FS or Hardtail

[Jody]

What size frame are you after? My friend has a medium and is about 5.10 but if your taller then it will be a bigger frame

 

[T.M.H.N.E.T]

Large but not really ready to splash the £

 

[Cubist]

If you have a grand to spend, I would look at the On One Parkwood X9. The trails you describe are great trails , and a short travel XC style bike may leave a bit to be desired. The Parkwood is less of a racy setup, and will enjoy the Welsh descents better than a steeper bike. In terms of VFM it's hard to beat On One's spec sheet. That said, a grand will buy an awful lot of secondhand bike. ....

 

[Ootini]

I'd be much happier, and less divorced if I could spend a max of £600 tbh, the £1k on a full suspension bike was probably going to be through the C2W scheme at work. Granted it's not exactly a commuter but it can be done.

 

[evo456]

Had the same dilemna not too long ago... £600 MTB HT, in the end I settled for the Trek X-Caliber 8. Has everything I need, haven't really bedded it in yet, but the steering is very responsive and the spec is more than enough for my needs.

 

[Ootini]

Hi folks, I appreciate all the advice and input so far.

I've spoken to a colleague who is in to this MTBs and discussed my first hard tail. I would really like to buy from an LBS as it would give me the chance to ride the bikes, as opposed to buying blind. After some consideration and chatting he recommended taking a look at the KTM Ultra Fire @£680, little bit more than I was hoping to spend but the spec is much higher than the Ghost bikes I was originally looking at. Not quite up to the 1964 spec ed. I'm really struggling to find any reviews on the bike before I go for a test ride on Saturday. Just wondering if anyone has any experience with the KTM Ultra Fire? Thanks

 

[Oldbloke]

Hi folks, I appreciate all the advice and input so far.

I've spoken to a colleague who ishttp://www.ebay.co.uk/itm/KTM-Ultra-Fire-27-5-650b-Hardtail-2014-Mountain-Bike-20-off-RRP-/331343763626?pt=UK_Bikes_GL&var=&hash=item4d25a098aain to this MTBs and discussed my first hard tail. I would really like to buy from an LBS as it would give me the chance to ride the bikes, as opposed to buying blind. After some consideration and chatting he recommended taking a look at the KTM Ultra Fire @£680, little bit more than I was hoping to spend but the spec is much higher than the Ghost bikes I was originally looking at. Not quite up to the 1964 spec ed. I'm really struggling to find any reviews on the bike before I go for a test ride on Saturday. Just wondering if anyone has any experience with the KTM Ultra Fire? Thanks

Don't know your size but there's a 2014 model on eBay for £560 ish. If you like the test bike perhaps ask the lbs to try and price match?

 

[Cubist]

Check On One's website. They do cyclescheme, but it depends if that's compatible with work. That KTM is pretty standard fare... Budget fork and Octalink chainset. For the same money you'd do better buying from the likes of On One, Rose or HiBike. At the end of the day, MTBs can be modified from the off in terms of stems, bars and so on, and a test ride won't tell you much unless you can get them out in their proper environment. I hate to say it, but around that price range everything is pretty much the same... a generic trekking or XC style frame with a different assortment of dangly bits. They'll nearlyall have internal BBs unless you can find a bargain with Hollowtech or SRAM GXP. The only difference tends to be the occasional special with an air fork, or a decent Rockshox coiler. Dont dismiss Bikehut/ Halfords some of their middle porcine stuff is really nice. Check Chain Reaction s own brand, is it Vitus? Or really left field Go Outdoors have some cracking value mid price stuff, the Calibre two two won various sub £500 category awards, and the 50 looks as nice.

 

[Cubist]

Check On One's website. They do cyclescheme, but it depends if that's compatible with work. That KTM is pretty standard fare... Budget fork and Octalink chainset. For the same money you'd do better buying from the likes of On One, Rose or HiBike. At the end of the day, MTBs can be modified from the off in terms of stems, bars and so on, and a test ride won't tell you much unless you can get them out in their proper environment. I hate to say it, but around that price range everything is pretty much the same... a generic trekking or XC style frame with a different assortment of dangly bits. They'll nearlyall have internal BBs unless you can find a bargain with Hollowtech or SRAM GXP. The only difference tends to be the occasional special with an air fork, or a decent Rockshox coiler. Dont dismiss Bikehut/ Halfords some of their middle porcine stuff is really nice. Check Chain Reaction s own brand, is it Vitus? Or really left field Go Outdoors have some cracking value mid price stuff, the Calibre two two won various sub £500 category awards, and the 50 looks as nice.

Middle porcine! ? Gotta love autocorrect.....

 

[shadow master]

You can ride pretty much any of those trails on a HT.

IMHO unless you are looking to send some serious money (1K is absolute bottom end, better off adding another £500 - £1000) then you will always be better off buying a decent HT than a full susser.

Couldn't agree more under £1000 hardtail.full sus £1250+ or drop real clanger and buy a budget full sus 29er!

 

[Levo-Lon]

you live in mtb heaven ..pop to coedy brennin or llandegla and hire a FS and a HT and try them..nothing worse than buying the wrong bike..
some shops will hire or let you test ride a bike if they have one for a test bike?

 

[Cubist]

you live in mtb heaven ..pop to coedy brennin or llandegla and hire a FS and a HT and try them..nothing worse than buying the wrong bike..
some shops will hire or let you test ride a bike if they have one for a test bike?

Except..... One Planet bikes at Llandegla sell Orange, Nukeproof, Santa Cruz, Yeti and Ibis. All boutique or niche brands. The cheapest Orange Hardtail is the Clockwork, with a retail price of £1000. Their hire bikes are Orange Crush I think, starting at £1200 or so to buy. A more realistic budget for a trail ready full suss in their shop starts at over two grand.

Beics Brennin are a bit more budget, with Trek 4500 and 4700 as hire bikes. They stock Treks to sell, and also Santa Cruz. The hire bikes put you back where you started, in the "entry level" mountain bike "mid range" frenzy of generic frames and poorly damped Suntour forks with low end Shimano running gear, and hiring one will tell you not a great deal about what you want to buy. Coming from a cross bike to a budget bike like those will only disappoint, I suspect.

If you ride with other mountain bikers, ask them what they ride and why.

 

[Ootini]

If you ride with other mountain bikers, ask them what they ride and why.

I've done this. Most of them ride "posh" bikes such as Nuke Proof, high end FS cubes. Those that don't have recommended Trek, Scott, KTM and Ghost.
I think I may be over thinking this. Coming from a CX bike, that saw little CX action and is now basically a tough road / touring style bike, I'll just be happy to get back on rougher terrain. As as been mentioned at this price range everything is much of a muchness, and it's my first MTB. I'll just try a few out, without worrying about spec and just pick which ever feels / looks the best! Remember, image is everything!

"If" I get in to MTBing' then there's nothing to stop me upgrading in the future, but for now I think I'll just grab a bike and have a go.

The short list for this weekend is the KTM Ultra Fire (despite costing a little more), Voodoo Bizango (despite being heavy & the ridiculous name) and the Ghost Kato 4 (despite looking hideous).

 

[Cubist]

Being an avid fettler I tend to look around and see what the going price is for decent bikes. Nothing in that price range even starts to compare with what you could put together yourself if you have half an ounce of spannering ability. Basically, MTB parts are interchangeable and one rider's upgrade is another rider's bargain. A bit of net based research around the classifieds and online bargains this morning and I have come up with a nichetastic custom build based on a secondhand Sanderson Blitz long travel Hardtail frame I found for £110 including headset. With used Reba 120 fork for example for about £140, and a secondhand wheelset for £100 ( I've found Shimano SLX, Fulcrum Red Power, Hope Pro 2 and various others for the same sort of money) you could then bolt on a used XT or SLX crank (£40-£50) adding a Superstar single front ring (£26), add a new Zee mech or a mint used XT for £30-£35, an XT cassette for £32, Deore brakes for £65 if you shop round, brand new On One seatpost (£20), stem (£15) and bars (£20), grips (£8) a charge spoon saddle (£20).... A complete custom build with new drivetrain for £700 or thereabouts. That sort of build would give you a stonking trail centre beast that would weigh several kilos less than anything you have been looking at. It will outperform anyhting you've seen so far, AND give you the pleasure of building it yourself.

What's more, by starting off with used stuff you won't lose as much when you decide you need to change.

 

[Ootini]

if you have half an ounce of spannering ability.

This is the main stumbling block here. Also I wouldn't be able to do this on the C2W scheme.

FWIW I do actually intend to use this bike, along side my CX/road bike for commuting.