Advice Needed! Trek 8500 or Pinnacle Arrow 1.0??

fiestaria

Hello there! This is first post in this extensively informative forum and I'd be glad if you could help me on my dilemma.

I am thinking of buying a good bike after a...long 8 years break and I am between two HT ones.

The first is the TREK 8500 and the second is the Pinnacle Arrow 1.0.

They both have a very good frame (pinnacle has a carbon wishbone) and they are ''running'' on Shimano XT (XT/XTR on arrow).

To be honest I was really tempted to go for the Arrow (£100 cheaper and I won't need to buy pedals as well) but the thing is that I can't find any reviews on the internet. On the other hand I can only read good words for TREK (the reviewers give that bike 5 out of 5).

So which one would you choose? Any opinion very much appreciated!!

Thanks in advance!

supersonic

Any chance you could go and test them? The Arrow looks a bit more racy with the short fork and long reach.

You may also be interested in this:

http://www.leisurelakesbikes.com/product.aspx?&id=1417

Ultralight carbon frame - spec maybe not quite as good as the others, but the frame is 1k by itself!

fiestaria

supersonic wrote:

Any chance you could go and test them? The Arrow looks a bit more racy with the short fork and long reach.

You may also be interested in this:

http://www.leisurelakesbikes.com/product.aspx?&id=1417

Ultralight carbon frame - spec maybe not quite as good as the others, but the frame is 1k by itself!

Thank you for your response!

I have already checked this bike as well as some Giant 07 bikes with a carbon frame but the thing is that I am quite wary about carbon. I have read some ambiguous opinions about them so I decided to ''play it safe'' choosing an aluminum frame.

Or maybe do you think that I shouldn't be wary about carbon and go for it? There are some very good options out there..especially if I go for a 07 bike.

Thanks in advance!

supersonic

Carbon frames of old were ones to worry about - newer ones are far better. ALuminium frames have a finite lifespan anyway, they all fatigue eventually.

Maybe look at a titanium frame too? Van Nicholas does some great offers.

A tough carbon frame is the GT Zaskar Carbon

fiestaria

Well...to be honest here I was not following the development of the frame technology the last 8 years. Apparently that means that your help is more than necessary.

I always believed that is better to invest in a better frame than investing in components. At the end of the day you can always upgrade can't you?

I had a look of this gt bike:

http://www.cyclecentreuk.co.uk/products ... 781&z=4067

So what do you think? And what about the respective Giant one?

http://www.winstanleysbikes.co.uk/produ ... _Bike_2007

Well, they are not quite similar because the components of the second are better but the price is similar given that the Giant is a 07.

I am really confused here guys and I really need your help!!

Thanks in advance!

supersonic

What sort of ridinf will you be doing? Xc type rides, more technical trails, all day marathons? Or a bit of everything? Is comfort a factor, and do you prefer a more upright riding position?

Quite a few things to look at! Eventually you'll get a shortlist, then it is a case of trying them out if you can.