What do you buy for £3,000?

cunning-stunt

I swore I wasn't going to do this,but I can't settle on anything..

OK,you have £3,000 and you're looking for a bike that can take some knocks and drops,is rideable up hills and (maybe) at a stretch all day,isn't a 38lb beast and isn't an Enduro with those silly triple clamp forks.
One of those 'AM' branded type thingies apparently..

What do you buy?

I'm seriously considering a Marin Attack Trail or Wolf Ridge (the Wolf Ridge actually matches the colour of my '07 Rocky Ridge,which I've blinged out with white bits,just like the Wolf Ridge!).

Also got my eye on Santa Cruz Heckler,Foes and Intense frames,Orange 5 AM,Prophet 1 or X,Cube,the AM frame from that company Nick just got his animal from..
What weight can the SX trail be built to with the ubiquitous AM biased componentry?


Oh,and this bugger..
http://www.leisurelakesbikes.com/ProductDetails/mcs/productID/14231/groupID/7/categoryID/70/v/d240f886-7f05-4c19-b7da-67434f857737


I spent so long drooling over rigs I couldn't afford,and now that I can get one I'm picking faults with everything!
Throw some ideas ( and links ) at me,what would you buy?
I may just spot something I like..

dirtbiker100

either marin attack trail or orange 5. either one. it'd be in that order for me. fantastic bikes.

jim17

I've only seen good things about the marin attack trail, it sounds like a real winner but I've not ridden one so I can't say for sure.

I have ridden an orange 5 AM for a week in the alps when Endless ride had two as hire bikes and I can honestly say I've never felt so at home on a bike in such a short space of time. Stunning bike

fly4fun

Orange 5, definately

zero303

I only (only!!? lol) spent £2100 (Pro model) on mine but Orange 5 everytime - wonderful bike, bomb-proof, light, comfortable and best of all, has this lovely knack of just carrying speed!

scottalej

For that amount of money, Cannondale Prophet. Awesome bike, very light but big travel.
I didn't have that much to spend so bought a Orange 5 which is great and I could turn it into an AM by putting in a longer travel fork at a later date.
I've had loads of Marins including the original '97 Rift Zone, '99 Mount Vision, '05 Wolf Ridge and '06 Mount Vision. The Wolf Ridge was very disappointing, no rigidity to it, didn't inspire confidence, felt like you were perched on it rather than properly conected to it if you know what I mean. If that wasn't bad enough the creaky monocoque frame drives you nuts. Not sure if I'd trust the latest versions either, they look needlessly complicated as per all John Whyte's later designs.

cunning-stunt

Seems like the Orange is a very popular bike.
I do like the simplicity of a single pivot,so that and the 'Dale are high on my list.

Interesting views on the Marins there..

Thanks for all the feedback so far,any more suggestions/opinions welcomed 8)

pdid

I mentioned on your last thread:



Looks amazing, £2900

Phil

WILSTOKES

Commencal Meta 5.5 or 666? For that sort of money you could be looking at a VIP frame custom built the way you want. Frames are only £899 & £999 respectively.

I've got a 5.5 VIP with 36 Talas forks and can't fault it.

shifter58

I have a scott strike pro (carbon frame) fox talas rlc forks,thomson elite post,monkeylite xc bars.thomson elite stem,full xtr goupset (exept front mech because my frame wont take the xtr front mech),chris king hubs built on mavic 819 disc rims hand built by leisure lakes,chris king headset and time titanium pedals.Is it worth the cost ive invested in it ?.You bet your life it is !!

Anonymous

an ibis mojo from stif. thats where my 3 grand would be going. or a ransom ltd.

Chaka Ping

You mentioned Foes, I'd have a look at them.

For the same price as the other optuions (pretty much) you could get a potentially superior suspension system (though I'd want to test ride).

And the good thing about a frame-only option is you'd get to have fun scavenging the web for discounted parts for the build too.

shore_riding_rocks

i would take a look at an intense if i were you. cannondale are also bringing out two new models: http://www.pinkbike.com/news/cannondale ... -2008.html. santa cruz also have a new blur LT which is released soon.

grantway

Just picked up my Orange 5 AM have a go on this and at only 29lbs
in weight ???

An adjustable Fox fork 100-130-160 just flick the lever to adjust

Pro pedal with three settings and fully open setting.

On the Marin how do you adjust the rear shock without crushing your fingers
whilst riding

How heavy is the Marin and is it hand built?

Orange Best bike in all magazines

Go and get a test bike

cunning-stunt

Can't see anything on that link to new Cannondales?
Just a few random comments :?:

cunning-stunt

Any feedback on this creature?

http://www.leisurelakesbikes.com/ProductDetails/mcs/productID/14231/groupID/7/categoryID/70/v/d240f886-7f05-4c19-b7da-67434f857737

Anyone?

Bikedevil

In direct response the topic title "What Do you Buy for £3,000"

#Next year's tuition

# 2,000 pints of Brains! **hic** **splutter** [/liver failure]

# A 2nd hand paint-balling tank

back on topic, It would have to be a Norco (probably A-Line) for me.

cunning-stunt

It's killing me mate.
For years I've drooled over the top spec bikes,but now that it comes to it I'm changing my mind every 5 minutes
I was just hoping for links and suggestions,seeing as my 'how did you decide' thread went down like a lead balloon...still don't know how people decided

ATM,Prophet,Heckler,Commencal and Marin are at the top of my list..

Isn't the A-line a park/DH type rig?

dirtbiker100

grantway wrote:

Just picked up my Orange 5 AM have a go on this and at only 29lbs
in weight ???
An adjustable Fox fork 100-130-160 just flick the lever to adjust
Pro pedal with three settings and fully open setting.
On the Marin how do you adjust the rear shock without crushing your fingers
whilst riding
How heavy is the Marin and is it hand built?
Orange Best bike in all magazines
Go and get a test bike

don't get me wrong as you can see above I said both Marin and Orange but:
pro pedal is flicking a switch, you won't get your fingers crushed and if you're riding stuff that rough you're not going to be adjusting your rear shock are you. well i'm not. i'm going to be concentrating on pinning the section rather than thinking about the technicalities of the shock.
the marin does weigh a bit more - 32.75 but its £400 cheaper than the 5 AM and i think more heavily built - eg maxle on the rear.
nearly all bikes are hand built i thought? especially at this price range? could be wrong though. The marin has been designed in England so although not built here like the orange its the next best thing.
attack trail got 10/10 in MBUK and bike of the month in Jan MBR. so can match the orange there...
they're both up the top of the choices so it comes down to personal preference. for a lighter riding style i'd go orange, heavier - attack trail. thats my choice anyway.

OK,you have £3,000 and you're looking for a bike that can take some knocks and drops,is rideable up hills and (maybe) at a stretch all day,isn't a 38lb beast and isn't an Enduro with those silly triple clamp forks.

sounds more suited to the marin than the orange.

Lemon Eddy

cunning-stunt wrote:

OK,you have £3,000 and you're looking for a bike that can take some knocks and drops,is rideable up hills and (maybe) at a stretch all day,isn't a 38lb beast and isn't an Enduro with those silly triple clamp forks.
One of those 'AM' branded type thingies apparently..

What do you buy?

Buddy, I feel your pain. I just spent a couple of months in a very similar process of agonising and deliberation. Out of interest, have you got to the stage yet where you suddenly start thinking a 29" titanium frame might be an option as well? The problem is, with that sort of budget, you're spoilt for choice. There's a huge range of fantastic bikes out there for the money, each of which has it's own pro's and con's. Decisions, decision, decisions.

And to state the obvious and cliched: not a single person on the internet or in a magazine can give you a definitive answer. It's akin to buying a high end stereo - so much of it is down to personal choice, circumstance and preference, that anyone else's opinion is really just not going to be reliably relevant for you. The trails you ride, your riding style, your height, weight, build, level of skil, willingness to do routine maintenance, yadda, yadda, yadda.

So, what I did was I went to Glentress, where they have a very helpful rental shop and you can rent Orange, and Nicolai. I borrowed mates Metas and Marins for a couple of days. I also took advantage of the National Bike Demo Day - http://www.bikedemodays.com/testride.ph ... bike_id=98 - and had good shots on Santa Cruz, Felt, Foes, and other kit.

It was great. It allowed me to actually see what I preferred. I enjoyed all of the bikes, and I do mean all of them. At this sort of price range, you're really unlikely to find a bike that's not good, and you'll have a lot of fun finding out which one suits you best.

And then, of course, you should buy the Orange.

Thomas Prior

Trek rememdy should be good
Commencals are top bikes
Scott makes some nice rides too.
Oh the list could go on.
Get the WHYTE, it's british and looks ace!

mozzle

I was torn between a Gary Fisher HiFi Carbon, Felt Virtue 1 and a couple in the Scott camp. In the end I went for a Tomac Snyper, great bike, light , responsive, good kit as standard, 6 inches of travel lets me ride anything I want, oh and the best bit..... Stif in Leeds knocked 32% offf the RRP so instead of 3k it was a lot more pocket friendly 2k

scottalej

Lemon Eddy had the right idea, try and get to a demo day or visit a bike shop with a very good selection of demo bikes.

ride_whenever

I'd go for an Ibis, or the whyte xt...

grantway

No ment when riding and coming up to a section or going down hill sudenly
i cant see the shock so ur fingers will be fumbling wr the lever or what ever you
need to change the shock same problem when tested the Whyte XT

Anyway taken my Orange 5 AM out today and boy a fantastic ride
Went to Epping Forest and by the Kings Oak pub theres an hill
and very rough with high roots and this bike flew over everything

Look down flicked the shock and fly down in full open mode going up
flicked the pro-pedal with three selections and switched to No 3 and
goes up with hardly any movement.

£ 3,000.00p is a lot of money but saving £ 400.00p is not worth getting it
wrong the same reason i didnt save £ 600.00p on the Stumpjumper

And those big forks at the front boy i pissed others going down most on 100mm
forks was just watching me has they rode humming bird style

This is a fantastic bike and so does the magazines say it too

Just get a test bike nothing worse than being on the trail and you have saved
your £ 400.00p pounds and you see me fly by ???

take a test bike on all of these and use them on where you ride.

Good Luck

cunning-stunt

Well,the money's in the bank and my mouse clicking finger is getting itchy

I've kinda got it narrowed down to SC Heckler (custom build),'Dale Prophet X,Marin Wolf Ridge/Attack Trail,Orange 5,Commencal Meta 55.1,Cube Fritz The One,the AM frame from that company Nick just got his DH rig from,Intense 6.6...
So,not really narrowed down then

Got a bit of serious thinking coming on (if you listen,you may hear the cogs grinding...or maybe that's just my Marin).

A nice position to be in,but a hellishly horrible one at the same time
Nothing seems to,well,stand out as the perfect buy yet though.
Plus I'm now thinking that if I spend slightly less on a new rig,I can get some of the upgrades I want for my Marin.

Never thought I'd whinge about spending money

Big thanks to all for the suggestions,no doubt I'll do the sensible thing and get drunk and pick the one that looks nicest

jbford

Well I think there are enough options there!

Just to complicate things! I've got a PACE RC405 custom build which is sweet, cost £3K. £3.5K before discount.

Blasts downhill and cruises uphill, which in my book checks all the right boxes for AM. Can't recommend it enough!

cunning-stunt

Dang,you just reminded me.Quite fancy the pace RC-506 FR/AM :roll:

shore_riding_rocks

sorry about that, it worked the first time i tried it. :?: this might work:

http://www.pinkbike.com/news/cannondale ... -2008.html

here's the article about the new blur LT:

http://www.pinkbike.com/news/santa-cruz ... -2008.html

1340jas

I bought a Orange 5 Pro last november. i have been out every weekend since and can't stop smiling. It is too good to describe.
However the other bikes you have emntioned are also pretty neet.

My answer is this..............

Orange 5 Pro AND a Gibson Les Paul guitar, both well within your budget. If you don't play guitar send it to me and you ahve still not gone over budget.

cunning-stunt

SRR..thanks for the link mate,but I don't think either of those are for me tbh.
Don't want anything carbon,so the Moto's out (although it seems a bloody nice rig),and the Rise didn't appeal to me at all.

Blur is a possibility though

Still,thanks for taking the time to post those links for me,appreciated.


1340jas....if I buy a Gibson,it won't be going anywhere mate