Full suspension MTB

postie90
postie90 Posts: 53
edited June 2014 in MTB buying advice
Been to my local lesiure lakes 2day, looking to buy a full suspension trail bike.... After speaking with a guy, he recomended the trek fuel range, I was drawn to the the style & colour fuel 8 29er which is price just sub 2k, this will be my 1st f/s bike.... What's peoples thought on this bike? Thanks in advance.....

Comments

  • rockmonkeysc
    rockmonkeysc Posts: 14,774
    Not the best bike for that price but it's not a bad bike.
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  • postie90
    postie90 Posts: 53
    What else should I look at if I can get better for my money?
  • rockmonkeysc
    rockmonkeysc Posts: 14,774
    Depends on the riding you want to do and what you want from the bike.
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  • postie90
    postie90 Posts: 53
    I'm after an all round trail bike, that will be good for going around cannock chase, which is local to me, and also when I got down to devon & Wales just to head off along the coast, enjoy the scenery and coastal paths and may be a bike park or 2 around Wales need to read up that thou not been to any before, after speaking with a few sales people, in different shops (I've been to 4 shops) and asked what would be suitable for cannock chase & my needs one thing they all said was a full suspension. So with this in mind looking at the trek fuel 8 it won best trail bike 2013 and just been reduced to £1999 I do like Santa Cruz the solo, my budget is around 3k cheers.
  • rockmonkeysc
    rockmonkeysc Posts: 14,774
    I would rather ride a hardtail at cannock and for most of your other riding.
    Obviously someone selling bikes will tell you that you need the most expensive type of bike they can sell you. It's their job to extract as much cash as possible from you.
    I would suggest a nice carbon 29er hardtail would do you better.
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  • risky
    risky Posts: 17
    one thing they all said was a full suspension.
    A shop tried to sell you something more expensive? Shock horror.
  • postie90
    postie90 Posts: 53
    RockmonkeySC wrote:
    I would rather ride a hardtail at cannock and for most of your other riding.
    Obviously someone selling bikes will tell you that you need the most expensive type of bike they can sell you. It's their job to extract as much cash as possible from you.
    I would suggest a nice carbon 29er hardtail would do you better.

    With my budget then I'd get a pretty decent hardtail what brands would you recommend? I'd get Santa Cruz for that money...
  • rockmonkeysc
    rockmonkeysc Posts: 14,774
    Santa Cruz Highball is very nice. Maybe look at Niner as well. You will get a very nice hardtail.
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  • The Rookie
    The Rookie Posts: 27,812
    Have a look at the On-One Lurcher as well......
    Currently riding a Whyte T130C, X0 drivetrain, Magura Trail brakes converted to mixed wheel size (homebuilt wheels) with 140mm Fox 34 Rhythm and RP23 suspension. 12.2Kg.
  • chrisw333
    chrisw333 Posts: 695
    I think a shortish travel full suss will be good for Cannock chase and the Welsh trail centres. Having ridden hardtails and full suss round both I definitely prefer the fll suss.

    A Trek Fuel would be a great bike for your needs. Would better if your riding develops to tricker stuff in the next few years too. There may be better value out there bikes out there but its a good machine and well within your budget. In fact, you could buy that AND and On One Parkwood 29er within your budget.

    Take a look at Pauls Cycles too, they have some excellent value bikes. If you're happy to buy online the Canyon bikes are worth a look too.
  • postie90
    postie90 Posts: 53
    Any thoughts on the lapierre zesty 429 29er came across this one while searching 2day
  • rockmonkeysc
    rockmonkeysc Posts: 14,774
    Very much overkill for the riding you want to do.
    If you really want full suspension you would be better off with something like a Giant Anthem, a light short travel xc bike.
    I still think you would be better off on a hadtail. Personally for Cannock I wouldn't want full suspension. Its nice to have at some trail centres but for most of what you do a hardtail 29er will be better.
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  • njee20
    njee20 Posts: 9,613
    Pretty personal I'd say. Necessary, no, but won't be a hindrance either. Can you get some test rides on your local trails?
  • postie90
    postie90 Posts: 53
    njee20 wrote:
    Pretty personal I'd say. Necessary, no, but won't be a hindrance either. Can you get some test rides on your local trails?

    This is what I'm gonna have to do I think.... What I don't want to do is spend 2k on a hardtail and then wish I'd bought a F/S from everyone's advise it really is 50/50 Santa Cruz tall boy is my favourite at the minute for a hardtail 29er :D
  • rockmonkeysc
    rockmonkeysc Posts: 14,774
    Tall Boy is a lovely ride and I'm not normally a fan of 29ers.
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  • njee20
    njee20 Posts: 9,613
    You know the Tallboy isn't a hardtail...?

    The Highball is the hardtail and IMO it's massively overpriced
  • rockmonkeysc
    rockmonkeysc Posts: 14,774
    I bashed my head on a tree yesterday. Bit confused today.
    I meant the Highball.
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  • cooldad
    cooldad Posts: 32,599
    RockmonkeySC wrote:
    I bashed my head on a tree yesterday. Bit confused today.
    I meant the Highball.
    Not that anyone noticed any difference.
    I don't do smileys.

    There is no secret ingredient - Kung Fu Panda

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    Parktools
  • Ryan Jones
    Ryan Jones Posts: 775
    It's a lot of personal preference with this, personally I'd demo a good selection of bikes before splashing £3k on anything. I like playful but still pretty comfortable for a long ride, so I'd prefer a full suspension bike with sorted geometry which isn't too heavy (sub 30lbs).
    I'd be tempted to try out a Santa Cruz Blur TR or Bantam, as they sound like a good laugh for general riding (sort of like my own bike with some toughness and bling added). But I think you'd be happy with a lot of other bikes besides, and cheaper ones at that.
    My Nukeproof Mega TR
  • njee20
    njee20 Posts: 9,613
    RockmonkeySC wrote:
    I bashed my head on a tree yesterday. Bit confused today.
    I meant the Highball.

    To be fair I was talking to the OP, who called Tallboy a hardtail.

    A friend had a Highball. Was ok, but like I say, overpriced IMO.
  • rockmonkeysc
    rockmonkeysc Posts: 14,774
    I believe I also referred to the Tallboy as a hardtail.
    Santa Cruz aren't really known for great value but they do know how to build a good bike.
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  • njee20
    njee20 Posts: 9,613
    Indeed you did, but merely following on from the OP, easily done.

    I guess that really links to my point of the other thread - you can't really do a carbon 29er XC race hardtail wrong. There will be subtle geometry differences, but that's about it. The Santa Cruz and the Niner at well over £1000 don't really seem to bring much to the party other than being far heavier than the Trek Superfly SL, Scott Scale, Cannondale Flash etc.

    Their FS bikes make sense all day long, less so hardtails. IMO of course.
  • postie90
    postie90 Posts: 53
    I've been think over the last few days, and come to a decision, I'm going to go for a hardtail with a budget off 2k, the reason is I use to ride MTb long before there was full suspension, so nothing ventured nothing gained so to speak, with my budget I should be able to get a great spek bike, there's plenty out there to many in fact
    Gt zasker 9r look great
    Specialized comp crave
    Scott scale 950
    Whyte 905
    Cheaper
    Cannondale trail SL 29

    With my budget could you advise on the above or others..... Thanks

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