Help choosing hardtail!

random.stranger

I have been obsessing over chosing the perfect hardtail for far too long. I need my life back, if anybody could tip me in the right direction, it would be much appreciated!

My ideal bike would have good quality front suspension with remote lockout & 30 speed gearing. Solid wheels would be great too. I would plan to use it for a mixture of xc riding & adventure racing (on and off road). Ideally, this bike would get me through my first 3+ years of mountain biking.

Here's what I've narrowed it down to:

1. Buy used KTM Ultra Flite or Norco Charger for e480 and upgrade rockshox toras to remote lockout (I'm not sure how complicated/expensive this would be).

KTM Ultra Flite Specs 2011
Norco Charger Specs 2011

2 Buy used Cube Attention for e450 & work with rockshox dart 3 (has poploc)
Cube Attention Specs 2011


2. Cube LTD Pro (might be too small)

3. Buy Corratec X-Vert S 0.3 for e849 and be done with it. This seems to tick all the boxes and is surprisingly light. I have my worries on how reliable the RST First Air Platinum SLR forks would be?

Corratec X-Vert S 0.3 Specs

4. Listen to my fellow boardsies
Probably the best option!

funkyjebus

4. Get the applicable canyon for your budget.

xxyyzz

funkyjebus wrote: »

4. Get the applicable canyon for your budget.

What he said.

This is a pretty good spec for your budget.

Icyseanfitz

id also suggest this GT as its good value, btw whats your budget?

Tenzor07

random.stranger wrote: »

3. Buy Corratec X-Vert S 0.3 for e849 and be done with it. This seems to tick all the boxes and is surprisingly light. I have my worries on how reliable the RST First Air Platinum SLR forks would be?

Answer: Not very! Stick with the main brands for reliable suspension, i.e. Fox and Rockshox

Corratec finishing gear, i.e. stems/bars/headset/wheels are very cheap and nasty...

random.stranger

Thanks everyone for your replies, they are beautiful bikes. I thought it was worth going to about e850 for a bike with remote lockout.

I've been drawn to the GRAND CANYON AL 6.0, but I keep fighting with myself about spending 1k on a bike.

I was nearly going to pull the trigger on the Cube LTD in chain reaction cycles. http://www.chainreactioncycles.com/Models.aspx?ModelID=57170

It seems to tick all the boxes for me & from my research, small should suit me fine (5' 7" with 30.5" inside leg & not a great reach). Then again I'm no expert, that's why I'm asking here....

Icyseanfitz

if your budget is 1k go for this canyon and you wont need to upgrade a thing, thats what id buy if i had a grand to spend on a bike

Tenzor07

random.stranger wrote: »

It seems to tick all the boxes for me & from my research, small should suit me fine (5' 7" with 30.5" inside leg & not a great reach). Then again I'm no expert, that's why I'm asking here....

Hmm..not a whole lot taller than you and would always go for a Medium.... If you live in Dublin would you not go to the likes of Cycle-Superstore who stock Cube/LaPierre/Giant and have a test spin around the car park to see what suits best?

SomeFool

Have a look through the adverts here, there was a lovely on-one for sale about a week ago, full xt at a reasonable price iirc.

kuro_man

Rose also have nice bikes for your budget
http://www.roseversand.com/products/bikes/mtb-hardtail/?page=1&order=aprice&count=16#anchor_products

I especially like the Psycho Path-1 carbon with great spec for €1200 delivered and probably the best name for a bike ever

Icyseanfitz

damn a carbon hardtail for 1200 :eek: any reviews on the make? are they any good?

Tenzor07

OP would not spend over €1k.... :rolleyes:

Icyseanfitz

no i was just asking for myself i wouldnt buy a carbon mtb if i was starting out anyway

kuro_man

you know you want to...;)

This is a new bike so no reviews yet but rose bikes seem to be highly regarded; comparable to canyon

Icyseanfitz

thanks for the heads up, never heard of them before

kuro_man

no problem

buy one, let us know how you get on!

Icyseanfitz

already have 2 mtb's so its past time i got myself a road bike first after that il have another look at carbon xc machines, and op sorry for derailing the thread slightly

at1withmyself

THe Cube looks great value for money and if the sizing is right I'd go for one. Don't own one myself but any I've seen or put together have been very nice and doesn't seem to be any cost cutting on other components.

random.stranger wrote: »

Thanks everyone for your replies, they are beautiful bikes. I thought it was worth going to about e850 for a bike with remote lockout.

I've been drawn to the GRAND CANYON AL 6.0, but I keep fighting with myself about spending 1k on a bike.

I was nearly going to pull the trigger on the Cube LTD in chain reaction cycles. http://www.chainreactioncycles.com/Models.aspx?ModelID=57170

It seems to tick all the boxes for me & from my research, small should suit me fine (5' 7" with 30.5" inside leg & not a great reach). Then again I'm no expert, that's why I'm asking here....

random.stranger

Wow, great to get so much feedback, thanks everybody.

Icyseanfitz wrote: »

if your budget is 1k go for this canyon and you wont need to upgrade a thing, thats what id buy if i had a grand to spend on a bike

That canyon is still calling me, but to be honest, I think I am stretching myself too much at the price tag. If the parts on the cube or second hand bikes were sub par, maybe I could justify forking out the extra at the start, but not if they can take a bit of punishment. e850 is even a bit of a stretch.

Tenzor07 wrote: »

Hmm..not a whole lot taller than you and would always go for a Medium.... If you live in Dublin would you not go to the likes of Cycle-Superstore who stock Cube/LaPierre/Giant and have a test spin around the car park to see what suits best?

Yea I would consider myself a medium normally. But I hear the geometry on the cube ltd makes for a crouched riding position. I have come across several people in forums that have gone down a size for a more comfortable ride. Maybe Cycle-Superstore would be worth a visit. Anybody know if they would compete with uk web prices?

at1withmyself wrote: »

THe Cube looks great value for money and if the sizing is right I'd go for one. Don't own one myself but any I've seen or put together have been very nice and doesn't seem to be any cost cutting on other components.

It's looking like it's between the cube and a used bike and upgrading the suspension with remote lockout.

SomeFool wrote: »

Have a look through the adverts here, there was a lovely on-one for sale about a week ago, full xt at a reasonable price iirc.

Thanks, I had no luck finding this bike. I saw an on-one road bike a while back, but no hardtail

Anybody know where I could buy an upgrade kit for installing remote lockout on a tora fork? I can't seem to find one online in europe.

Tenzor07

random.stranger wrote: »

Yea I would consider myself a medium normally. But I hear the geometry on the cube ltd makes for a crouched riding position. I have come across several people in forums that have gone down a size for a more comfortable ride. Maybe Cycle-Superstore would be worth a visit. Anybody know if they would compete with uk web prices?

I heard they are more "Euro" geometry, and with a more stretched out top tube... But hey, well go along to Cycle superstore and find out, they will look after you on price and servicing..

Have you not got a bike to work scheme? Would be worth spending the €1k...

triggermortis

random.stranger wrote: »

Wow, great to get so much feedback, thanks everybody.



Anybody know where I could buy an upgrade kit for installing remote lockout on a tora fork? I can't seem to find one online in europe.

Chain reaction do the kits to upgrade forks to lock-out

http://www.chainreactioncycles.com/Models.aspx?ModelID=54650

SomeFool

random.stranger wrote: »

Thanks, I had no luck finding this bike. I saw an on-one road bike a while back, but no hardtail

Here ya go, have an on-one myself so would recommend them, don't know if this is atill available but I think it's a bargain. You would be in trouble size wise though.

random.stranger

Icyseanfitz wrote: »

id also suggest this GT as its good value, btw whats your budget?

That was a great looking bike, I kind of dismissed it because it didn't have poploc. Didn't think to combine it with the upgrade kit triggermortis linked to (I was thinkining of upgrading the used Ktm instead, which made no sense). Out of stock now, so I'll have to get over it!

kuro_man wrote: »

Rose also have nice bikes for your budget
http://www.roseversand.com/products/bikes/mtb-hardtail/?page=1&order=aprice&count=16#anchor_products



I especially like the Psycho Path-1 carbon with great spec for €1200 delivered and probably the best name for a bike ever

Very interesting, I haven't heard of them. Carbon is a no-no for me, I'm more interested in it being strong and reliable than lightweight. I really like the look of their Count Solo 2.

Tenzor07 wrote: »

I heard they are more "Euro" geometry, and with a more stretched out top tube... But hey, well go along to Cycle superstore and find out, they will look after you on price and servicing..

Have you not got a bike to work scheme? Would be worth spending the €1k...

Yea, that's what I heard too. I'm afraid I don't qualify for the bike to work, so looking for the best value I can get.

SomeFool wrote: »

Here ya go, have an on-one myself so would recommend them, don't know if this is atill available but I think it's a bargain. You would be in trouble size wise though.

Thanks for that, I'm afraid a size L would rule me out on that one.

I'm going to rule out the two secondhand bikes, as there seems to be so much value out there at the minute with new bikes.

I've been looking at the Ghost SE 6000 for 540 Pounds, should I snap it up?

Icyseanfitz

first off what are you willing to stretch your budget to? that rose is just about 1k so if your willing to spend that get the grand canyon 6.0, i know i sound like a broken record but thats the best value you will get on any mtb at the moment

kuro_man

This seem remarkable value @ £500:
http://www.btwincycle.com/EN/8-1-2011-170473852/#infos-techniques

Rockshox recon silver
avid elixir 3
sram x7

a little bit weighty maybe but you'd have cash to spend on upgrading wheels/tyres

Seems you'd have to go to belfast to get one though

random.stranger

Icyseanfitz wrote: »

first off what are you willing to stretch your budget to? that rose is just about 1k so if your willing to spend that get the grand canyon 6.0, i know i sound like a broken record but thats the best value you will get on any mtb at the moment

Sorry Icyseanfitz, I think you nailed it there. I have been pulling this thread in two different directions, which explains why I haven't made a decision.

My budget could stretch to e1000.

At the moment off road cycling comes up in the occasional adventure race & I enjoyed it on my hybrid. I would like to try a bit of pure xc cycling & hit the off road sections of adventure races a little bit harder to get the adrenaline flowing.

I suspect a sub e800 bike would be good enough for the adventure racing I'm doing at the moment, as it's more about enjoyment and finishing than podium finishes for me.

If I was to get hooked on the xc, I have a feeling I would be looking at upgrading from a sub e800 bike. I didn't want to buy a bike this year & upgrade next year selling it for half the price.

So I was thinking maybe my best bet would be to buy a good, heavily discounted bike to try things out.

If I get hooked on the xc, maybe I could sell it off in 6 months time for about the same money I bought it for & upgrade to the Canyon.

I'm not confident that my logic makes sense, so any opinions on this approach would be greatly appreciated.

kuro_man wrote: »

This seem remarkable value @ £500:
http://www.btwincycle.com/EN/8-1-2011-170473852/#infos-techniques

Rockshox recon silver
avid elixir 3
sram x7

a little bit weighty maybe but you'd have cash to spend on upgrading wheels/tyres

Seems you'd have to go to belfast to get one though

That bike looks like very good value. Although it might be worth spending the 40 pound extra on the Ghost to get better wheels & save on petrol money?

Icyseanfitz

the only problem i see with that ghost are the frame sizes, did you check to see if the sizes would suit you? in my humble opinion if your looking at spending between 6-800 you might as well save up a little longer and get something in the 1k range, if you get something thats good quality you wont need to upgrade it and so you wont be losing money trying to sell it on again.

But yeah that ghost is a decent bike if you can find a proper size for yourself

btw can i ask what sort of adventure racing are you doing? just out of my own curiosity

kuro_man

A €600 - €800 bike is €400 - €200 cheaper than a €1000 bike - don't really see the problem trying to minimise the cost esp. if you are not sure if you will get value from the more expensive components.

I checked out the Ghost website FAQ, multiply your inseam (cm) by .57 to get a rough estimate of bike size, then go nearest smaller frame for comfort, nearest larger frame for a more racey bike.

The Ghost SE looks like a great buy alright.

However, the more research I do, the more I like Giant Talon's (frame anyway).

Lemag

I have the Grand Canyon AL 6.0 which was mentioned in this thread. I like it a lot. For a pic scroll down to see the second bike in this post. For XC weight is a big factor and you probably won't find a lighter bike out there for the same money.

random.stranger

Well, I finally made the decision. Thanks everybody for your input.

In the end I went for the Ghost. The extra 10% off today & 3% back from fatcheese brought the price down to what I very nearly spent on a secondhand ktm ultra flite + poploc upgrade kit.

I think for the money I'm getting a better specced bike, which is new.

kuro_man wrote: »

A €600 - €800 bike is €400 - €200 cheaper than a €1000 bike - don't really see the problem trying to minimise the cost esp. if you are not sure if you will get value from the more expensive components.

I checked out the Ghost website FAQ, multiply your inseam (cm) by .57 to get a rough estimate of bike size, then go nearest smaller frame for comfort, nearest larger frame for a more racey bike.

The Ghost SE looks like a great buy alright.

However, the more research I do, the more I like Giant Talon's (frame anyway).

Thanks kuro_man, yes I think it would be a tragedy to get that canyon and keep it locked up most of the year.

After reading your post I had a quick look around at Giant Talons, its a shame they don't fit them with better forks.

Icyseanfitz wrote: »

the only problem i see with that ghost are the frame sizes, did you check to see if the sizes would suit you? in my humble opinion if your looking at spending between 6-800 you might as well save up a little longer and get something in the 1k range, if you get something thats good quality you wont need to upgrade it and so you wont be losing money trying to sell it on again.

But yeah that ghost is a decent bike if you can find a proper size for yourself

btw can i ask what sort of adventure racing are you doing? just out of my own curiosity

Yes, thanks to kuro_man's info, it looks like the 44cm should be fine. I see your logic about buying the Canyon & I agree that its a quality bike. If I knew for sure that I was going to ride xc often, I think the Canyon would win hands down. I think the Ghost should meet my current needs & allow me to get a taste of xc riding. But I am under no illusions that the Canyon is in a different league of bike

Lemag wrote: »

I have the Grand Canyon AL 6.0 which was mentioned in this thread. I like it a lot. For a pic scroll down to see the second bike in this post. For XC weight is a big factor and you probably won't find a lighter bike out there for the same money.

Congratulations Lemag, that is a piece of bike porn. Maybe some day...

Thanks again everybody:)

Icyseanfitz

congratulations im sure you will love proper mtbing, tis great craic, not a great time of year to start up though if im honest was at my local trails two days ago and i might as well have been swimming in the mud

what sort of adventure racing where you at before hand? id love to enter some mtb races where podium finishes arent all the important

kuro_man

good luck with the new bike...full review here please asap

random.stranger

Icyseanfitz wrote: »

congratulations im sure you will love proper mtbing, tis great craic, not a great time of year to start up though if im honest was at my local trails two days ago and i might as well have been swimming in the mud

what sort of adventure racing where you at before hand? id love to enter some mtb races where podium finishes arent all the important

Thanks, I really appreciate everybodys help & patience through the thread.

Sorry, I meant to answer that question earlier. Yea, I must say I really love the adventure racing. There is a real festival atmosphere at these events & people will stop to help others with bike problems to get them going again. You get all kinds of people at these events with all kinds of abilities. I really recommend you give it a go.

It's heartening to hear you are struggling with the mtbing in this weather Icyseanfitz, at least I know not to expect too much of myself & the shiny new bike when it arrives!

Here's a couple I did with mtbing:

---

1. Ballyhoura Blitz (Not to be confused with the hardcore version: Beast of Ballyhoura)
Not much info on their site, but a bit here:
http://www.runireland.com/events/ballyhoura-blitz
http://www.boards.ie/vbulletin/showthread.php?t=2056273089

2. Connemara Adventure Challenge
http://www.gaelforceevents.com/connemara/

Maybe next year (mtb section):

---

3. Scotland Coast to Coast
http://www.scotlandcoasttocoast.com/

Did some other races with road cycling or without any cycling at all.

Races with cycling on road

---

4. Connemara Rough Diamond
http://www.connemararoughdiamond.com/en/crd_2011/event_format.html

5. Cavan Kayakarun
http://www.cavankayakarun.com/
http://www.facebook.com/thecavankayakarun?ref=search&v=wall

6. Achill Roar
http://www.roar.ie/Achill-Roar-Home.php
http://www.boards.ie/vbulletin/showthread.php?t=2056354546

Races without cycling

---

7. The Craic
http://thecraiceventsco.com/
http://www.boards.ie/vbulletin/showthread.php?t=2056339053

I must say I really enjoyed this one. Chest high water, water slides. Just got a real kick about how ridiculous it was. I see they've added some new things to next April's race like the Air bed paddle- I can't wait!

8. Hell & Back
http://www.hellandback.ie/index.html
http://www.facebook.com/HELLANDBACKCHALLENGE

I must say, strictly speaking none of the above races are proper adventure racing. I think the proper term is multi-sports challenge. But they're a good starting point & highly recommended.

Enduro wrote: »

<snip>
Adventure races have mountain biking, not road biking, usually involve navigation, and are generally done in teams. Wikipedia's entry is a pretty good description.
<snip>

kuro_man wrote: »

good luck with the new bike...full review here please asap

Thanks kuro_man, I'm not sure I know enough about bikes, but I'll do my best after I get a chance to give it a good spin.

kuro_man

Couldn't resist with that 10% - just pulled the trigger on a sunn prim s2, €729 can't really go to wrong with a recon gold on-board.

Getting closer to s-1 now!

Icyseanfitz

there are actually some real good value mtb's on crc at the moment, any similar real good value road bikes? im in the market for one shortly

random.stranger

kuro_man wrote: »

Couldn't resist with that 10% - just pulled the trigger on a sunn prim s2, €729 can't really go to wrong with a recon gold on-board.

Getting closer to s-1 now!

Wow Kuro_man, all 11kg's of it! I would consider a swap if you twisted my arm.... worth a try. Would love to hear how you get on with it.

Icyseanfitz, theres some "proper" adventure races here:
http://www.causewaycoastar.co.uk/index.html

kuro_man

random.stranger wrote: »

Wow Kuro_man, all 11kg's of it! I would consider a swap if you twisted my arm.... worth a try. Would love to hear how you get on with it.

Fine by me. We could meet in Ballinastoe with icyseanfitz and hammer try his canyon

kuro_man

Icyseanfitz wrote: »

there are actually some real good value mtb's on crc at the moment, any similar real good value road bikes? im in the market for one shortly

budget? usage? steel, carbon or alu?

Icyseanfitz

kuro_man wrote: »

budget? usage? steel, carbon or alu?

what ever is good value, usage would be some road racing and sportifs, will be a month or two before i buy anything so im just looking out for bikes that would be good value, as for hammering my canyon, ye will have to wait until i buy one

kuro_man

Icyseanfitz wrote: »

what ever is good value, usage would be some road racing and sportifs, will be a month or two before i buy anything so im just looking out for bikes that would be good value

Nice one here, if it fits:
http://www.adverts.ie/1053516

SomeFool

kuro_man wrote: »

Nice one here, if it fits:
http://www.adverts.ie/1053516

This is excellent value I think, again if it fits.

There's great value to be had in the second hand market since the bike to work scheme came in.

random.stranger

Icyseanfitz wrote: »

what ever is good value, usage would be some road racing and sportifs, will be a month or two before i buy anything so im just looking out for bikes that would be good value, as for hammering my canyon, ye will have to wait until i buy one

Canyon have a lot of stock in their outlet at the moment, maybe something would suit?
http://www.canyon.com/_en/outlet/list.html?type=race

Icyseanfitz

i actually think im going to buy a canyon roadlite 6.0 and get a carbon frameset from the likes of planet x, ribble etc. to slowly build up, (although id have no problem taking all the bits from the roadlite and throwing them onto another frame if i wanted to)