Voodoo Bantu 2015/16? Or Voodoo Hoodoo 2013/14?

Universal2016

Hi,

I know the Voodoo Hoodoo is supposed to be the 'model up' from the Bantu, but I wondered if this still applied with the older version of the Hoodoo (2013/14) compared with the current Bantu available in Halfords.

As a beginner this is proving quite a tough decision to work out what to go for, from what I have read, these are both great bikes. The Hoodoo seems to have more travel in the forks and I think i am leaning towards that, are there any reasons to pick the Bantu over this? Does anyone have any experience with either bike they could share?

The Old Hoodoo would be about £330 and the current Bantu £360 under Halford's current special offer.


Any advice would be greatly appreciated!


http://www.halfords.com/cycling/bikes/mountain-bikes/voodoo-hoodoo-mountain-bike-2013-2014

http://www.halfords.com/cycling/bikes/mountain-bikes/voodoo-bantu-mountain-bike


The Hoodoo has the following specs

Frame: Lightweight butted aluminum
Forks: 120mm Suntour Front suspension and lockout feature helps on uphill climbs
Gears: Shimano Alivio 27 speed gears have a wider range and more precise shifting
Brakes: Tektro Auriga dual piston disc brakes for self-adjusting stopping power
Wheels: 26" Voodoo aluminium wheels with Maxxis tyres for cornering contro
Chainset: Shimano FC-M430
Fork Lock-out: Yes
Fork travel: 120mm
Frame: 7005 alloy
Front Brake: Tektro Gemini Hydraulic disc 180mm rotor
Front Hub: Formula 32 hole Q/R disc hub
Front Mech: Shimano Alivio FD-M430
Gear Shifters: Shimano Alivio SL-M430 27spd
Handlebars: Riser 31.8mm
Headset: 1 1/8 Aheadset
Quick Release Front Wheel: Yes
Quick Release Rear Wheel: Yes
Rear Brake: Tektro Gemini Hydraulic disc 160mm rotor
Rear Hub: Formula 32 hole Q/R disc hub
Rear Mech: Shimano Alivio RD-M430
Rims: Double wall black 32 hole disc rim
Saddle: VL-3165
Seatpost: 400mm Alloy 27.2
Type: Mountain Bikes
Tyre Size: 26" x 2.25"
Tyres: Maxxis Ardent

And the Bantu has this spec

Frame: Lightweight aluminium
Forks: Suntour XCR forks for great control on the trails
Gears: Shimano Altus 27 speed gears will give you a great range
Brakes: Tektro HDM290 brakes for controlled stopping on long descents
Wheels: 27.5" double wall VooDoo wheels with Maxxis Ardent tyres for strength
Bottom Bracket: FSA BB7420 square taper
Cassette/Freewheel: Shimano, 9-SPD, 11-34T
Chain: KMC Z99
Chainset: Suntour XCM 44/30/22T
Fork Lock-out: Yes; Lever type
Fork travel: 100mm
Forks - Adjustable damping: Yes
Front Brake: Tektro M290
Front Hub: Formula DC-20
Front Mech: Shimano Altus M371
Gear Shifters: Shimano Altus M371
Geometry: MTB trail
Grips: VooDoo Blue
Handlebars: VooDoo
Headset: 1 1/8th semi intergrated ball bearing
Pedals: Wellgo alloy
Quick Release Front Wheel: Yes
Quick Release Rear Wheel: Yes
Rear Brake: Tektro M290
Rear Hub: Formula DC-20
Rear Mech: Shimano Altus
Rims: VooDoo double wall alloy
Saddle: VooDoo
Seatpost: VooDoo
Stem: VooDoo
Type: Mountain Bikes
Tyre Size: 27.5" x 2.25"
Tyres: Maxxis Ardent

N0bodyOfTheGoat

Unless you are tied in to a Halfords purchase, it is worth considering...

http://www.gooutdoors.co.uk/calibre-two ... ke-p275612

crazymac680

Better fork. Better gears better brakes on the hoodoo.
The bantu has bigger wheels.
I'd go for the hoodoo as I don't really believe the wheel size hype. You'll also pick up good deals on 26" forks wheels and Tyres since the 26 is less fashionable. Not that you need to upgrade those items as they are probably the best you can get on a bike in that price range.

Universal2016

Thanks for the advice so far.

It turns out the New Bantu actually comes with XCM forks instead of XCRs as advertised on the website and 100mm of travel rather than the 120mm mentioned in the video, I don't know how much this would affect the performance? Does anyone own a Bantu with XCRs?

Another option could be the older Voodoo Bantu from 2014, the specs are as below, this would be a lot cheaper than the other two. How would this compare to the other two?

http://www.halfords.com/cycling/bikes/mountain-bikes/voodoo-bantu-mountain-bike-2013-2014

Voodoo Bantu 2014

Approximate Weight (KG): 15.2kg
Brake Type: Hydraulic Disc Brakes
Forks: Suntour XCR-LO-R Coil suspension fork with lockout
Frame Material: Alloy
Gender: Unisex
Number of Gears: 24
Pedals Included: Yes
Suspension: Front Suspension
Wheel Size: 26"

Cassette/Freewheel: 11-32T
Chainset: Shimano Altus 42/32/22t 175mm
Fork Lock-out: Yes
Fork travel: 120mm
Front Brake: Tektro HDC-300 Hydraulic disc - 180mm rotor
Front Hub: Formula 32 hole Q/R disc hub
Front Mech: Shimano Altus
Gear Shifters: Shimano Acera Triggers - 24 speed
Handlebars: Alloy Riser - 31.8mm 670mm
Headset: Semi Integrated 1 1/8 Aheadset
Pedals: Wellgo alloy platforms - 9/16
Quick Release Front Wheel: Yes
Quick Release Rear Wheel: Yes
Rear Brake: Tektro HDC-300 Hydraulic disc - 160mm rotor
Rear Hub: Formula 32 hole Q/R disc hub
Rear Mech: Shimano Acera 8 speed
Rims: Voodoo double wall alloy - 32 hole disc specific
Saddle: Voodoo with Steel Rails
Seatpost: Voodoo alloy - 400mm - 27.2mm
Stem: Voodoo alloy - 31.8mm - 100mm
Type: Mountain Bikes
Tyre Size: 26 x 2.1
Tyres: Innova

cooldad

XCM are rubbish.

rockmonkeysc

The XCM is rubbish, the XCR is a little bit better but I'd rather have a budget fork like the XCR with less travel. More travel will exaggerate the poor damping.

Universal2016

So the XCR on the older bike is a better one than the XCM on the current one?

cooldad

Yes

crazymac680

The old bantu is worse.
It doesn't have the maxxis tyres.
The hoodoo is bombproof

Universal2016

The old Bantu is being offered at around £220 seems quite a good price. Would the old Hoodoo be worth the extra £110?

rockmonkeysc

crazymac680 wrote:

The old bantu is worse.
It doesn't have the maxxis tyres.
The hoodoo is bombproof

Those old Maxxis Ardents are rubbish.

crazymac680

I've never replaced them on my hoodoo after 3 years. I doubt you get better on a bike for £330.
My main bike has continental mountain kings and I've no issues when I take out the hoodoo.

The Rookie

crazymac680 wrote:

I doubt you get better on a bike for £330.

Calibre two.two....

To clarify on the XCR v XCM debate, they are very similar structurally, the XCR is about 250g lighter as the lowers are Magnesium and not alluminium alloy, XCR all have a hydraulic damper, XCM didnt used to although some now have it, the XCM with hydraulic damper is the bare mininum acceptable for proper mountain biking, without the damper its a clunky pogoing mess of a fork.