Trek 2013 Remedy V's Fuel EX... Or something else?..

dredgey

Thanks for the additional replies. I'm heading to the bike shop tomorrow so I should be able to make some sort of decision. Still in two minds, a week or so ago I was leaning towards the remedy but now I'm thinking the nimbleness of the EX and better ability to climb is more of an attraction.

Tomorrow will hopefully decide matters although I've also been recommend to pop down to mountain trax (http://www.mountain-trax.com/) as I've been informed by a guy in the know that the Trek's may not be the best value for money and that I should consider a Whyte, Orange, Santa Cruz or Yeti...? Confused.com

chrisw333

Does the 'guy in the know' happen to sell those models?

I very much doubt you'll get better value for money with any of those - pretty much the opposite I'd have thought unless there are deals on.

If its value for money you're after look at Canyon. There's also good deals on the Giant Trance range which offer similar type of bike to the EX

jairaj

just sort out some demo rides then you'll know which one to get

dredgey

The decisions continue...

Good question Chrisw333, but no he races mountain bikes. He's a friend of my brother and had had a range of bikes uncluding a Trek, Yeti and the like.

So I visited two shops today. From the first one I have short listed a few bikes that are all 29ers. I'll also be demoing them:

Scott Spark 940, I've got this on demo for tomorrow.

Santa Cruz Tallboy or maybe a Superlight. From what I understand great bikes but with my £2500 limit I'll be looking at lower standard group set such as deore. I'll be swapping demo bikes tomorrow for the Santa Cruz.

Whyte M-109, this is the cheaper bike of the three.

The second shop didn't have the Trek Ex8 in stock so showed me an EX9 which looked fantastic but is the convential 26" wheel. They will be getting an EX8 in for me next weekend to also demo. They had no remedy's available for demo.

I'm pretty certain I'm going to love the EX8, but there is a spanner in the works now encouraging me towards a 29er??

symanoy

Whats made you swing towards a 29er? Not against it, but don't hop on it simply for the sake of it, they offer something a little different to a regular 26er.

Santa Cruz make super nice bikes, but like your said very pricey! I'd rather get a cheaper bike with a sorted quality spec personally, that doesn't need immediate upgrading. But good to see your getting a test ride! See what you make of them, swinging a leg over a bike is one of the best ways to find out what you like and what your after!

dredgey

symanoy wrote:

Whats made you swing towards a 29er? Not against it, but don't hop on it simply for the sake of it, they offer something a little different to a regular 26er.

Santa Cruz make super nice bikes, but like your said very pricey! I'd rather get a cheaper bike with a sorted quality spec personally, that doesn't need immediate upgrading. But good to see your getting a test ride! See what you make of them, swinging a leg over a bike is one of the best ways to find out what you like and what your after!

Only down to the fact that the first shop seemed to stock 99% 29ers which made me think if someone has most of their business geared up to them there must be something in them. They were clearly a shop that were very positive about them so I felt it best to give them a try, I'll post my thoughts tomorrow after riding the Scott Spark 29er up at Swinley Forest. I do have a slight concern in the back of my head that the 29ers are a bit new and bought by innovators. Back in the late 90's I converted all my music to minidisc on the prediction it was the future. It really wasn't. But I admit there seems to be some attractions of a 29er...

The plan is to swap the Scott after the ride tomorrow for one of the Santa Cruz's ready for a ride in the week/next weekend by which point I'll also be collecting the Ex8 from shop no.2 so that I'll have both bikes at the same time to compare.

I agree with your opinion about getting a bike with an overall quality. The Santa Cruz might just be a financial stretch too far. I have a feeling I may well get on with the EX8 more easily but we'll see; watch this space...

dusk

Sants Cruz tallboy lt does look like a very nice bike, I might have got one if they didn't cost over twice what similar spec from another brand would

dredgey

dusk wrote:

Sants Cruz tallboy lt does look like a very nice bike, I might have got one if they didn't cost over twice what similar spec from another brand would

What brands are you thinking about mate?

dusk

I bought a YT wicked 160 ltd instead, I had been lusting over a Tallboy LTC in Leisure Lakes but it was £5k and had SLX kit on it. The YT was half that and has significantly better spec (apart from the frame).

dredgey

Nice choice Dusk.

I went out on the Scott Spark 940 today, first time on a 29er. I have to admit I was sceptical before riding it, but I did notice the difference. The bigger wheels did what the shop said they would do; it was a smoother ride, had more momentum and it climbed more easily. I didn't notice any difference in manoeuvrability as such which was an initial concern. That said I have ruled out this particular bike for two reasons; firstly and most importantly I felt a bit stretched out on the bike. I won't pretend to understand the technical elements but upon returning to the shop they tell me the geometry has a racier type of feel, you lean forward more. In fact the chap I spoke to today is selling his Trek EX8 in favour of a Scott Spark as he wants to get into more racing. Secondly on a more personal level this bike doesn't do much for me visually.

So I've returned the Scott and collected the Santa Cruz Superlight ready for the next demo. I have a feeling I'm going to like this bike and on speaking to the guy in the shop today it's more in budget than I had previously thought.

symanoy

The superlights aren't bad value, as they use the single pivot suspension design. However i believe the superlight is more of a XC bike with only 100mm travel so might not be quite what your after, with a Fuel Ex at 130 and the Remedy 150. The Tallboy LT might be more in line and is meant to be very nice indeed but costs an arm and a leg! But ride it and decided for yourself what you make of it!

dredgey

They did mention that it only had 100mm travel and the Scott had the same. They tell me on a 29er 100mm is the equivalent to 120mm? There is the option of a fork upgrade which provides 120mm of travel which is more appealing. That said the group set upgrade from Shram X5 to Shimano is also appealing but that takes it to £2768 which is quite a bit more than I wanted to spend even though I'll be doing it on interest free finance.

dredgey

Ok So I took the Santa Cruz Superlight 29er out yesterday... what a bike! It really inspired confidence; I was doing things on it that I would never do on my hardtail. The biger wheels gave a smooth ride and seemed to go straight over everything and up everything.

I've got the Trek EX8 for tomorrow....

dredgey

Trialed the EX8 Today. Lovely bike. It coped well at everything and its a great looking bike too which is a bonus. That said I wanted to love it more than the Santa Cruz Superlight and I'm not sure if I do. For the moment its on the shortlist with the Santa Cruz. I have the rest of the month to demo more bikes from the LBS so will take advantage of that before I reach a decision.

Next weekend I have booked either the Santa Cruz tallboy or the Whyte M-109 depending on what is in. Tallboy I suspect is way over budget for a relatively decent spec and the Whyte only offers 100mm travel so I suspect the EX or Superlight with the 120mm option will stay at the top of the list...