# thinking of taking the plunge



## Heigue'r (7 Feb 2015)

Over the last few weeks ive been pondering about a mtb, trying to decide wheter to build my own or buy ready made, I think having weighed up my options that it seems ready built is the way to go pricewise anyway, I have looked at many models and have narrowed my search down to cube i think, I will be riding trails, park trails mostly but would like to go off road also so this has pointed me to a hardtail, im not in a massive rush to purchase but would like something by the end of march, this added time will allow me to up my budget.at the minute im looking at the acid but given the 2 months of putting some cash aside, I would be in the position of looking at the reaction if it is worth/considered worth doing, im 100% going the mtb route as i have a toddler that i would like to take with me and would feel more confident teaching him in a nice park.am i going the right route or could i put something better together for the same money or should i look at a different brand, completely open to any suggestions/opinions
Thanks
Vincent


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## razer17 (7 Feb 2015)

I have a Cube Road bike, so just in general I think cubes have really good spec for the money, and their frames are good quality. 

There's a Cube Acid in my garage. It looks very nice, which is important to some (like me) but it's not mine so I can't speak to how well it rides.


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## Cubist (8 Feb 2015)

If you take the £1k option you may be able to build better for less money, but you'd have to source a used frame and bargain components. Where have you been looking for bikes? Mainstream brands and any research you do looking round them will nearly always point you to the "best bang for buck" based on component choice, but it goes a bit deeper than that. There are a lot of £1k bikes I'd point you towards .... that Reaction is an XC race bike, so will feel great in the parks while you're with your toddler, (bit overkill for that purpose!) and great on groomed singletrack, but a bit of a handful (think flighty thoroughbred) on anything steep, rough or rocky. Check a few trail-oriented bikes.... Bird Zero 3 is excellent value and looks great, http://shop.birdmtb.com/zero/zero-3-279.html
On One Carbon 456 Evo X5 variant http://www.on-one.co.uk/i/q/CBOO456CEVOX5/on-one-456-evo-carbon-sram-x5-mountain-bike , on one Parkwood X9 
http://www.on-one.co.uk/i/q/CBOOPWX9/on-one-parkwood-sram-x9-mountain-bike
Otherwise, loads of used MTBs out there which could all be refreshed and upgraded with your sort of budget.


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## Heigue'r (8 Feb 2015)

Thanks for the replies, i had come across the on one frames and was looking into building one up from scratch however once i searched around for new components based on what you were getting on a 1k cube, i couldnt make the figures work on a like for like basis, i did not come across the bird range before, nice looking bike,as for off the shelf bikes, i was looking at all the regular mainstream shops, evans, halfords and ttredz etc, ive taken a fancy to the cube brand i guess, I have yet to go to a cube stockist and have a look though


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## razer17 (8 Feb 2015)

Heigue'r said:


> ive taken a fancy to the cube brand i guess, I have yet to go to a cube stockist and have a look though


I had the same thing when I was looking for my road bike. Don't think I've seen an ugly Cube bike yet. 


Cubist said:


> Bird Zero 3 is excellent value and looks great, http://shop.birdmtb.com/zero/zero-3-279.html
> On One Carbon 456 Evo X5 variant http://www.on-one.co.uk/i/q/CBOO456CEVOX5/on-one-456-evo-carbon-sram-x5-mountain-bike , on one Parkwood X9
> http://www.on-one.co.uk/i/q/CBOOPWX9/on-one-parkwood-sram-x9-mountain-bike
> Otherwise, loads of used MTBs out there which could all be refreshed and upgraded with your sort of budget.


Man, that Bird bike is gorgeous. And well specced. Wish I had the patience to save a grand rather than getting some interest free credit. Which is the same problem I have with buying pre owned.


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## Heigue'r (8 Feb 2015)

The bird is a serious contender allright, I love the look of it, dont know too much about the forks? Most things i have read point towards rock shox, very tempting to have a frame +headset for 400 and go from there BUT very tempting for complete bike for 995........


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## Cubist (8 Feb 2015)

The GTC isn't a £1k Cube though, it's a discounted £1400 bike. Where did you look for components? You can get an SLX groupset from Merlin or CRC for £300, a set of Superstar wheels for £150, Reba or Revelation fork for about £250 if you shop round, leaving you 300 for a frame and finishing kit.


Heigue'r said:


> The bird is a serious contender allright, I love the look of it, dont know too much about the forks? Most things i have read point towards rock shox, very tempting to have a frame +headset for 400 and go from there BUT very tempting for complete bike for 995........


Xfusion make a pretty good fork. In longer travel guise I have a Slant 160 on my Ibis. It wouldn't stop me buying the Bird, put it that way. Their forks tend to be well made, with well sorted compression damping, and perform as well as Rs or Fox, for a good deal less. See if you can find a review of the velvet.


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## razer17 (8 Feb 2015)

Heigue'r said:


> The bird is a serious contender allright, I love the look of it, dont know too much about the forks? Most things i have read point towards rock shox, very tempting to have a frame +headset for 400 and go from there BUT very tempting for complete bike for 995........


X fusion from what I gather make high quality shocks, but you don't pay the brand premium you get with Fox or Rockshox. The specific fork on that model has a rating of 4.5/5 on bike radar, for what that's worth.


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## Heigue'r (8 Feb 2015)

Ive just spent the last couple of hours on merlin, crc, wiggle evans looking at components etc, I think it would be more satisfying building my own tbh and ive got to the end of march, longer really if required.....i will update as i go, im going to try and take a trip at the wkend and have a look at the bird zero before i make a decision.it looks great plus like their idea of keeping paint schemes over a couple/few years plus the transferable frame warranty, bird is looking good for a bike ive never heard of before so thanks Cubist


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## Heigue'r (8 Feb 2015)

Having read the review of the fork and looking at everything else that comes with the bird,995 is a bargain, who needs 29" wheels


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## razer17 (8 Feb 2015)

Heigue'r said:


> Having read the review of the fork and looking at everything else that comes with the bird,995 is a bargain, who needs 29" wheels


I rode a 29"er today, and although I preferred it to my 26", I think a 27.5" would probably be better, slightly. I'm no top rider, but I felt it just took that split second longer to turn so I had to brake more going into corners. The added rollover was lovely though. Don't think I'll go back to 26" once I get a new mountain bike. 

I'm really thinking of getting my hands on a Zero now. I was all set to go with the On-One before I entered this thread.


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## Heigue'r (8 Feb 2015)

I was all set for some type of cube but haven't looked at them since!the blue looks nice with the white fork but the yellow with a black fork is equally stunning imo..


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## razer17 (8 Feb 2015)

Heigue'r said:


> I was all set for some type of cube but haven't looked at them since!the blue looks nice with the white fork but the yellow with a black fork is equally stunning imo..


It takes a rare breed to pull off yellow and pink and still be so utterly fantastic looking.


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## Heigue'r (6 Apr 2015)

So ive had a cotic soul frame in and out of the cart, decided against it, would love to build one up some day.Then for the last few weeks it was 100% the cube ltd sl 27.5, completely fell in love with it, i think it was simply the green and black hubs :-)) but I have made my decision and it will be a build.Im going for a santa cruz chameleon.Could anyone recommend a retailer in the uk? Im looking for frame only
Thanks


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## Cubist (6 Apr 2015)

Heigue'r said:


> So ive had a cotic soul frame in and out of the cart, decided against it, would love to build one up some day.Then for the last few weeks it was 100% the cube ltd sl 27.5, completely fell in love with it, i think it was simply the green and black hubs :-)) but I have made my decision and it will be a build.Im going for a santa cruz chameleon.Could anyone recommend a retailer in the uk? Im looking for frame only
> Thanks


If you can afford to build the Soul then just do it. All else is a pale imitation. A Cham is a nice enough frame, but it ain't a Soul. Treat yourself to a bike for life, compliant, beautiful, adaptable, stunning. I'll stop now 'cos I've run out of superlatives. Here's a picture of mine, just in case it helps to sway you.


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## Heigue'r (6 Apr 2015)

Stop!!!!,@Cubist , you can imagine how hard it was to get to this point, I know the cotics look the mutts but im allready colour co ordinating the chameleon :-)


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## Cubist (6 Apr 2015)

It ain't about the looks though. 












Just imagine the ride, zingy, popping off roots and little steps, hooning it round some berms, tyres squirming for grip, the sense of satisfaction having spent those hours carefully sourcing components in budget, wondering whether you really need two kidneys or a dropper seatpost. Hope and Superstar Components anodised finishing kit, or On One for cheap and light goodies.........XT or SLX drivetrain......1x10, 2x10 or even a good old triple.....choices choices. Now a 120 Reba for the real sweetspot, or a 140 Rev or Xfusion, perhaps even a Pike if Santa remembers how good you've been......? Those hours in the garage/workshop, building that masterpiece that will reward you for years to come.


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## Cubist (6 Apr 2015)

Did I show you mine?


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## Heigue'r (6 Apr 2015)

Im not argueing :-), the soul is nice but so is this, not going to go with as much travel as this one but it does look great imo.
in the cart at the moment is thomson stem, seatpost and bars and a set of rockshox revelations, undecided on gearset, id like to go 1x10 but not sure on what crank to go for, I will go slx or xt but need to do a bit more research on this, Id rather push big gears than spin, have allways ridden like this, I dropped into the small ring on my road bike once or twice but really hate it which is putting me in the direction of 1x10


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## Heigue'r (12 Apr 2015)

7 week wait on a chameleon frame if ordered tomorrow,not easy to find.decisions decisions


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## Heigue'r (19 Apr 2015)

So I ordered the chameleon after the post above, should be here in 3-4 weeks,I guess ill be looking for suggestions and thoughts on components and possibly colour choices.I may keep it simple black hubs, bars chainring etc or may add a bit of colour,ive went with the black and lime green frame.Component wise, I think it will be
rockshox reba 120
xt brakes,shifter,cassette and derailleur,undecided on crank.
Hope headset
hope hubs black at the moment(may add colour here)
possibly hope bb or xtr
thomson seatpost, stem and bars
grips black (may add colour here)
not sure about colour, perhaps a bit of lime green on grips and hubs (will need different hubs)


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## Heigue'r (12 May 2015)

Frame arrived today,I have been collecting a few bits for the build also, obviously missing some major components like forks groupset and wheels but should have those over the next month or two


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## Cubist (14 May 2015)

Ooooooh!


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## Heigue'r (27 May 2015)

Started to build it up, the headset was a bugger, bottom cup went in fine, top cup was a complete nightmare, just didnt want to line up, picked up a bargain set of unused revelation 140's off ebay hense the orange, have ordered some green ones but the orange is growing on me.still a bit to go, cant wait to get it out


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## Heigue'r (10 Jun 2015)

4months after initial thoughts, finally got there.cannot wait to get out at the wkend


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