The Next Step - New Bike for £850
Tom McKinney
Posts: 3
Hi,
I have recently got into Mountain Biking and am now looking for a bike with a budget around £750-850.
The bike I have at the moment is a Claud Butler Cape Wrath 1 Exile 29er 2014 Hardtail. I got this as a NQP bike for £200. For the type of trails I'm putting it through, its just not keeping up. I may as well have a rigid bike with the next to nothing travel i get with the forks it came with, and its ending up in the shop after each ride. It was never intended to last, i just wanted any old bike to start off with to see if i actually got into the sport and wanted to take it further.
Main disciplines I am focused on is XCing with some decent Downhill MTBing (not looking to go mad though - few years before ill be attempting red bull rampage lol). Like what you find at Cannock Chase (big up the Monkey Trail) and peak district - if anyone knows these places. I will be starting Uni in Sheffield come September where they have a big MTBing scene which I'm interested in joining and need something to keep up.
I'm after a HT, mainly because I'm still learning and don't want to throw myself into the deep end with a FS. And I've been told a FS on my budget wouldn't be very good compared to the quality i can get with a HT for the same price. This true?
I have been looking at these two, but there's so much out there it's hard to narrow anything down.
- Norco Charger 7.1 2015 Mountain Bike
- Trek X-Caliber 9 2015 Mountain Bike
So my question really is, what do people think, any other suggestions? Will 100mm travel be enough, or should i be looking at something more, 120/140?
Cheers,
TRM
I have recently got into Mountain Biking and am now looking for a bike with a budget around £750-850.
The bike I have at the moment is a Claud Butler Cape Wrath 1 Exile 29er 2014 Hardtail. I got this as a NQP bike for £200. For the type of trails I'm putting it through, its just not keeping up. I may as well have a rigid bike with the next to nothing travel i get with the forks it came with, and its ending up in the shop after each ride. It was never intended to last, i just wanted any old bike to start off with to see if i actually got into the sport and wanted to take it further.
Main disciplines I am focused on is XCing with some decent Downhill MTBing (not looking to go mad though - few years before ill be attempting red bull rampage lol). Like what you find at Cannock Chase (big up the Monkey Trail) and peak district - if anyone knows these places. I will be starting Uni in Sheffield come September where they have a big MTBing scene which I'm interested in joining and need something to keep up.
I'm after a HT, mainly because I'm still learning and don't want to throw myself into the deep end with a FS. And I've been told a FS on my budget wouldn't be very good compared to the quality i can get with a HT for the same price. This true?
I have been looking at these two, but there's so much out there it's hard to narrow anything down.
- Norco Charger 7.1 2015 Mountain Bike
- Trek X-Caliber 9 2015 Mountain Bike
So my question really is, what do people think, any other suggestions? Will 100mm travel be enough, or should i be looking at something more, 120/140?
Cheers,
TRM
0
Comments
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Sticking with HT's, this could also be an option: http://www.halfords.com/cycling/bikes/m ... am-ht-650b
(BTW, links would be useful for the 2 that you have mentioned so we can see the exact spec without guessing which bike to look at - there are so many out there
) Boardman HT Team - Hardtail
Rose Pro-SL 2000 - Roadie0 -
Over budget and not a hardtail but if you could raise another couple hundred quid this looks like an amazing deal to me; http://www.bike-discount.de/en/buy/radon-slide-130-29-wl-18201/wg_id-802 "Why have that extra tooth if you're not using it?" - Brian Lopes
Votec V.SX Enduro 'Alpine Thug' 2012/2013 build
Trek Session 80 -
felix.london wrote:Over budget and not a hardtail but if you could raise another couple hundred quid this looks like an amazing deal to me; http://www.bike-discount.de/en/buy/radon-slide-130-29-wl-18201/wg_id-802
That's a women's geo bike though, I think.“Life has been unfaithful
And it all promised so so much”
Giant Trance 2 27.5 2016 ¦ Sonder Broken Road 2021¦ Giant Revolt Advanced 2 2019 ¦ Giant Toughtroad SLR 1 2019 ¦ Giant Anthem 3 2015 ¦ Specialized Myka Comp FSR 20090 -
JBA wrote:felix.london wrote:Over budget and not a hardtail but if you could raise another couple hundred quid this looks like an amazing deal to me; http://www.bike-discount.de/en/buy/radon-slide-130-29-wl-18201/wg_id-802
That's a women's geo bike though, I think.
Possibly but numbers look alright to me"Why have that extra tooth if you're not using it?" - Brian Lopes
Votec V.SX Enduro 'Alpine Thug' 2012/2013 build
Trek Session 80 -
Been out with my mate on his X-Caliber 9. Looks stunning in the Blue an Orange (like the Gulf colours). The only thing is I find the fork (XC32) is a bit lacking. He loves it though.
Not the greatest value for money, but not as bad as some.Stumpjumper FSR Comp 650B http://www.bikeradar.com/forums/viewtopic.php?f=10017&t=13032340
Frankenbike Commuter
http://www.bikeradar.com/forums/viewtopic.php?f=10017&t=130404820 -
Heres a link to the two bikes i mentioned in my orginial post.
http://www.evanscycles.com/products/nor ... e-ec073455
http://www.evanscycles.com/products/tre ... e-ec0709920
