New FS Mountain bike £2000-3000

ilias87

Hello All,

Thank you in advance for your help.

I used to own a Whyte 905 which got stolen few months ago and now I am looking for a new Full Suspension bike.

I will be using it most likely for trails and light DH but its also important to be able to do long distance off road cycling like the South Down Ways.

Up to now I have seen the below options:

Nukeproof Mega AM 275 Pro Bike 2015
http://www.chainreactioncycles.com/nuke ... prod117261

Nukeproof Mega TR 275 Pro Bike 2015
http://www.chainreactioncycles.com/nuke ... rod117265#

Canyon Spectral AL 8.0 EX
https://www.canyon.com/en/mountainbikes ... tml?b=3558

Please feel free to suggest anything else.

Thank you for your time and help!

Ilias

rockmonkeysc

For the riding you describe I would say the Mega TR would be good. Its a resl fun bike, takes hard riding very well and is still good for long distance xc epics. My Mega TR has done everything from black downhill trails to 80km xc rides and taken both very well. I would budget for a better shock though, the Monarch is the weak point on the bike. I put a CCDB Inline on mine and its so much better.
The Megs AM is probably s bit more bike than you will want and s bit more hard work over long distances.
Also take a look at the Giant Trance and Transition Scout.

Joe_Pineapples

I recently bought a Radon Slide 9.0HD from http://www.bike-discount.de/en. £2260 delivered to my door. Love it.

Antm81

Another vote for a Trance here.

I've got the '2' model and love it, although it's had some upgrades now.

The '1' is within your budget, has most of the upgrades I've fitted and Giants carbon wheelset

http://www.giant-bicycles.com/en-gb/bik ... ifications

The '2' comes in under your budget.

lawman

The two at the top of my list would be the new Cube Stereo 140 and the Mondraker Foxy. Own a Foxy myself and it's an awesome ride, feels sooooo fast and planted and awesome fun to ride.

The cube is awesome value, perhaps not quite as nice a ride as the Foxy but still solid and you will struggle to find better spec without going direct. The Mega TR is a decent as well tbf, bit heavy for what it is but a pretty solid bike.

neilus

YT Capra CF Comp 1? Its got some truly stonking reviews...

rockmonkeysc

neilus wrote:

YT Capra CF Comp 1? Its got some truly stonking reviews...

Good as an enduro but a right old tank for the long distance xc rides the op says he wants to do.

ilias87

Guys thank you all so much for your suggestions!

This decision looks so difficult.

I think that I'm still leaning towards the Nukeproof TR.

I actually love the Trance 1 and even more the way it looks but for this amount of money I would really want XT Brakes and maybe a drop seat, so I feel that I dont get much value for the money. Except if you all think that the the way it rides is that much better that I shouldn't care about the SLX components.

About the YT Capra I had a look a few days ago because of the great price but its out of stock until June:S

Many thanks again for all your help!!

ilias87

lawman wrote:

The two at the top of my list would be the new Cube Stereo 140 and the Mondraker Foxy. Own a Foxy myself and it's an awesome ride, feels sooooo fast and planted and awesome fun to ride.

The cube is awesome value, perhaps not quite as nice a ride as the Foxy but still solid and you will struggle to find better spec without going direct. The Mega TR is a decent as well tbf, bit heavy for what it is but a pretty solid bike.

Hey Lawman, thank you for that! I was looking at the Foxy earlier this week and in the begin I loved what I was reading but people say that because of it's geometry you either love it or hate it.

lawman

ilias87 wrote:

lawman wrote:

The two at the top of my list would be the new Cube Stereo 140 and the Mondraker Foxy. Own a Foxy myself and it's an awesome ride, feels sooooo fast and planted and awesome fun to ride.

The cube is awesome value, perhaps not quite as nice a ride as the Foxy but still solid and you will struggle to find better spec without going direct. The Mega TR is a decent as well tbf, bit heavy for what it is but a pretty solid bike.

Hey Lawman, thank you for that! I was looking at the Foxy earlier this week and in the begin I loved what I was reading but people say that because of it's geometry you either love it or hate it.

It does take a little getting used to for sure. I'm not the fastest rider in the world, but I'm pretty competant at riding most trails at a decent pace and I find its suits me really well. It also seems pretty happy cruising around sedately but it's at its best when you push on and ride it hard.

bdigital

ilias87 wrote:

Guys thank you all so much for your suggestions!

This decision looks so difficult.

I think that I'm still leaning towards the Nukeproof TR.

I actually love the Trance 1 and even more the way it looks but for this amount of money I would really want XT Brakes and maybe a drop seat, so I feel that I dont get much value for the money. Except if you all think that the the way it rides is that much better that I shouldn't care about the SLX components.

I thought the Trance 1 has a dropper post? Albeit the not so desirable Giant Contact Switch.

Im potentially looking at the Trance 27.5 1 or the Advanced 2. Do you think that XT will be much better than SLX in the brakes department?

Im also not that keen on the Silver look of the 1. Ive heard it looks better in person though!

rockmonkeysc

The difference between SLX and XT brakes is a little extra lever adjustment. The Trance 1 in my local shop has a Giant dropper post, they are supposed to be quite good.

Antm81

I'm happy with my giant dropper, works as it should, prefer that it's cable over hydraulic.

ilias87

RockmonkeySC wrote:

The difference between SLX and XT brakes is a little extra lever adjustment. The Trance 1 in my local shop has a Giant dropper post, they are supposed to be quite good.

Apologies guys you are right it has a dropper I was wrong!

I feel that at that point then as I should just pick the want that climbs better.

RockmonkeySC so what would you choose between the TR and the Trance 1 ?

rockmonkeysc

Tough choice but my inner hooligan would have the Mega TR. The sensible choice would be the Trance for its build quality and better pedal efficiency. The Mega just encourages stupidity is is capable of far more than a 130/150mm bike should be.

tobamory

I'm with rock monkey hard choice tithe stunt man in me always wanted nuke proof, but a work mate has the trance and its been great, very nice bike.

Save up and get. 5010 Santa Cruz only a small amount over the line lol

tails

I have a mega tr so can recommend this:
http://www.ubyk.co.uk/nukeproof-mega-tr ... 2014/15804

Loads spare for a dropper and upgrades if you want. I built from a 2nd hand frame so have a diff spec.
Btw I'm 5'8" and fit a medium but could easily fit a large, also I've fitted a giant contact dropper. It doesn't technically fit I just overtighten, but I can't recommend this.

I'll agree with the others that the bike encourages you too play but will easily cover distance. I'm very happy.

rockmonkeysc

Only negative for the Mega (other than slightly roper finishing) is the standard Monarch RCT3 rear shock is extremely harsh and not very good. The Mega needs a very good rear shock to get the best out of it.
I have test rode a Santa Cruz Solo, very short and to be honest not particularly interesting to ride. It's kind of like a Ford Mondeo, you can't critisize the way it works but it does nothing spectacular.