Roadie looking at mtb choices under £1000

mainsy

Cycle scheme is running at work so I fancy getting a mtb this winter as I want to hit the trails rather than the turbo.

Been years since I've been off-road so haven't a clue what is good to buy.

Budget is £1000 and will mainly be for trail centre stuff (glentress) and general xc.

At first I thought hard tail but I found this
http://www.evanscycles.com/products/trek/fuel-ex5-2013-mountain-bike-ec042086

Is this any good or would the money be better spent on a lighter hard tail?

Any recommendations welcome, thanks in advance

rockmonkeysc

Pauls Cycles have a Giant Anthem for well under a grand. Superb bike and great value.

stellamandude

RockmonkeySC wrote:

Pauls Cycles have a Giant Anthem for well under a grand. Superb bike and great value.

You sure ?
I've just looked and the cheapest Anthem I could find is this.........

http://www.paulscycles.co.uk/m1b0s154p4 ... %282013%29

Unless you are referring to the Anthem X3 which is currently discounted at many places to a price of £999 ?

http://www.pedalon.co.uk/acatalog/giant-anthem-x3.html

Just purchased one my self on the cycle scheme Cracking bike for the money

xcMuttley

As a roadie myself who uses the mountain bike for exact same reason as you! I would say buying a hardtail would be better idea as general fitness will improve more with a hardtail so will benefit you more! Also a quick note, all bikes sold on the cycle to work scheme have to be at rrp price so the Trek is over you budget im afraid:( If its for winter training i would say a 29er hardtail would be the best. If your limited to Evans cycles, have a look at charge cooker rides as nice as it looks! (And no i dont own one)

BigAl

That Anthem for £1K is a super bike and a super deal.

The long position of the Anthem likely to suit roadies too (that's why I like it)

Al

stellamandude

xcMuttley wrote:

Also a quick note, all bikes sold on the cycle to work scheme have to be at rrp price so the Trek is over you budget im afraid

That's what I thought, but was pleasantly surprised

mainsy

Thanks for the input.

Winter fitness is the reason, but I'm pretty competitive too so don't want to be left behind as my mates are pretty handy on the trails. I'm thinking now a full susser will make me faster on the flat and downhill, and the extra weight will make me fitter on the climbs.

Not tied to Evans, just handy as there is a big store up the road in Edinburgh.

If I can't get a reduced price bike I might have to get a hard tail.

BigAl

Mainsy wrote:

I'm thinking now a full susser will make me faster on the flat and downhill, and the extra weight will make me fitter on the climbs.

Not necessarily (well maybe on the flat).

My Anthem is lighter (25 - 26 lbs) than plenty of hardtails but .....

......there's plenty of guys on here, riding hardtails, who'd spank my arse downhill.

As a (pretty serious) ex roadie*, I instantly loved the Anthem. It's long and agile (twitchy for an MTB?) and it just felt right. Mine's one of the original (aka old!) type with just 83mm (IIRC) of rear travel. Just enough to keep the rear planted and provide traction (and a little bit of comfort!). It isn't about leveling the trail (I have only 80mm up front too :shock: ) But it does climb really well.

I guess I'm saying - it's not a choice between HT and FS but more the type of HT or FS you go for. At £1K you're going to be looking at good hardtails. Not many FS which suit. But, for me, that Anthem at £999 is hard to beat

* I no longer ride on the roads. IMHO I'm safer off-road

cubedean

If you can buy from decathlon I would consider the rickrider 9.1 it gets great reviews and it only £800

kajjal

Don't forget to also compare the bikes in the sales with interest free credit. Sometimes this can be a better deal overall if you include the final retained value payment.

Also on intrest free credit you don't have to pay the balance in full if you change jobs.

The hardtail v Full Suspension decision depends on your riding style and preference. I have owned both and prefered hard tails. For a hard tail I have a 2013 Specialised Carve and it is fast XC bike which is also comfortable to ride. Have a look in the sales as there are still a few around if that is the type of bike you are considering.

IDave

Kajjal wrote:

Also on intrest free credit you don't have to pay the balance in full if you change jobs.

Eh?

kajjal

If you are in a cycle to work scheme and move to a new employer before the scheme ends you have to pay up the balance as it is non transferable. An interest free loan from a bike shop does not have this draw back as you rather than the company effectively own the bike.

IDave

Ah, ok I read that differently.

Cycle to work payments usually come out of gross pay though so you effectively get a 20% or 40% discount on the bike, depending on your tax band.

The Spiderman

Another vote for the Anthem. As fast as my hardball, but also doubles up as a great trail bike. I'm a part time roadie too.

mainsy

That anthem x3 looks pretty good. Is that a good spec? Other bikes have xt but I'm assuming the frames are inferior to this.

The rock rider looks good too. There is a decathlon in Edinburgh so I'm going to pop up this week, I'll go to Evans too.

kajjal

IDave wrote:

Ah, ok I read that differently.

Cycle to work payments usually come out of gross pay though so you effectively get a 20% or 40% discount on the bike, depending on your tax band.

No worries

The thing that stopped me was the additional final payment and if you change employer you have a large payment to make. I got my bike with 25% off in the 2013 sales on interest free credit which suited my needs.

In the Republic of Ireland the scheme does not have a final payment and high rate tax payers get a real bargain.

IDave

Mainsy wrote:

That anthem x3 looks pretty good. Is that a good spec? Other bikes have xt but I'm assuming the frames are inferior to this.

The rock rider looks good too. There is a decathlon in Edinburgh so I'm going to pop up this week, I'll go to Evans too.

Just to let you know, the Edinburgh store does not hold the Rockrider 9.1 or 9.2 in stock so you won't be able to see one in the store.

stellamandude

Kajjal wrote:

No worries

The thing that stopped me was the additional final payment and if you change employer you have a large payment to make.

Or, you just give the bike back :roll:

ElliesDad

Yes you have to pay the balance back if you change employer, but still only the tax free amount as the bike is actually owned by your employer until you've finished the payments. You have to get a pretty heafty discount to beat a cycle to work scheme as effectively the cycle to work deal is an interest free loan on the tax free amount. And when I took mine out last year it was based on the price in the shop plus any discount you negotiated, not the RRP. Different schemes could be different though.

mainsy

Still trying to decide on a bike but think I've narrowed it down to two.

Either this anthem x3 http://www.pedalon.co.uk/acatalog/giant-anthem-x3.html

Or this cannondale rz120 http://www.paulscycles.co.uk/m1b0s1p5258/CANNONDALE-RZ-ONE-TWENTY-1-2013

The cannondale is £99 over budget but I'm hoping the shop will let me add to the limit.

What would your choice be?

rockmonkeysc

The Anthem has a much better frame than the RZ120.
Very few full sus xc frames are better than the Anthem. The rear suspension is extremely efficient.

marshy01uk

Most shops will allow you to purchase a sale bike through cycle to work schemes although they will have to add 10% to cover the C2W fee, that said it still works out generally cheaper than RRP and you just pay the balance if its over £1000.
I have a GIANT XTC3 composite 29er and while it isn't as highly spec'd as some, you can pick it up for £1099 and it is an awesome XC bike.
I have a Trek EX FUEL full suspension and while its a fantastic bike for the right terrain there is no comparison when it comes to weight, climbing, speed and agility, the GIANT wins hands down. On top of that its said hard tails will bring on your MTB skills far quicker than a FS.

briefcasew

Mainsy wrote:

Still trying to decide on a bike but think I've narrowed it down to two.

Either this anthem x3 http://www.pedalon.co.uk/acatalog/giant-anthem-x3.html

Or this cannondale rz120 http://www.paulscycles.co.uk/m1b0s1p5258/CANNONDALE-RZ-ONE-TWENTY-1-2013

The cannondale is £99 over budget but I'm hoping the shop will let me add to the limit.

What would your choice be?

I'm in Edinburgh too and used my £1000 CycleScheme voucher to buy a 29er Genesis Mantle 30 for ££893 from UK Bike Depot/Cycle gear. They didn't add 10% and had great service. That's where I'd go.

The FS or HT is a whole other debate on it's own but if most of your rides are xc (pentlands, southern uplands) or trail centres (glentress, innerleithen) then i'd stick with an HT. I'm never left behind

cubedean

My experience of the scheme was that you couldn't add to the voucher as it would cause conflict of ownership, prices had to be RRP & they didn't charge 10% (leisure lakes through the halfords C2W).

mainsy

I phoned pedalon and the chap said there would be a 10% charge taking the price to £1100 and it would be up to me and my employer to sort it out as the c2w limit is £1000.

Any ideas how this would work? Will my employer flat out refuse or do I pay £100 to the employer then the following £1000 comes off my wage?

Funnily Evans were offering me a sale bike without adding on the extra 10%

97th choice

I expect they will flat out refuse. Do you know who else will take the voucher

Eta: if pauls cycles appear to take the voucher so you could look at the trance x3 at £899.

mainsy

Had a look at the trance, from what I've been told it's more dh orientated, and the fork is meant to be pretty poor, just what I've been told.

97th choice

It's nowhere near a downhill bike, more a trail bike where the anthem is more of an XC rocket.

The fork is decent enough as entry level, maybe a bit on the heavy side but far from poor.

rockmonkeysc

Mainsy wrote:

Had a look at the trance, from what I've been told it's more dh orientated, and the fork is meant to be pretty poor, just what I've been told.

I have had a Trance and have an Anthem now. There's really not a lot of difference and the Trance is certainly not DH oriented, I used mine for a few 100km rides. It's a very good all round xc bike, slightly heavier than the Anthem but slightly more stable and easier on technical stuff at speed.
The fork on that model is a bit rubbish though.

mainsy

I think with all the digging I've done I've kinda got it into my head I'm wanting the anthem now.
I've read a lot of you posts rockmonkey and I think it has certainly steered me in the direction.

If I can't work it out with employers I may just get it on finance instead.

passout

Winstanleys accept cyclescheme but charge an extra 10% if a sale bike. I got a whyte 905 from 1700 on sale down to 999 (tax free on cyclescheme) plus a 99 deposit no probs. So will cost about 700 total. Accept 'top up' too. Last time I checked, similar story at on one. It can mean a real bargain & is woth going for (this is my 3rd bike on the scheme).