Full Suspension Trails bike ~£1600

soundb0y

Hi Guys,

Looking for a bit of advice. Im looking to get my first full suspension bike for riding local trail centres.

I am looking to spend £1000-£1600 and looking for advice on bikes. Willing to look at 2nd hand if I can get a real good deal.

There are a few I am currently looking at but could someone point out all of the differences?

Trek Fuel ex8
Lapierre Zesty 214/314
Canyon Nerve AL
Canyon Nerve AL 29er http://www.canyon.com/_en/mountainbikes ... al-29.html

Am I looking at totally different styles of bikes?

At the moment Im leaning towards the Nerve 7.9?

Thanks

Boromedic

I know bugger all about full sus bikes as I ride a hardtail. However it may be pushing your budget a bit but these were WMB's trail bikes of the year last month: http://www.bikeradar.com/mtb/news/artic ... -s--36968/

I can vouch for Whyte bikes as my friend rides one and the T-129s is a great bike, might be worth holding on a few months to pick up end of season deals, most of them in the review will be cheaper by then and maybe within your budget of £1600.

They also rated the Boardman Team FS which is £1050: http://www.bikeradar.com/mtb/gear/categ ... s-12-35829

In their buyers guide in the budget you specify theres also this: http://www.bikeradar.com/mtb/gear/categ ... r-12-46383

Good luck choosing, its a minefield out there!

P.s. The spec on that Canyon AL 29er 7.9 is pretty awesome for that level of cash, can't comment on how it rides but the reviews quoted on their website are pretty glowing. Just beware that your local LBS may be shitty on helping you with it, I know a chap who bought a carbon road bike via Canyon and its an awesome bike. However when he took it to get a service a couple of the shops he tried were very unhelpful and really rude, the only reason we could think for them being that way was as the fact it was a direct sale Canyon, as they obviously seriously undercut the local guys. If you don't need any help then seriously consider them, I would if I was going to buy again and their bike fit tool is really really good as well.

P.P.S. ! Where bouts do you live? I only ask as if there's one bit of advice I would give you is don't stick to boring trail centres, get yourself out on the moors. Far more variety out there and much more thrills, picking your way through a natural rocky descent is far more adrenaline stirring than riding the Monkey for the 90th time!

soundb0y

Thanks for the advice. As far as I can tell the T129 is sold out most places.

Looking at either the Nerve AL 7.0, 8.0, AL+ 6.0 and the 29er.

I noticed the 29er has 10mm less travel?

Also quite like the look of these.

http://www.wiggle.co.uk/felt-virtue-expert-2012/
http://www.wiggle.co.uk/felt-virtue-elite-2012-1/

I live in Herefordshire and it looks like there are a few places quite local.

The Rookie

Common for 29ers to have less travel, the larger wheels with the shallower approcah angle they create add a circa 20mm effective travel in the way they feel.

soundb0y

Thanks for all the help.

I think I have decided I want an AM/Trail bike but on the beefier side that can handle a bit more difficult downhill trails later on.

I am also now willing to look at spending a bit more if I can get a 0% finance deal with a big deposit. Can you generally make early repayments on these schemes?

Again I am back looking at the Zesty 314 and now the Nukeproof Mega TR

http://www.nukeproof.com/products/compl ... es/mega-tr
http://www.lapierre-bikes.co.uk/mtb/tra ... /zesty-314

Is the Mega a much better spec for the extra 300 quid? I am starting to like the Yellow frame, however the Zesty would match my glasses!

Also am I right in thinking the Mega is only a 10 speed? Would this be enough gears for the majority of UK trail riding?

Is there any thing else in the same price range I should be looking at?

Thanks again

Kowalski675

I've recently test ridden the Zesty 314 and Fuel EX8 back to back (and Fuel EX9 in 26" and new 29" flavours". I'm only a newbie, but both felt very nice - lively, chuckable, with olush, well damped suspension. The Zesty has slightly more travel than the Trek (150 mm front is probably getting a bit long for my level of riding), but the very well developed linkage and clever DRCV shock on the Trek make it feel like it has more travel than it has (apparently some heavier riders don't like the way the DRCV is eager to go through its full travel on bigger hits, but it felt great to me).

Both felt very good bikes, but the Formula brakes on the Zesty felt p**s poor (lacking power and feel), the SLX Shimanos on the Trek felt excellent. Maybe the Formulas needed bedding in, but both were brand new bikes. I was concerned with the amount of stories of cracked Zesty frames I've heard though (although most of those are carbon, I think), and the reports of refused warranty claims.

At the same time I also rode the Norco Sight 2SE, and that felt great - just as plush, useful 140mm mid travel and it felt great to ride - really lively and responsive, light and eager. Of the three it felt like possibly the best ride, but the Trek was the most polished product - neater cable runs, classy fit and finish - you can tell it's a bike that's been evolved, developed and refined to a high standard (it's a former What MTB trailbike of the year), and it's backed up by the best warranty (and dealer network) of the three.

The less expensive Fuel EX7 and Sight 3SE are well worth a look too. In the end I bought a Boardman Team FS last week. The Mega TR comes in black too, btw (I had a sit on one last week).

felix.london

soundb0y wrote:

Is the Mega a much better spec for the extra 300 quid?

Who says it's the better spec out of the two?

They look like they're kitted out for slightly different tasks.

The Mega has a 1x10 drivetrain, a wider handlebar, shorter stem and beefier tyres etc - looks much more set up for heading downwards to me compared to the Zesty's 3x10 drivetrain and fast rolling tyres

rockmonkeysc

I have rode a Mega TR. Its great fun but more aimed at aggressive riding than covering miles. Almost like a slopestyle bike.

soundb0y

Thanks for the responses.

It seems like the hardest part is actually working out what I want.

So what would the competitors to the zesty 314 be?

Another bike that looks nice is the Ibis Mojo SL but I think that would be pushing the budget a bit.

felix.london

I have zero experience of UK trail centres so don't really know what they entail but from what I can gather something like a Giant Trance or even Anthem would be up to the job...easily

2012 Anthem X1 @ £1650
http://www.paulscycles.co.uk/m1b0s1p4433/GIANT-ANTHEM-X1-2012

2012 Trance X2 @ £1400
http://www.paulscycles.co.uk/m1b0s1p4427/GIANT-TRANCE-X2-%282012%29

Kowalski675

soundb0y wrote:

So what would the competitors to the zesty 314 be?

To my mind (and of the bikes already mentioned) the Trek Fuel EX8 and the Norco Sight 2SE.

I was very tempted by that 2012 Trance X2 at Paul's cycles.

Maro

Get yourself to the Forest of Dene and hire a bike for the day, this will give you a good indication of what terrain you might ride most and which type of bike you might prefer.

I live in Hereford and I'm happy to meet up for a ride, fingers crossed my canyon nerve AL 7 arrives tomorrow so I will be keen to get out.

Kowalski675

Any local shops do suitable demo bikes?

Maro

I can only think of 2 proper bike shops in Hereford (plus Halfords :? ), I would happily spend my hard earned in one but they don't have a lot of MTBs in stock, the other is good for a look around but I would never give them any of my money.

Kowalski675

Luckily I've goy shops locally that do demo bikes - I had a Trek Rumblefish from a Friday through to the following Wednesday from All Terrain Cycles.

jairaj

soundb0y wrote:

I think I have decided I want an AM/Trail bike but on the beefier side that can handle a bit more difficult downhill trails later on.

do actually mean proper downhill or just harder descents? If just harder descents then something closer to the Trek Fuel EX might work better than the Mega. If you do mean proper DH then vice versa.

I haven't ridden a Mega but bikes similar to it really need to be ridden hard to make the most of it. If ridden on sedate trails they'll feel heavy and boring and a chore to get up hill. Personally I'd only consider buying something like that if I knew for sure I'd be ridding really technical stuff regularly.

I'd prefer to go for the usual choice of 130 / 140mm bikes and maybe replace a few components with more harder wearing stuff if I thought they were particularly fragile but most of these bikes can handle the odd DH track just not regular abuse.