The best £2500 (approx) Full Sus Bike

Privateirony

I am looking to upgrade from a hard tail to a full sus 150mml travel bike, as i am starting to ride some quite knarley stuff and although it is fun on my hard tail it is very unforgiving!
My budget is approximately £2500 and so far i have tried an orange 5 (a bit out of my price range) and a trek remedy 8, going to trial a Specialized Stumpy in the next couple of weeks and then a lappiere 314, and after that a cube stereo, any suggestions of any other rides??
is there an out right winner e.g, "you simply must try this?" or a "for this amount of money you have to get a ****, this is the best money can buy at this price range?"

Thanks

Chunkers1980

MBUK has a trail bike full sus test this month on or about that money.

supersonic

There is no outright 'best' and certainly no outright lemons (though the Orange is close ;-)) either. Some are tougher/heavier than others, or better parts value, or you may prefer a certain suspension system over another.

Are you a haveay rider? Will you be tackling harsh stuff?

Rushmore

imo Ghosts are my fave... and i'll be deffo buying one when I go full sus...

craig-saunders

Rushmore wrote:

imo Ghosts are my fave... and i'll be deffo buying one when I go full sus...

I can confirm that, I have recently purchased a Ghost AMR 5900 and not only does it look good, it rides well too! Super bike......however I purchased a 2011 model and noticed that this year they have lowered the spec :? and dropped the price by £100 or so...........

simonekarl

I did this move in Oct 2009. I did my research like are doing now and asked a lot of riders I knew if I could try their bikes. In the end I bought a 2010 Trek Fuel Ex8. Granted it has slightly less travel than you are looking for, but I didn't notice it. It can handle so much and it goes up hill too, like a rocket!

My second choice was a Lapierre Spicy 316 because it had a better fork, and more travel, but I think the Trek pipped it. Either way both common place around the trails so it says something.

My advice to you is to choice your own bike on your criteria not other peoples, only you know how you ride, where you ride and what your taste is. It's weird but if you don't like the look of your bike you won't ride it as much. Also worth bearing in mind unless you are building your own bike, you won't find every dream component it will always be a compromise, nut at least one you can change later.

Good luck and let us know what you buy. Don't forget to ask for a discount!!

mikeysickalrigh

worth looking at the canyon am range

Privateirony

supersonic wrote:

There is no outright 'best' and certainly no outright lemons (though the Orange is close ;-)) either. Some are tougher/heavier than others, or better parts value, or you may prefer a certain suspension system over another.

Are you a haveay rider? Will you be tackling harsh stuff?

im only 12 1/2 stone so no. My main ride is at cannock chase (monkey trail) whhich is fine for my hard tail but i would like to take on the black there at some point...
i will be riding this lot at some point in the year, (long list to follow)

whinlatter
Afan
coed y brenin
Crag Quarry/Lee Quarry
Kielder
south downs (hopefully)
Peak District (non-trail centre)
Glentress (plus some of the 7stanes)

Torres

Hove you considred the Marin Attack Trail?

I'm a big fan of mine; it's fairly chunky and a bit industrial looking however it rides well and isn't too much of a burden on the climbs.

Just some food for thought.

JonoStevens

I bought a Ghost AMR 5900 in October. Absolutely love it. Feels really fast.

Went to Afan in December and it flew through everything. Comfortable and was a lot of fun to ride.

Was the spec that drew me to it initially.

Is only 120mm though.

mikeysickalrigh

I looked at a Marin XM8, that looked good

1mancity2

Too many to list, get a dart board with all the bikes you like, then throw the dart blindfolded, job done.

but seriously try to narrow your search to a few then test ride them if possible manily to get the right size, they all ride differently.

All the big names have a bike that will cover what you need.

The Rookie

Personal recommendations will be of limited value, most people will only have had 1 or 2 bikes at this price point and even they are likley to be 2-3 years apart......I'd look at the reviews.

Simon

Privateirony

JonoStevens wrote:

I bought a Ghost AMR 5900 in October. Absolutely love it. Feels really fast.

Went to Afan in December and it flew through everything. Comfortable and was a lot of fun to ride.

Was the spec that drew me to it initially.

Is only 120mm though.

last years spec was fantastic, the only thing is that they have lowered it for this year so i dont think i'd get as good a deal (that and its only has 120mm travel)

Zziplex

GT force is worth looking at if you want 150mm. You might be able to find a good deal on a 2011 bike, buy some decent wheels with the saving.

I had a Trek Fuel EX 9.8 then GT Force Carbon Expert, 120mm travel does not feel like 150mm. ;-)

GT will be back in UK fashion soon now the Atherton's have signed for them (if you're worried about what other people/snobs think).

I got mine down to 26lb with American classic Stans tubeless wheels and carbon bars for about your budget.

bjj.andy.w

Another one you may want to throw into the mix is the Santa cruz butcher. Full bike builds star at £2400
http://www.santacruzbikes.co.uk/butcher

Briggo

1mancity2 wrote:

Too many to list, get a dart board with all the bikes you like, then throw the dart blindfolded, job done.

but seriously try to narrow your search to a few then test ride them if possible manily to get the right size, they all ride differently.

All the big names have a bike that will cover what you need.

Indeed, theres so many highly rated bikes out there that it shouldn't be too much hassle picking a bike for the trails you want to ride.

My Stumpy is spot on, I'd certainly have another one and I've ridden most of what you intend to do on it, but that's just my preference, I'm sure if you got a Giant Trance, Ghost AMR, Trek Fuel Ex or something similar you'd probably love that too.

TheGeneralist

craig-saunders wrote:

I have recently purchased a Ghost AMR 5900 and not only does it look good, it rides well too! Super bike......however .....

I've been thinking about the AMR 8700 but was worried that the Bottom Bracket was too low. How do you find yours? Are you forever clonking it off things?

cheers

craig-saunders

£2500 will get you the AMR 5900 plus....... 140mm of travel, if you search hard enough you may be able to still get a 2011, better spec than the 2012.

The Generalist.... I haven't bashed it yet, it is a very nice ride, light and speedy up hill and feels like a rocket going down hill and around trails! The rear linkage responds well and the whole ride is nice and plush.... every one has there own opinions on bikes, but I would go and try one!

craig-saunders

Check this out.......... Bargin .......... http://www.globalbike.co.uk/products/Gh ... -2011.html

Privateirony

craig-saunders wrote:

£2500 will get you the AMR 5900 plus....... 140mm of travel, if you search hard enough you may be able to still get a 2011, better spec than the 2012.

The Generalist.... I haven't bashed it yet, it is a very nice ride, light and speedy up hill and feels like a rocket going down hill and around trails! The rear linkage responds well and the whole ride is nice and plush.... every one has there own opinions on bikes, but I would go and try one!

agreed about the spec, but what is of more concern to me is the colour, what the hell were they thinking??

i am now turning my attentions to the cubes either the stereo race or the stereo sl (the sl is slightly more expensive, but with a rockshox reverb seat post and FIT front forks)

streetvw

for that sort a coin you could get a Canyon AM9
http://www.canyon.com/_uk/mountainbikes ... tml?b=2566

Mojo_666

streetvw wrote:

for that sort a coin you could get a Canyon AM9
http://www.canyon.com/_uk/mountainbikes ... tml?b=2566

Not a bad bike if I do say so myself.

Privateirony

streetvw wrote:

for that sort a coin you could get a Canyon AM9
http://www.canyon.com/_uk/mountainbikes ... tml?b=2566

great bike, but if im spending that sort of money, then i want to ride it before i buy it, which kinda rules this one out. Unless of course any one knows of any demo days coming up for the canyons any where?

ianm7222

Got a cube stereo pro in December, after 2 years of riding an anthem X, the stereo takes a little more effort to hustle up the climbs so i'll not be doing any xc marathons, but you can still ride it all day. I weigh around 15 stone and the bike is solid and doesnt flex at all! My riding buddy got the zesty in November and this feels a little flexy for my weight and the zesty is definetly faster on smooth climbs but no where near the stereo on the descents.

Despite my weight I dont use the propedal and leave it open all the time, there is hardly any bob at all, and if you dropping the front really allows you to atttack the climbs. horses for courses as they say - no more chain reaction marathons for me, but I'm looking forward to the gravity enduros now :-)

if you live for the climbs - Zesty
if you live for the descents - Stereo

supafly1982

depends what you want out a bike. do you want a good all rounder to do trail centres and all day rides or do you want a bike that will be fun at charging through the rough stuff but struggle more on the climbs, even though it will be able to climb.

I have a Marin wolfridge 6.8, the best way to describe it is a pocket DH bike or supermini DH bike. great fun at charging through the rough stuff at speed, loves the DH more than clibs but can climb. Has stiff tight feeling to it. a little heavy and cant really be carried, Low BB so pedal strikes are common. Awesome fun bike and can do all but as said climbing could be easyer.

Now then i was looking at the Cubes, the Stereo was described pretty similer to the Wolfridge so im looking at a Cube 130 AMS range, this seems to fit the bill, will climb very well, light, good spec, reduced pedal bob etc, this looks like a win to me, the SL is the one i fancey

Privateirony

cheers guys, i am going upto northwest mountain bikes in March to go for a test ride at Roman Lakes/Strines with 3 bikes - Lapierre 214 50cm, Santa Cruz Heckler Lge and a Specialized SJ in Lge then the next day i go to whinlatter to try out the Cube, should be fun!!

agg25

I had my eye on the Cube 130 SL as well for a while, good spec for the dough, nice and light with good amount of travel, pity I never got to test one anywhere, rare as rocking horse sh1t to actually go and test.

weeksy59

HAs to be a Bionicon.

No other bike has the ability to change from uphill to downhill mode so dramatically and quickly.

Anonymous

When you've done with all the investigations, just pop into the nearest Santa Cruz dealer and pick up a Blur LT. You know it makes sense

It's a bit above the budget, but did say 'approx' . In the right deal or ex-demo, second hand easily under budget though.



(though it'll have you longing for a carbon Nomad)

Privateirony

Update: I've tried a lappierre 214, a trek remedy 8, a cube stereo hpc, a Santacruz heckler, and a Santacruz nickel.

I've narrowed it down to two bikes

The heckler and the trek.

Tried the heckler in the peaks and it gobbled up the trails round there, whereas the trek I tried at coed y brenin and that performed admirably, decision time me thinks