Choice of three 27.5"/650b Bikes

Powelly131

Afternoon all,
I'm in the market for a 27.5er after sitting on one for the first time last weekend - all of the 29ers that I have tried have felt too big (I'm 5'10" tall), but the 27.5 felt much nicer. Now, I've got £700 to spend, so I was looking at these three bikes:

Whyte 801
http://www.whytebikes.com/2014/product.php?xProd=107&xSec=116

Cube Attention
http://www.cube.eu/uk/bikes/mtb-hardtail/attention/attention-275/

Scott Aspect 720
http://www.scott-sports.com/gb/en/products/234050007/bike-aspect-720-m/

I realise that they are all new to the market, and there won't be many out there in use, but on specs alone is there a clear winner between the three? Or should I just go for the one which looks nicest?!

Cheers for your help in advance

Powelly

tarbot18

All poor spec for the money all have poor fork , have you checked out canyon or boardman

Powelly131

tarbot18 wrote:

All poor spec for the money all have poor fork , have you checked out canyon or boardman

Do either Canyon or Boardman do a 27.5" Hardtail??

cooldad

Have you looked?

Powelly131

cooldad wrote:

Have you looked?

Yes, but I can't see that either do a hardtail 27.5 at the moment, or for the foreseeable future going by the articles I have read

97th choice

Are you only looking at 650b? You could get a lot if 26" bike for your money at Paul's cycles or similar.

ej2320

Powelly131 wrote:

cooldad wrote:

Have you looked?

Yes, but I can't see that either do a hardtail 27.5 at the moment, or for the foreseeable future going by the articles I have read

I might be wrong but I'm sure the 2014 boardmans have some 650b?

IDave

2014 Boardman range was announced today - the hardtails are coming in 650b and 29. Should be up on their website tomorrow according to tweet from boardmanbikes.

I don't think Canyon have any 650b Hardtails in their line up for 2014 - only FS

Paper

I don't think Boardman are doing a 650B in the Pro but you can get it in the Comp which is £850 I think.

IDave

See here:

viewtopic.php?f=10002&t=12941098

Barrelmaker

Personally I would rather have a well specced 26er than a poorly specced 650. But you could wait and see what comes along. On one have a 650b 456 (the 45650b) frame coming soon. Their full bike builds are generally well specced and well priced, saying that, 700 quid might not cover it.

Powelly131

Thank you all, looks like the Boardman Comp 650b HT at £650 could be one to look at, just the thought of buying from Hellfrauds to get used to...

coulddobetter

My money would go on a 26 inch boardman mtb comp , older model at £584.00 . Good value and spec with a well rated air fork . With 650 b you are buying into a newer trend and as far as I can see paying over the odds .

Spoon1969

Hi All,

Been lurking for a while & Just joined,

Due to having a visit from the local Pykies who relieved me of my old bike without my consent,I was in the same situation as Powelly & looking at the same bikes. The Whyte did take my fancy but after sitting on it & riding around the shop wasn't too impressed, Bike looked good but fork seemed too soft.

I did see the post by oxocube last week and liked the look of the Boardman 650B Comp, So I nipped down to my local Halfords & they happened to have one on display. I did initially consider the 26" Comp but the 650B took my eye.

I initially spoke the young lad in the Local Halfords who I have had "run ins" with before & didn't inspire me one bit, Went to another local Halfords in Sheffield, the lad in there was completely different, seemed to know his stuff & was a keen biker

So Armed with my Credit Card & Cheque from the Insurance company to pay this off I bought this last Friday!!I


20130927_143911 by Spoon1969, on Flickr

So far I've done 25 Miles on it out with the Nipper on his bike & all I can say is Its fantastic!!

it did feel a little strange at first compared with my Rockrider 8.1, but its a hell of a lot more comfortable, covers ground with ease & it seems to roll a hell of a lot better.

Components on it aren't the best but better than the Whyte & I am Middle aged & under tall for my weight
I am a bit of a Wierdo as I like SRAM Gears

tarbot18

That does look nice ,looks like they've down speced the fork from the old comp from an epicon to a raidon though , although im sure someone on here recently said its an old model epicon rebadged as an raidon hopefully.
I have this years model comp 29er which i love great bike, i changed the wheels and thats it.
I wont be letting halfords anywhere near it again if i can help it, bit of a dodgy build up.

Powelly131

Spoon, I'm guessing from your name that we are of a similar age, I do a lot of riding with the nipper as well! Thanks for the pictures, I'm going to Halfords tomorrow to see if they have one to look at, fingers crossed. I like the look of the Whyte as well and although I've sat on one, I haven't had a mountain bike for years, so am not used to any sort of front suspension, but there was plenty of give in it. Thanks again

Spoon1969

HI Powelly,
I also liked the looks of the Whyte but when I Rode it the front fork felt like a Pogo stick which spoiled in my opinion, Wife thinks the Boardman looks GAY :roll: but I like it and it rides well.

Tarbot,
I think Oxocube posted some Specs on here last week & said the same thing about the Fork. At the moment the Bike is more capable than I am & will take a bit of time to get my Chicken Levels back up
Is your Comp the Silver one with Red Decals? if so they had one in the showroom in Halfords Sheffield & it looked Sweet!!

So far, So Good only thing I have had to adjust is the Front brake as it was slightly out of line, apart from that the lad that built it was spot on and knew what he was doing. While he was building it he was telling me what he had done to his Carrera Fury winter bike & Sunday Best Zesty

Plus I managed to wangle a free Wireless Cycle Computer out of them as well - Bonus!!

Powelly131

Done it! Ordered a Boardman MTB Comp 650b from my local Halfords - £629.99 with a Cateye Strada Wireless in the deal as well! Can't moan at that, and hopefully it'll be ready for the weekend.
Thank you for your help to everyone who has contributed, much appreciated

chrisw333

Look, the Whyte may or may not be good value (probably not) but please don't put people off it because the fork felt funny riding round the shop. It probably wasn't set up for your weight etc and bouncing it a few times in a shop is no test of a forks abilities.

I've no doubt the Boardman will be better specced, but lets keep our knocking of the quality of other models to rational advice of spec on paper or real life testing.

Spoon1969

Chris, Not knocking the whyte in any way, shape or form. But when I sat on the whyte the sag was around 25 -30mm and it did feel soft to me, I am used to the Recon Silver on my old Rockrider, a slightly stiffer fork I may be on the wrong side of ideal BMA but not much. It's a free country and people can decide for themselves, what's right for one May not be right for another!

I did ask if the fork could be stiffened up, I was told that it probably need different springs at a cost of £50 fitted for the job, I wasn't going to spend another £50 on top of £700.

Powelly131

Well, first ride out on the new Boardman today, and it feels great. Did 10 miles on mainly bridleways, pretty flat, but had my little 'un in tow for half of it and it was a real pleasure getting away from the traffic for a change. I must praise Halfords in Evesham for the build, can't fault it - everything working as it should. Really surprised by how well it rolls across the rougher stuff, very reassuring and confidence giving after a few years of roadie riding. Didn't test the air fork too much those days are still ahead of me!

Spoon1969

Glad your enjoying it Powelly. I've done 25 miles this weekend xc and tow paths with my 9 year old. So far it seems effortless compared with my old Rockrider 8.1

Not had any issues at all with mine yet, even my sons Carrea blast has been good.