kracken or dawes xc 2.4

wpdoolan

hi can get a carrera kracken or dawes xc 2.4 (red one) for similar prices
main difference between the two seems to be forks suntour vs marzachi and brake system
tekro vs hayes
I am mainly a roader and just mtb for cross training in winter so want something reliable
and fun with as little maintenance as poss

I would appreciate your opinions on specs thanks

supersonic

Can you link to the Dawes? Seems to be more than one version.

The MZ fork is usually one to be avoided.

bonyjoe

I think he means this one http://www.spacycles.co.uk/products.php?plid=m1b0s2p722

edit: theres also one with lockout dart 2s http://www.ashcycles.com/power/index.ph ... ts_id=1060

supersonic

Good spec except for that catastrophically bad fork! Worth upgrading.

Weighs a lot too, 14.8kg for the whole bike.

bonyjoe

Yeah the dart 2 is a good fork though so for the same price he may as well get the dawes with rockshox dart 2 instead.

supersonic

Dart much better, yes.

One option is to sell the MZ (they still seem to fetch good money, I got 85 quid for mine!) and get a Tora.

wpdoolan

yes it is http://www.spacycles.co.uk/products.php?plid=m1b0s2p722

sounds like i would be better paying a bit more and trying to get a rock shox equiped bike

bonyjoe

The dawes with rockshox is a penny cheaper lol

Northwind

Kraken is a pretty solid, inexpensive bike... not light mind. Nothing disasterously awful about it that I've found so far, other than the tyres being pretty horrible, incredibly slow on the road. Oh, and the pedals are just nasty, but that's easy enough to sort and really personal taste anyway (they're sort of like V8s, but without the spikes, so I've found myself slipping off on the road never mind offroad). I found it to be weirdly front-biased with the riser bars so stuck some flats on it and a shorter stem, which helps it behave on downs. But to be fair none of this was essential, it just helped make the most of what the bike has to offer.

The Tektro brakes are pretty decent, can't fault them myself. I'm not really placed to compare the forks but most people have been surprised by them- whether that means they're good, or just less terrible than expected, I don't know