Ok, getting serious now :)

All-the-gear-no-idea

Hi all,

Well, I’ve been bitten by the MTB bug big time and looking to upgrade. I am hoping you lovely people can help me make a decision! I am looking to spend about £1300 (top end) but happy to pay less then that if I can get a good deal. I am looking to do some XC racing next year as I feel it’s a good fitness target to concentrate on. I am currently using a Rockhopper 2012 which I have upgraded (new front and rear derailleur etc) that has been allot of fun both learning how a bike ticks and the actual riding. I am planning to also do some trail riding courses to learn some skills and build confidence.

So I am looking for a HT bike that can hold its own in an XC race (got no delusions of winning!) and can be used on more technical (not mental yet!) trails.

I want a frame that offers some future proofing so looking at tapered steering, frame mounted brakes and (if possible) internal cabling. Quite happy to stick with 26 and based on price and old models I can get more bike for my money?

I have narrowed down some low, middle and high choices all which have good components etc

Boardman HT PRO (120mm fork, trail plus!, good reviews etc)

http://www.halfords.com/webapp/wcs/stor ... yId_165499

Vitus Rapide 2 (Carbon fibre, XC plus!, low weight, no reviews at all)

http://www.chainreactioncycles.com/Mode ... elID=67799

Trek Elite 8.7 2013 (Internal cabling, good spec all round, could this be the in-betweener XC/Trail bike?)

http://www.trekbikes.com/int/en/bikes/m ... lite_8_7/#

All of the above offer something different in some form and based on components look pretty good.

Any opinions more then welcome.

Thanks!

pnev

£1300? The Boardman pro carbon wins this, not even a contest

All-the-gear-no-idea

Yeah, I was looking at the Carbon. Problem is the stores and the head office are all out not sure if new stock is coming in again as Boardman are preparing their new range.

Sorry forgot to add that I need at 18 (medium) which are all out. Would be a good choice though.

njee20

Whippet.

paulneenan76

Yep On One for a Whippet.

All-the-gear-no-idea

Thanks Guys. That is another good option. Has the whippet got tapered steering? Just thinking bout future upgrades etc. I want my next bike to be with me for a few years

felix.london

What's wrong with the Rockhopper? My '06 is down to 12kg without even trying to make it light (i.e 120mm fork, Reverb, bolt-through axles etc)

Plenty fast when get out of the saddle and tackles most things the Alps can throw at it. I'd spend the money doing the 'hopper up you'll end up with a far better spec'd bike than a £1,300 new one

The Rookie

For £1300 the only bit left would be the frame!

29er fr XC these days?

All-the-gear-no-idea

Another good suggestion and one I was also specing up

I wanted to upgrade to 10 speed and was looking at a 100mm Reba. I didn't think the rockhopper M4 frame (17.5) would take a 120mm fork without buggering up the geometry? I still would want to use the bike for XC and not just trail.

felix.london

The Beginner wrote:

For £1300 the only bit left would be the frame!

Yep - that's all I've got left of mine! Although most of the original parts are still in use on another frame. That Deore stuff is/was bombproof!

All-the-gear-no-idea

Yeah not sure about 29er to be honest. I just didn't like how they feel, maybe it's just me. The other issue is that 1300 quid gets the 29er frame but components are not so great. I don't want to be thinking about upgrading to soon you know

felix.london

All-the-gear-no-idea wrote:

Another good suggestion and one I was also specing up

I wanted to upgrade to 10 speed and was looking at a 100mm Reba. I didn't think the rockhopper M4 frame (17.5) would take a 120mm fork without buggering up the geometry? I still would want to use the bike for XC and not just trail.

Mine was originally spec'd with a 100mm fork so the jump to a 120mm wasn't as big. And in fact the a2c height only increased by about 15mm and the slightly slacker HA suites me down to the ground over here.

But as above - the only thing original is the frame now. But a high spec'd bike for sure

njee20

I'd still have the Whippet, you'd not really do much better spending £1100 on the 'Hopper, and it'd be an inferior frame.

allthegearnoidea

definately the whippet if the boardmans out everywhere, onone have some cracking deals on every so often on the frames and buillds, was always tempted by the green and yellow frame!!!

97th choice

What about the decathlon 8xc replica at 900 and a load of cash saved?

All-the-gear-no-idea

Ah man, thanks guys. Nightmare isn't it, if I was a millionaire I would have them all just to make sure I got the right one

Going to look at the Whippet again, just need to get the sizing right etc

winter_zombie

hi

i have a boardman team pro and its amazing, the comment saying buy the carbon frame in my view isnt worth it
the pro is 11.56kg and the carbon is 10.79kg so their is 0.77kg difference for £300

with a few changers you can get the bike to the same weight or lower.

if you do go for the pro or carbon i would advise you to make your self a member of british cycling
http://www.britishcycling.org.uk/member ... tAodZDEABQ
for just a years basic bronze membership £13.50 you get 10% off at halfords. so you will be saving £90 if you buy the pro version.

have a look at my pictures i posted showing my new boardman team pro bike off i brought a couple of weeks ago
viewtopic.php?f=10017&t=12883694

i hope this helps, good luck with the new bike. if you want to know anything about my bike please pm me and il gladley help.

pnev

For the extra £300 it's not just the weight, you're getting elixir 9's instead of 7's, Sram x9 chainset instead of an FSA comet, internal cable routing, fizik gobi saddle instead of a standard Boardman one, Rockshox Sid forks instead of reba, a much more responsive frame.... Want me to carry on?

Well worth the extra £300

All-the-gear-no-idea

Thanks for the help on this guys. Going to do some more research on all the ideas proposed so far.