New bike £2000-£2500

Matty87

Hey guys im looking to buy a new Full suspension all mountain bike for around that price. Ive been looking at a few, the canyon nerve/spectral look awesome but because they dont do finance i dont think i can afford them yet. The kona process 153 look really good? but jsut after some more advice and choices if possible. thanks.

supersonic

If you like the geometry of the Kona give it a test, but the spec is atrocious for the cash. Some heavy, bargain bucket parts on there that you see on 500 quid bikes.

Matty87

Yea true.. what bikes would u recommend?

Levi_501

Matty87 wrote:

but because they dont do finance i dont think i can afford them yet .

The best advice I can give you, is do not spend anywhere near that kind of money if you cannot afford it; it really is not worth it.

Save up for something cheaper and ride and enjoy that without the 'how am I going to pay for that'

ej2320

I found buying parts from Germany and getting good deals I saved about £500 off the factory build price
So if you like a particular frame.. Could look into a custom build
And a 26" frame will be cheaper due to people flogging 26" parts at good prices to 'upgrade' to 650b

rockmonkeysc

You could get a nice custom build for that price.
A Nukeproof Mega TR/AM or Saracen Arial plus some Rockshox Pike forks and XT groupset from ze germans would be my choice.

Qui3tman

Any sites folks would recommend? (sorry to hijack!)

Matty87

The only thing is my knowledge is pretty bad, i wouldnt know how to build one or what parts all together i need apart from the basic ones obviously.

felix.london

Nice problem to have!

You can get a Nukeproof Mega TR on CRC for about £1,700 - leaves plenty spare cash for some extras/upgrades etc

http://www.chainreactioncycles.com/fr/en/nukeproof-mega-tr-rockshox-monarch-rt3-2013/rp-prod87480

Plus you should be able to find somewhere where you can test one out

I'd whack on a Reverb, SLX brakes and a smaller chain ring to start with and sell all the bits that came off (as new) - even with your LBS doing the work the bike would still probably be under £2K

ej2320

Qui3tman wrote:

Any sites folks would recommend? (sorry to hijack!)

If you're talking about German websites..

I'd recommend
hibike.de (got my tyres and pike from them)
bikediscount.de

I got a lot from crc too, if you wait around they have a lot of promotions on and voucher codes going around.. Plus free postage
Same goes for wiggle, the had a great offer on SLX brakes not long ago

Run a quick price check too by googling the item and check out ebay for some of the parts

Matty87

Such hard decisions. I cant find a bike thats as near canyon for value for money, and even weight wise... there so much lighter than most bikes. The nukeproof looks nice, but not sure on it. Also with wheel size debates etc nowadays is it still worth going for a 26" on a new bike when 27.5" is available? gah its all i ever see and read about lol

I was looking at the Whyte t129s which looks good and seems decent spec?

felix.london

I wouldn't get sidetracked with wheelsize at all tbh. There'll be plenty of (26") tyres, wheels and forks around for a long, long time I should think.

Yeah when you look at Canyon's et al it's hard to 'justify' anything else but if I was on your position I'd be after a Mega for sure.

...also you don't want it too light to begin with or where's your excuse for upgrades in the weeks/months/years to come

Matty87

Very true, the only thing with the nukeproof. they have 15.75 inch frame and 20 inch frame available, im usually on a 17" frame so its right between both i wouldnt know what to get do they not do a 17" frame or just sold out at crc?

supersonic

Top tube length?

rockmonkeysc

Matty87 wrote:

Very true, the only thing with the nukeproof. they have 15.75 inch frame and 20 inch frame available, im usually on a 17" frame so its right between both i wouldnt know what to get do they not do a 17" frame or just sold out at crc?

The frames have a short seat tube but long top tube. Go by top tube length.

BigAl

It's not clear, but presumably you have a bike already?

What is it?

Could you buy a frame & fork and swap components?

Matty87

Yea i currently have a Cube Acid hardtail 29er. I bought it early january to see if i could get myself into MTB again afetr a long time out. Well it has got me into it again as im just loving the buzz and wish i had never stopped, but its making me want more, i feel like i can only get so much out of this bike on downhills etc so im afetr a quality full sus to push myself more and have a bit more fun i guess!

Matty87

Well im still searching. Just trying to make the right choice! Ive been looking at Rose granite chief 2, as an alternative to the canyon as i dont think theres a wait for the bike from them, also an on-one, and the new nukeproof mega bikes.

What kind of weight is acceptable for an am bike? 30lbs? since i do long rides with lots of hills to will it make a huge difference? i only weigh 10 stone so i dont have much to carry in that sense!

ride_whenever

what do you actually ride day to day in terms of terrain?

Matty87

Lots of trail centre singletrack, fire roads, beaten tracks etc.. Just proper mountain biking tbh i like to mix up the trail centres with middle of nowhere rides! I live in north wales so regulary ride code-y-brenin, penmahcno, marin etc if that gives u a better idea!

ride_whenever

You definitely don't want anything made by nukeproof then.

Pick up a short travel FS bike and you'll be much happier. In fact, just buy a carbon tallboy 2 and move everything off the cube.

rockmonkeysc

For that sort of riding an xc bike will be better than an am bike.
Giant Anthem or a 2013 Trance (not 2014) Specialized Camber 26 or 29, Trek Fuel EX, Santa Cruz Tallboy or something similar.