ragley marley/Sonder Transmitter

madbutch75

So now living in the Brecon beacons and finding that my trek 8500 (beautifully crafted XC speed wagon and pride and joy) can't cut the type of terrain I now live in. I hate full sussers, always have, always will, hate the feel, the reduction in skill required, generally a no go and with a £1000 budget not too realistic anyway.

So I've kind of brought choice down to the Ragley Marley, a bike I've always loved the look of, and enjoyed the one try out I had on it, or the Sonder transmitter.

Taking in mind the rough, rocky, slippery, steep terrain I will be using it in; would the + tyres on the Sonder make more sense than my hearts target?

would the rockshox Sector be better than the Manitou minute comp on the marley?

those are two main differences

ta. butch

FishFish

Any chance of posting the specs. Of the bikes that is, not the Beacons.

cooldad

Reduction in skill? Seriously?

Watch some Red Bull Rampage type stuff and try that again.

Ross Gardner

cooldad wrote:

Reduction in skill? Seriously?

Watch some Red Bull Rampage type stuff and try that again.

All I've seen are the freeriding jumps. Is there more to it?

Ah sorry, again. Thread hijack.

JGTR

Just stick with your XC bike, a new bike will just require less skill :roll:

kevinharley

Not tried the Ragley, so can't really comment.

Borrowed a mate's Sonder for a week and really enjoyed it, very capable bike. Loads of grip, confident going down, great traction going up. With Plus wheels, it maybe a little heavier than a similarly spec'd Marley, and I'm not sure the tyre makers of Plus tyres have got the durability/weight equation right yet .. my mate split a tyre wall just before lending the bike to me, and I split another tyre wall just before giving it back! Also, if you have a lot of mud, for a lot of the year, the plus tyres just float across the top.

madbutch75

Cheers for that, hopefully I can get a demo of the Sonder before parting with the cash, but generally swamped in mud all year round, most of the mountain tops on beacons are pretty boggy between the rocks, so sounds like it might be the right option. Sorry for upsetting the full sussers? didn't realise you were all such a sensitive bunch ;-)

cooldad

Just trying to educate your pair of brain cells.

madbutch75

Sure they can both handle the concept.

MTBDanno

Not heard of the Sonder... might just be my lack of awareness? All I can say about the Marley is that it took me weeks of reading reviews and sitting on bikes to settle on a Ragley. I ordered it from my lbs and due to high demand its on a 4 week lead time from Ragley... obviously a very popular bike, but I haven't ridden the 2017 model yet so I can't comfortably tell you that its amazing (although i'm sure it will be)

Bojangle

I've got a Marley and have been very happy with it, in regards to tyre sizes the 'plus' size is a gimmick. I'm running 26" x 2.5 nobby nic on the rear with a wider rim and most people say about how huge the rear looks but makes the ride nice and comfy with a lot of the trail buzz/sting gone.

MTBDanno

Had my Ragley 4 days now, been out on it 3 days running! I love it to bits... honestly... could not ask for a better bike. Took it to Chicksands bike park over the weekend and it inspires confidence that I didn't know I had.