looking for a new bike circa £400-£500.
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Was in the Sheffield Decathlon on Friday on the way home as I work around the corner. The new rock rider 8.1 is indeed out in July and I think the par there said the 12 th but don't hold me to that. He also confirmed spec unchanged and price will be the same.
Mind you if you're ok with French you want to have a look at the bikes that they don't bring to the UK at the moment though you can order them..........
One of my colleagues has an older 8.1 (last years model) and loves it to bits . But he is into more XC riding .0 -
Ive tweeted decathlon to ask about the 2012 model. Thanks for the info though, lets see if they respond to my message...
If, in a couple of years time, I wanted to upgrade the fork, would the 8.1 be a suitable base platform?0 -
As with all things you have to try it. Best piece of advice is to get to sit on one and see how you feel. I'd also wonder if you'd notice the difference in a fork upgrade unless you spent as much again (£500) on a new one, though I could be wrong. ... I would imagine IMHO that most of us would not be able to tell much of the subtle differences in forks without spending serious amounts of time on bikes.
At the end of the day it's your money and your choice - see which makes you feel most comfortable and happy and apply the old Yorkshire logic - "if in doubt, do nowt".0 -
The fork upgrade at that price difference is not to be underestimated. Even the difference between a rockshox dart/xc28 and a tora/recon silver is pretty pronounced in terms of weight and stiffness.
I once put a set of tora's on my old saracen mantra to replace a set of suntours and it felt like a lead weight had been taken from it somewhere, then there was the performance difference it was like chalk and cheese !0 -
I had a response from Decathlon on twitter. They have said that it is mid July for the new 8.1. I have now asked them whether the existing bikes will go on sale and when...lets see what they say lol!
On the subject of the 8.1, I think the vast consensus is that its the best choice for £500, but what I'd like to understand is how much more I would have to pay to get a marked improvement.
Someone posted this link to a Giant on another thread http://www.paulscycles.co.uk/products.php?plid=m1b0s2p3484, its £800, which is more than I can afford, but what I want to know is how much better is this bike? Is it a lot better or only a little better? If alot better, then maybe I should be keeping my current bike for another 6 months and saving up a little. If only a little better then I won't be too worried about buying a £500 bike now.
Thanks0 -
It is better - not by much though. It gets a lighter, alloy stanchioned air version of the fork, but is the same lower legs and damper, and not actually as smooth.
Frame is ahalf a pound lighter, and the drivetrain one step up - but that's about it, can't see the rest as any 'better'.0 -
Thanks.
Its kind of hard to believe that the rockrider at £500 is almost as good as a £800 giant bike. I didn't like it at first but I am coming round to it now. Very tempted to wait till July though for the new design or to see if they knock £100 off the 2011 model that would be a bonus.0 -
Sounds like you're in the same position as me. Considering these 2 bikes myself. Seems no doubt that the Rockrider edges it in spec but being a beginner, it's in areas that I'm unlikely to detect. There's also the slight price break with the Voodoo, from reviews I'm not so keen on the old school 'racer' fit to the Rockrider frame and of course there's the minor consideration of the looks. Will be trying them both out soon and going from there.
But then again, after reading the guides on here. It seems a half decent rigid bike at £200 ish would probably serve a purpose for me given where I intend to ride at the beginning. Country parks would probably get boring soon though hence my leaning towards something that'll serve on a half decent trail too.
Tough call to make when the last bike I'd ridden was my Raleigh Max Ogre 15
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Thats pretty much what happened to me. I have a rockrider 5.2 at the moment, wish I'd just gone for a £500 bike at the start but I didn't know then whether it was worth the money and if I would stick to it. I progresses pretty quickly to the full monkey trail at Cannock and am getting faster all the time. Would like to try the welsh trails but feel I need a better bike for those, plus would like to have a go at Stile Cop at Cannock too but not sure my current or proposed bike would be up to that as its more downhill style.
What do you mean by 'old school racer' fit?0 -
you do realise that the Giant is on sale there, so you are actually comparing the 8.1 to what is supposedly a £1300 bikepianoman1980 wrote:Someone posted this link to a Giant on another thread http://www.paulscycles.co.uk/products.php?plid=m1b0s2p3484, its £800, which is more than I can afford, but what I want to know is how much better is this bike? Is it a lot better or only a little better?
and for sonic to say this about it, shows just how good the spec on the 8.1 issupersonic wrote:It is better - not by much though. It gets a lighter, alloy stanchioned air version of the fork, but is the same lower legs and damper, and not actually as smooth.
Frame is ahalf a pound lighter, and the drivetrain one step up - but that's about it, can't see the rest as any 'better'.Specialized Hardrock Sport Disc 10- CANYON Nerve AM 6 20110 -
pianoman1980 wrote:
What do you mean by 'old school racer' fit?
Im not sure about the frame geometry itself, but the decathlon has a longer stem and narrower bars compared to most 100mm travel xc bikes. This is easy to change, however, if you dont get on with it.0 -
JKD wrote:Sounds like you're in the same position as me. Considering these 2 bikes myself. Seems no doubt that the Rockrider edges it in spec but being a beginner, it's in areas that I'm unlikely to detect. There's also the slight price break with the Voodoo, from reviews I'm not so keen on the old school 'racer' fit to the Rockrider frame and of course there's the minor consideration of the looks. Will be trying them both out soon and going from there.
But then again, after reading the guides on here. It seems a half decent rigid bike at £200 ish would probably serve a purpose for me given where I intend to ride at the beginning. Country parks would probably get boring soon though hence my leaning towards something that'll serve on a half decent trail too.
Tough call to make when the last bike I'd ridden was my Raleigh Max Ogre 15
Similar position to me really. I've just bought a RR and to be honest, it's probably way too good for me and more than I need at the moment but I always believe in buying the best kit you can afford for whatever the purpose may be. I always considered that the confidence that a new, modern, well equipped bike would instil in me would drive me on to try tougher but more enjoyable trails and I didn't want to get so far and end up wishing I'd bought a better bike. The RR was the best piece of kit available for the price I could afford and while it's too advanced for me at the moment, it will allow me to grow into it. I do agree about the current colour scheme though. It is a bit garish but you won't notice that when you're riding it and it's covered in mud.0 -
I ended up agreeing with what most told me in the beginners thread. I kept thinking how bad could a 'cheap' bike actually be (ie £150)? Full rigid at that money would let me see if I got bored or not. But then you think if it started to rattle, things came loose, wheels buckled etc you'd soon get pissed off with it.
So that brings you to the next level and £350 ish minimum for a good strong bike with solid components. But if you're going down that road then why not go an extra £100 or so to get one of the 2 best hardtails going?
Chain Reaction have some great looking bikes but it's stil the RR 8.1 and the Hoodoo that come out on top for spec.0
