Hardtail or Full sus for bridleways and Thetford.

iand-83

Looking to buy a new mountain bike and treat myself will have about £1500 for a hardtail or if going for a full sus I can dig deep and find about £2000,

But I can't decide what is best to get to suit where I ride I tend to ride mostly XC stuff mainly bridleways and around Thetford, Maybe will start going further afield and trying places like Cannock Chase and Swinley Forest.

I am thinking more of a hardtail due to less weight and easier to look after. A friend has a Trek Superfly 8 which looks nice, but having a look at the range I think the Superfly 7 would be more than enough for me, another option I have looked at is the Boardman Pro 29er or Gaint XTC composite.

As for full sus bikes maybe a Superfly FS 7, Whyte T129 or a Giant Anthem x 29er. My local LBS does have a 2013 Giant Anthem X 29er 3 in stock reduced in the sale and in my size.

rockmonkeysc

The Trek Superfly blows. You won't go wrong with an Anthem, fantastic bikes. I would go with 26" wheels if your planning on riding somewhere with tight, twisty trails.
Have a look at Pauls Cycles, they have some epic deals on Anthems.

WindyG

For Thetford all you really need is a HT especially if you only ride the public trails, I only use my Anthem around there really for the wild trails and for long rides over 2 hours but even then my HT would still be fine, personally I think it is too tight & twisty around there for a 29'er unless you like hammering down fire roads.

pilch

Fuck me the myth of the 29er barge continues... try some different bikes, its really down to personal preference, never managed to wedge myself round anything at Thetford despite riding and racing on 29ers there regularly for the past 3 years.

Proutster

pilch wrote:

fark me the myth of the 29er barge continues... try some different bikes, its really down to personal preference, never managed to wedge myself round anything at Thetford despite riding and racing on 29ers there regularly for the past 3 years.

^^^

And I've seen him ride, and tried to stay in front of him - he ain't slow!!

rockmonkeysc

The Anthem 29 is ok but on a twisty trail the 26 is much more fun for less effort.
Not all 29ers suffer with slow steering and not all 26" bikes steer nicely.
The Trek Superfly is just a bit rubbish.

njee20

personally I think it is too tight & twisty around there for a 29'er unless you like hammering down fire roads.

Seriously? It's not even tight or twisty, it's all fast flowing stuff!

The Trek Superfly is just a bit rubbish.

By what metric? Plenty of the Trek World Racing guys get on with them...

The Rookie

I tried a Superfly Elite and was disapointed how cumbersome it felt in tight corners (not at Thetford!) compared to my Carrera, not to say it wasn't quicker or was less fun (different kind of fun) but it did feel less nimble.

njee20

Got a Superfly hardtail coming, be interested to see what it's like, warranty replacement for a 26" Top Fuel so not really something I had much choice in! Have to say I thought the FS one felt a bit sluggish just on a quick spin.

kajjal

I ride a Specialized Carve Comp which has been good for XC riding on rough tracks and also smoother twisty single track. I would forget about wheel size and do some test rides. My wife's new bike has 26" wheels as she preferred the way the bike handled.

rockmonkeysc

The Rookie wrote:

I tried a Superfly Elite and was disapointed how cumbersome it felt in tight corners (not at Thetford!) compared to my Carrera, not to say it wasn't quicker or was less fun (different kind of fun) but it did feel less nimble.

Thats what I thought. Steering like a canal boat.

It's pretty unlikely that the Trek World Racing team are using production bikes, they will be hand built with custom geometry to suit each rider.

njee20

Nope the Trek guys use off the shelf frames, construction as it is it's not that easy to do custom geometry. See Emily Batty's for a good example of forcing a rider to fit on a stock geometry frame!

Interesting about the handling, a couple of friends have commented how much more nimble the Superfly (hardtails) are compared to the Stumpjumper hardtails. Dunno if the FS is different.

arran77

Has no one mentioned clown bike yet

Stu Coops

Think a little further ahead you say it's for light trail and bridleway but within a couple of months you'll be a lot better rider and want to get in to more technical stuff so you'd be better off going FS as this gives you a lot more option of trails rather than having to fork out for another bike later on. Just a thought as I know lots of guys who made this mistake and wished they'd gone FS

Shylock

What do you ride now and why are you looking to change?

rockmonkeysc

Anyway, 29ers are so last year. This year it's all about 650b. They're the future, anything else is already obsolete. MBR said so and MBUK agree.

arran77

RockmonkeySC wrote:

Anyway, 29ers are so last year. This year it's all about 650b. They're the future, anything else is already obsolete. MBR said so and MBUK agree.

Pffft, that's what you think, this is the future....

mcnultycop

Are suspension saddles back in vogue?

iand-83

I think I do probably need to get out and try a few bikes though all my local stores aren't near any trails so a test ride would mostly be around the carpark or local roads. One problem with anything Boardman is a sit on it in the shop will be as close as i can get to a test ride.

My mate has a Superfly 8 and he was leaving me easily on Sunday, but then he rides alot more than me and I was huffing and puffing around! :oops:

Shylock wrote:

What do you ride now and why are you looking to change?

Currently have a 2008 Specialized Rockhopper pro, it's served me well but a few things I have noticed recently are, the groupset needs some attention as it's getting a bit worn out, I do like the idea of the twin chainsets that seem to be coming in and a clutch rear mech, also the original brakes Avid Juicy 3 are rubbish and keep sticking occasionaly.

I do like the idea of a front fork with 15mm maxle, some better brakes, Shimano stuff looks easier to look after and service over my current Avids, maybe switching to a twin chainset and 10 speed rear and fancy trying a new wheel size. I have looked up replacing my forks and brakes and getting a new hub for the new forks and so far it works out about £600 for the bits and that's not including a new crankset and clutch rear derailleur, so a new bike around £1500 seems more possible as once groupset was in I would say the bill would be about £850

arran77 wrote:

Has no one mentioned clown bike yet

Damn the circus was in town the other day and I missed them

arran77 wrote:

RockmonkeySC wrote:

Anyway, 29ers are so last year. This year it's all about 650b. They're the future, anything else is already obsolete. MBR said so and MBUK agree.

Pffft, that's what you think, this is the future....

That's nice

morepower

If you are looking at Giant and like their bikes I would look at getting a 650b wheeled bike. Giant have already said they will be dropping the 29'r from their range. I love my 26 inch wheel bike and would like to stick with 26 as it has a little more strength due to shorter spokes and is less liable to buckle. But I think the 650b is going to be the future. I think it will become accepted by DH bikes over the next 12 to 18 months and will be the one makers will claim is the best compromise and their do it all wheel size.. Not that I agree or disagree but I think it is going to happen. So for me I would go for a 650b.

passout

Hardtail. Some great discounts on Whytes at Winstanleys bikes. I recently got a 905 for riding the Lakes as I didn't feel I needed FS. Hardtails are much better on road and less demanding off road but if you choose the right one can be more fun on the serious stuff too.

The Rookie

RockmonkeySC wrote:

The Rookie wrote:

I tried a Superfly Elite and was disapointed how cumbersome it felt in tight corners (not at Thetford!) compared to my Carrera, not to say it wasn't quicker or was less fun (different kind of fun) but it did feel less nimble.

Thats what I thought. Steering like a canal boat.

Perhaps not the best analogy, an maybe it was because the I didn't get more than about 4 miles on the bike, but I was always running wide in tighter turns and it needed a lot more turning of the bars (it felt like) to get round the corners.