HT Options from £600 to £1k - Choices within

ChilledBud

Been reading and asking for advice for a few weeks now and have my short list as such made up, and just need some old heads to look over and guide me in the right direction.

I have £1k in the bank but does't mean I have to spend it all for the sake of it, saving some cash is also a option

Starting off is the 08 Rockhopper range, all the way from the Disc > Comp Disc > Pro Disc, is the money for each model worth the extra £, it seems that the comp disc is well worth the extra £100 ( and should be getting 10% on any bike I do purcahse from the LBS ) but is the extra again for the pro disc just diminished return?

Then to throw in the mix is the old favourites Rock Lobster/Merlin range, which is a couple hours drive away but not written out yet.


I'm also half wondering if I might get a extra special deal if I buy myself and the Mrs a Rockhopper each from somewhere.


Any views would be great.

MattW87

Just a thought..........

How about the Cube LTD Team - £749 so you save yourself £250 which could be spent on helmet, lock, etc, its light, well specced and comes highly reccomended from me

or theres the Race which is £830 with 5mm more travel and few other changes but i couldnt justify the extra cost....

See the link in my sig for a pic of my Team

Matt

milkywhite

I'd say with any range of bikes such as the Rockhoppers, you should go for the best version you can afford, as you'll benefit from the better kit at a lower price than if you decided to upgrade it later. The lower spec model may well be a perfectly competent machine, but you might as well get the best for your money.

I might as well throw the Boardman range from Halfords into the mix. Amazing spec for the price. I was in there today and had a look a them. I could feel my wallet twitching when I had a play with the pro model. At £1K, you'll struggle to find a better spec. I'm sure they've probably saved money elsewhere, such as the frame, but the tubing is butted and the frame actually looks quite good. 10/10 in a recent review.

The Spiderman

The only way to decide is to ride them.Find yourself a good bike shop that stocks the bikes you like the look of and test them.Whilst there are some good suggestions on this site for bikes,on this thread and others,what appears the best specced bike for your money,might not fit as well as others,or have the type of ride you were expecting.
If you like the Rockhopper go test one,then use that as your baseleine for comparing others.
Conncetrate on the ride position,the feel of the bike,how quick it gains speed,how well the fork is damped and so on and make a mental note,of what it feels like.

A good shop is only to happy to let you test ride.

guilliano

Also remember that a bike with a lower spec at a given price will most likely have a better frame and be more worthy of upgrades in the future. I'll chuck in the Gary Fisher Big Sur, Genesis Core 40, Giant XTC 2.5, Sanderson Breath, Charge Duster Mid for your consideration too, just to confuse you even more.

ChilledBud

Well I was pretty set on going up to see the guy's at Merlin but the Mrs had a word a frined who runs a bike hire locally and he would be able to sell me any of the Giant bikes and possibly Kona for a min 15% off. That's thrown a cat amongs the piegons a little I must say.

The Spiderman

Giant do the XTC,which is a great bike,always does well in the tests and comes in various specs from £500 up to £1500.Kona do nice frames but the spec,on them seems to be a bit poor on the sub £1k versions,compared to their competition.

XTC 1 is around £1000,but check for internet deals as Giants never seem to be sold for anywhere near rrp.My XTC was 30% off list even whist it was still a current model.

Whilst it has a great frame,the spec is OK but doesn`t offer the same parts/spec value as you would get from one of the web based businesses,like Merlin or a Focus from wiggle,or a Cube from CRC.

The same is generally true of Specialized,Trek,or any of the big manfacturers.

You need to weigh up the advantages of buing locally with full back up from a big brand versus the savings you can get from buying unseen over the net.

MattW87

The Spiderman wrote:

Giant do the XTC,which is a great bike,always does well in the tests and comes in various specs from £500 up to £1500.Kona do nice frames but the spec,on them seems to be a bit poor on the sub £1k versions,compared to their competition.

XTC 1 is around £1000,but check for internet deals as Giants never seem to be sold for anywhere near rrp.My XTC was 30% off list even whist it was still a current model.

Whilst it has a great frame,the spec is OK but doesn`t offer the same parts/spec value as you would get from one of the web based businesses,like Merlin or a Focus from wiggle,or a Cube from CRC.

The same is generally true of Specialized,Trek,or any of the big manfacturers.

You need to weigh up the advantages of buing locally with full back up from a big brand versus the savings you can get from buying unseen over the net.

Cube do have dealers in the UK (have a look at www.cube.de for a list of dealers), one being a LBS near me so you can get the best of both worlds

ChilledBud

I'm 99% certain on a Rock Lobster Ltd Edition now, my only concern is the 853 frame isn't available for another six weeks and seeing as I have eight weeks off before I start a new job the plan of getting a lot of cycling in means I can't really wait that long for the frame.
They do have the Tig SL available though for the ltd edition build.
Off to merlin later on tonight to see what's what.

Splasher

It's garish, but hard to beat on value for 899

jamieayres

If you was not fussed about going second hand there has been a few 853 Lobsters on ebay going for peanuts recently. I guess the ebay masses dont recognise a decent make of bike unless its a Kona.

bikeperson45

Personaly, i like the 24seven deviant elite FOX VAN 36R forks!
£999.99

gtr mart

What sort of riding are you doing and in what frequency? Whats your height / weight?

Unless I missed it earlier in the thread, I can't understand how people can recomend a bike without knowing this.

kpr1969

if your definite on the rock lobster thing this might be worth a look [url][/url]http://www.preloved.co.uk/fuseaction-adverts.showadvert/index-1031318058/d71c999c.html

let us know if you give it a go...