Marin B17 2011 or the Vitus Zircon 2?

fordman

Hi guys Im Fordy, from somerset.
Im keen to get into MTB done a bit when i was younger but nothing for a while. Keen on getting a decent bike below £650 really, done lots of researching online etc struggling to find the best deal so to speak. Found a couple of really nice bikes that i like these are the Marin B17 2011 model and the Vitus Zircon 2, the vitus is slightly out of my price range but might be able to stretch to it. Really want them for off roading rides with a bit of on road in between. Keen to hit some trails and try a bit of down hilling but will need time.
What do you guys think? also i quite like the commencal Ramone 3 and 2 bike, but not sure on the suntour fork of the 3 and the 2 is a bit to expensive?
Any advise and tips would be greatly appreciated

cheers

fordman

ok found the vitus cheaper so price isnt so much of an issue. Here are the links for the bikes i like

Vitus:
http://www.chainreactioncycles.com/Mode ... elID=67942

Marin:
http://www.discountcyclesdirect.co.uk/p ... s_id=10908

Commencal:
http://www.merlincycles.com/bike-shop/b ... -bike.html

Also like the Boardmans, but little bit put off by halfords:
http://www.boardmanbikes.com/mtb/ht_comp.html

cheers

cooldad

Boardman or the Vitus.

.blitz

fordman wrote:

also i quite like the commencal Ramone 3 and 2 bike, but not sure on the suntour fork of the 3 and the 2 is a bit to expensive?

I have a Ramones 1 for those HT days:



I love it to bits but it won't suit everyone. It is built like a brick shithouse and weighs a ton but it is very, very tough and stiff verging on harsh. The geometry is good though it has a short top tube combined with a short but steep seat tube and a slack head tube. This sounds ugly but combined with the U-turn fork it means it is quite easy to pedal up hill but at the same time is absolutely destruction-tastic on gnar-tech and on the descents it's the sort of bike that makes me wonder (up to a point) why we bother with FS.

Before I bought it I had the opportunity to try a Ramones 2 and without wanting to seem all snobby about it, the 2 really did feel as though it was nailed to the floor one of those bikes that slows down the moment you stop pedalling and has absolutely no get-up-and-go to it. The lower price and cheaper components were imo a bridge too far and the 2 felt like a completely different bike I would look elsewhere tbh. And the 3? Hmmm.......

FWIW the B17 was on my short list I still like them

fordman

cheers for the responses guys, yea i do like the frame shape of the Ramones but can afford the top model and probs the 3 will be a bit slugish for what im looking for.
Done a bit more research into the Boardman, really like the bike, does anyone think that smooth welding is a weakness? It looks awesome but not sure on the physical benefits of it. Also the promo code to get the discount has stopped working? does anyone know the updated discount code? would help massively.
cheers