Combi or Combi Delux?

seagill
seagill Posts: 28
edited September 2008 in MTB buying advice
For my first bike im pretty much set on the commencal combi disk which at £375 is a bargain well within my budget but.....

read a few reviews on the dart 2 shocks and not meant to be that great so should i wait alittle and get the combi deluxe which has the recon SL shocks, slitely over budget at £540 but would it be worth spending the extra?

Comments

  • supersonic
    supersonic Posts: 82,708
    If you have the money, yes! This fork is nearly worth the difference in price anyway - plus you get a better spec elsewhere too.
  • seagill
    seagill Posts: 28
    I thought it was just the fork that was different?
  • supersonic
    supersonic Posts: 82,708
    Couple of other minor changes: better cranks, Raceface bars, better rear hub.

    Full specs here:

    http://www.highlandbikes.com/products.p ... 1b45s2p623
  • toasty
    toasty Posts: 2,598
    Couple of other minor differences, Shimano chainset on the deluxe, Race Face stem etc. Neither really worth any more than the other models bits though bizarrely. I do agree it's a big jump for quite small changes, the standard one is probably better value. Saying that though the fork on it is a bit under budget.

    Going by RRP the top model is supposedly £270 more, this would buy a set of Rebas for that difference. There must be some other differences, lighter rims perhaps?
  • seagill
    seagill Posts: 28
    so is the deluxe is worth £165 over the combi just for the forks?
  • supersonic
    supersonic Posts: 82,708
    Just about. the RRP of the fork is about £280, though Merlin have them for £150. But I'd much rather have that Shimano crank and BB too over the nasty unit on the standard combi, plus the rear hub is quite a bit better.

    Swings and roundabouts.

    You won't go wrong with either. But the Recon is streets ahead of the Dart.
  • BlackSpur
    BlackSpur Posts: 4,228
    Tyres are also different - the ones on the Deluxe might be folding instead of the wire on the standard, but I'm not sure.
    "Melancholy is incompatible with bicycling." ~James E. Starrs
  • supersonic wrote:
    Just about. the RRP of the fork is about £280, though Merlin have them for £150. But I'd much rather have that Shimano crank and BB too over the nasty unit on the standard combi, plus the rear hub is quite a bit better.

    Swings and roundabouts.

    You won't go wrong with either. But the Recon is streets ahead of the Dart.
    I totally agree about the Dart 2 forks.. but what's wrong with the BB unit and cranks on the Combi-Disc? Ridden my hard now and they seem fine to me..?
  • supersonic
    supersonic Posts: 82,708
    Octalink lasts longer - a lot longer! Also a lighter system. Maybe my comment was a bit harsh on the isoflow stuff, but tno doubt the Shimano is quite a bit better.
  • Sorry for the thread hijack, but how does the Combi Deluxe compare to the Trek 6500 and Orange G3? My shortlist was down to those 2, but I'd not come across the Commencal before. It's £100 more at RRP, but I can't really see why. The Recon SL is lighter, but I thought basically the same internals and the Tora 302 on the Trek. Then the rest just appears to be SRAM/Avid Juicy 3s vs Shimano throughout (on the Trek).

    What's with the gear cables running under the diagonal tube too, I thought the new convention was to run them along the top tube out of the way?