29" HT shortlist help - from £1k-1.7k

joah

Hi all,

I think I've determined that given my main riding scenarios (mostly rough woodland with some on-road to/from, occasional trail, a decent amount of uphill cycling) I should start by looking at a 29" HT model.

My C2W scheme only allows me to by from Evans. Even still, between my budget of £1k and £1.7k (the most I'm prepared to chip in on top of the £1k C2W grant) there is a lot of choice.

I've got a long-list below. I was wondering if I might be able to ask your help in whittling this down to a shortlist for me to then go and try out.

Some of these are model variants - e.g. Superfly 6 or 7, Scale 945 or 940 - my question with these is whether for the £200-odd increase in models, I'm likely to notice the difference? I've put a few key spec differences below.

From cheapest to most expensive:

Trek Superfly 6 - £1300 - https://www.evanscycles.com/trek-superf ... e-EV286573
Pinnacle Ramin 4 - £1300 (I know the Iroko 27.5" gets good reviews so I'm assuming their 29" model is good also) - https://www.evanscycles.com/pinnacle-ra ... e-EV275648
Scott Scale 945 - £1430 https://www.evanscycles.com/scott-scale ... e-EV286093
Trek Superfly 7 - £1500 (Fox Pef. 32 Float vs Reba of Superfly 6 + SLX/XT vs SRAM GX/PC of the #6) https://www.evanscycles.com/trek-superf ... e-EV286575
Cannondale F-Si Alloy 2 - £1600 https://www.evanscycles.com/cannondale- ... e-EV280363
Scott Scale 940 - £1630 (XT/SLX vs mix of SRAM for 945 model. Also Deore M615 vs M506 brakes) https://www.evanscycles.com/scott-scale ... e-EV286092

At the very top end of my budget (and I'd only like to spend this much if they are much better than the previous models):
Cube Reaction HSA SL - £1700 (there are a baffling array of Cube models in my price range - from what I've determined this seems one of the better ones. Specs wise it is pretty similar to cheaper models though. https://www.evanscycles.com/cube-reacti ... e-EV287428
Trek Procaliber 9.6 - £1700 - maybe - I've heard not great things about its carbon frame though

If I've missed any I should really be considering feel free to mention.

Thanks very much everyone!

careca78

You should also consider these, as they usually mean better value for money:

XC: http://www.on-one.co.uk/c/q/bikes/mount ... accatuskil

Trail: http://www.on-one.co.uk/i/q/CBTIFLGX1/t ... ntain-bike

joah

Careca78 wrote:

You should also consider these, as they usually mean better value for money:

XC: http://www.on-one.co.uk/c/q/bikes/mount ... accatuskil

Trail: http://www.on-one.co.uk/i/q/CBTIFLGX1/t ... ntain-bike

Thanks but as mentioned, my work will only let me get through Evans...

trek_dan

Have you looked at getting a Radon ZR through bike-discount.de? Could get a really good spec bike for a grand and not bother with the B2W voucher.

mikeyj28

trek_dan wrote:

Have you looked at getting a Radon ZR through bike-discount.de? Could get a really good spec bike for a grand and not bother with the B2W voucher.

+1 for the ZR
I have a Black Sin 9.0 (admittedly was more than your budget) and it is brilliant. Found Radon to be very good and a lot of bike for your money. Not too sure on using your C2W voucher with BikeDiscount.de though.

The Rookie

Have you confirmed that Evans will let you 'top up'?

Personally I think you'll get better value at on-one or Radon even without the scheme saving.