Choice narrowed down to four - Pro's and con's please

Slow Downcp

Finally narrowed my choice dpwn to four - know little about forks etc, all seem to ride okay for the limited amount of time been able to test, so it just comes down to spec which is where I need advice on pro's and con's of each bike. There's two at my original budget point (it's only for messing about on trails or when too windy for the road bikes), and two at a higher point which I can go to if it's really worth it.

Four are

Decathlon Rockrider 8.1 for £449 - http://www.decathlon.co.uk/EN/rockrider-8-1-66759353/
Carrera Fury for £399 - http://www.halfords.com/webapp/wcs/stor ... yId_165499
Gary Fisher Hoo Koo E Koo for £765 - http://www.fisherbikes.com/bike/model/hoo-koo-e-koo
Genesis Core 30 for £700 - http://www.evanscycles.com/products/gen ... e-ec017151

The Carrera, although I'm told has a better fork, is quite a bit heavier than the Rockrider.

Are there any good/bad points I should be aware of before I buy?

Northwind

The Carrera's heavier because it's a tougher build- longer forks and a frame built to use it. The Rockrider has a really good spec on paper but I'd want to see one up close and check out all the smaller components. THe surprising thing about the fury is that most of the bits are actually pretty good.

I don't know enough about the others to comment really, the Core and Fury are both longer travel though while the Hookooekoo and Rockrider are shorter travel, racier. Pretty different bikes really. If you want to bounce around red routes then the latter makes more sense, if you want to munch xc miles then the other 2 are better options- all that strength and travel just turns into dead weight if you're not using it. Because of inflation people have come to think of 130mm as being almost a default, but it's still a lot of fork.

supersonic

If willing to part with 700 notes, why not look at the Halfords Boardman and Decathlon's costlier options?

Slow Downcp

supersonic wrote:

If willing to part with 700 notes, why not look at the Halfords Boardman and Decathlon's costlier options?

It was looking at the Boardman's that started me upping the budget but as good as they seem on paper (and lots of people recommending them), I've only ever seen two road bikes out on the road. If they're as good as they're meant to be, why aren't there more of them about? :? The Comp doesn't look that much higher specced than the Rockrider and it's £250 more?

Must admit I do like the look of the Team though.

Most riding will be fast off roading, rather than red routes and technical stuff, so would 100mm forks be good enough?

KnightofCydonia

I like the core here. HKEK also gets good reviews in WMB.

supersonic

The Boardman has gone up a little in price, but still comparable value to the GF and Genesis. I wouldn't be put off ny not seeing many about, how many Decathlons have you seen on the trails? ;-) And at under 26lbs, is very light for the money.

BlackSpur

Boardman is still a new brand and despite the quality of the bikes word has still not really got round. Being sold only in Halfords doesnt help the number sold - a lot os people will not buy a bike from there regardless of how good it is.

The Spiderman

If you want to cover generally just cover the ground quickly a good 100mm fork, is good enough.Over local xc routes my Giant XTC flies.

Yesterday however I was rIding at Woburn and Bow Brickhill,where there are some tricky technical bits,and whilst I can still ride them,I have to back off,a lot more than I would like.Its also not always the amount of travel,though ,the quaity of the fork will affect control,and to a degree its best to buy a bike with the best forks you can afford as it will cost a lot to upgrade later.

The extra travel and bigger tyres on the Fury can give you a lot more confidence,for those tricky root strewn descents,but the you`ll notice it on the hills.

I`d definitely reccomend trying the Boardmans,aswell as your current choices.

Also look at the Specialized Rockhopper Comp,which are always a good safe choice.

Slow Downcp

Bought the Rockrider 8.1 from Decathlon at Merry Hill for £450 - as it's only a play bike, decided to go for one of the budget choices, and may buy a Garmin 705 with the cash I saved.

I went to have another look at the Boardman's on Saturday, and did the same with the RR - didn't seem a lot of difference between the two apart from the Boardman having a better fork and being £250 more for the Sram X7 equipped bike. There was also the difference in staff - if only Boardman sold through other outlets! On the other extreme, Dave in the cycle department at Decathlon couldn't have been more helpful (or knowledgable) - answered all questions, plus some I hadn't thought of without pressuring me into a decision. Went away to think about it - phoned today to check stock, drove to collect - despite Dave being the only qualified bike mechanic working today, and being under pressure from customers from all directions, he was again helpful, had the bike checked over etc while I browsed for 15 minutes.

Only had a quick look over the bike and given it a quick run around the block and it looks good for the money - will give it a harder ride after work tomorrow and see how it goes.