Another what bike post!

reme-luke

First off sorry for what I'm sure is a very regular type question.
I'm looking for my first mountain bike and I'm finding the amount of choice/ options a bit overwhelming.

Basically I'm looking for something to do general riding and maybe a bit of bike packing in and around the Yorkshire dales, I'm not bothered about trail centres and such. I do quite a lot of road riding and picked up a cx bike a few months to use over winter off road but find most off road stuff around my area a bit much for the cx bike.

I've read various posts on this forum and around the usual review sights, most seem to recommend the highly thought of voodoo bizango. This is currently out of stock in the size I think I'd need (I'm 5ft 10') so would need a 18"/ medium bike?

So I've looked further and found a couple of other options and would just like the opinions of people more in the know.

My road bikes are all cannondale so it's the cx bike so I came across this but there seems to be limited info bar the odd review.

http://www.rutlandcycling.com/366467/pr ... n-bik.aspx

Then there is the Boardman pro 29er
http://www.halfords.com/cycling/bikes/m ... 0wodjhcIUQ

Or is it worth spending a bit more and get the Boardman team full suss
http://www.halfords.com/cycling/bikes/m ... nsion-27-5

Would a full suss be overkill for my needs? Or is there another bike I should be considering, budget wise £800 would be good but could stretch to £1000 I'd rather buy new but would consider second hand.

Thanks for reading and your help!

RichardSmart

If you were happy to buy a second-hand bike, I would recommend trying to get either a Specialized bike with their "Brain" shock or a Scott Genius - I've had a Scott MC-10 for ages and it is absolutely superb - you can choose between full travel, "Traction Control" or full lockout, and the newer versions allow you to lock-out both the rear shock and the forks simultaneously.

Good luck finding a new bike!

The Rookie

For what you describe I'd suggest a reasonable racey hardtail XC bike, have a look at the Rockrider 900 at Decathlon it's brilliant value.

Of the three you linked to, the 'dale isn't great value at that price new, and that's ex rental, the Boardman is a very good bike, a little more than you need but good value at the price. A full suspension bike is great for rougher terrain or for all day epics where they fatigue you less but like for like a full suss will always be about 1Kg plus heavier than a hardtail and at this price point even more as the extra cost of the suspension impacts other parts.

Certainly a good quality and condition pre-loved bike is an option, as an experienced cyclist you should be able to ride it and get a feel for whether it's up to the mark or not. With good quality suspension you don't need lockout, modern pedal platforms work very well.

kevinharley

You might find that bigger tyres on your CX bike (if you have room) makes it quite a bit more capable ... I've run 40c tyres which were a significant improvement on the 35's I ran before, and have just put some 29x1.9 tyres on (which just about fit!) ... will allow you to go most places off road, although if there is a lot of rocky / technical stuff, you won't be very quick!

How much bike-packing do you want to do, and how much kit would you carry? A FS wouldn't be my first choice as it would be difficult to fit frame bags, racks or whatever you want to carry your stuff on. I'd probably be looking at HT's then ...

reme-luke

Thanks for the replies. I've narrowed it down to the boardmans just trying to weigh up the pros and cons of hard tail or full suspension.

Trying 40c tyres on the the cx bike has crossed my mind and would be worth a try, but I quite like that idea of another bike and there is space in the garage! Bike packing wise I'm only thinking of weekend trips really so 1-2 nights most. It's a good point about frame bags and difficulty fitting on a FS.

All food for thought!