2012 HardTail - £800ish

Strombolie007

Hi Guys, sorry but i had to make a new post, i could find anything i needed to know.
Im looking for a new 2012 Hardtail, the budget i have is 800, maybe more if its worth it. This will be my first proper bike and will be for a while so it has to last ! Also 120mm forks seem to be much much better than 100 so im looking for a bike with them. I have looked around and these are the bikes I think are the best for this price range.
Diamondback - Apex
Cube ltd
Grand Canyon Al 6.0
Cube Acid
Cannondale trail SL
Boardman HT Comp
Boardman HT Team
Boardman HT Pro - if its worth spending the extra money.
Are these bikes the best for that kind of price range ? Are there better ones availble ?
All replies and suggestions are very much appreciated.

felix.london

I'd prefer to have the 100mm Reba (Canyon) than the 120mm Suntour (Cube) myself.

If I had to spend £800ish on a HT today I'd go for the Canyon.

Strombolie007

But what about the Boardman's the pro has 120mm reba's and the team have 120mm recon gold.
The Canyon does seem good but i cant help feel i can get better than 100mm reba's and better all round spec for that sort of money ?

benpinnick

I would personally go 2011 for a Genesis 50 - Currently available (in admittedly limited sizes) for £800 ish rather than the list of £1300.

felix.london

Strombolie007 wrote:

But what about the Boardman's the pro has 120mm reba's and the team have 120mm recon gold.
The Canyon does seem good but i cant help feel i can get better than 100mm reba's and better all round spec for that sort of money ?

Nothing wrong with the spec on the Canyon plus I don't get on with SRAM shifters but that's obviously a personal thing.

(and I'm literally about to go and buy a €2K used bike with SRAM shifters :? - but as soon as any part of the drivetrain needs replacing it's gonna be Shimano Saint all the way )

But yeah - If you feel the 120mm fork is more suited to your riding style or where you ride then go for it. I have the 120mm Reba RL on my bike. Good fork.

Strombolie007

I think I may go for the Boardman Pro it seems the best with the forks and its light, plus i dont really know or have had any problems with sram, the only thing is getting my head around spending 1000 pounds on a bike !! I hope my work will do this bike to work scheme, that hopefully will bring the price down.
What do people think, am i making the right choice ???
Oh and if i do get this bike it will be from halfords as they are the only people who sell Boardmans right ? Has there service and their bike building skills got any better ?
Thank's again for the replies, this is really helpful and appreciated

esspeebee

Halfords building and servicing varies hugely depending on which shop you go to and who's working that day. Some of them know what they're doing; some don't. Expect nothing and you won't be disappointed.

When I bought my Boardman hybrid from Halfords in Cambridge, it was delivered with the front QR undone, both brakes rubbing, the back brake so badly adjusted that it was impossible to get any braking force out of it (yet it still rubbed), indexing wrong both front and rear, and the front derailleur cage twisted so that the crank hit it on every pedal stroke. Others, though, have reported much better experiences.

Strombolie007

Okay guys, sorry im dragging this but i really want the best bike for the money, i have decided that i wont get the Boardman Pro for a first bike and ill look at it has a more upgrade bike, so back to square one !! We also have new contenders : Cube LTD CC 2012, Genesis 26.3. Now i have decided i wan Reba forks, they seem a really good save bet to go on, are ther any other bike with rebas that are around 800 ? I know the Grand Canyon AL 6.0 has rebas but the brake dont seem that good for a 840 pound bike ?
Thanks again for replies and and more will be great.

supersonic

Go and see as many as you can in the flesh - soem might just not fit you, so easy to rule them out.

But if they did fit, it would be the Boardman Pro for me.

Strombolie007

Im trying but i live in colchester and there arent really any good bike shops, ive seen the Boardmans and they look great and feel good aswell so i may go for the Team and maybe upgrade the forks ?
Its so hard to choose !!!!!!!!!!!

supersonic

It would cost you much more to upgrade the forks than the price difference of the bikes - plus the Pro has other better parts too.

The Comp has better forks than the Team!

Strombolie007

I can get the CUBE LTD PRO 2012 for £859 on Amazon, sound good enough to get ?

supersonic

Is a good bike, excellent price.

Strombolie007

Plus it looks nice which is a bonus, would you say it's the best bike for that price ?

supersonic

Possibly, but with sale prices things change all the time. There are far, far worse.

concorde

felix.london wrote:

Strombolie007 wrote:

But what about the Boardman's the pro has 120mm reba's and the team have 120mm recon gold.
The Canyon does seem good but i cant help feel i can get better than 100mm reba's and better all round spec for that sort of money ?

Nothing wrong with the spec on the Canyon plus I don't get on with SRAM shifters but that's obviously a personal thing.

(and I'm literally about to go and buy a €2K used bike with SRAM shifters :? - but as soon as any part of the drivetrain needs replacing it's gonna be Shimano Saint all the way )

But yeah - If you feel the 120mm fork is more suited to your riding style or where you ride then go for it. I have the 120mm Reba RL on my bike. Good fork.

How can you 'not get on' with sram shifters?! Some people are far too menstrual.

felix.london

Because I prefer to use my index finger to shift up.

bennett_346

Concorde wrote:

felix.london wrote:

Strombolie007 wrote:

But what about the Boardman's the pro has 120mm reba's and the team have 120mm recon gold.
The Canyon does seem good but i cant help feel i can get better than 100mm reba's and better all round spec for that sort of money ?

Nothing wrong with the spec on the Canyon plus I don't get on with SRAM shifters but that's obviously a personal thing.

(and I'm literally about to go and buy a €2K used bike with SRAM shifters :? - but as soon as any part of the drivetrain needs replacing it's gonna be Shimano Saint all the way )

But yeah - If you feel the 120mm fork is more suited to your riding style or where you ride then go for it. I have the 120mm Reba RL on my bike. Good fork.

How can you 'not get on' with sram shifters?! Some people are far too menstrual.

This. What a clown.

supersonic

I don't get on with SRAM shifters. I like the finger trigger. I find Shimano, in the exception of X0, to be smoother. I am not a clown for having a preference, neither is the poster here.

benpinnick

This^ I don't like SRAM shifters, nor do I have oversized shoes and a red foam nose.

Dr Avinuon

Strombolie007 wrote:

I think I may go for the Boardman Pro it seems the best with the forks and its light, plus i dont really know or have had any problems with sram, the only thing is getting my head around spending 1000 pounds on a bike !! I hope my work will do this bike to work scheme, that hopefully will bring the price down.
What do people think, am i making the right choice ???
Oh and if i do get this bike it will be from halfords as they are the only people who sell Boardmans right ? Has there service and their bike building skills got any better ?
Thank's again for the replies, this is really helpful and appreciated

If you do go for the Boardman try the NUSMAR12 code and join this bunch http://www.britishcycling.org.uk/membership/benefits to knock the price down a bit. Or if you know a teacher the NUT can get you 15% off as well.

Strombolie007

Just looked on halfords got that 10 % off code, ( THANKS DR AVINUON ) which means its narrowed down to just three now !!
The Cube LTD Pro - £859
The Boardman HT Pro - £899
The VooDoo Wanga - £899
Very hard choice, all have great forks, VooDoo has the best forks, the Boardman is the lightest, the Cube looks great and has the one piece frame if that really does make a difference. I have a halfords close to me and i went there not long ago and couldnt see a Voodoo Wanga anywhere, so ive only seen one of these bikes.
What does everyone think ?

mak3m

what are you looking at riding?

your options include 100 - 140mm of travel

If you want to point it downwards and go for big hits look at the wanga

if you want to point it up and down and get some fast xc in look at the cube

if you want a really good well specced all rounder with a pug of a BB look at the boardman

Strombolie007

Thanks for that
It's gonna be my first major bike, if you know what i mean, im gonna start riding alot now, like everyday to everywhere i go and i love going on long bike rides off road and on trails, its going to have to take a few knocks, crashes e.t.c. and I like to try out some jumps or ticks e.t.c, nothing like a backflip or anything, just a few jumps and tricks, if i can pull them off without falling off....