I think i've found it for under my £1000 budget!

vikingbobw

This went onto the XC page but i have realised now it is more suited to this page. :oops:

I think i know which one has caught my eye, but bear in mind my position. I have £1000 to spend (some on new pedals and shorts) i want a bike that i can take onto the trails with a bit of 'must beat my mate' (On Hardtail) and if there is some hilly rough stuff take that on aswell. I will be using it occaisionally to get to my office (2m). It needs to be tough enough to take my 14st but not too heavy so it requires a winch to get up hills which i love to climb (In Norfolk???????), the harder the better. Basically a fun bike but enough to kick dust at my mate on the trail! :twisted:

Well i went out today with a view to finding some bikes that have been mentioned to me and trying some out. Let me tell you the carparks in Norwich are a dream to ride as that's really all they will let you do. I have one other place to look in Thetford forest but at the mo my front runners are:

1. The Boardman Team £799 - Yes i went into Halfords!!!!!! decent spec especially the REBA forks. Chain broke after 50m so not much of a test. :?

2. The Giant Trance 3 £649- They're right didnt bob much but didn't like the TORA fork, felt sticky. Is it an air fork? I tried to get them to let me upgrade but no dice.

3. The Trek Fuel EX 7 £849- loved it. My only concern was that it was bobbing quite a bit but that may just need more air for my weight?

4. Specialised FSR XC Comp £899- Not tested, like the look but as an entry level i dont think i am getting the same value as the others. :?:

I know there is a lot there but i have faith that you will lead me to my next bike or tell me im talking rubbish and that i have missed the perfect one for me.

Thanks for any help.

supersonic

There a few other threads recently on this price range that are worth searching out.

At this price a hardtail will be lighter and better specced. Its good that you are getting to test a few - and the ones you mention all have decent solid specs. The Tora fork can take a while to bed in, but it smooths out nicely and lasts ages.

Captain Turok

I've recently bought a '08 Rocklobster team tig sl, from Merlin Cycles, great value and spec. Upgraded mine and got the weight down to 23lb 2oz.
Check out the What Mountain Bike reviews

The Spiderman

Sounds like it was te Trek that did it for you.If so definitely get them to stick more air in the forks and experiment with the fork and shock settings.

vikingbobw

Hey Thanks guys. Spidy, you got me i think i will go for the trek. All who have answered thank you for your views. Spidy and Sonic thanks for your knowledge. May post when i get it, later.

icarus

supersonic wrote:

The Tora fork can take a while to bed in, but it smooths out nicely and lasts ages.

I was quite disappointed witht the Tora on my first ride, it did feel very stiff and "sticky" as you say, but by the time I was heading home it seemed to have loosened off quite a lot.

Now its pretty good.
Well I suppose it must be because I've forgotten about it now and just get on with riding.

I have it set around 100mm of travel and it just does what its there for, obviously it adds some weight and its a budget fork but I've no proper complaints.

(I'm a bit of a suspension pedant, I ride motocross and road racing so my bikes all have Ohlins or Penske, my suspension usually has to be perfect and its what I spend the most money on when sorting my bikes...but for what I use my mountain bike for the Tora is perfectly adequate)

KonaMike

My Tora was the same but after a few trail centre rides it has smoothed out nicely and seems pretty bulletproof but as said above its a bit on the heavy side.

pdid

Captain Turok wrote:

I've recently bought a '08 Rocklobster team tig sl, from Merlin Cycles, great value and spec. Upgraded mine and got the weight down to 23lb 2oz.
Check out the What Mountain Bike reviews

I`ve got a Lobster, be interested to know what upgrades you have done :?:

Phil

supersonic

There are quite a few Toras, and they differ a bit over the years. The 318 version gets the same damping as the more expensive RS forks, just doesnt have a floodgate adhuster, but does have the full compression adjustment and lockout. So performance feels pretty simlar with this fork. The 302 has a simplified version. My 302 solo air only weighs 4.25lbs, which for a 130mm budget fork is pretty impressive! The Toras also have the same lower legs, bushings and seals as the revelation, but a beefier crown and stiffer steel upper legs.

toasty

My 302s on my FSR XC had tons of stiction strangely, I've gone through 3 sets of Rockshox (Tora, Revelation + Reba), some Bombers, a pair of Suntour forks and a set of Fox F80X, the Tora was bizarrely the worst I've had. I don't doubt for a minute a strip down would have fixed it, sadly that would have cost about the same as the forks.

The Trek looks like a good deal I'd just go for whichever feels best personally. The FSR certainly isn't a bad deal though, decent hydroformed frame, respectly light bits, fairly relaxed trail geometry for a bike branded XC. The standard cheap tyres and rims converted to tubeless very easily too.

One thing I'd bear in mind, if you can find the model above (a few places have the '07 Pro, really nice spec for the money) you'll be a lot better off, Specialized have decided to use a custom length shock, if you ever want to upgrade you have to go through them. The Triad on the top bike will set you back £299, criminal really, you could get an rp23 for that and fit it in 10 minutes on any other bike.

http://www.jejamescycles.co.uk/id35404.html there for example

Captain Turok

pdid wrote:

Captain Turok wrote:

I've recently bought a '08 Rocklobster team tig sl, from Merlin Cycles, great value and spec. Upgraded mine and got the weight down to 23lb 2oz.
Check out the What Mountain Bike reviews

I`ve got a Lobster, be interested to know what upgrades you have done :?:

Phil

Hi Phil

Its (new for '08?) matt black
Upgrades include:
Team (Reba) forks
Hope Floating rotors with braided hoses and ti bolt kit
Easton MonkeyLite SL bars
Thomson X4 with ti bolt kit (considered a lighter one, but liked the Thomson in 90mm)
Ritchey WCS Ergo foam grips
DMR V12 (mag / ti)
KCNC QR skewers and seatpost clamp (ti bolts as standard)
KCNC ti Pro Lite seat post (ti bolts as standard)
Selle Italia SLR saddle
2.1 Speed King Supersonic Tyres
Schwalbe XXlight tubes (experimenting with sealant in these tubes)
and a few more of the bolts swapped over for ti bolts, (although I've just found out about aluminium and nylon bolts, more toys!).

The Tubes, tyres, grips and skewers are probably the best on a gram-£ ratio

Love the bike!, only regret is not going for the Pro upgrade on the Hope brakes and enquiring as to what it would have cost for full XTR instead of the XT.. next time..

ChrisMac

I was in the same position last summer and went for the spesh and have had no regrets Im loving riding it. As someone has already suggested if you can get an 07 spec on so you can go up a model within the range rather than the base spec then even better.

ChrisMac

pdid

Captain Turok wrote:

Hi Phil

Its (new for '08?) matt black
Upgrades include:
Team (Reba) forks
Hope Floating rotors with braided hoses and ti bolt kit
Easton MonkeyLite SL bars
Thomson X4 with ti bolt kit (considered a lighter one, but liked the Thomson in 90mm)
Ritchey WCS Ergo foam grips
DMR V12 (mag / ti)
KCNC QR skewers and seatpost clamp (ti bolts as standard)
KCNC ti Pro Lite seat post (ti bolts as standard)
Selle Italia SLR saddle
2.1 Speed King Supersonic Tyres
Schwalbe XXlight tubes (experimenting with sealant in these tubes)
and a few more of the bolts swapped over for ti bolts, (although I've just found out about aluminium and nylon bolts, more toys!).

The Tubes, tyres, grips and skewers are probably the best on a gram-£ ratio

Love the bike!, only regret is not going for the Pro upgrade on the Hope brakes and enquiring as to what it would have cost for full XTR instead of the XT.. next time..

Just one or two then!!!

Love the bike too, but 23lbs sounds awsome. Now where`s me credit card

So far mines almost Standard 08 spec, although spec seems to change regularly, so

Reba sl
Hope mini(standard)
XT
Raceface Deus

Only things i`ve changed are grips (ODI yeti) and back wheel (Hope Pro/719`s), bent the 717`s.

Phil

Oh sorry for hijacking :twisted: