter) for around the same?
Cheers dudes. :?
I'm coming back to mountain biking after 10 years and cannot believe the product you can get for your bucks nowadays.
I like to support my local economy - I'm trying to do more of this than hand money to the big corporates. I went to Merlin, they were excellent. However, dilemma...
I was expecting a particular bike to jump out at me for price v ride qualities. However I couldn't separate the Malt 4 or the Rock Lobster - certainly not riding them around the block on smooth roads. If anything the Rock Lobster felt slightly more springy. But what about on the trail when the going gets tough. I'm 12.5 stone and 6 ft.
QUESTION: Would you go for the Rock Lobster Tig, full XT, reba forks and easton elite tubing, for just over £900 or the Malt 4, full XT, reba and kinsium tubing (marginally lighter) for around the same?
Cheers dudes. :?
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Comments
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Ive not ridden a Malt 4 but i do ride a Rock Lobster (the alloy frame) and i cannot rate it highly enough, its very light and loves bein flicked about even with a muppet like me on it.
Either bike will be fantastic but my personal preference would be the Lobster.0 -
Haven't ridden either, but bearing in mind that the specs and prices are pretty near identical - and they felt the same when sitting on them - I'd go for the one you like the look of best.
I think the Rock Lobster looks nicer myself, but taste is personal.0 -
Thanks guys for your views.
Keep them coming. It's Merlin's late night opening tomorrow and I'm going to blow my savings then.
I too think the Rock Lobster has the edge in looks close up and strangely I couldn't shift the bottom bracket as much as I could on the Malt 4, even though the latter is more built up. Also the Rock Lobster has an inner stay to spread the stress of the rear disc - I heard this was pretty important.
My concern was that with riding road bikes for the last 10 years I've become more used to skinnier tubing and having bent two mountain bikes in the past at the top tube behind the headtube, the rock lobster seemed a bit skinny on the bracing. What do you think?
LancashireAsh
Preston0 -
Have a go on the Rock Lobster 853 steel frame if you can - you might just love it!0
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if i had to buy again i'd buy my bike all over again with full xt, reba team. i would'nt mind testing riding a steel lobster though to see what all the fuss is about. oh and take a photo of the mythical carbon lobster if you can.
i put a pair of folding maxxis crossmarks on mine and it flys, those oem fire xc's are a bit wibbly-wobbly and wear suprisingly quickly.
lots of pics of the malt4 on my link.0 -
LancashireAsh wrote:My concern was that with riding road bikes for the last 10 years I've become more used to skinnier tubing and having bent two mountain bikes in the past at the top tube behind the headtube, the rock lobster seemed a bit skinny on the bracing. What do you think?
Im not the lightest or smoothest rider in the world but i can hand on heart say my frame has never given me any reason for concern with regards to its strength.0 -
What is the difference between Reba SL and Reba Team? At Merlin there is only a minor difference in the price.
Love the pics Dunker. How you rating your ride? I am going to go for full XT, I know in the past when I've tried to save £150 at the time I end up regretting it later and soon want to upgrade.
Supersonic, I'm going to try the steel, just read the review. Thanks for the tip.
LancashireAsh0 -
Reba team has a lighter crown and external floodgate adjust.0
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Gotta be the Lobster, had mine 4 months and its superb. Not ridden the Malt 4 though.
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i'm quite light at 9 stone so i'm not too worried about the very thin i guess tubing on the malt4, but as long as you don't treat an xc frame as a jumping/freeride frame you should'nt have anything to worry about i guess. though saying that i have gone down hills at rather silly speeds hehe i can't help it sometimes.
like already said they're all great bikes get the one you like the look of the most and fits best and you'll be a happy chappy.0 -
yeah wish i'd gone full xt but they were more expensive last year, just squeezed a full lx bike for £997. of course i love my bike like most so i won't go on how this is great or that,
oem fire xc's - after 200miles they started feeling a bit weird, sorta uneven and under inflated even though they were'nt, get them changed quick.
brake caliper bolts - keep an eye on them as my rear worked it's way loose after about 700miles, no biggy as you can feel it. has'nt happened again since i put loctite 243 on the bolts.
rear lx hub - freewheel died after 1200 miles, that was a long ride home having to pedal constantly, solution - new rear wheel dt240s on xm719. and a spare lx with a new freehub.
lx crankset - middle chain ring worn alot after 1500miles, probably as i use the middle too much, i must try to use the other rings more. replaced middle with a raceface one and a new xtr chain. the new 2008 xt has a steel middle so should last alot longer.
lx crankset - bb cup drive side needed tighting it had come undone about 90 degrees, only noticed as indexing on the gears was messed up after the new chainring went on, just done it up a bit tighter, if it happens again i'll get some loctite on it.
stem/bars - while changing my bars for some new ones the stem faceplate bolts were only torqued to less than 2Nm and they should have been at 6-8Nm now they may have loosened themselves over time i dunno.
so it's just general wear and tear and vibration, nothing broke apart from the early departure of the lx freehub, good idea to get a torque wrench for checking stuff over every now and then. the shimano brakes have been remarkable not needing any attention or bleeding or even new pads yet, there's still about 70% pad thickness on them heh amazing. the gears have been perfect only need a tweak on the cable adjusters to match the cable stretch initially. the wheels have been great apart from the freehub failure, the merlin built wheels are super strong and stiff. i'd like to match my 717 front to my new rear but there's nothing wrong with it, true and spins great. oops i went on a little bit there i can't help it it's a great bit of kit oh and the frame scratches up when you ride fast over gravel and rocks but it is a mountain bike 0 -
Hey,
I've just decided on a Rock Lobster build up which is outrageously cheap - they're really good at choppin an changin stuff if you want to personalise the bike.
Full XT
Magura Menja's (100mm)
Avid Juicy Ultimates (185mm)
Time ATAC carbon pedals
Race Face finishing kit
Some bar ends
£1090
Just though I'd let you know you can pimp it up for literally no cash!
Just need to decide on alu or steel now I'd prefer the ti frame but it'll prob be a bit tall - 21"
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This is a fantastic forum, wish I knew about it earlier. You guys are top.
Great to hear about how the Merlin bikes have faired. Whatever I buy - Lobster or Malt - I will post a regular review as I'm hoping to be doing a lot of riding in 2008.
Love the Rock Lobster pic, looks very tasty. And the comments about the toughness of the frame are very helpful.
Good call Jam, reckon I may upgrade slightly to Reba Team fork and black rims and spokes, though can't steer too far from my £900 budget.
Its looking like:
Rock Lobster Tig
Full XT, including hubs!
Reba Team (NOT SURE WHAT THE BENEFIT IS EXACTLY OF THE FLOOD THING - CAN ANYONE EXPLAIN?)0 -
This is a fantastic forum, wish I knew about it earlier. You guys are top.
Great to hear about how the Merlin bikes have faired. Whatever I buy - Lobster or Malt - I will post a regular review as I'm hoping to be doing a lot of riding in 2008.
Love the Rock Lobster pic, looks very tasty. And the comments about the toughness of the frame are very helpful.
Good call Jam, reckon I may upgrade slightly to Reba Team fork and black rims and spokes, though can't steer too far from my £900 budget.
Its looking like:
Rock Lobster Tig
Full XT, including hubs!
Reba Team (NOT SURE WHAT THE BENEFIT IS EXACTLY OF THE FLOOD THING - CAN ANYONE EXPLAIN?)0 -
Jam1e
I was thinking about bar ends too, because I plan on riding cross country trails, nothing too extreme and I used to have them 15 years ago when I last did MTBing proper.
However, the bars all seem to have a rise in them now, do bar ends work ok with these?
I'm told no-one really uses flat bars and risers are used because of the compression of todays longer travel forks. But they feel awkward to hold to me and can imagine my wrists aching during a long ride without the ability to change position.
Any advice?0 -
Jam1e
I was thinking about bar ends too, because I plan on riding cross country trails, nothing too extreme and I used to have them 15 years ago when I last did MTBing proper.
However, the bars all seem to have a rise in them now, do bar ends work ok with these?
I'm told no-one really uses flat bars and risers are used because of the compression of todays longer travel forks. But they feel awkward to hold to me and can imagine my wrists aching during a long ride without the ability to change position.
Any advice?0 -
jam1e wrote:Hey,
I've just decided on a Rock Lobster build up which is outrageously cheap - they're really good at choppin an changin stuff if you want to personalise the bike.
Full XT
Magura Menja's (100mm)
Avid Juicy Ultimates (185mm)
Time ATAC carbon pedals
Race Face finishing kit
Some bar ends
£1090
Just though I'd let you know you can pimp it up for literally no cash!
Just need to decide on alu or steel now I'd prefer the ti frame but it'll prob be a bit tall - 21"
Good decion although i`d stick with the Reba`s over the the Magura`s. Reason being, when i ordered mine they had just changed the standard spec to Reba`s. I asked the guy in the shop why. and he said that they had problems with a few customers returning faulty Menja`s. (the menja`s were standard on the 2007 model)
Phil0 -
I second Supsersonic - have a look at the 853 too, unless you've already ruled steel out.
It's the one I'd get. 0 -
Having owned both a couple of Merlin Malts and now a Rock Lobster B52 (no longer available) I think you will be happy with what ever you choose, personally the most reasuring thing from this thread is to see that all those who have commented share one thing, that their own bikes are great. I woud go for the Rock Lobster purely for the kudos of them being quite rare on the trails and I feel at least a little bit more exclusive. The build quality and spec from new is excellent and I do not understand why people would buy a bike from anywhere else, Merlin are so helpful.0
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I've just bought a Merlin Malt 2..i can't fault Merlin in any way.....best service and a local(ish) shop for me.l
You'll not go wrong in your choice of any of the merlin range 0 -
Good call Dave. I had my heart set on a Specialized rockhopper pro disc, because I had a rockhopper years ago. However, my girlfriend reckoned I should go to Merlin before handing over the cash. I'm glad I did, the Malt and the Rock Lobster blew the rockhopper away in terms of both ride and value for money.0
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I was looking at a Marin Hawk Hill before i went to Merlin....you'll not get as good spec gear on a big named bike as you get on a Merlin for the money.
The Marin had MX pro LO forks on and the Malt 2 had Rockshox Reba SL..and race face and FSA finishing kit and all LX deore chainset, hubs and brakes. The Marin had nothing like that and the price was the same.0 -
Marins below 750 quid are awfully specced. Fork is the even worse MZ Race LO, right pile of junk!0
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Let us know what one you choose and then you too can join the happy ranks of the Merlin / Rock Lobster owners club (if there was one)0
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Cheers for the menja heads up - reba teams for me it is!
As far as bar-ends go - I wouldnt be without em, the difference they make on a long ride is huge. If your not going far then you could prob live without em but for proper up hill, down dale xc stuff they rule! They work just as well on riser bars as well so no dramas there. AND - if you accidently slip off the bar grip whilst changing gear on a long, fast, rocky descent they can help prevent a small error in coordination spiralling massively out of control... trust me! Having said that, if they hadnt kept me on the bar and I'd landed on them I imagine it would make a proper mess!
Think theyre just a bit unfashionable cos its not wannabe moto-x style like certain mags promote. But hey, if we all listened to them we wouldn't go to tesco without 5" of travel front and back so what do they know?!
Does anyone know if the steel lobster is any stronger than the alu version? I assume it will be but it isnt available in black...0 -
How have you managed to get that spec for £900? On the website it's £1000. Have you made any changes to make it cheaper?0
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dave-oc,
no not got a special deal, but unbelievably there is 10% off '08 Merlin's at the moment. Look carefully on right hand navigation bar on their web site. When you go to checkout, 10% is deducted. Rock lobster comes to £910. Bargain.
I will be buying one tomorrow so will be posting the results of delivery, after salse service and quality and how the bike performs longer term.
Still not sure what the big advantage of Reba Team forks are though for an extra £30. Any answers out there?
Phil0 -
i think the race has the external floodgate too, the team just a little lighter with 7005? alloy crown? ask the guys at Merlin 0
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Wow thanks Phil! I'd assumed the reduction from 1099 to 999 was the discount - I didn't realise they took more off once you put it in the basket - that makes it even more tempting!
I'm also thinking of getting a Tig Team SL - was also wondering about whether the fork upgrade was worthwhile. And what about changing from the XT brakes to the Hope Mono Minis for £25 - the mono's always review very well - I think this might be a good change? What do people think?
Cheers,
Dave0 -
Having not used Hope brakes this is a little one sided, however the new Shimano XT servowave brakes are the best brakes Shimano currently produce, just look how many bikes they are specced on this year and how many pros appear to be using them. I've got a set and I can confirm they are mint, so in my opinion I would save your £25 and stick with XT.0
