Which mountain bike for £1,000?

[g7jhp]

I'm looking a getting a new hardtail and want some advice on what people see as the best make/model choice.

Plus which wheel size (I'm favouring 26).

The bike will mainly be used for trail riding with a bit of downhill.

Requirements are:

Hardtail
Shimano XT (or better)
Lockable fork with 120mm travel
Weight circa: 11.5kg

Currently Canyon or Radon seem to offer better VFM than many of the more established brands.

[Justin S]

I'd go for something like this. Bit over budget but when your ridden a lefty, you wont like normal forks !

http://www.paulscycles.co.uk/m1b0s2p5390/CANNONDAL...

[Herman Toothrot]

26" is dead, 650b is now standard or 29" if you are tall or an XC freak.

What sort of hard tail are you after? Do it all, XC, diet jump etc, where are you planning on riding it?

[W00DY]

That seems an odd set of requirements. XT over Deore is something I'd only look for if I was spending big money sincethe price difference would make a muc bigger impact elsewhere.

Also looking to do s bit of downhill and yet wanting a lock-out fork and low-weight is rather at odds. 650b is probably the way to go since yo'll likely not do any better for your money in 26 these days and all the development is in the slightly larger wheel size.


Personally I'd look at the Bird Zero 3 and the Whyte 901 as great bikes for UK trail riding even if they cant match the Euro stuff for component spec.

[Pablo16v]

The Vitus Sentier VRS just won a magazine test if you can take anything from that but it does look to be a pretty decent bike for the type of riding you describe. Heavier than 11.5kg though.

http://www.mbr.co.uk/reviews/hardtail/mbr-hardtail...

[Woody]

Bird Zero 3

[ecsrobin]

Your unlikely to get a full XT or better group set on a bike at £1000.

[g7jhp]

OK so still refining.

Hardtail
650b
Under 12.5kg

The current list are (a little budget creep is setting in):

Whyte 901 (2015)

Whyte 905 (2013)

Vitus Sentier VR

Bird Zero 3

[Justin S]

Mate has a Whyte and I cant see what all the fuss is about them, its pretty horrible and damn heavy. If that's where you are with decisions on a bike, then its a Bird.

[g7jhp]

Justin S said:

Mate has a Whyte and I cant see what all the fuss is about them, its pretty horrible and damn heavy. If that's where you are with decisions on a bike, then its a Bird.

Any alternative suggestions?

[Justin S]

Bird seems to have quite a following and rave reviews. You can test ride them to see if it suits you. Even plenty of owners on Singletrackworld, who would let you swing a leg over , somewhere in the UK, I am sure.

[Kermit power]

If you're interested in full suspension for your £1k, and you could live with waiting until (and also live with telling people your bike is called a "Bossnut" when they ask! ), MBR have just given a stellar 10 out of 10 review to the Calibre Bossnut.

In the same grouptest, the Norco Fluid 7.3 dropped a point against the Calibre, but that was only on the absence of lock on grips (fix that for £20) and the choice of front tyre (which you'd be able to persuade Evans, who sell them, to swap out), but they reckon the bike itself had loads more grin factor by the sound of it.

[Darkslider]

I'd go with this if I were you. Good chunk of change left over for riding gear at £887, think delivery is £20.



http://www.bike-discount.de/en/buy/radon-zr-race-2...

[Kermit power]

Darkslider said:

I'd go with this if I were you. Good chunk of change left over for riding gear at £887, think delivery is £20.



http://www.bike-discount.de/en/buy/radon-zr-race-2...

How on earth have they managed to put that together at that price??

Normally you'd expect to be able to point to a bike at that price point and figure out where they've downspecced to meet the budget, but on that one there just doesn't seem to be any single obvious point of economy!

[conspiracy theory]Maybe the grips are actually really made of Radon, and when you drop down dead after a week of riding it, men in hazmat suits whisk it away and sell it to the next unsuspecting customer?[/conspiracy theory]

[ecsrobin]

Kermit power said:

Darkslider said:

I'd go with this if I were you. Good chunk of change left over for riding gear at £887, think delivery is £20.



http://www.bike-discount.de/en/buy/radon-zr-race-2...

How on earth have they managed to put that together at that price??

Normally you'd expect to be able to point to a bike at that price point and figure out where they've downspecced to meet the budget, but on that one there just doesn't seem to be any single obvious point of economy!

[conspiracy theory]Maybe the grips are actually really made of Radon, and when you drop down dead after a week of riding it, men in hazmat suits whisk it away and sell it to the next unsuspecting customer?[/conspiracy theory]

Agreed cracking spec.

[Darkslider]

ecsrobin said:

Agreed cracking spec.

I know, I'm in the market for a 29er hardtail and I'm gutted I haven't got the cash for that, not very often deals that good come about.

Just to assuage any fears, Radon bikes are pretty big on the continent but relatively unheard of here. I ordered my mrs a female specific ZR 27.5 hardtail which came in at £380 with the delivery, and it has a better spec than ANY £7-800 bike I could find for sale in the UK at the time. Pound to euro exchange is even stronger now too so it's a no brainer in my eyes.

Get it bought!

[ecsrobin]

Darkslider said:

ecsrobin said:

Agreed cracking spec.

I know, I'm in the market for a 29er hardtail and I'm gutted I haven't got the cash for that, not very often deals that good come about.

Just to assuage any fears, Radon bikes are pretty big on the continent but relatively unheard of here. I ordered my mrs a female specific ZR 27.5 hardtail which came in at £380 with the delivery, and it has a better spec than ANY £7-800 bike I could find for sale in the UK at the time. Pound to euro exchange is even stronger now too so it's a no brainer in my eyes.

Get it bought!

Except it's a 27.5 bike

I've run out of space with my full sus and my CX so need a garage then I'll be on the market for a fixie pub bike and a 27.5 hardtail like that. Hopefully the price is like that in a few months.

[Darkslider]

ecsrobin said:

Except it's a 27.5 bike

I've run out of space with my full sus and my CX so need a garage then I'll be on the market for a fixie pub bike and a 27.5 hardtail like that. Hopefully the price is like that in a few months.

It is indeed, my mistake I was getting confused with a similar specced 29er on there for about the same money, I just stuck up the wrong link in a hurry. Still a cracking bike either way.

[g7jhp]

Darkslider said:

I'd go with this if I were you. Good chunk of change left over for riding gear at £887, think delivery is £20.



http://www.bike-discount.de/en/buy/radon-zr-race-2...

That does look like a great spec for the price.

Thanks for the heads up Darkslider!

[hwajones]

Planning on buying a 2nd hand Orange Crush this evening...
Less than a year old at Half price!
Any comments or things to look out for/?