whyte v pace v marin or santacruz

delcol

sorry to post another what bike should i get thread but i want to get as much advice as possable before departing with my hard earned cash...


ok i am in the market for a new long travel hardtail (winter wet weather bike) i have been looking on all the forums reading many reviews ect i have narrowed it down to 4 possable contenders,..
just seen the all new singing whyte 905 (in what mtb mag) reveiw was pretty good apart from the forks its at the top end of my budget but i fell in love as soon as i saw the bike.. can anyone tell me if this available as a frame only i cant find frame option anywere.

pace rc305 rated highly everywere you look i loved this bike from the first time i saw it to can get it as a frame and spec it to my personal choice..

santacruz chameleon again decent reveiws and various options frame or off the peg.

or the marin rocky ridge decent reviews everywere possably the cheapest of my 4 bikes of choice

the hardtail will be to replace my current ht my rockymountain vertex 10 ( this was my starter bike to learn on) it will mainly be used as a wet weather winter bike (easier to maintain and clean than my full squish) my vertex is a xc 4 inch trav i feel the need for a longer travel ht now (my full susser is a santacruz heckler 07 model ) so hence the 4 bikes listed...

so what are your thoughts on the bikes mentioned i will try to get to local shops to try the various bikes out for size or even better a propper ride.
but i am eager to buy asap so any help info will be much appreciated :P

cunning-stunt

Can only speak for the Marin,but I love the thing 8)

The winter gloop doesn't seem to affect the BB routing on the cables (maybe it helps I'm running Sram 1:1?),Vanilla forks are 'fire and forget' and it can be built light or burly depending on your preference.
Mud clearance isn't an issue with the 2.35s I'm running.
I've gone more toward the fun side of things with mine,while someone (Cheesey possibly ) has built his up with lighter stuff,and it handles both disciplines just fine.

Slight changes to the frame and spec on the '08 compared to the '07 which I have,but still getting those glowing reviews.

The only niggle I have really is the brace on the forks are a nightmare to clean thanks to the webbing on the back of the arch,but I can live with that.
I seriously considered a Chameleon myself,but glad I went with the Marin