New buyer advice

willcoop

Hi all - I am looing to make an entry in to MTB and would appreciate any advice.

I'm just looking for an entry level bike to start with. I'll be using it for my daily commute along canal paths and will also look to get out on some trails at the weekends when I can.

I've been considering the following:-

Vitus Bikes Nucleus 275 VR
http://www.chainreactioncycles.com/vitu ... prod147646

Vitus Bikes Nucleus 275 VRS Hardtail Bike - Rockshox 2017
http://www.chainreactioncycles.com/vitu ... prod147647

Voodoo Bizango 29er
http://www.halfords.com/cycling/bikes/m ... ntain-bike

Boardman Mountain Bike Team 29er
http://www.halfords.com/cycling/bikes/m ... -team-29er

I don't want to spend more if it isn't going to make a huge difference. Are the Bizango and Boardman considerably better than the Vitus? And would the rockshox make a big difference on the Vitus?

Any advice would be greatly appreciated!

Cheers

The Rookie

The Forks on the VRS aren't as good as those on the Bizango and pretty much equal to the ones on the Boardman

If the Vitus VR has the latest (32mm stanchion instead of the older 28mm stanchion) XCR its better than the XC30 on the VRS.

The Bizango is a better trail bike than the Boardman, much stiffer/more stable front end, the Boardman just shades it for pure XC (canal path style) usage with lighter weight and slightly steeper geometry for better climbing.

I'd take the Bizango, smaller downsides and much better for trail (centre) type use if you go that way.

mark_fogel

All of the above will do fine however I would recommend the Boardman, it has the best spec and fast rolling 29er wheels which you might prefer when covering miles on your daily commute. Its also the lightest which helps and the colour scheme is better than the Voodoo in my opinion. I would recommend a more aggressive tyre on the front though, something like a Nobby Nic will be fine.

mark_fogel

mark_fogel wrote:

All of the above will do fine however I would recommend the Boardman, it has the best spec and fast rolling 29er wheels which you might prefer when covering miles on your daily commute. Its also the lightest which helps and the colour scheme is better than the Voodoo in my opinion. I would recommend a more aggressive tyre on the front though, something like a Nobby Nic will be fine.

Here is a review
http://www.bikeradar.com/mtb/gear/categ ... iew-50991/

supersonic

Hard to call it between the Boardman and Voodoo - I prefer the shifting action of the Shimano Deore on the Boardman over the SRAM of the Voodoo, but others will prefer the single ring set up. The Boardman is also lighter, and the Recon Silver much smoother out of the box than the Raidon, which takes a while to bed in and even then, struggles to absorb the smaller stuff. But the Raidon doesn't bob about as much, the Recon can get a bit hyperactive.

Might simply come down to what fits best - the Vitus are good value, but harder to see in the flesh.