Which XC for £1k to £1.5k

[DAmiJO]

Any stand out winners in this price bracket ?

Last mtb I bought was a '98 Gary fisher kaitai so it's been a while, looked at a ,

Merida scandium 1500 hard tail full XT group set
Scott scale 960 full sus.

Wasn't much else in the shop that caught my eye, and they only had about 3-4brands

Any help much appreciated

[BadgerBenji]

Giant Anthem X 29er have a look on www.paulscycles.co.uk

[new80s]

Try giant xtc 1 if still about mega bike for money

[MadDad]

Giant Trance.......theme appearing here in terms of manufacturer!!!

[nammynake]

Cotic Soul. Pick your own components. £1500 would get you a lovely bike.

[DAmiJO]

MadDad said:

Giant Trance.......theme appearing here in terms of manufacturer!!!

I'm not so keen on the shape of the main frame, Anthem looks better a bit low spec,

Maybe just stick with hard tails unless I can find a demo/sale model

[DAmiJO]

This Merida http://startcycles.co.uk/merida-matts-scandium-150...

Has a list price of £2k,and last years model is reduced to £1299 full shim Xt group set and was shockingly lite in the hands, just can't find any reviews,
Iv been reading there Taiwanese ( like giant) and make speacialized bikes, I'm tempted by the spec

[DAmiJO]

nammynake said:

Cotic Soul. Pick your own components. £1500 would get you a lovely bike.

Need a local supplier

[MadDad]

DAmiJO said:

MadDad said:

Giant Trance.......theme appearing here in terms of manufacturer!!!

I'm not so keen on the shape of the main frame, Anthem looks better a bit low spec,

Maybe just stick with hard tails unless I can find a demo/sale model

Try to find a demo, the Trance is a real do-it-all ride, I have done everything from XC to downhill black runs on mine without a hiccup - mate has an Anthem and wishes he had spent his money on a Trance, much more forgiving and less fatiguing if you have a long day in the saddle. I did the Breacon Beast on mine last year, coped admirably against bikes 4 x it's cost!

[jshell]

Get a decent frame, but avoid SRAM/Avid st as mine is actually falling to pieces!

[matt-ITR]

The Merida doesn't stand out as a £2k bike.
I would be very sceptical when looking at previous year bikes with high RRP's.

Merida themselves are a good brand though, certainly nothing wrong with them. Merida are one of the largest producers of bike frames, mostly for "other" brands.

[Magic919]

matt-ITR said:

Merida are one of the largest producers of bike frames, mostly for "other" brands.

I always wonder at the accuracy of these type of claims. I can imagine staff of certain bike shops trotting it out, when selling one of the cheaper bikes.

[DAmiJO]

Hmm, I know the original Scott scale 35 (full sus) that was 40% off @ £1250 had mysteriously disappeared but we have this one sir for £1800 lol

What caught my attention on the Merida was the XT spec and how light t was for an alloy, everything else in that price range was Deore

In hull at the mo, just been to Freetown cycles but no giant! Looking for other a to visit

[TAZ 215]

Just to help with some facts on Merida.

Usually quoted as 2nd largest manufacturer of bikes in the world, second to Giant.
Although ironically, the share price for Giant had fallen behind that of Merida.

Merida are a bike manufacturer, not a maker of frames for other people.

Tubing goes in one end and bikes come out the other.

Sales of Merida brand worldwide last year - over 1.4m units

Since 2001 the strategy has been to only build Merida bikes and a couple of strategic partners.

Shop staff do get confused as over time most of the brands have been made in either Giant or Merida.

Now the majority of brands will be made by factories that you don't hear of in normal day to day life.

Hope that helps

[anonymous-user]

You are so much better getting a higher spec hardtail for xc at that budget. Have a look at the Specialised Carve Expert or the Scott Scale 750, both have 29" wheels and a quality air sprung fork, the bigger wheels will offer some respite from the rougher stuff due to the greater air volume and be just as fast on the singletrack.

Dont discount the Cotic Soul just because there isnt a local stockist, it is a superb bike, I like mine a lot and I have a Mk1, they are on Mk3 now and they just get better....

[DAmiJO]

pablo said:

You are so much better getting a higher spec hardtail for xc at that budget. Have a look at the Specialised Carve Expert or the Scott Scale 750, both have 29" wheels and a quality air sprung fork, the bigger wheels will offer some respite from the rougher stuff due to the greater air volume and be just as fast on the singletrack.

Dont discount the Cotic Soul just because there isnt a local stockist, it is a superb bike, I like mine a lot and I have a Mk1, they are on Mk3 now and they just get better....

They seem abit out of my budget at £2100 for a complete bike, look good though

[PTaylor73]

I bought a 2012 Stevens Vapor Disc, interest free, which I've used mostly on roads with 25mm Continental 4000S tyres (recently I've learnt to not pump above 100 psi -- too easy with a track pump. My rear Easton rim has some small cracks by a few spoke holes, I remember hearing noises when pumping to very high pressure once...)

Fitted a new larger Ultegra rear cassette, then a smaller front chain ring for lower gearing (apparently XC bikes aren't geared low because its faster to carry it and run than to cycle in a low gear). Replaced the chain after about 2500 miles with a KMC chain - just as good as the original.

I use an alarmed (shock sensitive) Kabrus padlock (~£30) through the front disc - between the caliper and frame so the front wheel can't be removed, and a 5kg motorcycle chain and padlock (~£50) through the back wheel and frame to a heavy bench or lamp post etc if not going long distance and any doubt of it being 'gone in 5 seconds'!

The latest model is now 11-speed.
http://www.stevensbikes.de/2014/index.php?cou=US&a...

Mine has cable brakes (fine but just an occasional adjustment with an allen key on the 'undriven' side to take up worn pad gap) but apparently hydraulic brakes will be happening on XC bikes? (I'd stay with cable myself rather than worry about changing fluids?)

[nammynake]

DAmiJO said:

They seem abit out of my budget at £2100 for a complete bike, look good though

The frame is £500. You could build a very decent good spec bike for £1500. Deore groupset is only a couple of hundred and is brilliant.

[nammynake]

PTaylor73 said:

I bought a 2012 Stevens Vapor Disc, interest free, which I've used mostly on roads with 25mm Continental 4000S tyres (recently I've learnt to not pump above 100 psi -- too easy with a track pump. My rear Easton rim has some small cracks by a few spoke holes, I remember hearing noises when pumping to very high pressure once...)

Fitted a new larger Ultegra rear cassette, then a smaller front chain ring for lower gearing (apparently XC bikes aren't geared low because its faster to carry it and run than to cycle in a low gear). Replaced the chain after about 2500 miles with a KMC chain - just as good as the original.

I use an alarmed (shock sensitive) Kabrus padlock (~£30) through the front disc - between the caliper and frame so the front wheel can't be removed, and a 5kg motorcycle chain and padlock (~£50) through the back wheel and frame to a heavy bench or lamp post etc if not going long distance and any doubt of it being 'gone in 5 seconds'!

The latest model is now 11-speed.
http://www.stevensbikes.de/2014/index.php?cou=US&a...

Mine has cable brakes (fine but just an occasional adjustment with an allen key on the 'undriven' side to take up worn pad gap) but apparently hydraulic brakes will be happening on XC bikes? (I'd stay with cable myself rather than worry about changing fluids?)

Discussing XC, not CX!

[PTaylor73]

Oops, shows I almost only do road cycling!