# Which MTB to Buy?



## Hacienda71 (28 Aug 2019)

I am at a point where N+1 is around the corner. However I can't make up my mind if I go full sus or hard tail. At 6'4 I fancy a 29er, relatively slack and a sensible price (sub £1500)
My current bike is a 2004 Stumpy so very old geo and only 100mm of travel, but with lock out.
At my price point the only 29 full sus that is in stock is the Norco Fluid FS. It looks great but reviews are mixed, it is a little portly and it doesn't lock out (Although there are claims it makes little difference with the new suspension linkages) . The alternative would be to go for a hardtail where there seems to be a wide choice with a better spec and unsurprisingly a lot lighter. 
It will be ridden at trail centres (reds and blacks), a bit of techy bridleway stuff in the Peaks and the odd endurance xc type race. No hardcore downhill as I don't have the ability or desire at my age. 
Wise words gratefully received.


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## Levo-Lon (28 Aug 2019)

I would go FS, there so good now, in that you dont lose power anywhere near like you used too.
29 slack will be perfect with your frame, plus your back will love you too


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## Drago (28 Aug 2019)

£1500 is really borderline budget to get a properly decent full squidge these days .


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## Levo-Lon (29 Aug 2019)

Drago said:


> £1500 is really borderline budget to get a properly decent full squidge these days .



When the shopping starts..  budgets are meaningless


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## Phaeton (29 Aug 2019)

See if you can borrow a 29er for a day, they are great for trails but not very good for any techy stuff they (or at least mine) do not like turning & twisting.


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## I like Skol (29 Aug 2019)

I have no useful advice I can offer. I expect another £400-500 on the budget will take you from OK to OMG!

I will just leave this '  ' here....


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## Drago (29 Aug 2019)

The differing requirements will make life difficult. A full squidge with relaxed geometry but which has sufficiently sharp geometry to manage red and black trails, and then a different set of requirements for XC.

Without a boost in budget - Mr Skol's assessment is bang on the money - I'd be looking at a hard tail of middling geometry. I'm the same height as Hacienda and have 26, 27.5 and 29 MTBs, and like the 29 the least - it's a one trick pony, rolls well...and that's it. Its horrific in wet conditions where the extra diameter of the wheels allows them to carry an extra kilo or more of mud each. I do accept that is largely a taste thing though.

Remember as well that you can change rake and trail with tyre size changes, and it's not unusual to find MTBers who are really into it actually running a fatter tyre on the front.

You choice of general purpose HTs at that price range is vast. Time to do some homework, come up with a shortlist, and visit some shops.


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## fossyant (29 Aug 2019)

Take a look at Bird. The entry level hard tail is very good, and slack for techy stuff.


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## Levo-Lon (29 Aug 2019)

Phaeton said:


> See if you can borrow a 29er for a day, they are great for trails but not very good for any techy stuff they (or at least mine) do not like turning & twisting.




You need to ride a new one Sir..
There nothing like what they were 3 yr ago
This thing is exceptional. And SinL has a Trek 29 that is even better in the twisty do it all stakes. 
Only limiting factor is my bravery!!


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## Phaeton (29 Aug 2019)

meta lon said:


> You need to ride a new one Sir..
> There nothing like what they were 3 yr ago


You might be right mine is actually 3 years old, but I'm not prepared to buy another one, I think bikes are vastly overpriced, so will have to make do with what I have.


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## Crackle (29 Aug 2019)

Go Outdoors Calibre range falls in budget as does Boardman, you might find a Cube or a Trek on sale and check trail centres for ex-hires which can have very little use and you can get a Canyon Neuron.


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## Levo-Lon (29 Aug 2019)

Phaeton said:


> You might be right mine is actually 3 years old, but I'm not prepared to buy another one, I think bikes are vastly overpriced, so will have to make do with what I have.




I know its staggering what they cost.

I paid £2700 in January for my Epic in the sale, grand off.. No way id pay 3700 for a new one, and this year they're £3800!!

Son in laws bike is 4k he got his for 2.8k as it was scratched, carbon with carbon wheels.. Again he couldn't pay 4k..it's a fabulous bike and still cheap compared to what's for sale.
Bloody new car money! Scary

The winter sales ate whete to look i think


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## Phaeton (29 Aug 2019)

meta lon said:


> I know its staggering what they cost.
> I paid £2700


That's 4x what my Cube cost & I thought that was overpriced, I just don't see the value in them,


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## Mo1959 (29 Aug 2019)

Phaeton said:


> That's 4x what my Cube cost & I thought that was overpriced, I just don't see the value in them,


Prices seem to be rising drastically each year now for the same, or reduced specs.


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## vickster (29 Aug 2019)

Mo1959 said:


> Prices seem to be rising drastically each year now for the same, or reduced specs.


Sterling Exchange rates vs USD and EUR down in the depths won't be doing UK buyers any favours


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## Phaeton (29 Aug 2019)

vickster said:


> Sterling Exchange rates vs USD and EUR down in the depths won't be doing UK buyers any favours


Rip-off Britain charging 20-30% more for goods into UK as well


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## vickster (29 Aug 2019)

Phaeton said:


> Rip-off Britain charging 20-30% more for goods into UK as well


It'll only get worse


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## Hacienda71 (29 Aug 2019)

I might look at 27.5 as well. There seem to be better deals, wider choice and better reviews at that cost, I have been riding 26ers for years so not totally opposed to the smaller wheel. The advice for taller guys though seems to be 29ers are a better fit. I have spotted a full sus Lapierre 27.5 reduced to within budget from £2k
The xc race stuff is only once or twice a year and not all that competitive, so is less of a priority than trails, bridleways etc.


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## Levo-Lon (29 Aug 2019)

Hacienda71 said:


> I might look at 27.5 as well. There seem to be better deals, wider choice and better reviews at that cost, I have been riding 26ers for years so not totally opposed to the smaller wheel. The advice for taller guys though seems to be 29ers are a better fit. I have spotted a full sus Lapierre 27.5 reduced to within budget from £2k
> The xc race stuff is only once or twice a year and not all that competitive, so is less of a priority than trails, bridleways etc.




Depending on what your going to ride terrain wise, watch for over long traval.

Upto 140mm is ideal for most things uk.

120mm 130mm even better for trail centres and woodland cycle tracks.
Big 170 + bikes really are for tearing down a mountain with big hits.

They'll kill your ride on normal stuff and you wont be enjoying it..


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## Hacienda71 (29 Aug 2019)

meta lon said:


> Depending on what your going to ride terrain wise, watch for over long traval.
> 
> Upto 140mm is ideal for most things uk.
> 
> ...



The Norco 29er is 130 front 120 rear
The Lapierre 27.5 is 150mm front and rear.
Both have a slack head angle and are fairly low slung although one criticism of the Norco was the BB could be a bit lower. It is also heavy, although I suspect going tubeless and upgrading a few bits and bobs would get the weight down a bit.


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## Phaeton (29 Aug 2019)

Hacienda71 said:


> Both have a slack head angle


Numpty alert, what does this mean?


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## Hacienda71 (29 Aug 2019)

Phaeton said:


> Numpty alert, what does this mean?


It is the angle of the head tube. Slacker makes the bike longer making it more stable going downhill, less pitched forward. Xc bikes tend to have steeper head angles down hill bikes shallower (slacker). Trend for trail type bikes in the last few years is to have slacker head angles.


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## Levo-Lon (30 Aug 2019)

Hacienda71 said:


> It is the angle of the head tube. Slacker makes the bike longer making it more stable going downhill, less pitched forward. Xc bikes tend to have steeper head angles down hill bikes shallower (slacker). Trend for trail type bikes in the last few years is to have slacker head angles.




Most of the new gen slack 27-29 ers have the same BB height now with short stack height.


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## fossyant (30 Aug 2019)

PS the new calibre bossnut is out as well.


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## Levo-Lon (30 Aug 2019)

fossyant said:


> PS the new calibre bossnut is out as well.




There really good bike for the money. 
Top reviews


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## fossyant (30 Aug 2019)

As you know, I like my Boardman. There are still some 2016 FS Pros about (the blue ones) and these have GX and Pikes. The newer 8.8 isn't quite as well specced. They aren't super slack though.


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## fossyant (1 Sep 2019)

130/140 seems to be the sweet spot for UK Trails. 150 plus its Enduro territory and the things get less good to pedal all day. 

My colleague recently got a 180mm Canyon, bit of a beast but too big a bike for most stuff as its best for big gnarly downhill. He only had it six weeks before it was stolen.


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## fossyant (1 Sep 2019)

Check out the Merlin Malt plus. £299 with RS Revelation 140mm. The forks cost double that alone.


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## fossyant (1 Sep 2019)

The Merlin is small and medium only.. argh. OK for a short ar$e like me...

Actually all have same top tube length, and the medium is an 18" which would be too big for me with a 125mm dropper, so might be suitable for you to run a longer dropper. Its not particularly slack at a 70 degree head tube


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## Hacienda71 (1 Sep 2019)

fossyant said:


> The Merlin is small and medium only.. argh. OK for a short ar$e like me...
> 
> Actually all have same top tube length, and the medium is an 18" which would be too big for me with a 125mm dropper, so might be suitable for you to run a longer dropper. Its not particularly slack at a 70 degree head tube


Quite like the look of the 2020 Bossnut. First reviews look about as good as it gets at lower price point. Already have the right size dropper of my Stumpy and they are in stock in my size. Very tempted and won't break the bank. The FS 29ers at that price aren't getting fantastic reviews.


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## fossyant (1 Sep 2019)

Hacienda71 said:


> Quite like the look of the 2020 Bossnut. First reviews look about as good as it gets at lower price point. Already have the right size dropper of my Stumpy and they are in stock in my size. Very tempted and won't break the bank. The FS 29ers at that price aren't getting fantastic reviews.



Its also the same colour as the Stumpy so Mrs Hac won't spot it


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