Zesty 314 or Meta 5?

sharpy1

Hi Chaps and Chapesses
I currently have a Cannondale F6, all the guys I go out with have hardtails too but one has just got a Marin Wolf Ridge and he smoked our asses up and down hill so think its time to take the plunge!!
I think I have narrowed it down to these 2. I know there is quite a lot of good comments on the Meta but havent seen much of the Zesty (I know its got rave reviews from all the mags but want someone who has put their own money down on one!).
Also Evans Cycles is my nearest dealer for the Zesty, do you think I will be able to get a deal out of them?

Cheers

Paul

shamus1975

sharpy1 wrote:

Hi Chaps and Chapesses
I currently have a Cannondale F6, all the guys I go out with have hardtails too but one has just got a Marin Wolf Ridge and he smoked our asses up and down hill so think its time to take the plunge!!
I think I have narrowed it down to these 2. I know there is quite a lot of good comments on the Meta but havent seen much of the Zesty (I know its got rave reviews from all the mags but want someone who has put their own money down on one!).
Also Evans Cycles is my nearest dealer for the Zesty, do you think I will be able to get a deal out of them?

Cheers

Paul

The Zesty is awesome i had to wait for it as there was none left in the country when i ordered had a test ride and then that made my mind up it certainly lives up to its reviews i just swapped the tyres to some maxis highrollers and put a 70mm stem on and it handles awesome get the ZESTY the reviews are spot on

wings988

I had a test ride on a Zesty 914 at Cannock Chase demo day. To be honest I was very disspointed for a £4000 bike, it did nothing better than my Trek, in fact I find the Trek more confortable and the handling/suspension at least equal to the Zesty. I can't see what all the raving is about the Zesty range. My brother tested a Stuntjumper elite and also tried the Zesty, he's now bought a SJ as he found it a much better bike and its half the price of a 914!!! I'd say get a test 1st and try it against the fuel ex8 and SJ elite.

pdid

Above two posts prove you need to test both before you buy :!:

sharpy1

Was planning to test them anyway but kinda thought I had made my mind up, now wings has thrown a right spanner in the works!!
Its good to get feedback from people with first hand experience.
Obviously you have a Commencal pdid, how are you finding it?

maximus69

zesty just gets better the harder you ride it. if your just plodding along on, wont really be doing it much justice. chuck it down a rocky descent and it will all make sense and its an excellent climber too.

the finish is amazing, loads of nice little details. trek ex looks nice but not as nice as zesty imho.

if you test the zesty make sure you ride it like you stole it, and if you buy one ride it like you stole it

you will probably get some kit thrown in with it but doubt you will get any money off it, unless your a member of a bike club

shamus1975

wings988 wrote:

I had a test ride on a Zesty 914 at Cannock Chase demo day. To be honest I was very disspointed for a £4000 bike, it did nothing better than my Trek, in fact I find the Trek more confortable and the handling/suspension at least equal to the Zesty. I can't see what all the raving is about the Zesty range. My brother tested a Stuntjumper elite and also tried the Zesty, he's now bought a SJ as he found it a much better bike and its half the price of a 914!!! I'd say get a test 1st and try it against the fuel ex8 and SJ elite.

if you read the orignal question he said the zesty 314 your on about the 914 which is over 2k more so i think your judgement is unfair and totally irrelavant the 314 is £1800 not a £4000 bike your talking about.

wings988

shamus1975 wrote:

wings988 wrote:

I had a test ride on a Zesty 914 at Cannock Chase demo day. To be honest I was very disspointed for a £4000 bike, it did nothing better than my Trek, in fact I find the Trek more confortable and the handling/suspension at least equal to the Zesty. I can't see what all the raving is about the Zesty range. My brother tested a Stuntjumper elite and also tried the Zesty, he's now bought a SJ as he found it a much better bike and its half the price of a 914!!! I'd say get a test 1st and try it against the fuel ex8 and SJ elite.

if you read the orignal question he said the zesty 314 your on about the 914 which is over 2k more so i think your judgement is unfair and totally irrelavant the 314 is £1800 not a £4000 bike your talking about.

My point was that if the £4000 914 didnt set the world alight for me then surely the £1800 314 wouldnt be any better. I compared the 914 against 2 bikes both in the same price range as the 314, the ex8 at £1750 and the SJ elite at £1900. I'd have thought that a fair enough comparison.

Airienteer

I've got a Meta and to be honest if u get one you'll probably be thinking on the first climb out of the house/visitor centre/car park "o why didn't I get the Zesty". But trust me as soon as you hit a downhill you won't look back. I've ridden decent downhill specific bikes that can't match it for pure fun.

shamus1975

wings988 wrote:

shamus1975 wrote:

wings988 wrote:

I had a test ride on a Zesty 914 at Cannock Chase demo day. To be honest I was very disspointed for a £4000 bike, it did nothing better than my Trek, in fact I find the Trek more confortable and the handling/suspension at least equal to the Zesty. I can't see what all the raving is about the Zesty range. My brother tested a Stuntjumper elite and also tried the Zesty, he's now bought a SJ as he found it a much better bike and its half the price of a 914!!! I'd say get a test 1st and try it against the fuel ex8 and SJ elite.

if you read the orignal question he said the zesty 314 your on about the 914 which is over 2k more so i think your judgement is unfair and totally irrelavant the 314 is £1800 not a £4000 bike your talking about.

My point was that if the £4000 914 didnt set the world alight for me then surely the £1800 314 wouldnt be any better. I compared the 914 against 2 bikes both in the same price range as the 314, the ex8 at £1750 and the SJ elite at £1900. I'd have thought that a fair enough comparison.

yes but the elite is a totally different set up he dont want a xc bike or he would not of said meta 5 or zesty stumpy only as 120mm travel where as the other 2 have 140mm so if he got a stumpy it might not be adequate travel etc so it would be a bad idea to suggest he gets one as if he did it could be disastorous if he needed and expected the extra travel

lock1981

seen as my beautifully neon green meta just arrived id have to say meta

sharpy1

Thanks for the suggestion of the Stumpy but I do want an all-mountain, pretty much do anything bike as most of the routes around me seem to need good travel, I also want to start getting further afield and doing some more varied stuff.

pdid

I love my Meta, i`ll admit on a long fireroady type climb the weight can be a bit of a drag but on short technical climbs it has astounded me the level of grip it has compared to my hardtail. I`ve got up things I never dreamt I could get up on the Lobster. The back end just digs in.

I don`t really need to mention the downs, it`s what Commies are famous for!!!!!!!!!

On a side note which Wolf Ridge has your mate got? They are a heavy bike so he must be uber fit to get to the top of the climb before the hardtails :shock:

sharpy1

He just got the 2008 model, it doesnt have specific number like this years 6.7, 6.8 etc. It is a heavy bike but think he just went hell for leather today to try to prove a point!! Im sure he will be feeling it now
Whats the weight of yours compared to the 15+ kg of his wolf?

sharpy1

ps, love your dining table, it looks just like mine. Is it from Heals

shamus1975

ZESTY 31 IS 12.8KG IF THAT HELPS

wings988

Sorry didnt realise you wanted all mountain, I'd go for the Trek Remedy Ex8. Don't go for the Santa Cruz Heckler, I also tried that on the demo day and it was very poor, Pike forks were good but the bike was slow to pedal, steer and a bitch to take uphill, reasonable down but not great. I was faster down hill on XC bikes. It was very heavy too. I didnt expect XC light but it was much more than a Meta 55 or Remedy as my bench marks.

pdid

sharpy1 wrote:

He just got the 2008 model, it doesnt have specific number like this years 6.7, 6.8 etc. It is a heavy bike but think he just went hell for leather today to try to prove a point!! Im sure he will be feeling it now
Whats the weight of yours compared to the 15+ kg of his wolf?

It's around 14kg/ 31lbs

pdid

sharpy1 wrote:

ps, love your dining table, it looks just like mine. Is it from Heals

Is that question for me? If so I got it from Southport flower show a few years ago.

jam1e

Not sure if Evans will do you much in the way of deals mate, but I've ordered my 514 from http://www.welovelapierre.com in Hull and they're well up for a bit of haggling! They're open till 10pm weekdays as well so it'd be easy for you to get over after work and stroke the bikes in the flesh

FWIW I've ridden the Zesty against quite a few other bikes and found them to feel a bit faster all round.

sharpy1

jam1e wrote:

Not sure if Evans will do you much in the way of deals mate, but I've ordered my 514 from http://www.welovelapierre.com in Hull and they're well up for a bit of haggling! They're open till 10pm weekdays as well so it'd be easy for you to get over after work and stroke the bikes in the flesh

FWIW I've ridden the Zesty against quite a few other bikes and found them to feel a bit faster all round.

Cheers for that.
I had seen their website but they are over an hour away from me.
Evans have a price promise so might be worth seeing what welovelapierre can do then seeing if Evans will match it!
Would you be so kind as to divulge the bargain you got?

sharpy1

jam1e wrote:

Not sure if Evans will do you much in the way of deals mate, but I've ordered my 514 from http://www.welovelapierre.com in Hull and they're well up for a bit of haggling! They're open till 10pm weekdays as well so it'd be easy for you to get over after work and stroke the bikes in the flesh

FWIW I've ridden the Zesty against quite a few other bikes and found them to feel a bit faster all round.

Cheers for that.
I had seen their website but they are over an hour away from me.
Evans have a price promise so might be worth seeing what welovelapierre can do then seeing if Evans will match it!
Would you be so kind as to divulge the bargain you got?

jam1e

I got the 514 for quite a bit cheaper than Evans are offering it for with some free red straitlines flat pedals (RRP £90ish :shock: ) and the promise of tasty discounts on any kit I buy in future

TBH mate, if an independent is offering deals like that and also chucking in free next day delivery there's no way I'd even consider going to evans. Fair enough they might pricematch but they certainly don't go out of their way to offer a deal and in my experience once you've signed on the dotted line thats it - they couldn't care less about you. I bought a stumpy comp from the Castleford evans in 07, had some problems with the brakes and got proper fobbed off. (You might be able to tell that it still pi55es me off )

Just can't wait to get home next week and actually ride the thing now, stupid work getting in the way of my real life!

Great Ayton

I have ridden a fair few bikes over the years and I really do think the Zesty frame is something quite special. There light yet still stiff but more importantly the suspension works outstandingly well. I think the Zesty is the best bike in its class though I would still probably go for a Pace or a Oranage just because there as close to British as you can get.

Fastasfeck

sharpy1 wrote:

Hi Chaps and Chapesses
I currently have a Cannondale F6, all the guys I go out with have hardtails too but one has just got a Marin Wolf Ridge and he smoked our asses up and down hill so think its time to take the plunge!!
I think I have narrowed it down to these 2. I know there is quite a lot of good comments on the Meta but havent seen much of the Zesty (I know its got rave reviews from all the mags but want someone who has put their own money down on one!).
Also Evans Cycles is my nearest dealer for the Zesty, do you think I will be able to get a deal out of them?

Cheers

Paul

I think either bike is a good one, depends on how long you intend to keep it...If this is your bike for the next few years, then choose one that has local dealer support, one that you like and that you can upgrade if you wish. If you are keeping the bike for just a season, see which has the best resale values?

With regards to the rider on the Marin Wolf Ridge, was he really that much faster up hill? and in terms of downhill, was he quantifiably faster. Presuming you have ridden with the guy a few times?

Any one, I'm sure whichever full susser you go for, you won't regret it..

Ciaran500

Great Ayton wrote:

I think the Zesty is the best bike in its class though I would still probably go for a Pace or a Oranage just because there as close to British as you can get.

You'd go for an inferior product just to buy British? :?

Great Ayton

Ciaran500 wrote:

Great Ayton wrote:

I think the Zesty is the best bike in its class though I would still probably go for a Pace or a Oranage just because there as close to British as you can get.

You'd go for an inferior product just to buy British? :?

Lol yes to a point. I would never buy a bike part that would not do the job. But both the Pace and the Oranage are perfectly good bikes, very good even. They are comparable with the Zesty. I work in the UK and am happy to support the UK and buy UK. That and being in the UK they tend to get things sorted. They really support there UK riders and there both great to deal with. Hope is as well. Pace has always been the best for me as if I had even the smallest niggle they would sort it out strait away with no quibbles. I problem a 10 year old Hope hub not that long ago and Hope replaced it for free, thought that was very nice of them. I have never had the same sort of support from a company outside the UK.

Fastasfeck

Ciaran500 wrote:

Great Ayton wrote:

I think the Zesty is the best bike in its class though I would still probably go for a Pace or a Oranage just because there as close to British as you can get.

You'd go for an inferior product just to buy British? :?

I sort of get what Ciaran500 is saying, Orange are based in Halifax (I Think?) West Yorks, especially in today's climate, it's keeping people in work....not sure about your comment re inferior, they're designed for UK terrain/weather....perhaps you are biased, presume you own a commencal?

Rich1978

I just got my Meta 55 and its awesome.....ok its a little on the heavy side but not enough to regret it on the downs!

sharpy1

Cheers Jamie. I hear what you're saying, I have never bought from Evans before so havent had the experiences you have.

[/quote]
FastasFeck
I think either bike is a good one, depends on how long you intend to keep it...If this is your bike for the next few years, then choose one that has local dealer support, one that you like and that you can upgrade if you wish. If you are keeping the bike for just a season, see which has the best resale values?

With regards to the rider on the Marin Wolf Ridge, was he really that much faster up hill? and in terms of downhill, was he quantifiably faster. Presuming you have ridden with the guy a few times?

Any one, I'm sure whichever full susser you go for, you won't regret it.. [/quote]

I dont think he was any quicker uphill than usual but he always beats me up there, however he is always usually at the back on the downhill but this time I couldnt see him for dust(or mud or whatever) he was a dot at the bottom of the hill!!!

Fastasfeck

I dont think he was any quicker uphill than usual but he always beats me up there, however he is always usually at the back on the downhill but this time I couldnt see him for dust(or mud or whatever) he was a dot at the bottom of the hill!!!

Fair play, well if the terrain demands it.....full suspension is the way to go...

PS Did you fall off?