Type of hardtail to purchase

Jess Astall

Hi, I'm new to BikeRadar, as I'm new to mountain biking in a more serious fashion. I am by no means talking about riding up & down Pen-y-Fan & around the Brecon Beacons. Further down the line, maybe. But, that will be much further. Anyway, enough about me & my novice level. I have applied for the Cycle2Work scheme. Hopefully, I'll receive what I applied for: £1,000. I have read the posts previously on these forums & there's a lot of knowledge available. That is what I'm hoping you'll be good enough to share some of it with myself. I've been looking at the Whyte 801 (the much vaunted 901 isn't available to me due to the £1,000 limit) also, I've been looking at the Boardman Pro 29er. Halfords are really playing the 'you can only use a couple of other certified bike shops. How true that is? Maybe someone will be good enough to verify or dispute that for me. With the 801 I know it's not the best spec. But, it has a great frame on which to add too. The Boardman is better specced but, I've read some people not liking the geometry. I'm 5'6". At first I thought about the Bizango. But, it's not so much that I'm a bike snob. More that I want a decent bike from the start & build on it as time goes by & my knowledge (through forums like this) improved as well. Apologies for the long rant. It's my first post & wanted to explain my situation. Many thanks to anyone still awake after reading this post. I appreciate your input & your sharing your knowledge with me. Thanks again :-D

cooldad

Which shops you can use depends on the scheme your company uses. There are a number of them.

Nothing wrong with Voodoo bikes. They are sold by Halfords, but are a very reputable brand in the US.

They are designed by Joe Murray, who designed for Marin and then most of the classic Konas in the 90s. My 1996 Explosif is still a pretty good bike. He also designed titanium frames for Merlin (US Merlin, not the UK co)

So a reasonable pedigree.

poah

don't know which thread to reply properly too