650b 150mm approximately four grand to spend. Help

Formnfunction

Hi all.

I have been having some major dilemmas with regards to choosing a bike recently and decided it was probably time to see some advice and save myself time. Desperation has set in to end my months and weeks of indecision / hunting.

I have been looking at something around the 150mm travel mark and current possibilities include the ibis mojo HDR (650b), cube stereo 160 super hpc sl, gt force pro, mandrakes dune Xr, trek slash 9 and yeti sb75. My budget is about 4000 pounds give or take and am open to suggestions.

I like the idea of having a less common bike like the ibis, as pretentious as that may be, however I'm not sure it will have enough travel for my needs. I enjoy riding big in Scotland and France, having taken my current hard tail up Ben Arthur, Ben vorlich And Ben Lomond. Weight and pedal ability is fairly important to me.

Any ideas and or endorsements for the bikes I mentioned ? Unbiased opinions or stories of horror frame failures to warn me of ?

ThAnks in advance

cooldad

At that price you need to ride them and see what suits you.
Not that many people have bikes in that range, and those that do are unlikely to admit their bikes are sh1t.

Formnfunction

That's sort of my limit , would rather spend three grand if I can find one that will fill my needs.

supersonic

Even as a GT fan, I'm not sold on the new frames or value. Heavy, and a lot of marketing BS. But as above, test if you can.

BigAl

Formnfunction wrote:

That's sort of my limit , would rather spend three grand if I can find one that will fill my needs.

Undoubtedly there are bikes for £3k that will fit your needs. An extra grand will buy you a more boutique name or more bling kit.

Depends what you want from a new bike. I know that if I was spending £4k I'd be testing a lot of bikes

Formnfunction

I've tested a few, rode a nice cube and the mandraker which was strange at first but grew on me . The issue is I work odd days so it's hard for me to arrange these things. Where could I demo a HDR or yeti? Also anyone got any opinions on the turner burner ?

BigAl

Formnfunction wrote:

Also anyone got any opinions on the turner burner ?

I've never ridden one. But, like Cooldad says, anyone who owns one is unlikely to tell you it's rubbish. Only way to really know is to ride one

supersonic

Yes, the above is very true. many people have already justified their purchases with expensive bikes, so will always say they are good!

lawman

BikeMag's Bible of Bike Tests is a good place to start - http://www.youtube.com/user/TheBikemag/videos

They seem to rate the Kona Process, Santa Cruz Bronson, Giant Trance SX and Evil Uprising pretty highly, you could get any of those for your budget. The Evil is 26" but it is supposed to ride brilliantly but mud clearance is poor for the UK at least. Try a few out, only way you can find out. Of the 4 I mentioned I'd go for the Process or Bronson.

Dick Scruttock

I'd go for a Bronson but I am biased! The Process and the Trek Slash both look nice though and I do like the Trek ABP suspension.

I'd not bother with the hash up that is the Mojo HDR. Shittest one of the bunch IMHO. 130mm travel in 650b guise on a frame designed for 160mm and proper AM riding. Its just a total copout from them. Others did it properly with new frames from the ground up, they just bodged it all together.

miceden

With a budget of 4k build your own, you'll get exactly what you want, there wont be another bike like it, and with a bit of patience you'll get a better spec than off the shelf bikes for the same money.

BigAl

miceden wrote:

With a budget of 4k build your own, you'll get exactly what you want, there wont be another bike like it, and with a bit of patience you'll get a better spec than off the shelf bikes for the same money.

Yep, good call. That's what I'd do. You may be able to use some parts from the current bike to either save money or up-spec what you do need. Depends what you already have

But.... Doesn't help in choosing the frame.

BigAl

lawman wrote:

BikeMag's Bible of Bike Tests is a good place to start - http://www.youtube.com/user/TheBikemag/videos

They seem to rate the Kona Process, Santa Cruz Bronson, Giant Trance SX and Evil Uprising pretty highly, you could get any of those for your budget. The Evil is 26" but it is supposed to ride brilliantly but mud clearance is poor for the UK at least. Try a few out, only way you can find out. Of the 4 I mentioned I'd go for the Process or Bronson.

Again, depends what you want from your bike.

£4k will get you a whole lot of Giant Trance, with a fantastic spec. Less so with the SC.

But for your £4k - do you want a Giant badge? Nice dilemma to have though.

(And no, I'm not a brand snob - I have a Giant and would happily buy another)

The Rookie

A friend just built up a Knolly for £4K, ok it's a 26er, that was pretty much all new parts.

poah

build your own - works out more expensive but you get the exact bike you want

rockmonkeysc

Buy a Nukeproof Mega and spend the change on drugs and hookers.

Angus Young

YT Wicked Pro – get a 4K bike for 2.5K and you'll probably not see another one on the trail.

Thewaylander

As the guys here know, I'm big fan of how the Mondrakers ride..

Nomad was good, less able on the downs but better on the ups, going test a bronson before i wedge up my cash, but in a similar dilema currently

lawman

BigAl wrote:

lawman wrote:

BikeMag's Bible of Bike Tests is a good place to start - http://www.youtube.com/user/TheBikemag/videos

They seem to rate the Kona Process, Santa Cruz Bronson, Giant Trance SX and Evil Uprising pretty highly, you could get any of those for your budget. The Evil is 26" but it is supposed to ride brilliantly but mud clearance is poor for the UK at least. Try a few out, only way you can find out. Of the 4 I mentioned I'd go for the Process or Bronson.

Again, depends what you want from your bike.

£4k will get you a whole lot of Giant Trance, with a fantastic spec. Less so with the SC.

But for your £4k - do you want a Giant badge? Nice dilemma to have though.

(And no, I'm not a brand snob - I have a Giant and would happily buy another)

Very true. With Giant you don't perhaps the kudos of other brands, plus OverDrive 2 forks are a pain and just looked and they don't offer the Advanced SX, basically the one you want if you were to get one, in the UK. Shop around and I reckon you could build an alloy Bronson with Pike's, full XT, decent wheels and a reverb for £4k or under, seems like a pretty solid deal and you get the fun of building the bike how you want it.

miceden

Pivot Mach 6 or Mach 5.7 carbon, Rocky Mountain Altitude 750, Scott Genius 700, Simplon Kuro 275, Rotwild R.Q1 FS 27.5... Simplon and Rotwild are german but you did want less common.

rockmonkeysc

Angus Young wrote:

YT Wicked Pro – get a 4K bike for 2.5K and you'll probably not see another one on the trail.

They're pretty common, I know three people who have them and seen plenty on trails. They aren't a great ride, even with the BOS suspension and shiny bits.

Angus Young

RockmonkeySC wrote:

Angus Young wrote:

YT Wicked Pro – get a 4K bike for 2.5K and you'll probably not see another one on the trail.

They're pretty common, I know three people who have them and seen plenty on trails. They aren't a great ride, even with the BOS suspension and shiny bits.

Really? That's very much the opposite of what the reviews are saying. The dirt 100 says "In fact this 168mm travel bike is so well dialled in terms of suspension, geometry and spec that we think it's pretty unbeatable at any price, so at this price it's nothing short of crazy." Other reviews are just as glowing.

poah

Angus Young wrote:

RockmonkeySC wrote:

Angus Young wrote:

YT Wicked Pro – get a 4K bike for 2.5K and you'll probably not see another one on the trail.

They're pretty common, I know three people who have them and seen plenty on trails. They aren't a great ride, even with the BOS suspension and shiny bits.

Really? That's very much the opposite of what the reviews are saying. The dirt 100 says "In fact this 168mm travel bike is so well dialled in terms of suspension, geometry and spec that we think it's pretty unbeatable at any price, so at this price it's nothing short of crazy." Other reviews are just as glowing.

well there you go, its only 158mm travel at the rear - can't trust that review

Angus Young

POAH wrote:

well there you go, its only 158mm travel at the rear - can't trust that review

Either that, or it's a conspiracy!

CitizenLee

Bronson or SB66 Carbon

Or build your own custom steed. Much more fun.

lostboysaint

Transition Covert 27.5

rockmonkeysc

Angus Young wrote:

RockmonkeySC wrote:

Angus Young wrote:

YT Wicked Pro – get a 4K bike for 2.5K and you'll probably not see another one on the trail.

They're pretty common, I know three people who have them and seen plenty on trails. They aren't a great ride, even with the BOS suspension and shiny bits.

Really? That's very much the opposite of what the reviews are saying. The dirt 100 says "In fact this 168mm travel bike is so well dialled in terms of suspension, geometry and spec that we think it's pretty unbeatable at any price, so at this price it's nothing short of crazy." Other reviews are just as glowing.

I wouldn't say it was bad but it's not amazing. Dirt also say the YT Tues is brilliant but people I know who bougt it didn't like the rear suspension.

Thewaylander

It's all very personal to how you like the bike to ride and fit.

some people for example like the direct feel of an orange, i personally feel like the rear sus isnt bothering to turn up. Everyone is different. Come here for idea's but dont take the word as gospel go find out for yourself with test rides!

Formnfunction

Thanks for all the input , I like the idea of a transition covert or bandit , has anyone ridden a bandit ? Will it stand up to alpine style descents for example ? Also has anyone ridden a 2014 Saracen ariel ?

adamfo

RockmonkeySC wrote:

Angus Young wrote:

YT Wicked Pro – get a 4K bike for 2.5K and you'll probably not see another one on the trail.

They're pretty common, I know three people who have them and seen plenty on trails. They aren't a great ride, even with the BOS suspension and shiny bits.

There was a grouptest in the sept 2013 issue of MBR.
Quote: "At this price point, YT’s Wicked Pro is utterly unbeatable 9/10.." They would of given it 10 if another magazine hadn't ragged the deville forks before they got it !

I reckon the Wicked 650b is better. For £1700 you get Pikes not Bos.

Cqc

Formnfunction wrote:

Thanks for all the input , I like the idea of a transition covert or bandit , has anyone ridden a bandit ? Will it stand up to alpine style descents for example ? Also has anyone ridden a 2014 Saracen ariel ?

Transition covert doesnt get great reviews as apparently isn't a great descender, so I imagine the bandit will be even worse, but ive got no clue tbh