Which Cannondale Full Suspension? Help!

[the_engineer]

Evening all,

I'm toying with the idea of getting a full suspension mountain bike with the thought off hitting some rough stuff sooner or later (hopefully sooner!) and noticed on HUKD that Paul's Cycles are doing some good finance deals on Cannondale bikes at the moment.

Thing is, I know very little about the mountain bike side of things so was hoping for some advice. Which of the following would be recommended as a good deal (or none even!):

http://paulscycles.co.uk/products.php?plid=m1b0s15...

http://paulscycles.co.uk/products.php?plid=m1b0s1p...

http://paulscycles.co.uk/products.php?plid=m1b0s1p...

http://paulscycles.co.uk/products.php?plid=m1b0s1p...

Also noticed, some of the Giants are on good deals, would they be a better brand to go for?? For example:

http://paulscycles.co.uk/products.php?plid=m1b0s1p...

Any help would be much appreciated!!

Thanks in advance,

[custardkid]

If its your first MTB buy a hard tail, you'll learn to ride better.

If you are still riding in 2yrs spend £1500+ on a full sus.

You can't go wrong with an Orange 5

[the_engineer]

Thanks.
Any recommendations on a hard tail?
Can the rear shock not be locked as you can on some front forks with a full suspension?

[BadgerBenji]

From the Cannondales you list, the Scalpel would be my choice, as it's 100mm travel, which is ideal for cross country and trail centres. Choosing between a Cannondale and a Giant depends what you want from the bike and what ticks your boxes, I have three Cannondales so i'm probably biased on the decision.

I know where Custard is coming from with ride a hard tail, but if a full suspension gets you riding comfortably then that's got to be better than not riding. I've been enjoying a fully rigid singlespeed today, so no shocks and only one gear, but that's not to say it's the right bike for you.

Personally before diving in and chucking a vast sum at it, get yourself to some demo days, take some bikes for test rides and see what you enjoyed riding most.

The internet can be great for finding good deals, but there is nothing like getting on a bike and trying it for size, it's worth the extra to get something that fits and suits what you are going to use it for.

[LordHaveMurci]

BadgerBenji said:

From the Cannondales you list, the Scalpel would be my choice, as it's 100mm travel, which is ideal for cross country and trail centres. Choosing between a Cannondale and a Giant depends what you want from the bike and what ticks your boxes, I have three Cannondales so i'm probably biased on the decision.

I know where Custard is coming from with ride a hard tail, but if a full suspension gets you riding comfortably then that's got to be better than not riding. I've been enjoying a fully rigid singlespeed today, so no shocks and only one gear, but that's not to say it's the right bike for you.

Personally before diving in and chucking a vast sum at it, get yourself to some demo days, take some bikes for test rides and see what you enjoyed riding most.

The internet can be great for finding good deals, but there is nothing like getting on a bike and trying it for size, it's worth the extra to get something that fits and suits what you are going to use it for.

I bought one of the first headshock Scalpels when they came out about 12yrs ago, still got it albeit it doesn't get used much these days.
I must admit I always wished I'd stuck with my Cannondale hardtail, I'm a bit older now though so maybe a softtail is a better idea!

[BadgerBenji]

LordHaveMurci said:

I bought one of the first headshock Scalpels when they came out about 12yrs ago, still got it albeit it doesn't get used much these days.
I must admit I always wished I'd stuck with my Cannondale hardtail, I'm a bit older now though so maybe a softtail is a better idea!

I had a mid 90's Super V 4000 complete with magic motorcycle cranks, lovely bike to ride, lovely for an all day trail session, but not the cross country race machine I wanted when my racing took a turn for the serious, so I parted with it, as I couldn't afford to keep it and buy the new hard tail, still got the hardtail, and would certainly consider making space in the garage for a full bouncer for those all day rides when you want some more comfort.

[custardkid]

Which hard tail?

There are lots to choose from, I have a preference for kona due to their sharp single track handling
Fire mountain
http://www.sunsetmtb.co.uk/shop/index.php?product_...

The boardmans get good reviews and get good write ups:
http://www.halfords.com/webapp/wcs/stores/servlet/...

Don't know much about them, but canyons are also getting good press
http://www.canyon.com/_en/mountainbikes/bike.html?...


Full sus wise, I bought a new bike in 2011 to replace an ageing orange5. After trying most of the bikes on the market (c10 off road test rides) I ended up back on a 5 because of the 'up for it' ride and the robust low service kit (hope, fox)

Orange 5:
http://www.orangebikes.co.uk/bikes/five_pro/

Close second, as I got a better deal on the orange
Santa cruise bullet:
http://www.santacruzbikes.co.uk/blur-tr/

Good runner up,
Lanier zesty (also tried the spicy, but found it too blobby for all mountain)
This in now a carbon frame rather than alloy... Not sure I'd trust carbon after an off
http://www.lapierre-bikes.co.uk/mtb/trail-all-moun...

[aka_kerrly]

Also consider second hand.

I do agree with what some of the others have said regarding getting a good hardtail as it will encourage you to ride smoother & pick your lines far more carefully which ultimately makes you far faster.

Then once you have a good feel for a bike and off road conditions a full suspension can begin to benefit you.

Having seen many of my friends and other newbies jump straight onto full suspension bikes you can tell their riding style is more lazy letting the bike ( or rather suspension) do far more work to make up for their lack of flow. There are advantages to this, you can get away with some rather horrific landings on a full suspension which on a hardtail you'd likely end up bucked over the bars or similar but isn't that part of the experience?