What AM bike for £1500

JimboM

Hi guys

I'm getting myself totally confused about what AM bike I should buy so could do with some input on the best way to spend my £1500 budget. Bike will be used mainly on Surrey Hills initially but am planning some more srious use hence going for AM.

So far condsidering these 3 bikes

1. Canyon Nerve AM 6 - actually got one of these in my front room at the moment, like the bike but not sure about the Fox fork as it hasn't got the FIT system. Bit reluctant to give it a good test as might make it difficult to send it back if I need to

http://www.canyon.com/_uk/mountainbikes ... tml?b=2564


2. 2011 Stumpjumer FSR - mates got one of these and I like it too. Feels as comfortable as the Canyon and looks to be slightly better spec

http://www.hargrovescycles.co.uk/produc ... rtno=40686


3. YT Industries Wicked 150 - don't know anything about this nor can I find much on the web but spec looks good for the price

http://www.yt-industries.com/en/bikes-2012/wicked-150/


Is there anything else out there that I should also consider, don't want to buy used as I don't know enough not to buy a pup !


Thanks for any advice you can give

Cheers

Jim

styxd

Surrey Hills? Buy a hardtail. On One do some well specced bikes for £1500, the carbon looks good.

warpcow

There's something wrong with the spec. of that Specialized at Hargroves. I'd check that they haven't mixed it up with a more expensive model (see here: http://www.evanscycles.com/products/specialized/stumpjumper-fsr-comp-2011-mountain-bike-ec024989 ). If they have then it's a marginally worse spec. than the other two, depending what you prioritise.

The geometry of the Specialized and Canyon is quite similar, while the YT is a little longer and slacker.

Really though, my answer is that you have a good bike already. Get out and ride it FFS! If your only concern is the lack of FIT cartridge, then none of the other bikes listed offer anything similar either. It's something you could upgrade to at a later date anyway. Unless you up your budget now, you've probably bought one of the absolute best specced bikes you can afford.

Briggo

As Warpcow mentions the spec on the Stumpy is wrong, this is the correct spec -

http://www.specialized.com/gb/gb/bc/SBC ... spid=52821

Although I have a Stumpy, my mate has the AM 7 and it's an awesome machine, either won't disappoint but if you already got the AM 6 I'd stick with that!

The open bath dampner on the fox forks are absolutely fine, yes the FIT cartridge makes a difference but nothing overly game changing.

Just get it upgraded at a later date, unless you can afford to get the AM 7 now that has it.