New beginner - usual dilemma

mckennal05

Hi guys,

Pretty newish to mountain biking, I saw newish because I use to have a 2013 specialized Rockhopper back in 2013 for riding to work and also went to Llandegla a couple of times. So being absolutely bored to death running on a treadmill for fitness I thought I'd get back into something more enjoyable and sociable. Which brings me to the dilemma of what bike to get, I've narrowed it down to pretty much these 2 bikes or anything under 2.5k ( Yes I'm one of them all the gear no idea people haha ). Plus I'll be taking advantage of the 0% finance because why not.

http://www.formbycycles.co.uk/lapierre-spicy-527-mountain-bike-2364.html

Or

http://www.formbycycles.co.uk/specialized-stumpjumper-fsr-comp-29-mountain-bike-2016.html
http://www.formbycycles.co.uk/specialized-stumpjumper-fsr-comp-650b-mountain-bike-2016.html

Specialized Stumpjumper FSR Comp Evo (2015) gets a 4/15 or 10 or 9/10 on reviews I've looked up even if that is last years model so hopefully this model should be similar as its still technically EVO but that names been dropped this year. On the other hand the Lapierre Spicy 527 gets a woeful 2 1/2 star review ! Although the Spec to me looks far better ( I could be wrong ) but the reviews are slightly off putting.

Now i know this is all subject to each person etc etc, but I had a test ride of a few different brands when at Formby Cycles and the 2 brands above are what a felt most comfortable and stable on. I really wanted a Whyte 909 but once i rode it felt so jittery and unstable for me. Basically am torn between the 2 bikes above and not sure what to go for really,so any helpful info could be usefull

Cheers

supersonic

It is the weight that lets the Spicy down - 15kg for the money holds it back as a true all rounder. The wheels and tyres are a hefty chunk of the problem.

mckennal05

[url=http://www.bikeradar.com/forums/viewtopic.php?p=19733606#p19733606]supersonic[/url] wrote:

It is the weight that lets the Spicy down - 15kg for the money holds it back as a true all rounder. The wheels and tyres are a hefty chunk of the problem.

Is that a lot in terms of bike weight?, as the previous stumpjumper model is 14.37kg so this one shouldn't be fsr off i assume , if so less than 1kg in difference wouldn't be too noticeable and probably ultimately lighter than my old bike,

Would you say spending the extra on the spicy is worth the better spec?

McCagey

Why don't more sites do proper reviews of beginner Mountain bikes like the carerra kraken

Cheap hardtails are most peoples first entrance into mountain biking and if they were given better buying advice they might spend a few more quid on a better bike.

As this review of reviews shows http://twowheelsbetter.cc/best-of/cheap-hardtail-mountain-bike-carerra-kraken-15/ there is a paucity of buying advice.

cooldad

BR has done reviews of most at the cheaper end.

And given a few lots of stars.

The Rookie

[url=http://www.bikeradar.com/forums/viewtopic.php?p=19740294#p19740294]McCagey[/url] wrote:

Why don't more sites do proper reviews of beginner Mountain bikes like the carerra kraken

http://www.bikeradar.com/mtb/gear/category/bikes/mountain-bikes/hardtail/product/review-carrera-kraken-15-49087/

They do if you look.