New fullsuspension bike

Unrealtone

Hello people of bike radar, first time poster here.

As the title suggests, i'm looking to get myself an upgrade to a full suspension bike.

I will be coming from a cube acid 29'er 2015 model.

Budget is around around $2500 - $3000

I'm not sure whether i should go for a prebuilt bike, or maybe try and get individual parts and assemble it myself? (How hard would this be if I had limited experience within the bike mechanical world) Also is it even worth it, money / time wise to build it yourself? Of course i'd have a unique bike thats specified to my needs, which is a huge plus.

Some basic info:
The bike will first of all be used for a trip to Iceland (not tour, just pure mountain riding and descents).
I would like to get a low seated bike, as i think that would increase my confidence in descents. (Maybe?')

I hope you can help me out, and thanks for taking the time to read the post.

The Rookie

Any bike sized correctly will allow you to drop the seat out of the way.

What type of $ and where are you based, this is a UK based forum.

nicklouse

personally your Cube will be very good for it.

but if you do then forget this low seated idea as it is just wrong. having a dropper post might be nice but just hang your rear out the back and manually lowering the saddle is just as good and it gives you a moment for a breather.

Angus Young

nicklouse wrote:

having a dropper post might be nice but just hang your rear out the back and manually lowering the saddle is just as good and it gives you a moment for a breather.

I hate to have to disagree with someone who clearly knows a whole lot more about mountain bikes than me but, manually dropping your seat is not nearly as good as having a remote dropper. It's a total faff and makes riding nowhere near as pleasurable.

Angus Young

nicklouse wrote:

having a dropper post might be nice but just hang your rear out the back and manually lowering the saddle is just as good and it gives you a moment for a breather.

I hate to have to disagree with someone who clearly knows a whole lot more about mountain bikes than me but, manually dropping your seat is not nearly as good as having a remote dropper. It's a total faff (especially the getting it back up again part) and makes riding nowhere near as pleasurable.

Unrealtone

The Rookie wrote:

Any bike sized correctly will allow you to drop the seat out of the way.

What type of $ and where are you based, this is a UK based forum.

I'm based in Denmark, and we use DKK but I dont believe buying from the UK wouldn't be much of a problem at all. (except maybe chance of taxation etc etc) So far i've ordered from germany and had no problems.

Also I think I might be getting things mixed up here by low seated i meant like the cube fritzz frame.
Where the suspension is vertical, not horizontal.

Stumpypaul70

Hey there pal, there are a few factors to consider when choosing your full sus.. What it's intended use is; are going to ride trails, cross country or some downhill?

When I moved from my HT to FS I opted for the Nukeproof Mega, it offered an all rounder as it's an AM (All Mountain) bike, lots of travel 160mm front and 140mm rear.. I loved it and only needed up getting rid of it as we didn't have the storage space for it.. After 18 months I am back on the saddle and purchased a Stupjumper.. Got to say really enjoying this it's nice and plush and als offers 150mm travel, but I do find it bottoms out quite easy but the Nuke never really had the same problem..

Nukes come well loaded so plenty of bang for the buck, and they are sexy looking bike and it always got plenty of attention on the trails..

Regards,
Paul..

supersonic

Droppers are purely personal preference. Some love them for their riding. Some don't need them at all. Some just lower the post for some sections.

I'm in the latter camp, saved a few quid and a few hundred grams too.

Angus Young

supersonic wrote:

Droppers are purely personal preference. Some love them for their riding. Some don't need them at all. Some just lower the post for some sections.

I'm in the latter camp, saved a few quid and a few hundred grams too.

Everything is personal preference. Fact remains that riding is far more fluid and much less of a faff with a dropper. You might decide that that doesn't matter to you, but it doesn't make it not true.

Unrealtone

Stumpypaul70 wrote:

Hey there pal, there are a few factors to consider when choosing your full sus.. What it's intended use is; are going to ride trails, cross country or some downhill?

When I moved from my HT to FS I opted for the Nukeproof Mega, it offered an all rounder as it's an AM (All Mountain) bike, lots of travel 160mm front and 140mm rear.. I loved it and only needed up getting rid of it as we didn't have the storage space for it.. After 18 months I am back on the saddle and purchased a Stupjumper.. Got to say really enjoying this it's nice and plush and als offers 150mm travel, but I do find it bottoms out quite easy but the Nuke never really had the same problem..

Nukes come well loaded so plenty of bang for the buck, and they are sexy looking bike and it always got plenty of attention on the trails..

Regards,
Paul..

I'm looking for a downhilly bike, but also able to do trails, and i've got to say the nuke looks beautifull.

I have been thinking about getting an old model of the cube fritzz, like the picture I shared. But no one is selling in my country. and I find it sketchy to buy of a forum cross country. However i might consider.

Stumpypaul70

Unrealtone wrote:

Stumpypaul70 wrote:

Hey there pal, there are a few factors to consider when choosing your full sus.. What it's intended use is; are going to ride trails, cross country or some downhill?

When I moved from my HT to FS I opted for the Nukeproof Mega, it offered an all rounder as it's an AM (All Mountain) bike, lots of travel 160mm front and 140mm rear.. I loved it and only needed up getting rid of it as we didn't have the storage space for it.. After 18 months I am back on the saddle and purchased a Stupjumper.. Got to say really enjoying this it's nice and plush and als offers 150mm travel, but I do find it bottoms out quite easy but the Nuke never really had the same problem..

Nukes come well loaded so plenty of bang for the buck, and they are sexy looking bike and it always got plenty of attention on the trails..

Regards,
Paul..

Well then the Mega might be for you, there is plenty of front rake for helping you just roll over the bumps and roots!

I'm looking for a downhilly bike, but also able to do trails, and i've got to say the nuke looks beautifull.

I have been thinking about getting an old model of the cube fritzz, like the picture I shared. But no one is selling in my country. and I find it sketchy to buy of a forum cross country. However i might consider.

supersonic

Angus Young wrote:

supersonic wrote:

Droppers are purely personal preference. Some love them for their riding. Some don't need them at all. Some just lower the post for some sections.

I'm in the latter camp, saved a few quid and a few hundred grams too.

Everything is personal preference. Fact remains that riding is far more fluid and much less of a faff with a dropper. You might decide that that doesn't matter to you, but it doesn't make it not true.

A lot of riding yes, but some do not need them. They don't need nor want to lower their posts at all so they don't use them.

But for those who do, I agree. But even then, a rider might only need to lower it one or two times a ride, which is why some don't find manually dropping intrusive or ruins their fluidity or is a faff, especially if they have stopped anyway.

They are a great invention. Try one and see is my advice. I dumped mine on the Zaskar.

The Rookie

I'm really radical as I have a rigid seatpost and a crotch dropper, With a QR seatpost clamp and two saddles it's a matter of about 40 seconds to fit the combination best suited for a given ride, it does mean I forego a remote as fitting that every time would make it a lot less convenient!

rockmonkeysc

I have a dropper post but it's broken. Just gone back to not having one and don't miss it at all. Won't be buying another.
Don't buy a Cube Fritzz unless you like really wallowey suspension. Giant Reign is excellent for what you want and at your budget.

Angus Young

RockmonkeySC wrote:

I have a dropper post but it's broken. Just gone back to not having one and don't miss it at all. Won't be buying another.

It would be the first thing I'd put on a bike that didn't have one. Riding anything that has a mix of up and downs (which is most things in the U.K.) is horrible without one.

rockmonkeysc

Angus Young wrote:

RockmonkeySC wrote:

I have a dropper post but it's broken. Just gone back to not having one and don't miss it at all. Won't be buying another.

It would be the first thing I'd put on a bike that didn't have one. Riding anything that has a mix of up and downs (which is most things in the U.K.) is horrible without one.

I found that we were usually stopping and re-grouping at the tops and bottoms of hills anyway so found it a bit pointless.

Angus Young

RockmonkeySC wrote:

Angus Young wrote:

RockmonkeySC wrote:

I have a dropper post but it's broken. Just gone back to not having one and don't miss it at all. Won't be buying another.

It would be the first thing I'd put on a bike that didn't have one. Riding anything that has a mix of up and downs (which is most things in the U.K.) is horrible without one.

I found that we were usually stopping and re-grouping at the tops and bottoms of hills anyway so found it a bit pointless.

O.K. if you're on a flat out downhill but most of the stuff I ride is up, down, up, down, in short bursts so the ideal seat height is constantly all over the place.

The Rookie

I find the vast majority of downs on such a ride don't need the seatpost dropping at all.....

97th choice

To each their own etc.......

Angus Young

The Rookie wrote:

I find the vast majority of downs on such a ride don't need the seatpost dropping at all.....

Riding the downs at pedalling height, not nice.

Thewaylander

Hey Unreal,

Can I ask where you will be riding downhill terrain? I know Denmark pretty well and it is exceptionally flat, and long travel bike will be no fun at all. in fact a lot of hard work keeping it up to speed to be fair.

rockmonkeysc

Depends on your riding ability I guess.