Which bike shall I buy.....

649tom
649tom Posts: 3
edited August 2014 in MTB buying advice
Hi,

I'm new to the forum and was looking for advice on what bike to buy as I'm getting back into MTBing.

I've applied for a £1000 credit to spend in Evans Cycles through my employers Ride 2 Work scheme. I'll put more towards the bike if I like one that costs more though.

My last MTB was a Specialized Rockhopper 26er. It seems now that 29ers are very popular but I've also read that 27.5 will be very popular with manufacturers in 2015 and I'm not sure if I should wait for a while to purchase! I can't find release dates for any 2015 bikes and Evans cycles won't tell me when they'll be in.

http://www.evanscycles.com/products/spe ... e-ec053125

http://www.evanscycles.com/products/tre ... e-ec051735

I'm yet to try a 29er but I very much like the look of the Specialized Crave Pro 29er (hard tail) 2014 £1400 & the Trek Fuel EX 7 29er (full suspension) 2014 £1575. There is not much of a choice at the moment at Evans Cycles!!

I know the obvious answer is to go in to the store and try all the bikes you like but I'd just like some advice on whether This is the right time to be buying, the bikes I like are not good value, or do you ride one of these bike yourself and either love it or hate it?

Cheers guys

Tom

Comments

  • johnmcl7
    johnmcl7 Posts: 162
    I think this is by far the best time to be buying a bike as there's great deals on 2014 models as the 2015 models start to appear. I've ordered a 2015 Trek bike and they're estimating around the end of August for that model but it's going to vary tremendously on what bike you're looking at.

    27.5 vs 29 is an endless debate and comes down to which you prefer, after riding a few bikes last year I went for a 2014 Trek Fuel Ex 8 29er as personally I prefer the bigger wheels. I find it a fantastic all round bike, I didn't like the idea of a full suspension bike initially but find it's enjoyable to ride as it's much easier to keep speed up on rough terrain. I can easily see why other riders prefer the smaller 27.5 wheel size.

    John
  • cooldad
    cooldad Posts: 32,599
    Legally you can't add to the scheme.
    I don't do smileys.

    There is no secret ingredient - Kung Fu Panda

    London Calling on Facebook

    Parktools
  • Briggo
    Briggo Posts: 3,537
    cooldad wrote:
    Legally you can't add to the scheme.

    Depends on the Employment company or Cycle2work scheme's rules they have in place.
  • cooldad
    cooldad Posts: 32,599
    Depends whether his company has a credit licence or not. And if they do, they can offer a higher voucher, but the employee can't, legally, add more money in.
    As his voucher is for £1,000 I'm assuming they don't, or if they do, have limited the scheme.
    I don't do smileys.

    There is no secret ingredient - Kung Fu Panda

    London Calling on Facebook

    Parktools
  • 649tom
    649tom Posts: 3
    *UPDATE*

    In the end I went for a Trek Stache 7! 120mm travel, Trek G2 geometry so it's less of a XC ride and 15mm front axle. I'd have preferred the Fox forks from the Stache 8 but couldn't get the extra £400 together to upgrade.

    Great reviews on this bike and it was reduced to under £1200! Really happy with it. Now I just need to get fit as I haven't done any exercise in 3 years and find some trails around the basingstoke / Reading area.

Categories