Bike Buying Help - Please!!

chrism_scotland

Hi folks,

Just looking for a wee bit of advice on MTB's, I'm looking to get one in my works Cycle to Work scheme as I missed the deadline last time, doh!
I see this time around that there are a lot of newer 09 bikes out but I also read that a lot of them are different spec to last year, maybe due to cost savings.

I've looked around and the main ones I've seen that I like the look of are the:

Giant XTC 4 '09
Giant XTC 3 '09
Kona Cinder Cone 08
Kona Caldera 08
Trek 6500 Disc 2008

I know a bit about the Giants as I used to have an XTC SE and loved it but I don't really know anything about the Kona's or Trek, are they good bikes?

Ideally it would have been simple and I would have gone for a Specialized Rockhopper Disc or Comp Disc but none of the shops locally in the C2W scheme stock them and I don't really fancy having to build a bike that I get mailed in.

Mostly the bike would be used for on road / cycle routes but I would love to get into MTBing again now that I don't work weekends and I live very close to Glentress so I want a hardtail rather than a rigid commuting bike.

Thanks for the help folks.

Garou

I have the 2008 Trek 6500 Disc. I like it a lot. I use it to commute to work as well as off-roading, so like you're planning it gets a lot of road use (i put semi-slick tyres on for the road). The lockout on the Toras is definitely useful for this.

However, it's much happier in the mountains - it literally comes alive when you take it off-road, and seems pretty fast and light. It's my first proper mountain bike, so i'm not that experienced, but it's obvious that it can deal with anything i'm capable of throwing at it at the moment. Took it to the Brecon Beacons in the winter and had a blast and will be going to the Cairngorms this summer.

Hope this helps.

chrism_scotland

Thanks for the reply mate, I took a look at Konas and Giants yesterday and I think I will go for the Giant.

Does anyone know if it is easy to compare bike frame sizes, for example I need a 19" Giant frame, is it likely to be the same for a Rockhopper?

llamafarmer

chrism_scotland wrote:

Thanks for the reply mate, I took a look at Konas and Giants yesterday and I think I will go for the Giant.

Does anyone know if it is easy to compare bike frame sizes, for example I need a 19" Giant frame, is it likely to be the same for a Rockhopper?

They do vary a fair bit unfortunately, you're probably a 19" in both, but it's definitely best to try them and see. Have a look at the manufacturers' websites and compare frame geometries - standover and effective top tube length especially, this should give you a rough idea.

chrism_scotland

llamafarmer wrote:

chrism_scotland wrote:

Thanks for the reply mate, I took a look at Konas and Giants yesterday and I think I will go for the Giant.

Does anyone know if it is easy to compare bike frame sizes, for example I need a 19" Giant frame, is it likely to be the same for a Rockhopper?

They do vary a fair bit unfortunately, you're probably a 19" in both, but it's definitely best to try them and see. Have a look at the manufacturers' websites and compare frame geometries - standover and effective top tube length especially, this should give you a rough idea.

I think I will go in and get sized up, I had a 19" frame for my Old Giant but on another forum it was mentioned that that was far too big for my 5'5 height although sizing guides point to that frame and I never had an issue!

llamafarmer

chrism_scotland wrote:

I think I will go in and get sized up, I had a 19" frame for my Old Giant but on another forum it was mentioned that that was far too big for my 5'5 height although sizing guides point to that frame and I never had an issue!

19" is pretty big for 5'5". I'm the same height and ride a 16"

chrism_scotland

llamafarmer wrote:

chrism_scotland wrote:

I think I will go in and get sized up, I had a 19" frame for my Old Giant but on another forum it was mentioned that that was far too big for my 5'5 height although sizing guides point to that frame and I never had an issue!

19" is pretty big for 5'5". I'm the same height and ride a 16"

I'll be honest and say I'm not 100% certain of my exact height, when I bought my Giant in 2004 the guy in the shop advised me to get the 19" based on me trying them and if anything Ill have grown an inch since! as I was only about 17.o

rudedog

ha ha - I'm 6ft and ride an 18" ( i've got short legs!)

kriss

I used to own a giant, loved it but now own a cube attention. I needed a smaller frame than i did with the giant but otherwise this is a fantastic bike. I use it for travelling to work each day and off road on a regular basis. Never once have I been disappointed

OwenB

My Mrs has the XTC 3 in 18" and its a great bike, she's 5'8" but got really long legs, I however am 6'3" and can ride it comfortably due to only having diddly legs, I just run the saddle further back to stretch out a little more.
It's a great bike, handles really well, is light and seems to be a flier (unlike myself)

chrism_scotland

OwenB wrote:

My Mrs has the XTC 3 in 18" and its a great bike, she's 5'8" but got really long legs, I however am 6'3" and can ride it comfortably due to only having diddly legs, I just run the saddle further back to stretch out a little more.
It's a great bike, handles really well, is light and seems to be a flier (unlike myself)

Its really between the Giant XTC 3 or XTC 4 I the Specialized Rockhopper Comp 2009, spec wise how do they compare, I'm looking purely at 09 models as I can't source an 08 Rockhopper easily.

OwenB

You get a much better fork on the XTC3 than the 4 (Tora air against the Dart 2), other than that the spec is pretty much comparable other than the XT rear mech opposed to the SLX, one thing I notice though from the web links is that my Mrs' bike came with SLX shifters as standard, the websites I looked at this morning are listing them as fitted with Deore. Hers is the 09 model too.
Can't really comment on the Rockhopper but I'd say the spec on that is comparable to the XTC3.
I don't think you'd be getting a bad bike out of any of them to be honest but I'd try them out and see what fits you best and if its between the Giants I'd look to find the extra cash for the 3.