I think its a funny price range the £1500 mark...i dont think you get much more for your money than the £1200 bikes? but then when you jump to £2000 theres quite a diference in spec...i had the same problem making a desision a year ago and i ended up with a spech camber fsr for £1250....but after 9 months found out it wasnt really up to the job and ended up selling it to get an Orange five...and love it
I think it depends on where you look, and whether you're looking at full price or discounts. For example, the Corratec and the higher priced Ghost in my original post are both just under £1500, reduced from considerably more. Also, given that prices tend to increase year on year, the 2013 Canyon Nerve AL will probably come in at just under that price as well.
However, I'm not averse to spending less. I just can't afford to spend more.
I have a 140mm FS and a 100 mm HT (and used to have a 100 mm FS) and the stuff i can ride with less travel is limited compared to what i can do with more. Cant get away from it but the extra travel is a good skill compensator and i will take the weight penalty - admittedly i dont know exactly what the weight difference is in the frame and forks, it feels heavier when i lift it over a gate but when riding i dont really notice it! Whereas i can tell straight away if i'm riding with heavier wheels / super tacky dual ply tyres etc.
That useful, thanks. It ties up with what I've experienced with road bikes. My new road bike is heavier overall than my old one, but it has better wheels, and is actually faster.
Ahhhhhh I was going to pass on this thread. Lulubel doesn't half ask difficult question does she?
While I am in the same boat as Vamp regarding this weight weenie addiction (albeit irrational it is hard to kick man...) and while I haven't examined the specs of all the links I wouldn't put the Univega above the Radon.
Regarding wheels I have great difficulties trusting some unknown brand when you see how much R&D the large wheel manufacturers have to put into them to compete and shave 50 grams, and they are what I like to be light while surviving in spite of my having two left feet. The Crossride while not that light and not exactly expensive, is a proven, decent set of wheels fit for the purpose.
Has the OP given some thought to service and maintenance? The only reason I ask, is that it is going to be somewhat more involved than road bike. While this doesn't bother me, it might bother some - and for that I believe it is generally accepted that Fox shocks tend to have an edge.
I'm glad you didn't pass because I really appreciate your thoughts on this, especially since you haven't just expressed a preference for the lighter bike. I noticed the wheels too, and while I'm not concerned about replacing wheels with something more suitable, I do want to be confident the wheels won't fall apart the first time a large rock jumps out in front of me.
Have I given a thought to service and maintenance? Not beyond putting Lennard Zinn's MTB book (I already have his road bike book) in my Amazon wishlist. If some of it's too tricky for me, the lbs in town specialises in MTBs, so I wouldn't be concerned about letting him look after the forks/shock.
There's a school of thought, and it comes form a pretty impeachable source imo, one that makes a living form mtb suspension, that says if you're paying the FS weight penalty then buy as much travel as you can afford because travel is what it is all about on the way down a mountain but Cubist and VamP and RecordAcefromNew can put counter arguments which are interesting.
I recently bought FS for the first time (52 years old riding off road since early 90's). My HT is racey. Canyon Nerve AM was my chosen stead until a secondhand bargain Nerve XC came along. A friend I ride with who works in the trade says with my (lack of) riding style I should have gone for the Strive.
I have looked at more of the Canyons, but apart from the prices going up a bit steeply as you get into the bikes with more travel (and I assume this is the same across the board), the female specific models and the XS frame size disappears in anything "above" the Nerve XC/AL. Considering that I've already shortened the stem on a female specific 39cm hardtail, I don't think any of them would leave me with enough leeway to get the reach comfortable. The general impression I get from Brian and Lee's excellent book is long and low = speed, short and high = control. I can get long and low on the road bike. I'd much rather prioritise control on the MTB, which means keeping the reach short and rules out pretty much all unisex frames.
There isn't a massive amount of difference between a 100 and 120 bike, but there will always be a degree or two difference in head angle, which, unless the seat tube angle is steepened accordingly, has a payback on the climbs.
What all this is adding up to is that, out of the bikes I've listed, the Radon seems to be most suitable for my needs. It has the longest travel, the slackest head angle (but a reasonably steep seat tube), it isn't the lightest bike on the list but doesn't weigh half a ton either, the wheels are OK, and it isn't going to cost me a fortune. And - I almost forgot to mention - I think it looks really, really cool. There's about a 5 week wait for delivery on it, but sometimes you have to wait for things you want!
It also has the added bonus (which is nice, but not a reason for choosing it) that they're not really known outside Germany, so it's something different from what everyone else has. That's one thing I love about riding round on the Surly. It isn't "generic" and it gets noticed.
Someone, somewhere said if you phone up Bike-Discount.de, they sometimes give you an extra discount, so it's time to get on the phone
anti-dumping duty on bikes made in China, Taiwanese bikes might not attract the same penalty, and I suspect manufacturers have avenues to circumvent, but which might not be available to you.
