Pls help DH decision

Bastardbrain

Hi all,
Thought this place would be the best idea for some constructive friendly advice
Had my bike stolen yesterday (gypsy) and the insurance are paying out which is good.
They have a site which I can choose from and I`ve narrowed it down to a few bikes
I`ll send the Evans cycles links
I know this isn`t DH
http://www.evanscycles.com/products/lapierre/spicy-327-2014-mountain-bike-ec054642

http://www.evanscycles.com/products/specialized/status-ii-fsr-2014-mountain-bike-ec053586
http://www.evanscycles.com/products/gt/fury-elite-2014-downhill-mountain-bike-ec054181
http://www.evanscycles.com/products/kona/entourage-2014-downhill-mountain-bike-ec055916

Thanks

rockmonkeysc

If you want a downhill bike and have to buy from Evans then there's really only one choice, Norco Aurum
http://m.evanscycles.com/products/norco ... e-ec053913
It's a really excellent bike and a good discount makes it even better.
Why the Spicy? It's a bit of an odd one in with downhill bikes. A good enough ride but a fragile frame and a very ropey fork.
The Status has a great frame but the rest of the kit on it isn't good enough for the price.
The Kona rides well but broken top tubes aren't uncommon.

Bastardbrain

I have to go here for the bike
http://www.bikereplacement.co.uk/c2/Mountain-bikes.aspx
so no Norco
My limit is £2500 but I can add a few hundred of my own dosh if I like
If you spot and say upto £2700 that you thinks a great bike pls say
Thanks

rockmonkeysc

It's a bit over your budget but worth the extra for the Saracen Myst
http://www.bikereplacement.co.uk/p67467 ... -Bike.aspx

Not a great choice for DH bikes on that website.

chrisw333

You MAY be able to take cash. I had the choice, although the budget was higher from bikereplacement than the cash alternative. Worth checking tho if you see a deal elsewhere.

CitizenLee

Out of interest, who is your insurer?

chrisw333

If that question is to me it was M&S and standard household insurance with the bike as a named item.

Indeed, because the bike was non standard they treated it as a custom build and priced all the parts up separately when they valued it. I just wished I'd insured it for double the price I had!

They were great in every way when dealing with the claim.

Bastardbrain

I`m with direct Line
Your right
I can take cash but only £1900 but if I order from the site I get £2500 they also said they would fit XTR crankset on.
I`m really torn what to do
Think your right about the crappy DH selection
Orange Alpine seems decent all rounder

pesky_jones

Orange alpine is a good bike and rides well, but expect a torrent of abuse - some of it rightly so, some of it not. It is more expensive than other similar alternatives and some people say the suspension design is old.

CitizenLee

Thanks. Need to change my insurance from Lloyds and wanted to check so I don't go with the same place that uses bikereaplcement.co.uk as the only bike I'd ride on there would be a Spesh Enduro (or a Demo if I still did DH as I used to have and '05 and they're nuts!).

chrisw333

You can have full value in cash or a higher budget from Bike Replacement. No problems there.

Bastardbrain

Thing is, if I get the cash the missus wont let me get a £2000 bike.
So I told her thats the only place I can get one from

Yeah she wears the pants

rockmonkeysc

Hang your head in shame.
If you can't stretch to the Saracen Myst then the Specialized Status is next best, it has a really great frame and the forks and shock aren't too bad. The gearing and brakes are a bit of a let down but you could sell the brakes new for enough to pay for a set of Shimano SLX brakes.

Bastardbrain

Heads dragging on the floor
Thx for the advice Rock
As an all rounder do you rate Lapierre Zesty AM 427 2014 ?
I really like the Status but its quite heavy and could be hard work if not using uplifts.
Argh cant decide

rockmonkeysc

Zesty and Spicy both have cracking issues. The Saracen Ariel 162 would be my choice as a more gravity focused allrounder or the Ariel 142 for a lighter option.

paul.skibum

The Scott Gambler isn't a bad bike - I didn't check the spec on the 30 but the frame isn't terrible.

Bastardbrain

Would you say the Orange Alpine is a decent choice

supersonic

If you like a bike with huge amounts of pedal kickback over bumps, yes.

CitizenLee

...to recreate the effect of riding an Orange on any other bike, simply carry a bag of loose nuts and bolts in your bag

The Saracen Ariel 162 RC suggested seems like a good shout.

welshkev

Bastardbrain wrote:

I really like the Status but its quite heavy and could be hard work if not using uplifts.

so you don't want a DH specific bike then if that may be an issue.

pesky_jones

status isnt even technically DH! FR bike isnt it?

rockmonkeysc

Pesky Jones wrote:

status isnt even technically DH! FR bike isnt it?

Yes it is. Specialized even ran one rider on one in the DH world cup for a couple years and did pretty well. The frame rides as well as the Demo.
It's got 8" front and rear. Long, slack and low geometry and is very good for getting down dh tracks very fast. What more do you need for it to be a dh bike?

Bastardbrain

Just had some good news
i can pick a bike up too £3400
http://www.bikereplacement.co.uk/catalo ... tain-bikes

The more I think about it the more I think a full DH could be a bad idea. Just for the pure fact there`s a lot of uphill climbs where i ride

What you recon guys

pesky_jones

RockmonkeySC wrote:

Pesky Jones wrote:

status isnt even technically DH! FR bike isnt it?

Yes it is. Specialized even ran one rider on one in the DH world cup for a couple years and did pretty well. The frame rides as well as the Demo.
It's got 8" front and rear. Long, slack and low geometry and is very good for getting down dh tracks very fast. What more do you need for it to be a dh bike?

Dunno just thought they marketed it as a FR bike.

felix.london

Bastardbrain wrote:

Just had some good news
i can pick a bike up too £3400
http://www.bikereplacement.co.uk/catalo ... tain-bikes

The more I think about it the more I think a full DH could be a bad idea. Just for the pure fact there`s a lot of uphill climbs where i ride

What you recon guys

Good news indeed! Yeah - if you're going to have to do any peddling uphill the a full DH bike is a big no-no.

supersonic

Long travel AM type thing sounds the way forward.

rockmonkeysc

This would be my choice
http://www.bikereplacement.co.uk/p67463 ... -Bike.aspx
Great bike and up to the job of some hard riding.

felix.london

Damn those bikes are pricey!

But I'd go for the Merida One Sixty 1 - looks like fun to me

http://www.bikereplacement.co.uk/p64941/Merida-One-Sixty-1-2014-Mountain-Bike.aspx

welshkev

RockmonkeySC wrote:

This would be my choice
http://www.bikereplacement.co.uk/p67463 ... -Bike.aspx
Great bike and up to the job of some hard riding.

with the zee spec that is a nice bike. but yeah over 3 grand is a lot of cash.

I ride my nomad on most DH tracks and it handles it all, plus I can pedal it back to the top too

rockmonkeysc

The biggest difference between a dh bike and an am bike on downhill tracks is the speed that you can ride. If you're not racing or trying to keep up with mates on dh bikes then an am bike will be ideal.

Bastardbrain

RockmonkeySC wrote:

This would be my choice
http://www.bikereplacement.co.uk/p67463 ... -Bike.aspx
Great bike and up to the job of some hard riding.

I was looking at that also
No reviews anywhere on it yet
Specs look decent too