3 hardtail 29er options

Dandy Dan 69

Hi

I'm looking at getting a 29er hardtail for off road riding but nothing too demanding. My trance is brilliant for red and black trail riding, but I want something that's makes longer, less technical rides a bit more fun.

I like the boardman pro 29er. A big plus for this is I can get it on the ride to work scheme.

http://www.halfords.com/webapp/wcs/stor ... &langId=-1

However, I've just seen this giant.

http://www.paulscycles.co.uk/m1b4s155p4 ... 9ER-2-2013

Now, to me the component spec looks pretty similar. I'm not to knowledgeable about sram components though.

Not quite sure how much the boardman will cost with the scheme, but basically is that giant frame worth spending the extra few hundred hundred quid on?

The 3rd option is a custom build from my lbs using a kenesis ff29 frame, slx group set, xfusion forks. That would come in at about £1300.

Thoughts?

Dandy Dan 69

Cheers

I really like the look of that giant, but I think I'd better go with the boardman. Without going into boring detail, I can't really afford to whack that giant on a credit card. Especially as I can make some sort of saving on it with c2w (as yet unknown).

oxocube1

For a £1000 voucher on the C2W scheme you will be paying a few pence over £56 a month based on the standard tax rate of 20%, and National Insurance of 12%. So 32% saving over the year means you only pay £680 in 12 months, which is a steal for the Pro. Let me know if you need any more info as I work in Halfords and know the scheme and products very well.

chrisw333

The Boardman has slightly slacker geometry - 69 head angle as opposed to 71.5 on the giant, so it's a little less racy which for an all round machine I would prefer.

lostboysaint

You want a bike to make "longer, less technical rides more fun" and are after a 29er? Your idea of fun and mine are two very, very different things! I've yet to ride any 29er that is more "fun".

What it will do is allow you to cover more ground faster (I am noticeably quicker on my 29er HT than my 26er full sus) with the improved roll etc. but it certainly isn't more "fun" unless you get a peculiar buzz from ride stats!

passout

http://www.winstanleysbikes.co.uk/produ ... _2013_Bike

If going down the 29er route then I like the look of this Whyte; I think the carbon 29er offerings from on one look good value too.

I also like the look of the Kinesis by the way.

junglist_matty

Got an FF29 myself, brilliant bike, around £1500 to build up if you can be arsed to look high and low on the net for the best deals, check my sig if your interested.

Dandy Dan 69

So. I ended up getting the Giant.

I'd actually decided to get the Boardman on the ride to work scheme as it was such ridiculous value, but then my work decided to not open it when they said they would and they don't know when it's next going to happen. So I got impatient and went for the Giant (which had gone down £100 since I had last looked at it which was nice).

Anyway, it arrived today. This is what I found when I got home.



I'm torn between being really happy that I didn't have to go traipsing off to the delivery office to collect it as it was a missed delivery, or rather pissed off that they thought they'd just chance leaving £1100 in my front yard (Comments about the state of the walls are not required).

cooldad

If that's your front door you must be really short.

chrisw333

spat my tea out CD!

stubs

Delivery companies all of them need a kicking. A mate ordered some Reba forks and the delivery clown threw the box over the gates at the side of his house. The box was bashed up and lay in a puddle for nearly a whole day till he went out to put something in the bin and tripped over the box. He sent them straight back without opening the box and asked for a new set. The delivery company said not there problem the box was signed for but refused to say who had signed for it and couldnt explain how the box had managed to get over a 7 foot high gate on its own.

theMagician

What does the xtc ride like?

Are you impressed? Do you know the weight.


This is one of the bikes that I am looking at getting at the 2013 model seems a bargain

Dandy Dan 69

I really like it. It's taking me a little while to get used to riding a hardtail again, especially when the trail is quite demanding. It's great on longer less technical rides though. You just bomb along.

The large is 11.1kg with spds.