excellent £1000 hardtail advice needed please

peepingtom

hi everyone, im currently riding a very old marin hawk hill that i brought secondhand and now want to upgrade. im 6ft tall and 14 stone 7 lb and need it to be comfortable. i dont like extreme riding position and have about £1000 to spend , i dont know much about mtbs really but was thinking the Giant xtc alliance 1????? or rockhopper pro??as theyre both in my local shop
all opinions welcome on these bikes or other bikes. thanks very much
im no racer just like riding off road in essex suffolk areas mostly

cjw

There's a good £1000 HT shoot out in mbr this month between Boardman, Fisher, Marin, Mongoose, Rocky Mountain and Saracen. Winner is Chris Boardman Pro with score of 10, second is Marin Eldridge Grade with score of 9. If that helps. Usual advice is try 'em all

artillerydave

£1000 will get you a great hardtail from Merlin, either the Malt 4 or one of the Rock Lobster range, if you can get to Leyland where the shop is you can try them out, look on here for opinions however you will be hard pressed to get more bike for your money than they offer. They are highly regarded I've had several and really rate them.

peepingtom

thanks cjw ill buy it tommorrow :shock: ! the merlins look good too dave there new to me food for thought
anyone got the Giant xtc alliance 1 ,or know where / if theyve been tested??
thanks

The Spiderman

I have a 2006 XTC.Mine`s the regular aluminium framed version,but they have very good frames,and handle very nicely.The Alliance version should introduce a bit more compliance with those carbon stays,and make it more comforatable.

The spec is quite reasonable given the quality of the frame,but you get a better parts spec with the Boardman Pro or Merlin/Rock Lobster.

If you are looking at a Giant I would always frst reccomend that you look to see what model you could get for similar money on www.paulscycles.co.uk.

Always try one for size first before you buy though.At 6 ft you may find a large or medium,might work for you.

You may find that you can buy a higher spec,2007 model for the same or less.

Giant has just realeased its new range so there should be some deals to be had.

You can find your local Giant dealer if you look on the Giant website.