Merlin malt 4 or Felt Q920

Woo · May 2007

Hello All, hope you are all well:)

I think i have narrowed it down to two bikes for œ750

The Merlin looks tidy and i hear nothing but good reviews about merlin, for the price though it only has deore i think, but maybe the rest of the bike is a great foundation.

The Felt also looks tidy slightly better spec with lx and xt gubbins but is it as good a bike as the merlin...

doubt i will get to try these before i get one, so any advice would be appreciated, also have i over looked any other decent bikes?

Thanks for any advice:)

Unknown · May 2007

The merlin malt 4 is a very good bike and you can choose what spec you want. If i were me i would get that one.

Dunk

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Seagull · May 2007

You are only looking at the drivetrain, the rest of the spec on the felt is awful for the money. Those forks would be more at home on a œ500 bike and the wheels are rubbish cheap things. The Merlin has a great frame (don't know about the quality of felt frames, but heard they are OK), The merlin also good quailty forks and wheels. As the frame, forks and wheels are probably the most important parts to get right then the Merlin beats the Felt hands down. Don't worry too much about the drivetrain as this is the bit you will wear out first anyway whether it is Deore or XT.

Most important thing though is to test and make sure you get a bike thats the right size and you feel most comfortable with. I realise its hard with Merlin and that must form part of your decision making.

Other bikes to look at in the œ750 range are the Specialized Rockhopper comp, Trek 6700 (œ800 but you can prob get a discount), Scott Reflex 10.

my photos NYM biking routes My full Suss My Hardtail

RSMarcowmb · May 2007

Hi,
I can't comment on the Felt but I bought a Malt 4 at the beginning of this year.
I was looking at a Rockhopper Pro Disc and had a few test rides on a 17" and a 19" frame. The 17" felt more nimble for trails etc. I'm 5'11" btw.

Then I decided to have a trip upto Merlin as I read the WMB review from last year.

Totally different bike in standard form but something still didn't feel right. The guy's then made a few adjustments by changing to a 90mm stem, setting up the fork for my weight and then things felt so right.

I made my choice there and then for a 17" frame and we discussed the spec for my purchase.
Nigel told me that the Deore kit was good enough and will wear out first anyway so I should look at putting the money towards more important things.
I opted for XT hubs, Reba forks, 90mm stem, Hope mini brakes and a better saddle.

My girlfriend was also looking for a bike and decided that this was also good for her. She only changed the forks to the Rebas and also XT hubs. The standard Megura brakes are IMHO very good and maintenance free.

All in all both of us are well happy with the Malt 4 and riding the likes of Llandegla and the Marin at BYC they are well suited.

I had my concerns when riding CYB but this is a very rocky ride and I now know I just need to improve my technique.

Ask any Malt 4 owner and they will say good things.

I'm no expert but I / we both hope this helps..!

Cheers

Marco

Malt 4

Woo · May 2007

Cheers guys and girl:)

Right i'm sold on the Merlin, i should of said though that my insurance (after my giant got nicked:() will only go through halfords so i am hoping i still can get one, as i have no clue how these things work halfords say they can get me almost any bike but only at rrp, but as the malt 4 is rrp anyway hopefully wont be a problem...

Seagull · May 2007

I have a nasty feeling that Halfords wont deal with Merlin. In which case I would look at the Trek, Spesh and Scott instead.

my photos NYM biking routes My full Suss My Hardtail

Woo · May 2007

If thats the case i might try moaning at the insurance peeps, you never know..

Do like the trek and the scott, for some strange reason i just wanted something a bit more unique sort of thing, but any decent bike is better than none

scott mcavennie · May 2007

I think juankerr got his Malt 4 through Halfords.

Make sure you get the rebas though - they set the bike up perfectly.

I've certainly had no regrets with mine.

Malt 4

Orange P7 - current rebuild

Deliverance

Seagull · May 2007

<blockquote id="quote">quote:<hr height="1" noshade id="quote">Originally posted by Woo

If thats the case i might try moaning at the insurance peeps, you never know..

Do like the trek and the scott, for some strange reason i just wanted something a bit more unique sort of thing, but any decent bike is better than none
<hr height="1" noshade id="quote"></blockquote id="quote">

I hope you can, the Merlin is well worth getting.

my photos NYM biking routes My full Suss My Hardtail

juankerrwmb · May 2007

<blockquote id="quote">quote:<hr height="1" noshade id="quote">Originally posted by scott mcavennie

I think juankerr got his Malt 4 through Halfords.

<hr height="1" noshade id="quote"></blockquote id="quote">

I did, though it was through Cycle 2 Work scheme rather than an insurance job.

Woo · June 2007

Pretty gutted couldnt get the malt 4, for some reason i have ended up with the giant xtc 2.5 better than no bike at all

Seagull · June 2007

Its a nice fast bike and the 2.5 has a very good component spec.

my photos NYM biking routes My full Suss My Hardtail

Merlin malt 4 or Felt Q920

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