best hardtail for £1200

[matt21]

i want to spend £1200 on a hardtail. i have been looking at scott, trek, orange and giant.

[WildCards]

If it were my money, i'd be leaning towards an Orange Evo8 or P7 Pro. Or look for a decent used Cove Stiffee on the bay

[matt21]

WildCards said:

If it were my money, i'd be leaning towards an Orange Evo8 or P7 Pro. Or look for a decent used Cove Stiffee on the bay

the only thing that puts me off the p7 is it doesnt have lock out forks and im already at the top of my budget

[WildCards]

matt21 said:

WildCards said:

If it were my money, i'd be leaning towards an Orange Evo8 or P7 Pro. Or look for a decent used Cove Stiffee on the bay

the only thing that puts me off the p7 is it doesnt have lock out forks and im already at the top of my budget

Get the P7 One then and you've got £300 to put back into your pocket or spend on upgrades, bearing in mind whatever you upgrade will fetch some money back if you sell it.

Edited by WildCards on Thursday 29th November 15:59

[gbbird]

I have never ridden one but i do like the look of the Orange.

Perhaps a top specced Merlin Malt 4 would do the trick. Also i love my Scott Scale too.

Plus, i have always liked the Trek 8000

Loads of options at that price tag

[scottcorvette]

I want £850 for this, its like new. All the nice bits already on, cost me £1800 at the outset. Mega forks etc



http://cgi.ebay.co.uk/Orange-EVO6-17-XTMavic-Race-...

[mk1fan]

What sort of riding are you wanting to do on it?

I'd go for eithert a Rock Lobster 853, a Cove Handjob XC, a Pipedreams Sirus or an On-One geared Inbred frame and build it up how you want it. Each of those will build into a great XC / Trails ride perfect for the UK.

If you're after a more Trail / All Mountain ride then see if you can get a Cove Stiffee FR off eGay (a little used 2006 small frame sold for £150 yesterday). Cheaper alternative (almost identical to the Stiffee but with heavier rear triangle) is the Mythic Scirroco but I've had conflicting reports about the shop that imports them.

If you're after a pure XC bike then (based upon a friends experience) I'd say the Commencal Flame but buy the frame and build up your own spec again. I can't quite tally up the price difference between the frame price and the whole bike.

There are of course hundreds to choose from so we need more info as to what you intend to do with it!!!!!!

[mk1fan]

Cove Handjob XC built up to your own spec.

Or a Rock Lobster 853.

What type of riding are you going to be doing?

[pastrana72]

Silverfish the cove importer's are selling there Cove Hummer 06 demo bike for 1.5k, i know it is £300 over budget, but it is worth considering, as the frame is 1.4k on its own, and this bike is very well specced with a lot of new parts, i have ridden this actual bike and it is stunning.

The only reason i am not getting it myself is that i have just spent 1k speccing and building a Cove HJ, which i am very happy with. but if only i had seen this first.

http://www.silverfish-uk.com/pre-used_ex-demo_bike...

its worth a look, if you want to get more from your budget.

[matt21]

Thanks for all your suggestion, much appreciated, I currently have a Scott Comp Racing which I bought for about £800 around 7 years ago. This was used mainly for riding on the Cannock Chase (so general off road riding – not sure what class this is). Over recent years the bike has become used more for commuting occasionally rather than off road.

I have now become interested in starting riding again but have fallen out of touch with the specifications of components. I looked into upgrading my current bike and getting it all running smoothly again. Then decided to just get a new bike, I started looking at the Scott scale 50 as this is the price range and make of my current bike.

After doing some research, looking at upgrades (scale 40), then similar bikes at this price I had soon pushed the price up to £1200 bikes (Orange P7 Pro) which I decided should be my limit. I have mainly looked at Orange, Trek, Giant and Scott because they are brands I have heard of and are stocked with good deals from my local bike shop but am open to suggestions.

The scale 40 has upgraded fox forks from the scale 50. Then the Trek has Juicy 5’s and the Orange has a bit of everything apart from lockout. There’s lots a choice, I’ll have a look at the other bikes you’ve suggested.

thanks!

[JPJ]

And another fine choice which is even more rare, but could be specced how you want it:

http://www.pacecycles.com/product.asp?catID=1&...

[lingus75]

Nice, but they looked better with the Machined square tapered frames

Is it just me or does it look a bit 'Sit-up and beg'?

[wobert]

matt21 said:

WildCards said:

If it were my money, i'd be leaning towards an Orange Evo8 or P7 Pro. Or look for a decent used Cove Stiffee on the bay

the only thing that puts me off the p7 is it doesnt have lock out forks and im already at the top of my budget

P7S has Toras with lockout @ 799

[matt21]

wobert said:

matt21 said:

WildCards said:

If it were my money, i'd be leaning towards an Orange Evo8 or P7 Pro. Or look for a decent used Cove Stiffee on the bay

the only thing that puts me off the p7 is it doesnt have lock out forks and im already at the top of my budget

P7S has Toras with lockout @ 799

thanks for the advice wobert. is that the mini2 wobert??

[wobert]

matt21 said:

wobert said:

matt21 said:

WildCards said:

If it were my money, i'd be leaning towards an Orange Evo8 or P7 Pro. Or look for a decent used Cove Stiffee on the bay

the only thing that puts me off the p7 is it doesnt have lock out forks and im already at the top of my budget

P7S has Toras with lockout @ 799

thanks for the advice wobert. is that the mini2 wobert??

I bought a P7S back in May......well pleased with it, it gets a good workout at Llandegla most w/ends, and TBH it shows my ability to be sorely lacking!

MINI2....yep it sure is.....

[ism123]

I've always had a soft spot for Stumpjumpers, especially after riding my mate's Comp. (I have a P7 and a full susser)

Edited by ism123 on Sunday 2nd December 20:44

[gingerbiker]

made the same choice a few months ago....

found the pace excellent at dalby style trails, but picked the orange p7 to live with

its a real all day bike, looks normal and is a nice change from the singlespeed and the full suss!!

just need more time to ride it!