which bike?

Daniel23

I am about to buy a bike guys ... narrowed it down to thease two.... (i think lol)

any advice on what one o go for I would really appreciate it.. cheers

http://www.marin.co.uk/2009/bikedetail. ... No=3943-1F

http://www.richardsonsonline.co.uk/cycl ... Blast%2009

nicklouse

do you like a low bb or a normal ish one?

go test ride.

Daniel23

mate i am a novice, rode them both... both seem great.. just want other folks opinions...t hanks

Daniel23

any more info on this.....?

Vivid

Have you considered the Carrera Fury?

One of the difference's compared to the two you listed are the tora forks which are far better than the darts.

I would go into more detail however i need to shoot.

Daniel23

I understand that the forks on the kona are better than the forks on the marin... but the marin has a better set of brakes, and a life time warrenty on frame, also you get 6 free services with the marin.. but the kona looks shit hot too.

The guy in the bike shop said stay away from carrera... said they are shit bikes with sexy parts!

any more advice would be great.

xtreem

You want my opinion?

If I can aquire/save around £100 in a short time to upgrade the forks on the Marin then
I would go for it. That's because the Dart 1 is horrific, very bouncy, so offroad your won't
be abe to use the whole power of the hydro brakes. The front wheel won't have
constant contract with the ground.

But if you're not keen on upgrading the bike then I would go for the Kona.

supersonic

The guy in your bike shop is talking crap!

As above, Dart 1 are incredibly bad, and if you don't upgrade it ASAP you will have a dog of a bike.

Daniel23

so the marin is a good bike with bad forks... what forks do u think i should upgrade to and how much are they?

Mattmanic

Why are you looking at these bikes in particular? The spec on my 08 Aspect 45 seems to be better than both of them and it was £360.

If I were in your position I'd get a Carrera Kraken. My local bike shop is the same as yours but with Gt/Mongoose bikes. I think either they just don't know that they're good or as they don't sell them, they obviously don't want to advise that you buy them.

Daniel23

thanks for your good advice mattmanic, the reason i am looking at thease 2 bikes in paticular is because the guy in the bike shop seems to know his stuff.. he said he will do me either of thease models with £100 quid knocked off for cash too, which seems good to me!

I dont know much about marins but I think they are way better than carreras, having said that tho.. I am just looking for the best bike I can afford.

supersonic

marins budget bikes are poor. Good frames, but bad value and parts that let it down. Simply cant recommend that one.

Daniel23

what do you recommend supersonic? thanks buddy

toasty

Value wise Marin have seemed a bit off the pace for quite a bit now, sure they didn't used to be like that when they had round tubes :?: :?

They do make lovely looking frames though.

supersonic

yes, they go on looks, not performance to get the unsuspecting buyer. Would test a carrera kraken or fury, gt avalanche, and tyax super.

Daniel23

bearing in mind i can get this marin bobcat 09 for 400 quid, do you recommend anything better.. the carrera vulcan is 350... its 08 tho... i am buying my bike tomorow so any detailed advice would be awesome... cheers

Mattmanic

The year means nothing really, the specs on the 08 Kraken are far better than either of the bikes in your links.

littleandy0410

How much are you looking at spending then? Is your LBS offering you £100 off RRP, or £100 off the price on Richardsons website at the link you've posted?

i.e. Kona for £449 or £339? Marin for £388?

If your budget can stretch to it, (and to avoid the fork upgrade) how about a Merlin Malt 1:

http://merlincycles.co.uk/?fn=product&productId=1327&categoryId=39

Have you had a look at Pauls cycles too?: http://paulscycles.co.uk/products.php?plid=m1b0s2p0

Some good deals there, but obviously everywhere is open to some good negotiation at the mo.

Daniel23

the guy at my lbs said he would take 400 quide cash for either mate.. just seen this for 400quid tho and i quite fancy it wot do u think??

http://paulscycles.co.uk/products.php?plid=m1b0s2p1429

I HATE MAKING DESCIONS LOL

littleandy0410

Supersonic, your thread has arrived!

Northwind

Daniel23 wrote:

The guy in the bike shop said stay away from carrera... said they are shoot bikes with sexy parts!

Never ever ever ever listen to any salesman's opinion on any product they don't sell

That GT you listed is another bike which fails to live up to the kraken tbh, kraken has a decent (not amazing, but decent) frame with a superior parts build-up. Apart from the tyres, which are heavy and a bit rubbish.

It does come a wee bit down to what you want from the bike, with its 120mm fork the kraken is a wee bit better on rough stuff than most 100mm forks, which tend to be better climbers and more accurate steerers but not as good at crashing about.

(I just replaced my own 08 Kraken, I got it cheap but it was the perfect return to biking for me.. It can do a bit of everything, and realistically it's good enough to go and rip round red runs at trail centres etc.

Daniel23

the carrera craken is reduced to 350 now, I actually looked at one the other day and the guy in hafrods said he would knock 20 quid off it which brings it down to 330 quid... I beleive a bicycle sale starts in halfrods on the 3rd of feb ... i wonder if the kraken will be further reduced??

God wot to buy!!!

Northwind

Ah, that's the halfords lie- they put their bikes up to higher prices occasionally, then put them on "sale" at their normal price, so they look like more of a bargain than they are. Kraken is a £350 bike, it's almost always that much, the poor sod who owned mine before me bought it at full price though :roll:

No idea if it'll be in the sale, they don't seem in much of a rush to get the 09 stock out.

Daniel23

its amaizing how the kraken is a £350 bike isnt it, how do they afford it?

I think I have deffinatelly narrowed it down to an 08 kraken or an 08 avalanche 1.0 ... the kraken is £70 less than the GT.

Do you lads honestly think the kraken is a better bike than the avalanche 1.0, the marin boncat 09 and the kona blast 09... sorry for going on and on I will be going to buy in the morning and I want the right bike.... Thanks very much.

Northwind

The Avalanche is probably a fairly close match, but the spec's not as good. I wouldn't touch the Marin with a 10 foot pole, it's just horrible value, there are parts on it that don't even belong on a £250 bike. I like Konas, but again the spec is much lower.

Basically, the only thing that could make the avalanche or the kona make sense in this company is if you want a more short-travel, XC-style bike, or if their frames are far better than the kraken's frame. And they won't be, the kraken frame isn't amazing or anything but it does the job well. So, yeah, I'd say of those 4 the kraken is the best, though of course get a test ride if you can.

Daniel23

Northwind you have gave some cracking advice there mate... really appreciate it... I am fairly confident I will purchase a kraken now... what was the craken actually designed for mate.. cross country, is it suitible for long days in the saddle mate? cheers

supersonic

On paper the Avalanche 1.0 is superior to the Kraken. Better fork, drivetrain and wheels. The marin and kona not even in the same league.

Try them out. You will not go wrong with the GT or Kraken. But the GT ticks more boxes. ANd is an award winning bike, the best 500 quid machine (08 ) WMB has ever tested.

Daniel23

ah supersonic says the avalanche is superior and northwind says the kraken is superior... any other views... I am definatelly getting one of thease two

akcc05

Don't forget that you can ask the shop to swap out things like stems, saddles, pedals and many other stuff or maybe a discount on upgrading the fork (trading in the original one). Look at the weather outside, jeez, what's the hurry? Do more research on each individual component on the spec list and perhaps even on potential alternatives. Think carefully, if you plan to upgrade, get the one with a better frame or the frame that you like most. Sometimes, the look of the frame (to you that is) is more important than slight differences in performance/value. At the end of the day, we are not pros and you will want to ride the bike more if you like it, and it is going to be your pride! A lot of people miss this point in my opinion. What is the extra £30 to you if you are to keep the bike for 5+ years? You decide.

Try the bike out thoroughly (NOT a 30 second spin around the block) and think it through overnight. Trust me on this one, you won't want to get the wrong bike, £350 is not nothing.

Rush = no good!

Daniel23

I chose the avalanche 1.0 picked it up from lbs this morning, 08 model for £400.. I dont know a lot about bikes but, wow this bike is good, it feels solid, every gear change smooth brakes awesome, fork brilliant.. I am over the moon with it.. cant wait till this snow clears so i can get out on it properly! thanks for all your advice lads.

xtreem

Post pictures and have a nice ride.