New to the sport and really Need experienced help Thanks

Specialized27

Hi,
I am 15 and looking to buy a new bike as I have outgrown the last bike I have had, a non-brand tiawanese bike that weighed a ton. I cycle around 10 miles to school everyday, and I am looking for a hardtail MTB which is relatively light and can take some punishment. I have around £350 to spend (£390 absoloute tops) and need some experienced advice on sensible bikes and brands. I have researched a number of bikes which could be a possibility -

Gary Fisher Wahoo 09
Commencal Normal 09
Specialized Hardrock Sport Disc 09
Specialized Rockhopper 09
Claud Butler Cape Wrath D27

Thanks for your time, and any comments are greatly appreciated

supersonic

Hi and welcome.

There are a couple of very similar threads in this section and the buying section that are worth reading, plus the What Hardtail 2009 thread.

Be worth having a quick search through for many comments on them.

Specialized27

Thanks supersonic, checking out your other threads you seem quite knowledgeable in the purchasing process, however I cant find any evalutations/reviews of the Gary Fishers or the Commencal, have you had any experience of either bikes or any others you could recomend?

supersonic

The Wahoo looks pretty good - has a riding position and new geometry which is getting good reviews. Basic fork, and that Deore rear mech doesn't mean anything in the context of the rest of the spec.

The Normal looks a bit better to me on paper - good wheels, better fork - money been spent where it matters.

However the cape Warth and Rockhopper are a league or too above, but more expensive.

Trying them out will give you a better idea of the ride quality, but try and go for a good damped suspension fork if you can afford it. The hopper has one as standard, as does that normal, though the Hoppers is much better.

Specialized27

The Cape Wrath can be bought for £350, and the commencal normal can be bought for £260. The Hardrock Sport Disc seems a really nice bike and my local bike shop will sell it for £320, including an improved saddle and better kevlar tyres. Seems a great bike, with specialized providing product cover. 80mm Suntour fork seems a bit crappy, and it would be hard for me to upgrade the fork after purchasing, as my 'finances' come from my parents, who may not see the fine differences of 20mm of travel .... would an 80mm fork be enough to ride aggresivley on singletrack and for small drop offs and bunny hops? Would you recomend any other available bikes around that price range?

supersonic

More travel would be better - controlled travel even better than that, and this is where the Hardrock falls down. Cheap nasty fork. Nice frame, pretty light and would be good for mild offroad and bridleways, but simply outclassed by others for the money. The Cape Wrath at 350 is a great buy, but is 2008 model. 2009 is 700 quid!

Also look at the Carrera Kraken.

Specialized27

Hmm..... I Have been looking at the 09 commencal and it seems to be winning me over, as I have not had much experience in the field, would you know if the components are good quality? At £250 it seems to good to resist ..... the fork seems allright, however I would ideally like to upgrade the brakes to Avid BB5's :? So information about components and the ratings of them is really where I am a bit clueless? can you shed light on my darknes? The Commencal is also only 12kg, very light for a hardtail mtb !

Btw Thanks so much for your help so far

Specialized27

hmm ..... I found this bike aswell, seems great, although a bit tooooo good to be true - any opinions? http://www.chainreactioncycles.com/Mode ... elID=25443

mgmvegas

if you like the commencal normal disc 09 then try Bike apart as they have it for £390 free
delivery which is a saving of over £100 on the RRP. We pick up our from our LBS this wkend who will ( reluctantly !! ) price match ...

i'm new to all of this as well so keep us posted with what you decide upon ...they look prety cool in white !!!

Specialized27

Cool, I hope you enjoy your new bikes !!! Please could you tell me how they perform and how the fork and drivetrain is, thanks. Sadly i dont have that amount to spend so I think i will have to stick with the V brake version, although I would still like to know how the disc is thanks ..... Happy riding

supersonic

The BeOne is a stunning buy. Nice frame, fork unheard of for this money, good kit. Also quite neutral geometry, but still, will be hard to try out, will be a risk.

Northwind

I'd second the carrera kraken, it's even got decent road manners thanks to the lockout, and a very good allround spec (X5 drivetrain, 120mm XCR fork) Horrible tyres though. I just put mine back together as standard and it's better than it should be.

That Be One looks ridiculously good for the money, though.

Specialized27

Northwind, is the kraken lightweight - It seems very good speced for the money so perhaps the frame weight is where it falls down?

Northwind

Welllllllll... No it's not I'll need to fire it on the scales but it's 14-kilos ish. Partly thanks to its ludicrously heavy tyres. remind me, right? I'll be fannying about with it tonight or tomorrow so it's easy enough to get a weight for you.

Specialized27

Thanks - I am looking at a commencal normal v brake for £250 @ Merlin Cycles - A gr8 discount from RRP of £380 - and i will use my excess budget to add juicy 3's - all for 330! The clever thing is, the disc version of the normal costs £390 min. and the only upgrade is the Juicy 3's, so i am saving bigtime ....... I think I will stick with buying a light bike from a reputable brand - I dont feel so good aobut buying a nike from halfords! Unless the kraken is THAT good ...... Will def. visit my local halfords tho to chek it

OwenB

I think the juicy 3s are sold out at Merlin not sure if there's many other good deals on them at the moment so it might be worth considering your options on upgrading brakes for the time being.