Mountain Biking

I'm after replacing my 100mm front Hardtail with something to make riding on rocky moorland a bit more comfortable. I find at the moment i'm having to stand 90% of the time as its just too bumpy to sit, plus on the downhill the forks don't seem to have enough travel to cope. I'd also like to start going to some trails etc, so thinking its about time to get a full suspension.

Is there anything decent brand new for £1000-£1500 or would I be better off going second hand? Is it enduro bikes I should be looking at? I'm thinking 140mm travel should be ideal and as light as possible.
 
Mark A said:
I'm after replacing my 100mm front Hardtail with something to make riding on rocky moorland a bit more comfortable. I find at the moment i'm having to stand 90% of the time as its just too bumpy to sit, plus on the downhill the forks don't seem to have enough travel to cope. I'd also like to start going to some trails etc, so thinking its about time to get a full suspension.

Is there anything decent brand new for £1000-£1500 or would I be better off going second hand? Is it enduro bikes I should be looking at? I'm thinking 140mm travel should be ideal and as light as possible.
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£1500 will get you something decent, especially if you can pick up a 2017 bike.

An enduro bike will be 150-170mm travel, you'll probably want a 'trail' FS bike, not as slack HA (66-67 vs 65 degrees), 130-150mm travel, and a bit more suited to going up, also should be a bit lighter.
 
Mark A said:
I'm after replacing my 100mm front Hardtail with something to make riding on rocky moorland a bit more comfortable. I find at the moment i'm having to stand 90% of the time as its just too bumpy to sit, plus on the downhill the forks don't seem to have enough travel to cope. I'd also like to start going to some trails etc, so thinking its about time to get a full suspension.

Is there anything decent brand new for £1000-£1500 or would I be better off going second hand? Is it enduro bikes I should be looking at? I'm thinking 140mm travel should be ideal and as light as possible.
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http://www.chainreactioncycles.com/...r-suspension-bike-slx-1x11-2017/rp-prod146555 (only got 17" or 20.5" though)

seems to be the best deal i can find ?
 
If you buy from CRC don't forget the 10% discount from the £22 British cycling membership.

I'll have a look for some other deals, at 6ft 1in you'll definitely need a large, I'm XL in size at 6ft 3in.



Edit: that Ghost only has Fox 32's, you might find them a bit flexy for rough terrain, they're more of an XC race fork. You'll want fox 34's really. I can see some budget creep already starting to form :D £1000-1500 to £1800...

You've missed a lot of the end of season deals on 2017 bikes, a lot of stuff is out of stock now.
£1500 is a bit of a difficult price, you're beyond the budget full sussers (bossnut) but not into the 'proper' spec FS bikes at £2000-2500, and a few extra hundred quid gets you a lot more.

I would stick to the direct brands unless you can find a stonking deal on a '17 bike:

YT jeffsey AL two - For that you get pike RC's and a Deluxe R, DT swiss wheels, reverb stealth dropper, sram GX (11sp) and Guide R brakes. Much, much better specced than the Ghost you linked: £1699 https://www.yt-industries.com/uk/detail/index/sArticle/1364/sCategory/508


Or, if you want to say "sod the budget" there's this rather nice carbon Cannondale Bad Habit in a striking purple for £2k - Carbon frame, Pike RC's, Fox float DPS, X1 11sp, and Guide R brakes. Wheels aren't quite as good but then you get the carbon frame to offset that!! :Dhttps://www.rutlandcycling.com/bike...7boAN9kjwGsWTpSrTy6K6bn5LqMphZjBoC2hgQAvD_BwE


At the other end of the budget this can be had for £900, Vitus Escarpe with deore groupset, that's a dirt cheap FS bike and the frame is the same as on the £2200 model: http://www.chainreactioncycles.com/...scarpe&icb=bspot2-c2-week47_2017_vitusescarpe


Otherwise you're looking at a 2018 model Vitus Escarpe for £1665 - Mostly SLX with revalations and a deluxe RT: http://www.chainreactioncycles.com/...r-suspension-bike-slx-1x11-2018/rp-prod159743
 
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Yeah my budget always ends up creeping up :D. Thanks for the help, i'll have a good look through your suggestions. Really liking the look of the YT jeffsey AL two you linked.

Edit: Is there any rush to buy now to try and get a 2017 model, or will there be any deals on the 2018 range down the line? I have seen a few I like, but feel i need to do a bit of research before buying and worried they will all sell out.

This one caught my eye, seems to be pretty good spec and carbon http://www.chainreactioncycles.com/...s-bike-carbon-sram-x1-1x11-2017/rp-prod146566. I like the look of the black stealthy looking frames rather than bright colours with big logos, so it kind of limits my options a bit. Also budget has crept up again lol, I think i'd be willing to stretch to £2000 for the right bike.

I do also have a few decent parts on my current hardtail which I could sell off. I bought some parts for it a couple of years ago which made a massive difference, but the forks I chose were far too stiff for the terrain. A Rockshox reba 120mm front fork, Shimano XT crankset, deore brakes and zee rotors, Mavic 317 wheels with brand new continental mountain king tyres. Could maybe get a couple of hundred to put towards the new bike.
 
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yeah that carbon vitus is a good deal (you wont find anything with that spec any cheaper)

the "end of year" is around sept / october, anything 2017 will go into sale until its gone
anything branded 2017 could be gone at anytime so dont wait if you want a deal

2018 stuff is appearing now and will usually stay at full rrp until the end of the summer next year
 
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As above, a lot depends when the manufacturers release the new bikes, Trek launch theirs pretty early, same for Cube. The Vitus 2018 bikes have only just come into stock at CRC but the 2017 ones have been on sale since September at least.

YT haven't even launched their 2018 bikes yet, but Cube launched their 2018 bikes in September.

If you're looking at 2018 bikes the Commencal meta 4.2 TR is an award winning bike https://www.commencal-store.co.uk/Mobile/meta-trail-v42-origin-650b-black-2018-c2x22592789

I would look at it logically, has there been a major change for 2018, like a frame redesign? Like the cube Stereo 140, the 2017 model has slightly dated geometry, the 2018 frame has been completely redesigned, I wouldn't have looked twice at the 2017 model but the 2018 one is top of my list at the moment.

Them compare specs, and see if you need/want Boost dropouts/forks. I think all bikes will be going boost, and rockshox are now only doing boost forks. The 2017 Vitus bikes aren't boost, the 2018 ones are.
 
Seems I have some reading to do as I only understood some of those words :p. Basically I just want a good looking bike that will handle rough terrain and remain as light as possible so it doesn't struggle to go uphill too much. If i can completely replace my hardtail with a good all rounder so I can break it for parts it would be ideal. Me and my brother keep saying we will visit a trail at some point, so hopefully getting a new bike will make it happen.

Edit: nvm the vitus is out of stock in L now :(. I think i entered the market at the wrong time. The Commencal apparently isnt good if you have size 10+ feet as your heels hit the stays according to a review i just watched.
 
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Mark A said:
Seems I have some reading to do as I only understood some of those words :p. Basically I just want a good looking bike that will handle rough terrain and remain as light as possible so it doesn't struggle to go uphill too much. If i can completely replace my hardtail with a good all rounder so I can break it for parts it would be ideal. Me and my brother keep saying we will visit a trail at some point, so hopefully getting a new bike will make it happen.

Edit: nvm the vitus is out of stock in L now :(. I think i entered the market at the wrong time. The Commencal apparently isnt good if you have size 10+ feet as your heels hit the stays according to a review i just watched.
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:D TBH I've only come back to MTB after a 15 year gap a few months ago, EVERYTHING has changed! :eek: FS bikes have moved on immensely too, tbh I don't think there are many bad ones, just varying degrees of good to bloody awesome. Even the burly 170mm travel enduro bikes will climb pretty well, not as good as a hardtail but enough to get you to the top.

'Boost' is one of the standards for hub width - if you ignore the quick release hubs and only look at through axles, there's 142x12mm rear and 100x15mm front, that's 'normal' size through axles. Boost (as the name suggests) boosts the width of the hub, and therefore the frame/fork to 148mm rear and 110mm front (same diameter as non-boost). This should make a stiffer wheel, which is useful for 29ers especially. Obviously the wheels (without some swapping of spacers etc. etc.) aren't compatible. I reckon boost will be pretty standard across the board in a year or 2, it's hard to find a non-boost 2018 bike. Just something to consider if you want old bits to fit your new bike, or you buy another bike in a couple of years and want to swap wheels.

Then of course there's dropper posts, 'long, low, slack™' geometry, 27.5+, trail, all mountain, enduro.... gah!!!
 
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Mark A said:
The Commencal apparently isnt good if you have size 10+ feet as your heels hit the stays according to a review i just watched.
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I've seen that in a review too, I'm not sure how much I beleive it. I find it difficult to grasp that a company could release bikes for men where they're problematic to ride for anyone with even average sized feet for a bloke? It's definitely put me off the Commencals until I see something counter it though, which is a huge shame as they're lovely looking bikes :(
 
Yeah its the only thing that put me off as well as I have size 11 feet and also use flat pedals. From what i have read in comments sections on forums is its a bit mixed, some say its not an issue and others say they have rub marks on the frame but it doesn't bother them. I'm not sure if the 2018 models are the same as I think the review model was a 2017, so it might have been fixed now?

It seems like every review i read/watch makes the bike sound amazing, then at the very end there's always a "but" that then puts me off. I guess at this price range you're never going to get something that is perfect though. I'm tempted to save a few more pennies and maybe look again in the spring as the weather will be better by then as well.
 
Mark A said:
Yeah its the only thing that put me off as well as I have size 11 feet and also use flat pedals. From what i have read in comments sections on forums is its a bit mixed, some say its not an issue and others say they have rub marks on the frame but it doesn't bother them. I'm not sure if the 2018 models are the same as I think the review model was a 2017, so it might have been fixed now?

It seems like every review i read/watch makes the bike sound amazing, then at the very end there's always a "but" that then puts me off. I guess at this price range you're never going to get something that is perfect though. I'm tempted to save a few more pennies and maybe look again in the spring as the weather will be better by then as well.
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I really wouldnt worry about it. I think riding stance and pedals used is going to factor into it also.
I've got rub marks on my Gambler from heels, but i dont ever remember catching on it. not that i actually give a ****, its a mountain bike its going to get scuffs/scratchs etc its the nature of the game.
 
Yeh same. My Boardman's chain stays are covered in various marks... Paint has worn off, chips in a few places etc etc. Not worried about cosmetic stuff like that, but if I find I'm consciously clipping it with my wheels whilst peddling that would completely put me off a bike!
 
https://www.yt-industries.com/uk/detail/index/sArticle/1364/sCategory/508

Just a quick question about this bike. Would it be possible to change the crankset on this bike out to a single speed in the future? I prefer the colour scheme of this bike to the single speed version and its also a bit cheaper. But I pretty much only use the middle gear on the current 3 speed bike, so i'd maybe want to swap the crankset out to a lighter weight single speed one later on. Just wondering if its possible or are the frames different to allow for the extra speed?

Its a bit annoying they charge you £50 for delivery and then a further £17 for the bloody box though!
 
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By single speed you mean 1x (pronounced "one by") a single speed is a single chainring and single rear sprocket ;)

And yes that's the first thing I'd do on that bike, you basically remove the front mech and shifter/cable, buy a narrow-wide chainring to suit (I think the RF affect cranks use the cinch system so should be pretty easy getting a chainring), and check the chain is the correct length. Job done!
 
Awesome, thanks! I wish the rear shock had lockout, thats the only little niggle thats holding me back now. I'm thinking it would be helpful for the climbs and looking at the prices of the metric 230x60 rear shocks its not something cheap to upgrade.
 
I wouldn't worry too much, it's a nice to have but suspension design has come a long way recently, much less pedal bob. You'd only ever use pedal mode on fire trail climbs or on tarmac anyway.
 
Mark A said:
Awesome, thanks! I wish the rear shock had lockout, thats the only little niggle thats holding me back now. I'm thinking it would be helpful for the climbs and looking at the prices of the metric 230x60 rear shocks its not something cheap to upgrade.
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Don't know if you'd already settled on the Jeffsy two, but they're doing the Jeffsy One for £1899 Vs £1699 for the two, for December only. Large size still in stock too.

It comes with a deluxe RT shock which has pedal and open modes. Pedal isn't fully locked out but firms it up a lot.
 
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