upgrade my hardtail or go full sus?

Drzoidberg

Hi,
New to the forums, Ive been biking on my hardrock disc about a year now and do all my riding on trails, upgraded to some fox 100 RLs which helped the ride out no end and have considered slowly upgrading the parts and eventually buying a new frame. But now I'm starting to think about getting a full sus instead and help my achy joints out a bit! If i go for one the budgets going to be £1000 - £1200 ish ideally cheaper. Ive asked a few mates who have been into bikes for years and the lads in the local bike shops and everyone has different suggestions! What do you lot reckon upgrade what I've got or splash out on the new bike and which one??

So far Im thinking about...
Ghost ASX 4900
http://www.bikeradar.com/gear/category/ ... 0-10-36183

Giant Trance X4
http://www.mtbr.com/cat/bikes/xc-suspen ... 26crx.aspx

Or maybe a specialized...

Any ideas or suggestions are welcome, the more I think about it the more undecided I am!

The Northern Monkey

Can you buy a 2nd hand FS frame and transfer some parts/buy a few new ones if stuff doesn't fit?

may work out a bit cheaper!

Deputy Dawg

I saw a kona king frame in the classifieds a few days ago which would fit your forks assuming the sterrer hasn't been cut too short (they came with fox 100 RL's as standard).

Drzoidberg

Aye that could be an idea, would 100mm forks be worth moving over to a full sus frame? Also the bikes i mentioned above would they be worth having and slowly upgrading?

I got so many questions, very little gear and no idea!

neninja

Pauls Cycles have the Trance 3 and Cannondale RZ120 for £1200

rockmonkeysc

Trance is awesome, I would definately recomend one, if you shop around you can get a 2010 Trance X3 for £1400 (2011 model is £2150). Trance has a really nice frame & suspension and for a 120mm travel bike you can really ride it hard.
I have got a Specialized Hardrock & the Trance X is a HUGE improvement. It's lighter, rides better, more stable on steep, rocky downhills & just lots of fun to ride.

Drzoidberg

liking the look of this trance x3, very tempted. For the sake of a few hundred quid compared to what i was looking at the jump up on the specs is pretty impressive

rockmonkeysc

The Fox forks & shock are a big improvement over the coil sprung Tora's & Giant shock. X3 is a fair amount lighter as well. I paid £1600 for mine last July, this year the price has increased by £550 even with lower spec wheels & brakes.