Apologies in advance but I am fick.....

Bishbosh10
Bishbosh10 Posts: 268
edited July 2011 in MTB buying advice
....and completely bamboozled by the range of suspension forks out there.

Anyhow, I am trying to decide if I should buy the Anthem X5 or completely bust the budget (and probably my marriage!) and get the X4.

Now I have been advised to get the higher spec bike on the basis that it is cheaper in the long run, but, and this is a big but, the X5 is really already way above my original budget but I can wing that one with SWMBO... hopefully.

I can live with the alivio gear set short term on the X5 and can relatively easily upgrade bits over time as they are small amounts. What I am really concerned about is the fork as the replacement cost (if I upgrade) is going to be far more noticeable!.

The X5 has RockShox Recon Gold TK Solo Air's and the X4 has Fox F100 RL-11's.

To be quite honest, neither means anything to me but I assume that the Fox is the better shock as it is on the higher spec bike?

The question is, for recreational cross country, are the Rock Shoxs OK or should I hold out for the X4 with the Fox's?

Sorry for the rambling post, hopefully I have got my situation across though!
2011 Giant Trance Ltd, 2016 Revs, XT bits etc.

Comments

  • benpinnick
    benpinnick Posts: 4,148
    The F100 is an excellent fork, while the recon is good too. Myself I would hold out for the 4, but tbh the 5 would be adequate.
    A Flock of Birds
    + some other bikes.
  • Briggo
    Briggo Posts: 3,537
    The fox fork imo is slightly better although dependent on your riding you might not notice much difference and also the fox is slightly lighter.
  • The Northern Monkey
    The Northern Monkey Posts: 19,136
    Whats the diference in cost?
    Santa Cruz Butcher
  • Ryan Jones
    Ryan Jones Posts: 775
    Avoid any of the rockshox TK forks, the TurnKey damper is their most basic one which is pretty rubbish to be honest, employed in their most basic forks for years now !

    That or upgrade the internals however then you might as well get the better bike in the first place !
    My Nukeproof Mega TR
  • Bishbosh10
    Bishbosh10 Posts: 268
    OK, so the advice is leaning towards the X4 then...? Bu99er! :D
    2011 Giant Trance Ltd, 2016 Revs, XT bits etc.
  • Anonymous
    Anonymous Posts: 79,666
    Bishbosh10 wrote:
    Anyhow, I am trying to decide if I should buy the Anthem X5 or completely bust the budget (and probably my marriage!) and get the X4.

    Now I have been advised to get the higher spec bike on the basis that it is cheaper in the long run, but, and this is a big but, the X5 is really already way above my original budget
    You have the answer already.
    I've made it bold, so it's easier to spot.

    Fluffy kittens.
  • welshkev
    welshkev Posts: 9,690
    Ryan Jones wrote:
    Avoid any of the rockshox TK forks, the TurnKey damper is their most basic one which is pretty rubbish to be honest, employed in their most basic forks for years now !

    That or upgrade the internals however then you might as well get the better bike in the first place !

    it depends what the OP is used to though no? i have 2 friends one with tora tk's and one with recon tks and both love them as they came from R.S darts and some form of poo suntour, they work fine, they're just not as good as forks with (for example) motion control.

    i have recon tk's on my hardtail and while they're not as good as my pikes (travel difference aside) they do work ok :D
  • Monkeypump
    Monkeypump Posts: 1,528
    Recreational cross country?

    £1400/£1650 full-suss?

    Spot of over-egging the pudding, perhaps?
  • Thewaylander
    Thewaylander Posts: 8,593
    I have to admit, its hard to get any well specced full susser these days for below 2k, unless you hit flea bay and scoop a bargain.

    If i was spending that cash i'd be looking at a hardtail myself, but if you want a full bounce it depends on what type of person you are, if your not mechanical happy(ie not happy to get stuck in on the upgrade path) i would save for the more expensive, If you are happy with working on the bike and the frame is essentially the same i'd buy cheaper and plan the upgrade path :)
  • Anonymous
    Anonymous Posts: 79,666
    Monkeypump wrote:
    Recreational cross country?

    £1400/£1650 full-suss?

    Spot of over-egging the pudding, perhaps?
    What, you reckon only professional racers should have bikes like that?

    fluffy kittens.
  • Ryan Jones
    Ryan Jones Posts: 775
    welshkev wrote:
    it depends what the OP is used to though no? i have 2 friends one with tora tk's and one with recon tks and both love them as they came from R.S darts and some form of poo suntour, they work fine, they're just not as good as forks with (for example) motion control.

    i have recon tk's on my hardtail and while they're not as good as my pikes (travel difference aside) they do work ok :D

    Fair enough if the OP is not used to anything better, but there are better forks on bikes for the same outlay and seeing as your front wheel is your first point of contact with the terrain, it makes sense to have good forks in my opinion.
    My Nukeproof Mega TR
  • Bishbosh10
    Bishbosh10 Posts: 268
    Well,

    Today I am £50 poorer and a Trance X Ltd is reserved in my name!

    After loads of reading I learnt that the trance and the anthem are similar but the anthem is a "faster" bike with sharper steering. As I am looking for comfort and not interested in racing I thought I'd give the Trance a go. Didn't take long on the test ride to realise it was definitely the right choice for me. Unfortunately my LBS only had X4, 3, 2, 1 and no Ltd and they couldn't get down to my budget on any other than the X4 but I had already discounted that one as I had spotted the Ltd at Pedal On with a discount.

    So, deposit made, fat chance of getting any sleep tonight! Collecting tomorrow after work! Can't wait!!

    Thanks for the feedback folks.
    2011 Giant Trance Ltd, 2016 Revs, XT bits etc.

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