Best Full Suspension MTB for under £1500

Spider361

Hello

I am looking at getting a new Full Suspension MTB for around/under the £1500 mark
Having looked around I have found a few contenders, being the Calibre Bossnut Evo (£999) and the New Calibre Triple B (£1399).

Firstly is the new Triple B worth the extra money, or can the extra money be put to better use on a few upgrade for the EVO for example. The Triple only seems to have a couple of different parts, such as forks, brakes and a dropper included and not as nice paint job.

Alternatively, can anyone suggest another/Better bike for this price point or even a little bit more?

Thanks

mrb123

Boardman?
https://www.halfords.com/cycling/bikes/ ... -20-frames

oxoman

Definitely the Boardman, especially with pike front shocks. Even cheaper if you have British cycling membership.

mrb123

http://www.chainreactioncycles.com/mobi ... prod159743
Just noticed this is currently reduced too. Would be around £1500 once British Cycling discount applied.

There is a thread in Your Mountain Bikes from a guy on here who has one.

JBA

Spider361 - what is the intended use of the bike? XC, Trail, Enduro, etc.
Knowing that will dictate the type of bike you should get in terms of geometry and suspension travel. For example you don't need a 160mm travel enduro bike for XC and a 100mm travel XC bike wouldn't fare too well on some super gnarly down hill trails.

Have a look on some of the discount sites such as Paul's Cycles, Rutland Cycles and Pedal On for good deals on previous year bikes.

mark_fogel

MrB123 wrote:

http://www.chainreactioncycles.com/mobile/vitus-escarpe-vr-suspension-bike-slx-1x11-2018/rp-prod159743
Just noticed this is currently reduced too. Would be around £1500 once British Cycling discount applied.

There is a thread in Your Mountain Bikes from a guy on here who has one.

+1 for Vitus

swod1

depends on what you want to do on the bike, the new calibre triple has features like dropper post, rear through axle etc which is worth paying extra for.

the vitus does look a good option too.

Spider361

Firstly thanks for the suggestions.

I did have a look at the Vitus, but it wasn't on sale at the time, and looks a very good bike for the money.

In terms of the style of riding, I will be doing is a bit of everything but mainly downhill, fast flowing or technical trails. Will the 150mm travel of the Vitus be okay for this?

tallpaul_s

Spider361 wrote:

Firstly thanks for the suggestions.

I did have a look at the Vitus, but it wasn't on sale at the time, and looks a very good bike for the money.

In terms of the style of riding, I will be doing is a bit of everything but mainly downhill, fast flowing or technical trails. Will the 150mm travel of the Vitus be okay for this?

I'm the aforementioned member with one of these, it'll be perfect for all that sort of riding. I've done a 50 mile ride on mine, I commute on it and take down 30mph+ steep flint covered descents. 140mm rear travel is a perfect middle ground for a trail bike, perfect for all round trail riding.

You will struggle to get better value for money, it has decent modern geometry, and a spec with some thought gone into it. The only possible issue is that is a bit weighty but it's not really noticeable. Have a look at my thread in the members bikes section!

JGTR

Boardman is quite old now, the Calibre gets 10/10 reviews everywhere and the Vitus just won trail bike of the year so I’d go with either of these. Jamis Dakar is also worth a look.

Spider361

After a bit more research and reading the post on this forum about the Vitus escarpe, it is really looking like the bike to get.

However as the calibre boss nut Evo was given a 10/10 and gets very good reviews, is the Vitus definitely worth the extra ~£400 or £100 extra when compared to the triple b.

How is the sizing for the Vitus? I'm 5ft 10 which a 17"/M is recommended but my inside leg puts the sizing in the 19"/l, so I take it I would be better off going for the Medium?

JGTR

At 5’10”’you’ll be right between sizes, I’m 5’11” and have always gone large - rather be slightly larger than too small (although L has always been exactly right for me) prob best you try them if you can, or try the Calibre in store then compare the frame measurements to the Vitus?

tallpaul_s

Spider361 wrote:

After a bit more research and reading the post on this forum about the Vitus escarpe, it is really looking like the bike to get.

However as the calibre boss nut Evo was given a 10/10 and gets very good reviews, is the Vitus definitely worth the extra ~£400 or £100 extra when compared to the triple b.

How is the sizing for the Vitus? I'm 5ft 10 which a 17"/M is recommended but my inside leg puts the sizing in the 19"/l, so I take it I would be better off going for the Medium?

Yes, to both - for the £100 over the BBB you get a much better fork, internal dropper, better rear shock. Over the normal bossnut evo you get pretty much everything better. The bossnut frame isn't quite as modern geometry, doesn't have boost etc. over and above the the bits above.

I would say your choice is between the Bossnut evo at £1000 or the Escarpe at £1500, you just need to decide what you want to spend.

For sizing, check your seat height as you may be able to go for the L or medium if there's enough room for the 150mm dropper. I'm 6ft 3in and right between L and XL, I went for the XL but having ridden it and a few other bikes, if I was buying again I may have gone for the L - it's a looong bike.

IMG_20180623_193543 by Paul Sims, on Flickr
IMG_20180503_171254 by Paul Sims, on Flickr