Help me choose a MTB bike...

[shadowcreaper]

Been wanting to get a new bike for a while now given my poor rockhopper has bendy wheels and is now turning into my commute bike, poor thing

Question is which bike to get, im looking at around £1400 and so far here my choices i been looking into.

Hardtails(How HARD though can i push them/limitations of a hardtail..)

1:Whyte 19 Steel 2011 ( might be able to get one for £1200)
2:On-One Carbon 456 Trail SLX
3:Rock Lobster 853 Bike
4:Canyon AL 8

FS ( Given that last year canyon frame and bikes got such great reviews and from hearing that their FS xc bikes are just as good as the hardtail whyte im looking into them)

Canyon Nerve XC 6
(i wont post the full spec, but heres the links)
http://www.canyon.com/_uk/mountainbikes/bike.html?b=2555

Canyon Nervce XC7
http://www.canyon.com/_uk/mountainbikes/bike.html?b=2556

Advice allways welcome,

 

[shadowcreaper]

I wasnt sure how good the XC7 spec is though for the money as a lot of the gear is new for 2012 so have no idea how it compares tbh,

is the fork for example any good on the XC7? and how does the rest of the gear compare, is it still good??

then ofc if not FS(even though canyon frames cost around 1klike last year!) then a hardtail, thing is though which one???

Again canyon seems to top the spec, but i have no idea if their frames are as good as lets say a Merlin Malt 4 or a Rock Lobster 853/ On-ONE 456???

suggestions please, help

ride wise, i plan to ride Epping forest ect but looking for a bike that can actually handle a few jumps and downhill sections without breaking up as i found my rockhopper did lol.

If i went with a hardtail though i want a bloody decent frame as this allways so important when it comes to hardtails, even more than spec at times.

 

[shadowcreaper]

Atm i think i going to wait for a review of the XC7 as it has a lot of 2012 parts that i have no idea if they any good, also wait to see if anyone got one before i get one i think

If that fails then its back to a hardtail, which hopefully will be a "keeper" and can use at trail centres and days out.

The rockhopper was good but i dont think the frame is really that amazing to upgrade from given im sure for example the raynolds 853 Rock Lobster is far better frame wise.

hardtail wise though the canyon Al 8 with the spec it has is bloody impressive for a tad over £1300 dont you think? though how good is the canyon AL frame, anyone know?