RockRider 8.1 or Cube Acid or Trek mamba?

John_Carter
John_Carter Posts: 87
edited September 2013 in MTB buying advice
Hello,
I'm looking to get a hard tail bike for around £600,
My top choice is the B'twin Rockrider 8.1 (£549)
http://www.decathlon.co.uk/rockrider-81 ... 68918.html

but I also saw the Trek Mamba (£630)
http://www.evanscycles.com/products/tre ... e-ec042122

and the Cube Acid 2013 (£650)
http://www.cyclesurgery.com/cube-acid-2 ... duct/47583

I probably could strech up to £650 - the question is, are those bikes better than the Rockrider 8.1 and justify the price difference? I'm not familiar with all the technical intricacies...

Please share your thoughts,
Thanks!

Comments

  • cooldad
    cooldad Posts: 32,599
    Posting links would help.
    I don't do smileys.

    There is no secret ingredient - Kung Fu Panda

    London Calling on Facebook

    Parktools
  • John_Carter
    John_Carter Posts: 87
    cooldad wrote:
    Posting links would help.

    Fixed...
  • croptonboy
    croptonboy Posts: 164
    Have a look around, I've seen the 2013 Acids for £615 but it depends what size you need.

    Someone asked a similar question on another forum. The 2013 Acid has the 'Rockshox XC32 100mm Solo Air Motion Control PopLoc Forks' where as the 8.1 (and my 2012 Acid) have the 'RS Recon Silver TK Solo Air'. Is the XC32 just the newer version of the Recon?

    I think you need to try both if you can. I recently bought a 2nd hand 2012 Acid but I wouldn't have bought a new one because I think the RR is almost on par with it, and is £100 less.
  • cooldad
    cooldad Posts: 32,599
    The RR is probably the best value, the Cube is pretty good though.
    Depends whether you want a 26er or 29er.
    I don't do smileys.

    There is no secret ingredient - Kung Fu Panda

    London Calling on Facebook

    Parktools
  • John_Carter
    John_Carter Posts: 87
    Croptonboy wrote:
    Have a look around, I've seen the 2013 Acids for £615 but it depends what size you need.

    Someone asked a similar question on another forum. The 2013 Acid has the 'Rockshox XC32 100mm Solo Air Motion Control PopLoc Forks' where as the 8.1 (and my 2012 Acid) have the 'RS Recon Silver TK Solo Air'. Is the XC32 just the newer version of the Recon?

    I think you need to try both if you can. I recently bought a 2nd hand 2012 Acid but I wouldn't have bought a new one because I think the RR is almost on par with it, and is £100 less.

    Thanks mate,
    I too can't find any real info on the fork...
    Can you hint at those £615 Acids you mentioned?

    Thanks!
  • John_Carter
    John_Carter Posts: 87
    cooldad wrote:
    The RR is probably the best value, the Cube is pretty good though.
    Depends whether you want a 26er or 29er.

    Aren't they both 29"?
  • cooldad
    cooldad Posts: 32,599
    Er no.
    I don't do smileys.

    There is no secret ingredient - Kung Fu Panda

    London Calling on Facebook

    Parktools
  • stevekoz
    stevekoz Posts: 103
    I can vouch for the rockshox recon tk silver for an entry level shock. I had one on my RR 9.1 (120mm) when i first bought it, rode it for a while. It stood up to a lot of trail riding from a fairly heavy rider. The lockout works well and really stiffens up the fork and the compression and rebound can be fairly well adjusted and cus its air that helps i think to get it dialled in for the rider as well as any fork in that budget.

    It obviously lacks the adjustability of a higher end fork, but its strong and not really that flexy for that price. The dampners let it down a bit. So harsh braking it can dive a little and if your riding it hard over rocks and downhills for a prolonged time it can get a bit bouncy and twitchy, i found at least, but I think its a better choice than the RS XC forks, which are newer but i don't think are as much cop - mate rides one and it bumps through its travel much worse than the recon i found. But then thats fairly technical stuff for a lower end fork to cope with.

    As for the bike its attached to. I still have my 9.1, its very different now, only the frame remains the same. But in terms of build quality its hard to beat Decathlon in that price range i've found. You get a lot better spec generally for your money. Their service is crap mind you, so have a good LBS on hand if anything goes wrong, don't take it back to them, and if you do buy it be aware you may have to tighten things and adjust things so it feels right and put together properly. But the bikes themselves are really good quality i've found. They don't have the name that Trek or Cube do, and people will notice that more maybe, but i like it that i'm going past them on my rockrider and people have no real clue what it is and stop to ask me.

    Only my opinion but there it is for what its worth. Good luck with whatever you choose. Enjoy
  • croptonboy
    croptonboy Posts: 164
    John_Carter wrote:

    Thanks mate,
    I too can't find any real info on the fork...
    Can you hint at those £615 Acids you mentioned?

    Thanks!

    I just Googled for Cube Acid, although it's the 26" model.

    What frame size are you looking for?
  • John_Carter
    John_Carter Posts: 87
    Croptonboy wrote:
    John_Carter wrote:

    Thanks mate,
    I too can't find any real info on the fork...
    Can you hint at those £615 Acids you mentioned?

    Thanks!

    I just Googled for Cube Acid, although it's the 26" model.

    What frame size are you looking for?

    The 19" frame, I think.

    Thanks for the help guys!

Categories