Upgrade or New bike

stevet1992

I know this sounds like a silly question butt please read on

I was just browsing the forum through boredom and came across the What Full Suspension 2009 thred, i just for a joke clicked on the Decathlon RockRider thinking oo whats this going to be like

Much to my annoyance i found it has very similar if not the same specs as my Carrera for only £20 more then i paid for my carrera !

ive always wanted to go full sus and seeing this has made me ask myself

with the christmas paycheck do i want to upgrade the carrera (up to around £350) or do i want this rock rider?

what do you guys reckon?

PS: sorry about my recent mass of posts :oops:

Stoo61

I dont think a £350 full sus bike is going to be up to much.

stevet1992

yeh thats what i was thinking

but on checking the spec list and comparing with carrera

same brakes
same gearing
same chainset
same fork (20mm less travel)

will have to look at some others before i make my mind up then :roll:

mtbikerboy

its a tough one, but if you only want to spend £350, upgrading your carrera might be a better choice. if you decide to buy the 6.3, you will still end up wanting to upgrade parts like brakes, tyres or wheels... which means you might spend more than you would like.

I think the rockrider is a great bike (i own one) for xc/trail riding. Only disadvantage is that as my riding gets bigger, the rear suspension becomes pointless since it tends to bottom out (only 85mm travel). For this reason i am reluctunt to spend alot on upgrading it since i might later require to get a longer travel more suitable ''allmountainbike''

At the price however its a great bike and doesnt weigh too much( around 15.4 kgs)

the two year warranty (5yrs for frame) is also good. will be getting a new fork this week since mine isnt working properly.

impished

I had a quick look too, expecting the worst. I mean, a full-squisher for under a grand :roll: . As if.....

And then I read this Bikeradar review :shock:

Bikeradar wrote:

We've never ridden a sub-£300 full suspension bike that feels as good as this.

I am officially speechless (and anyone who knows me, knows that don't happen often )

Get your cash ready Stevet1992!!!!
Maybe upgrade the forks to Toras asap.

supersonic

The Rockrider is a good bike for the money! Sure, a little heavy, and down on travel, but for taking the sting out on trails it works. I'd be tempted to stick a cheap air shock on it.

Price equivalent Carrera is the Kraken, which is better specced and still remains one of the best hardtails for the money. New tyres will drop a couple of pounds in weight.

buzz1

While you're in Decathlon, take a look at the Haro Sonix FS bike, it's reduced to £450, has a rock shox shock, rock shox tora lock out fork, juicy 3 brakes, sram x-7 gears, wtb rims, kenda tyres, and truvativ cranks, bars and stem.
My mate bought one, and it's the dogs danglys.
here's a linky.......http://www.decathlon.co.uk/EN/haro-sonix-48722027/

supersonic

Weird rear sus design on that! Didn't get a good review here, but good spec. One to test maybe.

stevet1992

Looks like i may 'test' it out then :P

can always mix and match parts from the carrera eg tyres

if you guys wait it out till january ill let you know how it rides

does anyone know if there are any resellers in kent? or is it a trip to london in the new year?

seataltea

http://www.bikeradar.com/gear/category/ ... 3-07-20096

That's my bike fantastic VFM, abused daily on filthy green lanes, original tyres swapped for Conti Verticals filled with Dr Sludge, rear shifter swapped for an X9 after I destroyed the plastic X5 on a moorland marathon, rear pads lasted a reasonable 600 miles, rear shifter wasn't happy tonight but then it was -4 . Front forks adjust for damping and lock out, rear for preload and damping, saddles great, great spec and build for the cash and the matt black paint looks fantastic.

5yr frame warrant and 2yr component warranty from Decathlon who have given great service.

andyturner28

stevet1992 wrote:

Looks like i may 'test' it out then :P

can always mix and match parts from the carrera eg tyres

if you guys wait it out till january ill let you know how it rides

does anyone know if there are any resellers in kent? or is it a trip to london in the new year?

There is a Decathlon in Lakeside, Essex. As far as i know that is the closest. Seems like a pretty good buy if you'r on a budget. Frame looks pretty good quality with nice tidy welds, i thought it would cost a lot more till i saw the price tag! Personally though i would stick with a hard tail a bit longer as they are much better to learn on than a full suss, as you get a much better feel for what the back end is doing without the susspension soaking everything up. If you really want a change i would get an Inbred frame and transfer everything over, learn on that for a year or so then think about a full suss then when you are more experienced and have much better bike handling.
Just my 2 cents, but that is what everyone was telling me to do when i was going to go down the full suss route earlyer in the year, and i am so glad i listened to them and got the 456!

impished

andyturner28 wrote:

If you really want a change i would get an Inbred frame and transfer everything over, learn on that for a year or so then think about a full suss then when you are more experienced and have much better bike handling.
Just my 2 cents, but that is what everyone was telling me to do when i was going to go down the full suss route earlyer in the year, and i am so glad i listened to them and got the 456!

More blatant On-One advertising from Andy there :roll: Are you sure you fill fag machines for a living? I bet you're really Brant's tea boy

supersonic

Lol, plus the frame would be a pound heavier. Nowt wrong at all with Carrera frames, a lighter better fork and wheels would make for a decent XC bike.

andyturner28

impished wrote:

andyturner28 wrote:

If you really want a change i would get an Inbred frame and transfer everything over, learn on that for a year or so then think about a full suss then when you are more experienced and have much better bike handling.
Just my 2 cents, but that is what everyone was telling me to do when i was going to go down the full suss route earlyer in the year, and i am so glad i listened to them and got the 456!

More blatant On-One advertising from Andy there :roll: Are you sure you fill fag machines for a living? I bet you're really Brant's tea boy

Dough, you cought me out

andyturner28

supersonic wrote:

Lol, plus the frame would be a pound heavier. Nowt wrong at all with Carrera frames, a lighter better fork and wheels would make for a decent XC bike.

I'm not so sure it is heavyer actually, as i compared the weight of mine to my bosses Vulcan and mine felt lighter. Anyway, the geometry is way better.

supersonic

That's a personal thing though, depends what you want.

Not denying, are great value frames!

stevet1992

think i will upgrade then seem to be able to get much more for my money