Upgrade

iddur

Hi all

I' m new to the forum so thought best to say hello

I' m a born again push biker and am really enjoying every minute

Anyway enough of the intros, this looks like the place to ask a noob question I currently have a six year old Rockhopper and am thinking of upgrading. the only terrain i tackle is canal towpaths and roads so presumably i'm best sticking to a ht. My budget will be up to a max of 1500.

Any thoughts would be much appreciated

supersonic

Are you wanting to upgrade what you have, or buy a complete new bike? I am not sure you even need a mountain bike - something along the lines of a sports hybrid would probably be better.

iddur

I' m thinking of buying a new bike and giving my old one to my son I like the mtb' s as the state of the roads around us are very poor to say the least

supersonic

Ah, good old highways agency ;-)

1500 is a huge budget, and will buy you a very nice light bike. I'd shortlist 4 or so, and test them out. For starters I'd look at the:

Scott Scale 30:

http://www.pedalon.co.uk/acatalog/scott_scale_30.html

The lightest HT frame on the market.

bells0

Newbie here

I bought a Scott Aspect 20 from Drakes in Harehills [Leeds] - from Matthew - really nice lad.

Anyways, they are offering 15% off new bikes and sell Scott and GT. Worth a look!

[no links to Drakes at all]

BlackSpur

I think one of these would be good
http://www.on-one-shop.co.uk/acatalog/Scandal_26er_Complete.html

or

http://www.on-one-shop.co.uk/acatalog/Scandal.html

You don't really need a sus fork, so I would go with the ridid carbon.

grantway

Take a look at the 07 Scott spark I know its a full susser but has a lock out
rear shock with a remote toggle switch on the handle bars.
So when you change your tyres and hit the grass you'll have the
purfect combination.
Also a great hill climber

Scott heaverly discount the last year models so you can have a dam
good bike for your money.

FSR_XC

As Supersonic says, £1500 is a huge budget for general riding.

If you are generally happy with your current bike, why not look to upgrade to a new Rockhopper?

It will certainly cope with more than you are suggesting. I know 2 people that use (and abuse) theirs in some pretty rough & horrible off road conditions.

You'll then have some change to buy some kit for both you and your son.

Surf-Matt

Agree with Mark - we have a £600 Rockhopper Disk and a £1200 Stumpjumper HT Comp.

Unless you are racing or doing mega mileage, the difference is pretty subtle.

However I do prefer the Stumpy by a fair margin but reckon the RH is a more friendly and tougher steed.

xtreem

For HT I agree with supersonic for Scott Scale 30 2008 (10.50 kg - 23.13 lbs),
but for FS I'd buy Scott Genius MC-40 2008 (12.95 kg - 28.52 lbs).
http://www.evanscycles.com/product.jsp?style=86492

I'm not sugesting from where to buy it, just to have a look.

FSR_XC

iddur wrote:

Hi all

I' m new to the forum so thought best to say hello

. . . . My budget will be up to a max of 1500.

Any thoughts would be much appreciated

People are always keen to help you spend all of your budget (and often more).

iddur

Many thanks for all the replies folks.
I guess the 1500 limit does seem quite a budget however this is only due to the wonderful ride to work scheme not that i willl be riding to work on a 1500 quid bike

FSR_XC

I though max for 'ride to work' was £1k?

And you can still include kit on the scheme if you need helmet, tops, jacket, lock, lights etc.

Chris`I

For £1500, I'd get 2 new hardtails. One for you and one for your son. Say £900 for you and £600 for your son. The reason I say this is that I have just upgraded my old RH (2002ish) to a new 2008 and the difference is staggering. The forks are much plusher (and lockout is a dream on climbs), the brakes are far better and the all round groupset will be far better than whats on your old bike. As the others have said, £1500 is a hell of budget for a single bash about bike, so why not spread the love about and give the son an upgrade at the same time

Rich Hcp

You can't get 2 bikes on the scheme, I tried it!

However, I'd get a Rockhopper Disc, save the cash and maybe use it for some weekends away on the trails.

You'd be able to enjoy it more.

heez29

you can get 2 bikes, you just need to look in the right places.