cube acid 2012 VS giant xtc 3 2011.. wich is best?

tezboy1234

is there anyone who knows there stuff who can help me? i'm looking at getting a mountain bike, my 1st since i was a kid. i know nothing about it really so started learning on the net. i'm not going to spend thousands on my 1st bike, and i know it's better for me to get a hardtail as full suspension bikes under a thousand are probably best avoided. i suppose i'm best off with an entry level bike to start with. at first i was content to go with the carrera vulcan, a decent enough bike to start with according to reviews. but the more i looked at bikes the more i was lured to more pricier options. i'm torn between two at the moment and this is were i need help! first up is a bike i discoverd on bikeradar deal of the week. it's the Giant xtc 3 2011. it usually retails at 995 pounds but is on sale for 599 pounds, almost 400 pound off! the next bike is the Cube analog disc 2012. it retails at around 580 pounds. although i can get either of these bikes for just under 600 pounds, the giant is actually worth just under a thousand pounds, a fair bit more. i need to know wich one to buy. wich is best? based on looks, the cube wins hands down for me, but i can't choose based on looks, lol.. which is lightest? which has the best fork? which has the best gears, brakes, frame and so on. more importantly, wich holds up best in use, on trails for example? i've searched for professional and customer reviews but found nothing. if anyone can give any info as to wich bike is best it would be a big help. both use shimano but different types. i've no idea wich type of shimano is best so you can see how hard it is for beginners like me to differentiate.

chez_m356

the giant, better forks, chainset, gears etc etc

tezboy1234

thx for the reply.. the canyon does look good, and 1 and a half grand aint a lot to pay in mountain bike terms. but at this stage i wouldnt pay that much on a bike that may only get left sitting there after a few months. i'll spend up to around 600
quid for my 1st bike. if i'm still using it with enjoyment after 6mths to a year, then i'll look more upmarket. untill then, i gotta be sensible and not get carried away. thing is, u said the giant had better spec (fork, gears etc) but are they just a bit better, or lots better! if there really aint that much difference in quality between the two, i'll go with the cube. if the giant is way better, i'll go with that.

journey_man_pro

I have this years xtc 2. Comes with a good enough spec to get started and it's easy to ride. Flies uphill and keeps its speed very well. It's not built for heavy downhill but it copes with trail centre stuff brilliantly. Twice I've thought about selling it but I've ended up keeping it as I like it that much now.

Long_Time_Lurker

Try both out - see which one fits the best. At the end of the end of the day, that is the most important factor. If one doesn't feel right, I would walk away.

However, I would go for the 2011 Giant for the reasons stated above.
The Giant is well priced at £600. Good frame as the basis for future upgrades too.

chez_m356

tezboy1234 wrote:

thx for the reply.. the canyon does look good, and 1 and a half grand aint a lot to pay in mountain bike terms. but at this stage i wouldnt pay that much on a bike that may only get left sitting there after a few months.

What ????? think you may have been a little confused, the 2 bikes at the bottom of my reply weren't suggestions, thats my signature, there my bikes i still say go with the giant

felix.london

chez_m356 wrote:

tezboy1234 wrote:

thx for the reply.. the canyon does look good, and 1 and a half grand aint a lot to pay in mountain bike terms. but at this stage i wouldnt pay that much on a bike that may only get left sitting there after a few months.

What ????? think you may have been a little confused, the 2 bikes at the bottom of my reply weren't suggestions, thats my signature, there my bikes i still say go with the giant

He must have thought "cheers mate, I right a very detailed post about what I'm after and how much I want to spend and you recommend a bike that's well over twice my budget!!"

tezboy1234

i was looking firstly at the cube analog disc 2012. but for 150 more u get the higher specked acid (including a rock shox recon silver air). wich is better? the cube acid 2012 or giant xtc 3 2011? and why? the acid costs a little more than the giant, but thats coz the giant is now last years model. the giant used to be 995 pound, now going for 600 pound. the cube acid is around 750 pound. i'm a noob so any help, advice or suggestions would be appreciated. theres very little info out there on these 2 products, in terms of professional/customer reviews or first rides etc...

PRWBrighton

I'm looking for a new bike on the cycle to work scheme and have narrowed my choice down to the same two bikes.
As far as I can tell they are very similar in spec, same forks, same group set, same brakes.
One advantage the Cube has is remote lock-out forks, I don't know why the Giant doesn't have this.
I've looked on the Giant website for it's weight but they don't give it and I haven't found it anywhere else either.
I can't see why the Giant was originally nearly a grand when it's virtually identical in spec to the Cube. Maybe it's got an awsome frame but I can't tell from the description and we don't know the weight so there's no way of telling for sure. I don't know of anywhere near me that has either of these bikes and I've got to make my choice by the end of the month so there's no chance of trying them out.
I'm leaning towards the Cube because of the remote lockout but I'm sure there must be a reason the Giant was originally so much more and if it is worth the extra £200 then I'll get it.
Can anyone offer anything new to what I've discovered?
Thanks.

rockmonkeysc

For a beginner the Giant Talon might be better than the XTC. It has more stable geometry & more comfortable riding position. The XTC is aimed at cross country racing, the Talon is a trail bike.
I bought my wife a Talon recently. I was surprised how nice it is, excellent frame, nice geometry & reasonable spec for the money. It is a little heavier than the XTC though but it is also tougher.

Jake10

I'm currently split between the cube acid 2012 and giant xtc 2 2011 and in need of professional advice! Which bike did you guys choose?

tezboy1234

went with cube ltd cc 2012. ordered the 2011 version from bike discount. turns out they had sold out and they offered me the 2012 version for 780 quid. snapped it up