Sitting watching Cape Epic

weeksy59
weeksy59 Posts: 2,606
edited November 2009 in MTB general
As my little boy is asleep on my chest, he's got the puking thing going on at the moment so i'm at home.

Anyway.... onto my point.

I've been having the big FS/HT debate for my new machine on C2W when it comes around again.

THe Banshee XXX, the Boardman FS, the Carrera Titan and the Boardman HT are the 4 choices. (Unless i can persuade HAlfords to get a CUBE in for me)

So i'm watching Cape Epic which mirrors 90% of my riding, trails, single track etc. They're all riding FS bikes.. Well, all of the top 10 seem to be anyway.

MAkes me think that maybe the HT of high spec and light weight (which i seem to prefer) is actually the best way forward for me.

I dunno really why i keep considering an FS maybe it's just because they are the fad of the moemnt lol.

The Carbon Titan Carrera though... Mmmmmm.

However i can't see me entering the Cape Epic anytime soon ;)

Comments

  • Weeksy also consider the top of the range Gt aggressor at 749.99 on C2W . I got it and havent looked back.

    http://www.halfords.com/webapp/wcs/stor ... yId_165499

    Full sussers look the business but for the maximum on C2W I thought I might regret buying a entry level FS so would go for a decent Hard Tail. The way I look at it is If I want at the end of the scheme I could sell my current bike for what I paid on C2W and go for the £1000 maximum.
  • This year's Epic was more tecnhical than the previous years, so full sus was probably a good choice. Also, the top riders are there promoting their sponsors so may not have full choice over the bike they use.

    Daily riding this year was around 100km, so the extra comfort offered by a FS is very useful, particularly after several days when your body is starting to get a bit sore. Also, at the high end, the FS bikes aren't much heavier than a HT, and are probably lighter than most HT's in normal budgets. The downside is of course that there is more to go wrong. They removed the neutral tech zone at the lunch stop this year, meaning you had to ride with any breakages right through to the end of the day to get them fixed. As such, I decided to ride a hardtail because of the extra simplicity and reliability. My riding partner went for a full sus and had issues, but not enough to eliminate us from the race. For reference, I'd ridden FS the previous year and it was more comfortable after a week in the saddle.

    As a UK bike, your cleaning and maintenance regimen needs to be a bit more rigorous for a FS than with a hardtail, particularly during the winter. For the budget available on the normal C2W scheme, I'd personally go for a better specced hardtail.

    The straighter the line, the faster I go!