Which hardtail to buy?
nmthorne
Posts: 13
Hi all. Been a user of bikeradar.com forum for a while now and thought it to be the perfect place to ask for some advice and hear your opinions.
I used to do a fair bit of recreational cycling 8-10 years ago and not cycled much since. I want to get back into the sport to improve fitness, reduce carbon footprint by cycling to work and hopefully, eventually have enough stamina and confidence to take part in some minor competitive events.
The style of cycling will be mostly road cycling to begin with but will be venturing into single track and recreational XC over the spring / summer months. I've avoided looking at full sussers as I believe a hard tail is my best option for the style of cycling and because the spec will be better for the budget I have.
Onto which, I've been told I have a budget of £500 (by the wife) but know I could spend up to £650 ish if I can justify the extra.
The bikes I've whittled my search down to so far are the following:
Trek 6300 - £635-£650 approx
Giant XTC 3 '09 - £680 pedalon.co.uk
Specialized Rockhopper Comp '09 - £685
I think I prefer the Giant and Specialized simply for the better Tora Fork (although could somebody tel me the differences between the Tora fork on these two bikes as they seem different). I like the rest of the spec of the Trek bikes and the Avid brakes of the Trek and Specialized, though I like the frame and fork spec of the Giant but unsure of the quality of the rest of the Giant components.
I realise I'm going on a bit now and should really leave it up to you to (hopefully) answer any queries I have and if any of you own or have owned any of these bikes, your feedback and advice would be much appreciated. I plan on trying these bikes over the next month or so as I realise I must buy on what fits / feels best.
Thanks all in advance.
Regards.
I used to do a fair bit of recreational cycling 8-10 years ago and not cycled much since. I want to get back into the sport to improve fitness, reduce carbon footprint by cycling to work and hopefully, eventually have enough stamina and confidence to take part in some minor competitive events.
The style of cycling will be mostly road cycling to begin with but will be venturing into single track and recreational XC over the spring / summer months. I've avoided looking at full sussers as I believe a hard tail is my best option for the style of cycling and because the spec will be better for the budget I have.
Onto which, I've been told I have a budget of £500 (by the wife) but know I could spend up to £650 ish if I can justify the extra.
The bikes I've whittled my search down to so far are the following:
Trek 6300 - £635-£650 approx
Giant XTC 3 '09 - £680 pedalon.co.uk
Specialized Rockhopper Comp '09 - £685
I think I prefer the Giant and Specialized simply for the better Tora Fork (although could somebody tel me the differences between the Tora fork on these two bikes as they seem different). I like the rest of the spec of the Trek bikes and the Avid brakes of the Trek and Specialized, though I like the frame and fork spec of the Giant but unsure of the quality of the rest of the Giant components.
I realise I'm going on a bit now and should really leave it up to you to (hopefully) answer any queries I have and if any of you own or have owned any of these bikes, your feedback and advice would be much appreciated. I plan on trying these bikes over the next month or so as I realise I must buy on what fits / feels best.
Thanks all in advance.
Regards.
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Comments
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Giant XTC is a bit more 'racey' than the others I think, ie maybe stiffer/less comfortable, but 'faster'. If you did want to race eventually this might be a good choice. I'm a Spesh fan though so I say go for the Rockhopper
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The Malt 1 from Merlin is usually worth looking at, it won the £500 group test in one of the mags a few months back and is generally a nice spec on a decent, basic frame. Check out 08 Rockhoppers instead, this year's have lower spec, usually for a higher price, so they can be a much better deal.
I like the Carrera Fury, personally, it's a great value package, good spec, and extremely versatile- a proper do anything bike (though a bit heavy and maybe slightly let down by its wheels). It'll do XC, though not as well as the other bikes you mentioned, but it's also a stronger, longer travel bike for bigger hits, trail centres etc. They're all good bikes but I prefer to buy versatility personally.Uncompromising extremist0
