Best hardtail

Vladtheimpaler
Vladtheimpaler Posts: 6
edited July 2010 in MTB beginners
Hi

Could do with some buying advice

I'm looking at a hardtail on the bike to work scheme.

Got the options down to these:-

Cannondale SL2 at £899
Trek 650 disc at £995
Cube LTD Team at £949
Merida Matts 700D at £1,021
Specialized Rockhopper SL Expert at £949

will be using the bike for some courses but nothing too serious

suggestions as to the best bike would be appreciated.

Thanks
Divorce is expensive but offers great value for money...

Comments

  • rieko
    rieko Posts: 121
    You will probably be told to check out the Boardmans and others in the Halfords range. They are good bikes and great value for money compared to the more "glamorous" names.

    My advice (for what its worth) would be to go to you LBS and try as many as these bikes as possible. I tried loads out and in the end it came down to the Cannondale SL 3 and the Trek and Rockhopper equivalent. I plumped for the SL 3 in the end as it seemed to suit me slightly better for some reason and i have not regretted my decision.

    Admittedly, i could have gone for a bike at the same price with better components, but they didn't have that ride me factor that i got with the Dale. :D
    Giant TCR
    Giant TCX
  • John Moore
    John Moore Posts: 580
    Trek
  • Vladtheimpaler
    Vladtheimpaler Posts: 6
    Thanks.
    will look at that one tomorrow at All Terrain
    Divorce is expensive but offers great value for money...
  • The Rookie
    The Rookie Posts: 27,812
    Vladtheimpaler wrote:

    will be using the bike for some courses but nothing too serious

    suggestions as to the best bike would be appreciated.
    If the 'nothing to serious' is true, spend a lot less, budget at about £600 and read all the 'hardtaails for £600' group tests then go and buy whichever floats your boat and save yourself £300!

    Simon
    Currently riding a Whyte T130C, X0 drivetrain, Magura Trail brakes converted to mixed wheel size (homebuilt wheels) with 140mm Fox 34 Rhythm and RP23 suspension. 12.2Kg.
  • jayson
    jayson Posts: 4,606
    Take a look at the merlin Malt 1 starting at £650 or the Malt 2 witrh a slightly better frame starting at £699, both great bikes and loads of scope to upgrade/change parts to suit ur needs and/or budget.
    Remedy

    Merida

    Austria 2012
  • pte1643
    pte1643 Posts: 518
    jayson wrote:
    Take a look at the merlin Malt 1 starting at £650 or the Malt 2 witrh a slightly better frame starting at £699, both great bikes and loads of scope to upgrade/change parts to suit ur needs and/or budget.

    The Malt 2 got rave reviews in this months WMB (pg 74).
  • rockmonkeysc
    rockmonkeysc Posts: 14,774
    Rockhopper is very good. Very light, excellent XC bike and some great deals around. A mate just bought a 2008 SL Expert for just a touch over £500. He has given it a LOT of abuse and it just refuses to break. I have lost count of the number of times he has binned it in front of me, all due to his incompetence, not in any way due to the bike!
    Transition Patrol - viewtopic.php?f=10017&t=13070235
  • Splatter
    Splatter Posts: 41
    Rockhopper SL Pro - spend the extra on the best looking bike in the range ;)
    The artist formerly known as "HALO"
    What Mountain Bike Forum - R.I.P.
    Trailspirit mtb web - R.I.P.
    mtbuk.co.uk & Bike Weasel - R.I.P.
  • jacob2910
    jacob2910 Posts: 218
    boardman pro
  • thisischris
    thisischris Posts: 43
    KHS Alite 3000! Got mine a couple of weeks ago and after a pedal upgrade it was absolutly spot on!!
  • Northwind
    Northwind Posts: 14,675
    If you can go to Halfords, they sell 3 of the best at this price point, with the Fury, Boardman and whatever the Voodoo is, Bokor? Bokor won the bike MBR test IIRC (the Fury wasn't in it) and the Fury won the WMB test IIRC.
    Uncompromising extremist
  • nikstar1
    nikstar1 Posts: 103
    Specialized is my fav - only cause I have one!

    I would suggest going to a shop to take them all out for a test ride as it really is down to personal preference. You may also find that you fit a certain brand a lot better than others and therefore will have a far more comfortable ride.

    Definitely recommend having a go on the Specialized though - even if its not right for you, its good fun!
  • flateric
    flateric Posts: 201
    The one you jump on, ride, and feels right straight away. Get a good frame, you can upgrade the components later.
    Bike one Dawes Acoma (heavily modified)
    Bike two (trek) Lemond Etape (dusty and not ridden much)
    Bike Three Claude Butler chinook, (freebee from
    Freecycle, Being stripped and rebuilt
    (is 3 too many bikes)
  • Dgh
    Dgh Posts: 180
    I've got a Trek 4500 in Spain (2009 model) and a Scott Aspect 20 in the UK (2010 model). Although the Trek is lower spec, it felt like a glove from the moment I first got on it and is a lovely bike to ride.

    My wife's just bought a Trek and she likes it too.
  • Splottboy
    Splottboy Posts: 3,694
    Look at Fat Bird Dont Fly.

    Nice Bottecchia Stelvio Hardtail for about £600.

    Custom painted so have to wait a few week, but real nice.

    Frame for £219.

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