First serious mountaint bike - £1000

Rigged

Hi all, first post so I guess I'd best introduce myself. My name's Jamie, I'm an 18 year old student who's ridden mountain bikes since early childhood though never taken it very seriously. I suffered a knee injury playing football several years ago and had to have 2 operations to try and rectify the damage. Consequently strength and fitness isn't as high as I'd like although it is moderate. I'm looking to get into MTB to try and improve strength and fitness without doing anything that could damage my knee further.
Obviously this is a fairly common question so I've done my best to read past posts and gain as much knowledge as possible to avoid asking generic questions.
On to the point...I'm looking to spend under £1000 on a MTB to be used for all-round riding. Having done a little research i've narrowed things down to several options but alternatives are always welcome.

The following are my current options:
Marin Rocky Ridge - Perhaps the strongest contender - Here
Marin Eldridge Grade - Another strong contender - Here
24 Seven Deviant Elite - Great looking spec but concerned about uphill capability - Here
Orange Crush - Looking good too - Here

Any cheaper alternatives that could equal these with a little modification for a similar price would also be considered.

Thanks for any replies,
Jamie

BlackSpur

Marin Rocky Ridge would get my vote. The Deviant Elite can't really be compared with the others, it's a very heavy hardcore bike for extreme riding.

danhx

What about a Rock Lobster

http://www.merlincycles.co.uk/?fn=produ ... egoryId=38

Put on some upgrades... Hope Minis and Pro2 hubs takes you to a little more than a grand. Reba Team is worth the upgrade at that price to if you can stump up another £30

guilliano

What about the Boardman hardtail reviewed in MBR??? 10/10 rating and with incredible spec for the money.....

ride_whenever

i'd say marin for a tougher all-mountain bike, but the merlin for fitness and xc

BlackSpur

Just saw that the deviant weight over 19kgs!

Matteeboy

Beginning to think some of you work for Merlin bikes...

I'd go for the Eldridge Grade.

Makes my £1200 Stumpy look a wee bit pricey...

Johnclimber

The On One 456 would be my choice

LingfieldXC

I am in pretty much the same situ as you are. I am 18 - used to be more enthusiastic about MTB but havn't found time for 7 or 8 years then got back into it this year. Was looking very seruiuosly at the Rocky Ridge - I went 500 cheaper with a GT avalanche - I went to the bike shop today and saw the rocky ridge for the first time in the flesh. It was awesome. I really wish I had bought it instead. Good luck finding one though. Aparrently Marin have run out of stock this year allready. I am seriously considering selling my GT and buying the Marin. I might just wait till next year's one comes out.

rustleruk

Hello there might be little too late with the reply but post it anway.

I`ve got the 2005 Rocky Ridge - was subtle black on black then.
Theres no doubt she's a great bike, geometry set for fast downhill trail, the onboard equipment for under the grand is super, Marin had obviously put the money into the fork ( Vanilla Fox) and the Hayes Nine Hydraulic brakes.

But got another bike worth looking at for this kind of money.


Focus Raven 2008. Very similar gear, Fox Vanilla Fork - even thou it shorter travel.
Take a look, can be bought at wiggle.

http://wiggle.co.uk/ProductDetail.aspx? ... ven%202008

Thinking of selling the Rocky and this will probably be my next buy!

Anybody want to buy a black 2005 Marin Rocky Ridge - Carbon Bontager Handlebars, and the Fox Vanilla Fork has been replaced by Rock Shock Tora 302 Solo Air.

Open to offers - bikes in Glasgow. Can pay with paypal or any of usual online payment.
My Bike - http://s251.photobucket.com/albums/gg28 ... _rocky.jpg

Tall Jon

What size is it?

rustleruk

Large. Absolute mint condition hardly a mark on it. Everything working as it should.

Thewaylander

Go to as many bike shops as you can and test ride like a trooper!