Looking at getting a decent all round bike, help please!

Hill St Blues

Hi
I am new to mountain biking and I am looking at getting a decent bike for around the £1000 mark. I will be mainly using the bike at Cannock chase and in my local area at first.

There are so many bikes out there with their pros and cons, so i am struggling to choose one!

So far I have looked into the following bikes which take my fancy:

Boardman HT PRO £999 - looks nice and appears to have a good spec for the price. On reading the reviews they appear to be postive, but some are saying that as the gears arent shimano they slip and should be upgraded. Is this True??

Cube Reaction £1080 - Not a well known brand but appears to have good reviews.

Felt Trail Shot £1150 - Good for all types of riding XC etc?

Any other bikes that are near to the £1000 mark (below it if poss)
Would also be using the bike for work every now and then.

Thanks

pte1643

Hill St Blues wrote:

Boardman HT PRO £999 - .....

.....some are saying that as the gears arent shimano they slip and should be upgraded.

That's gonna start a Shimano Vs SRAM arguement.

Hill St Blues wrote:

Would also be using the bike for work every now and then.

This being the case, of the 3 examples you give, the Boardman comes in at under the magic £1000 upper limit for Cycle to Work.

Are you able to use this scheme?

ilovedirt

All round bike for a grand? Boardman team FS, no competition at all.