Which full sus bike for 7 stanes?

nicol1980
nicol1980 Posts: 15
edited September 2010 in MTB buying advice
Hi guys/gals,

I posted on here a round a year ago asking which type of hardtail i should buy to get me started in mountain biking and after some top advice i shelled out for a boardman pro and have never looked back.

Now that i have become engrossed in it all im looking to get a full sus to smooth out my riding. Most of my riding is on red routed 7 stanes venues and i find the hardtail is starting to limit out now and im looking for something a little more specific but with all the specific categories now in place ie all mountail, freeride, DH etc i dont know which one to go for. Any advice would be much appreciated.

Comments

  • nathanman
    nathanman Posts: 129
    You need to set your budget first then decide what you want to use the bike for. Are you doing 7 foot drop offs etc, do you still want the bike to climb well? Do you mind if the bike is heavy etc etc.......
  • Pudseyp
    Pudseyp Posts: 3,514
    Budget ??? less than a grand a Tecocali from Pauls...
    http://www.paulscycles.co.uk/products.p ... 1b2s1p1504 just over 5.5 inch travel so should be more than you need...

    in between £1,500 and a couple of grand....Trek EX8, Mondraker Foxy R, Marin Mount Vision, Giant Trance.....

    Best bet is decide your budget, shortlist a few and then try them out...then try and get a deal on the web...the Mongoose is a great buy..I had one a few years back..not the lightest but a very capable allrounder..
    Tomac Synper 140 Giant XTC Alliance 1
    If the world was flat, I wouldn't be riding !
  • Sorry guys, glaring omission not stating a budget. I am wanting to spend around £2000. Maybe a tad more for something that really catches my eye.

    I wont be doing 7 foot drop offs but will be doing most other technical aspects ie rock gardens, rooted sections whoops etc...

    Im not to bothered about how heavy it is or restricting the amount of travel it has as i already have the boardman if i want to go XC riding. This bike is purely for going downhill as fast as possible.
  • Pudseyp
    Pudseyp Posts: 3,514
    Trek EX8, Mondraker Foxy R, Marin Mount Vision or maybe a Wolf Ridge, Giant Trance, Orange 5.... your choice with this budget is huge...recommend you try and get on a demo day or try a few of the above out for size....

    I have ridden the Trek, and Mondraker and have a Mount Vision myself...all are great and personally I would find it hard to recommend a clear winner...it's all about preference and as you will be riding it ultimatley your choice
    Tomac Synper 140 Giant XTC Alliance 1
    If the world was flat, I wouldn't be riding !
  • Thanks for the advice. I have been looking at deals on the net and the mondraker bikes really look the part. Also there are good demo deals on silverfish so ill need to check them out further. What are the main differences between the foxy, dune and factor on the mondrakers??? all of them look pretty similar.
  • I had a similar dilemma at the start of the summer, I looked at loads of reviews and rode many bikes, i think when you are spending that amount of money the choice is massive.
    I narrowed my shortlist down to these few.

    Orange Five S
    Trek Fuel EX8
    Scott Genius 50
    Giant Trance X2
    Ghost AMR 5700
    Lapierre Zesty 214

    I managed to have a ride on most of these and to be honest at my level there was not much to chose between them. In the end I went for the Lapierre ( it just felt right ) and I have not looked back I love it :D I find it climbs really well and with 140mm of travel it descends beautifully aswell.

    p4pb5377581.jpg

    Happy hunting.
  • jayson
    jayson Posts: 4,606
    Evans currently have the remedy 7 goin for £1699 which is £600 off the regular price, ive ordered one and am picking it up 2moro :D:D :P
  • nathanman
    nathanman Posts: 129
    Pauls cycles have the Giant Trance X1 2009 on special, definately worth checking out. I haven't ridden one (i ride hardtail) but a mate has one and loves it.

    http://paulscycles.co.uk/products.php?plid=m1b4s1p2269
  • Remedy 7 for £1700 is a bargain! Is a great all round 'one bike does all' piece of kit. Kicks the shît out of the Orange 5 at that price.

    Just make sure the SRAM kit on it works properly before you take it!
  • covelove
    covelove Posts: 209
    also worth checking out specialized stumpjumper, the elite model is in your price range and would be a good shout for 7 stanes etc

    if you have too many choices look for a shop that can do a demo for you, glentress, laggan etc
    does my tail look hard in this?

    cove stiffee

    orange 222
  • weescott
    weescott Posts: 453
    The Santacruz Heckler can be built up for £2000 now the frame is only £899. Bargaintastic!
  • Pudseyp
    Pudseyp Posts: 3,514
    nicol1980 wrote:
    Thanks for the advice. I have been looking at deals on the net and the mondraker bikes really look the part. Also there are good demo deals on silverfish so ill need to check them out further. What are the main differences between the foxy, dune and factor on the mondrakers??? all of them look pretty similar.

    The Foxy : http://www.evanscycles.com/products/mon ... gn=froogle is more XC/Trail

    The Dune more All Mountain due to the longer travel, and the Factor is also XC with 120mm....so both the Factor and Foxy are more XC/Trail with the Foxy being more of an allrounder..the Dune would be to much...my recomendation would be the Foxy and at that price is a good buy..stunning looking as well !
    Tomac Synper 140 Giant XTC Alliance 1
    If the world was flat, I wouldn't be riding !
  • Northwind
    Northwind Posts: 14,675
    OK, going to start with a wee bit of controversy, there's nothing on the 7 stanes reds that'll get close to the limits of your Boardman, in fact it'd be fine for all the blacks, you won't really start to find its limits until you get onto really silly riding like DH courses, Fort William and Laggan and the like.

    Moving on a bit past that... Hecklers, Fives, Zestys etc are all great but again, if you're really mainly using it for red routes that's overkill. Very capable if your riding goes past that so I won't say don't get one, but do consider whether it's the right tool.

    Now... Anthem X, that's a 7 stanes bike, you don't need more travel or more strength, just stick a good set of tyres on it and go. People convince themselves you need a 5 inch all mountain bike for the sort of things this bike eats up.
    Uncompromising extremist
  • peter413
    peter413 Posts: 5,120
    Northwind wrote:
    OK, going to start with a wee bit of controversy, there's nothing on the 7 stanes reds that'll get close to the limits of your Boardman, in fact it'd be fine for all the blacks, you won't really start to find its limits until you get onto really silly riding like DH courses, Fort William and Laggan and the like.

    Moving on a bit past that... Hecklers, Fives, Zestys etc are all great but again, if you're really mainly using it for red routes that's overkill. Very capable if your riding goes past that so I won't say don't get one, but do consider whether it's the right tool.

    Now... Anthem X, that's a 7 stanes bike, you don't need more travel or more strength, just stick a good set of tyres on it and go. People convince themselves you need a 5 inch all mountain bike for the sort of things this bike eats up.

    I completely agree with this. I get on fine with most things on my 456 with 140mm travel up front, even down some DH on it. And I know someone who does everything on a Kona Caldera and easily keeps up with guys on big AM bikes.

    If you want a new bike, seriously consider a long travel HT, you will get a lighter bike for less money
  • Northwind
    Northwind Posts: 14,675
    peter413 wrote:
    And I know someone who does everything on a Kona Caldera and easily keeps up with guys on big AM bikes.

    Mainly by virtue of being a lunatic, mind :lol:
    Uncompromising extremist
  • third that on the Anthem X, awesomely quick frame, and you can buy it for £800. Mind have they increased the BB height as that was the one thing that put me off.
  • Northwind wrote:
    OK, going to start with a wee bit of controversy, there's nothing on the 7 stanes reds that'll get close to the limits of your Boardman, in fact it'd be fine for all the blacks, you won't really start to find its limits until you get onto really silly riding like DH courses, Fort William and Laggan and the like.

    Moving on a bit past that... Hecklers, Fives, Zestys etc are all great but again, if you're really mainly using it for red routes that's overkill. Very capable if your riding goes past that so I won't say don't get one, but do consider whether it's the right tool.

    Now... Anthem X, that's a 7 stanes bike, you don't need more travel or more strength, just stick a good set of tyres on it and go. People convince themselves you need a 5 inch all mountain bike for the sort of things this bike eats up.

    Thanks for the advice and i totally agree with what your saying. I have never came down any of the red routes and thought that the i had pushed the bike beyond its limits, there is no way that would be possible at my ability level anyway. Its just that i would like a bike thats smoother over the rough stuff and one that maybe takes more of the impact when getting some air. Im tiring of my eyes shaking out of their sockets and being seconds away from a seat implant everytime i go over rocls and roots.
  • cavegiant
    cavegiant Posts: 1,546
    +1 on the Teocali from Pauls bike.

    buy a KS-i900 adjustable seatpost for it and you have one of the best value bikes out there.

    Save the rest of the money for a biking holiday.

    My wife has this and I often think it rides better than mine at 5-6 times the price.
    Why would I care about 150g of bike weight, I just ate 400g of cookies while reading this?
  • rudedog
    rudedog Posts: 523
    nicol1980 wrote:
    Northwind wrote:
    OK, going to start with a wee bit of controversy, there's nothing on the 7 stanes reds that'll get close to the limits of your Boardman, in fact it'd be fine for all the blacks, you won't really start to find its limits until you get onto really silly riding like DH courses, Fort William and Laggan and the like.

    Moving on a bit past that... Hecklers, Fives, Zestys etc are all great but again, if you're really mainly using it for red routes that's overkill. Very capable if your riding goes past that so I won't say don't get one, but do consider whether it's the right tool.

    Now... Anthem X, that's a 7 stanes bike, you don't need more travel or more strength, just stick a good set of tyres on it and go. People convince themselves you need a 5 inch all mountain bike for the sort of things this bike eats up.

    Thanks for the advice and i totally agree with what your saying. I have never came down any of the red routes and thought that the i had pushed the bike beyond its limits, there is no way that would be possible at my ability level anyway. Its just that i would like a bike thats smoother over the rough stuff and one that maybe takes more of the impact when getting some air. Im tiring of my eyes shaking out of their sockets and being seconds away from a seat implant everytime i go over rocls and roots.

    Sounds like you've been spending too much time at Ae ;)

    Whilst I agree with Northwind on the requirements of the 7 stanes red routes, if I had a couple of grand to blow on a mountain bike, I'd probably go down the full suss router too.
  • mac_man
    mac_man Posts: 918
    nicol1980 wrote:
    Northwind wrote:
    OK, going to start with a wee bit of controversy, there's nothing on the 7 stanes reds that'll get close to the limits of your Boardman, in fact it'd be fine for all the blacks, you won't really start to find its limits until you get onto really silly riding like DH courses, Fort William and Laggan and the like.

    Moving on a bit past that... Hecklers, Fives, Zestys etc are all great but again, if you're really mainly using it for red routes that's overkill. Very capable if your riding goes past that so I won't say don't get one, but do consider whether it's the right tool.

    Now... Anthem X, that's a 7 stanes bike, you don't need more travel or more strength, just stick a good set of tyres on it and go. People convince themselves you need a 5 inch all mountain bike for the sort of things this bike eats up.

    Thanks for the advice and i totally agree with what your saying. I have never came down any of the red routes and thought that the i had pushed the bike beyond its limits, there is no way that would be possible at my ability level anyway. Its just that i would like a bike thats smoother over the rough stuff and one that maybe takes more of the impact when getting some air. Im tiring of my eyes shaking out of their sockets and being seconds away from a seat implant everytime i go over rocls and roots.

    Know what you mean about eyes being shaken. I'm still enjoying my hardtail and have tried a few FS bikes as a comparison. One thing I would really recommend is getting yourself skilled up. It's amazing the difference some training will make. You'll be riding much smoother and more confidently and be able to take full advantage of whatever bike you do decide to buy.
    Cool, retro and sometimes downright rude MTB and cycling themed T shirts. Just MTFU.

    By day: http://www.mtfu.co.uk
  • peter413
    peter413 Posts: 5,120
    Northwind wrote:
    peter413 wrote:
    And I know someone who does everything on a Kona Caldera and easily keeps up with guys on big AM bikes.

    Mainly by virtue of being a lunatic, mind :lol:

    Thats true :lol:

    Shows its possible though