What bike up to £1800

b_real

Hi all, need help shopping.

i've got £1,800 to spend on http://www.bikereplacement.co.uk as settlement for my stolen Giant Trance X3 (2010).

http://www.bikereplacement.co.uk/c2/Mountain-bikes.aspx

The Giant Trance X2 (2013) model is the obvious and safe one, but I was getting a bit bored with the old X3 to be honest, fancied going back to a hardtail.. titanium if poss... or maybe a different full sus. Dont think theres a ti hardtail on there at that price tho. What would you get from that website up to around £1,800?

Quite like the look of the Saracen Zen 2013 ... 650b wheel size is attractive.

Any others to consider?

junglist_matty

This?

b_real

junglist_matty wrote:

This?

Got it already. Two would be indulgent.

supersonic

For what type of riding? XC, All Mountain?

b_real

Mostly trails, around Glentress, Pentlands etc. Did the Relentless 24 enduro around the Nevis range a while back, loved it... might get back into that kind of stuff a bit more over the next couple of years.

querhoch

you should totally buy my DH bike.

b_real

Why will the one from Tesco not do the job? It's got dual suspension.

;-)

b_real

Ok, i've whittled down the list to the following possibilities:

Full suspension:

Giant...
Trance x3 2012
Trance x2 2013 £1,799
Trance x 29er 1 £1,999
Trance x 29er 2 £1,499
Anthem x 29er 1 £1999
Anthem x 29er 2 £1,799
Anthem x 29er 3 £1,699

Lapierre...
Spicy 316 £1,999
Zesty 214 £1,899
X-control 610 £1,799
X-flow 312 £1,799

Saracen...
Ariel 161 2012 £2,099
Ariel 161 2013 £2,599 (for contrast against 2012 model, is 2012 model better value?)
Ariel 141 2012 £1,899
Ariel 141 2013 £2,249

Scott...
Spark 650 or 950 £1,999
660 or 960 £1,499

Spesh...
Camber comp 2013 £2,000
Status I 2013 £2000
Camber £1,500
Camber fsr elite 2012 £1,600

Hard tails:

Giant...
Xtc composite 2013 £1,549
Xtc 29er 1 £1,949
Xtc 29er 2 £1,699

Lapierre...
Pro race 500 carbon £1,849
Pro race 529 £1,499

Saracen...
Zen 2013 650b £1,599

Charge...
Duster 11 2012 £1,599
Cooker hi 2013 £1,299

Orange...
Clockwork pro 29er 2013 £1,699

Genesis...
High latitude Alfine 2013 £1,699
Latitude 20 2011 £1,599
Hi latitude 2x20 2013 £1,549

Scott...
Scale 630 or 930 £2,099
640 or 940 £1,699

Spesh...
Stumpjumper Evo 29er 2013 £2,000
Carve pro 29er £1,600

Still a lot of options there to whittle down through. Then get out for some test rides. Will collate specs for each bike another night! Half the fun is in the research right? Anyone with any experience of the above feel free to wade in.

I'm 5'8".. so fairly average, no real need for extra long top tubes or special set ups etc.

Greer_

That's not really a narrowed down list!! Haha

Your first decision has to be whether you want a hardtail or full suss.

cooldad

You forgot to add a Surly Pugsley.

chrisw333

right, so you want a racey xc carbon-steel 29er hardcore hardtail with 160mm of bounce at the back? Brilliant.

Plyphon

junglist_matty wrote:

This?

The fu*k is up with those brake levers

rockmonkeysc

Thats a hell of a long short list! You have everything from 160mm travel all mountain beasts to 100mm travel ultra lightweight xc race bikes.

chez_m356

Plyphon wrote:

junglist_matty wrote:

This?

The fu*k is up with those brake levers

you mean you don't know ? :shock: , it's the next big thing, thumb brakes

arigold

Build your own! Time consuming but worth it!

b_real

Yep it's a long list but just trying to figure out what models are the XC bikes / DH / trail bikes etc from all the different brands... separate the 26ers from 29ers etc. I bought my last bike 2 years ago and that was done pretty much all in my local bike shops and I didn't have these brands or models to choose from, and they've changed over the years. I'm doing all the research online this time... and I don't really know all the different brands. Hence i'm on here asking! I think what I need is a comparison site like what dpreview.com is for cameras...

Cooldad, No Surly on the bikereplacement website.

Greer, making that decision my last one! Plan to whittle FS & hardtails down to maybe 2 or 3 each, then go test ride them, then decide. As I said I was thinking of going back to HT, but it depends on how they ride! Can probably get a better set of components for the price on a ht.

Arigold, have been giving that some serious consideration! On-one are getting a 456ti frame in stock in Jan for around £800-£1000, always wanted to do one of those up... not sure I have the patience or the ability tho :-(

b_real

Ok so testing these bikes is proving to be difficult seeing as hardly any of my LBS have any in stock. I took a Rocky Mountain Element 29er for a spin, and I'm pretty sold on the 29er thing. So...

I'm going to go for either the Giant Trance X 29er 1 or the Specialised Camber Comp (I managed to squeeze an extra couple of hundred on the replacement value).

The Giant runs X7 shifters and Elixir 3 brakes. I'll have a couple hundred quid or so to upgrade these. Can anyone advise on the following:

Shifters - X9 pair for £99 or X0 pair for £169. Possibly X0 grip shifts for £169. Assuming these will all work, and don't need to buy different cables, or anything else to consider?
Brakes - XT lever and caliper £109 each. The existing elixirs use 180mm rotors, will they work with the XT's?

Also which would you upgrade first, shifters or brakes?

Greer_

What are the wheels/forks/tyres? They may be more important upgrades. A link would help to see the spec!

But those things can definitely be found cheaper. Try the German sites. As long as the calliper mounts are the same, the brakes will bolt straight on. If they're not, you may need new adaptors.

Another thing to consider though - would you not be better spending your full budget on a bike, instead of setting some of it aside for upgrades. If you have to upgrade before you've even bought it, it might not be the right bike! Thought of building one yourself?

b_real

Apologies, should have put a link in...

http://www.giant-bicycles.com/en-gb/bik ... ifications

Its running Fox 32 FLOAT 29" O/C CTD on Giant P-XC29 2 and Schwalbe Nobby Nics.

The budgeting is complicated. I'm replacing two bikes on an insurance claim, they value both bikes and you can spend the money how you like on their website at their undiscounted prices. The first is the Trance. The second bike is potentially saving me £100 (in insurance replacement terms, not in cash money yo!) so I've got that to spend on something else, hence upgrading something. £100 will take me to the total value of my claim, I can spend more if I want and anything above gets 20% discount. With me?

So yeah there aren't really any other 29ers on the site that cost £100 more than the X 29.

I had considered taking a cash settlement and having freedom to buy wherever I want and potentially build my own, but the settlement value is 20% less. I priced up building my own titanium hardtail and hit £2,500 before I'd even got any wheels or forks!!

b_real

Another reason for not building my own is that I'm inherently lazy, lacking in mechanical skills (although the learning experience would see to that), and I live in a flat meaning space is an issue!

b_real

Greer_ wrote:

But those things can definitely be found cheaper. Try the German sites. ?

Oh and... what German sites?

warpcow

b_real wrote:

Greer_ wrote:

But those things can definitely be found cheaper. Try the German sites. ?

Oh and... what German sites?

The ones that don't involve leather.

(throw "german shops" into the search here and you'll find a few lists)

Greer_

b_real wrote:

Another reason for not building my own is that I'm inherently lazy, lacking in mechanical skills (although the learning experience would see to that), and I live in a flat meaning space is an issue!

My bike workshop (and storage facility!) is my bedroom at uni! No excuse!

But there's bike-discount.de - rosebikes.de - bike24 - actionsports - and more I can't remember!

CB75

i love hardtails and out of your ahem 'short list'! i quite like the look of the new saracen zen 650b! for the likes of glentress a good long travel hardtail like this is perfect. there are plenty of nice full suspension bikes within your budget but i just feel that for a lot of trail centres a good burly hardtail is more than adequate and a whole lot of fun!

b_real

Saw one of warpcow's posts on german bike shops, for anyone reading this thread here's a useful extract:

actionsports.de (good for wheels and Shimano)
bike-discount.de (good for brakes and gears parts)
bike-components.de (well stocked for pretty much everything)
bike24.net (a bit average but has good deals sometimes)
hibike.de (cheap for some stuff, but site is a pain to navigate)
and rosebikes (good for Shimano but the rest is very 'meh' unless you want commuter stuff)

Had a quick scan on bike-discount.de, noticed a small improvement in price for some things (e.g. X9 shifters) but it was more expensive for others (e.g. X0 shifters). I guess some vigilance is required when shopping abroad!

My bike workshop (and storage facility!) is my bedroom at uni! No excuse!

Ha ha, busted me on that one, in response, I have nothing.

I got a response from a Giant product manager on facebook regarding possible shifter & brake upgrades. He recommended just running the existing X7's into the ground then upgrading after, and for brakes depends on budget but Elixir 7's or SLX's a good starting point.

Barrelmaker

I have SLX M666 brakes on my bike and they are superb, far superior to my old Juicy's. Can't comment on the Elixirs though.

b_real

Ok so it looks like this list is coming down to two bikes:

1) Giant Trance X 29 1 http://www.giant-bicycles.com/en-gb/bikes/model/2013.giant.trance.x.29er.1/11852/56868/
2) Scott Genius 740 (the 650b version, tho there is a 29er version too). http://www.scott-sports.com/global/en/products/227721009/bike-genius-740-xl/

Through complicated insurance calculations, the Trance would cost me £100 and the Genius £420.

Trance runs Fox 32 Floats up front, Float CTD Boost valve at the back, SRAM X9 back/ X7 front mechs, X7 shifters, Elixir 3 brakes, Giant P-XC wheels and the Contact Switch-R dropper post.

Genius runs Fox 34 Float, Scott DT M3, SLX RD / FD mechs, Deore shifters, Shimano BR-M596 brakes, Syncros XC wheels, no dropper post but it does have the Scott patented TwinLoc lever system that lets you adjust your front&rear suspension remotely with one level.

Hmm.... could add a dropper post to the Genius easily enough, couldn't get a TwinLoc equivalent on the Trance... but I could put the £300 saved on the Genius to good use on the Trance...or get a gopro... hmm....