Full suspension for £1000 or less

macca77

Yes, you guessed it - cycle to work scheme is active.

I've trawled through the forums, read reviews but am still a little unsure. Was originally after a hardtail, but been talked round to a full sus. Will be doing a fair mix of stuff, but hope to be spending more time offroad as I refamiliarise myself (it's been 10 years).

The scheme at work uses Halfords (am seeing if they can change to use a LBS), so the obvious choice is the Boardman FS Team.
http://www.boardmanbikes.com/mtbfs/fs_team.html

The bikes above and below (Pro/Comp) received great reviews, but I am also considering a Specialized FSR XC Comp and the Giant Trance X5. I have to admit on looks alone the Specialized would be the winner and comes with a great frame, but the rest of the kit seems rather below what the Boardman has.

Any opinion/help greatly appreciated.

supersonic

All are very good bikes! Perhaps the three best sellers as this price point.

The Boardman gets the best kit, but I'd guess the frames on the other are a bit lighter.

Try them out?

Thewaylander

Def try them all,

Im always a bit skeptical of sub 1k FS bikes, as its alot of trade off... though you are right the specialized has a fairly decent frame. Try them and ride them. but i'd also be tempted at that priceto try a couple of hard tails

Th3 Firestarter

I'm not sure what the boardman bikes ride like but they come with some good kit for the money.

ji_

I had the same choice - there used to be a few others, but most have now moved just over the £1K mark, and my scheme doesn't allow a top up.

I went for the Boardman- kit is amazing,and it rides really well. Change the saddle (and probably tyres) and there is really nothing left to upgrade.

macca77

Thanks for all the info/advice.

I have since checked with work and the only approved outlet is Halford's, which is a bit of a shame. Still you can order any bike, but I do wonder if the markup will exceed that of a LBS.

My gut feeling is for the moment is to go along with the Boardman and upgrade components as I progress. I will hopefully be able to find a LBS that will service/upgrade the bike. One LBS got back to me and said they only service bikes purchased in shop - which I found quite disappointing, others have been very dismissive of the Boardman - bike snobbery maybe!??

Any recommendations of a good LBS in the West Midlands?

Daz555

With Halfords you'll simply get the RRP of the bike. Still with C2W savings taken into account it's a bloody bargain.