What bike on a £3500 budget?

gixer5

Any advice welcome......

I'm looking at buying a new bike for around the £3500 mark.

I ride cross country on local routes the majority of the time, but I ride trail centres such as Cannock, Llandegla and Penmachno around once a fortnight.

The bikes that I have been considering are:

Cannondale Scalpel Carbon 2 2011
Cannondale Scalpel Carbon 3 2011
Lapierr Zesty 714
Trek Fuel EX 9.7

However, I'm open to suggestions if someone can recommend an alternative.

Thanks

mick_cornick

Orange Five I tried Trek 9, Specialized Stumpy, Intense VPP and still bought the Five.

ride_whenever

Spark 20, giving you a little left over for anything you want to change. A supremely capable trail bike.

VWsurfbum

or a genius

nicklouse

the one that feels the best to you.

lawman

ibis mojo, whyte 146, and abit of an odd one but also consider the sunn kern, rode one a few times over the summer and its a damn nice bike, and would give plenty of change too. cant really go wrong with a zesty though, as long as theyve sorted the frame issues

GT_Ollie

ZESTY all the way, i just find lappierre zesties just to be propper nice looking bikes, and from magazine reviews and stuff, they ride amazingly aswell, but treks ar gut, u thought about the scott genius', or the norco faze's, just test one and see if it suites your riding style.... are you a better climber, or a better at decending, that will help with your choice of geometry.

Zziplex

From yer list, Zesty for sure.

supersonic

I think I'd be looking at the Spark too. If wanting a longer travel, XC oriented ride then a GT Force Carbon:

http://www.cyclestore.co.uk/productDeta ... ctID=22573

TarkMalbot

Orange Five SE. 2010 Model is within your price range from sunsetmtb

Bikehawk

Giant Anthem X1/2, great 100mm bike

Valy

The canondales look cool and the Anthems are said to be very good also.

The Zesty's cool too ofc, but it is more traily than the scalpel and anthem.

uk_stretch

Those kind of bikes - that kind of money I'd have a Yeti ASR-5 on my list. Aluminium and Carbon :shock:

cat_with_no_tail

lawman wrote:

sunn kern

Sorry I was just sick a little bit in my mouth.

The one I tried was AWFUL! Even tried it twice because I was sure it was not set up right the first time. I'd honestly rather walk.

You should be ashamed for mentioning it in the same post as a Mojo and a 146. *slap*.

*wonders off shaking head in disbelief, mumbling*

NormalD

Zesty 514 and an on one whippet.

lawman

Cat With No Tail wrote:

lawman wrote:

sunn kern

Sorry I was just sick a little bit in my mouth.

The one I tried was AWFUL! Even tried it twice because I was sure it was not set up right the first time. I'd honestly rather walk.

You should be ashamed for mentioning it in the same post as a Mojo and a 146. *slap*.

*wonders off shaking head in disbelief, mumbling*

i honestly quite liked it, sure its fugly as hell, but i just seemed to get on with it, obviously its no where near as good as my HD will be, but i still think its a decent bike. ive not gone totally insane

gixer5

Thanks for the ideas guys. I have just booked a Whyte 146 s for a weekend test ride

Herbie The Dog

Yeah...146.

Give it a good ragging when you get it...don't hold back!

mikeyj28

Scott Spark any day of the week. Brilliant bike and very very capable!!

gixer5

I have decided on the Ibis Mojo SL XT. Can't wait for delivery

chris_bass

any chance you fancy buying a bike for £2500 and then getting me one with the £1000 you have left over!?

nothing ventured....

meesterbond

gixer5 wrote:

I have decided on the Ibis Mojo SL XT. Can't wait for delivery

What made you go for the Ibis over the others? I'm in a similar position, going to blow some of my bonus on a new 'trail' bike and undecided whether I really need to go for 140mm or if 120mm would be more than enough, so interested in your experiences...

lawman

meesterbond wrote:

gixer5 wrote:

I have decided on the Ibis Mojo SL XT. Can't wait for delivery

What made you go for the Ibis over the others? I'm in a similar position, going to blow some of my bonus on a new 'trail' bike and undecided whether I really need to go for 140mm or if 120mm would be more than enough, so interested in your experiences...

well for one, all ibis bikes are stupidly gorgeous, two they are incredible to ride, very light, pedal really well and feel quite solid, although the mojo is alittle on the flexy side, even for a light weight like me, hence why ive gone for a HD 140, which is much much stiffer, only weighs half a pound more than the now defunct standard mojo, which has been replaced by the HD140, meaning the sl is for full on light weight xc/marathon build kits. My HD140 should weigh around 25lbs, sl's can go well under 22lbs, depends what you want really

gixer5

Still waiting for delivery a week late so far :? and still no confirmation on when it will be delivered!

Not impressed with the service from the bike shop to say the least!!!!

lostboysaint

Love the Ibis and hope all goes well but if it all goes to rat-sh1t then have a look at the Yeti ASR5

gixer5

Picked the mojo sl up this morning. Looks lovely in the sunlight 8)

went out for a ride this afternoon and first impressions are amazing. I can't believe I didn't buy one sooner. I would highly recommend trying one of these bikes if your looking for a new bike around this price.