What Bike from Evans Cycles

[matc]

I've just been given the all clear at the docs from a recent heart op, so after almost 5 years of being able to do very little exercise I'm itching to get back out riding again. I used to ride a fair few miles pretty much every day of the week, most of it was on trails, with a fair bit of downhill stuff thrown in just to scare myself!

Anyway, I've recently won £1000's worth of vouchers that I can use at Evans Cycles! I think when I start riding again it will mainly cross country as that's what my mates are into, so I'm thinking of getting a nice lightweight hard-tail and was thinking a carbon bike would be best, is this correct or are they a no-go area? I've had a quickish browse of their site and the Scott Scale 35 looks like a good option. Has anyone ever ridden or owned one? Also is there anything else worth considering?

Thanks for reading and any feedback!

[Mr Will]

Not able to recommend a bike, but don't forget that Evans will price match anything, even to internet prices. Can save quite a bit of cash that way when you are spending decent money with them.

[anonymous-user]

scott scale 50 from 1100 to 1000 - nice xc race inspired hardtail
charge duster hi from 1300 to 1000 - bargain, lovely steel frame and good spec

[matc]

pablo said:

scott scale 50 from 1100 to 1000 - nice xc race inspired hardtail
charge duster hi from 1300 to 1000 - bargain, lovely steel frame and good spec

Should have said I don't mind adding a bit to the budget to make sure I get the right bike. I had a Charge Duster Hi on loan last year for a month, was a lovely bike, but the steel frame meant it was pretty heavy and considering I'm so unfit I quite like the idea of something as light as possible for when I'm climbing; hence looking at carbons.

[anonymous-user]

in that case go for the stumpjumper ht (i think the comp model). it was the lightest ht i could find but the top tube was going to be too short for me to get comfy on long rides. from memory it was <23 inches...

[alfaman]

I ride a stumpjumper fsr expert ( £2k full susser - haggled down to £1350 :-))

couple of things to bear in mind :

1/ carbon frames are a massive premium - for virtually no weightsaving

2/ full suss bikes are a LOT more comfortable for XC riding - and are these days very light ( v little additional weight vs a hardtail ) - my stumpy is actually lighter than my hardtail.

..suggestion would be to put the £1,000 to a lightweight full susser - you may need to top up slightly.

spec stumpy fsr's are very good allrounders , as are Trek EX full sussers( the ones wtith 5 inches travel , in my opinion cannondale are not as good as Trek or Specialized.

[matc]

alfaman said:

I ride a stumpjumper fsr expert ( £2k full susser - haggled down to £1350 :-))

couple of things to bear in mind :

1/ carbon frames are a massive premium - for virtually no weightsaving

2/ full suss bikes are a LOT more comfortable for XC riding - and are these days very light ( v little additional weight vs a hardtail ) - my stumpy is actually lighter than my hardtail.

..suggestion would be to put the £1,000 to a lightweight full susser - you may need to top up slightly.

spec stumpy fsr's are very good allrounders , as are Trek EX full sussers( the ones wtith 5 inches travel , in my opinion cannondale are not as good as Trek or Specialized.

You've got me thinking there, I've got quite a few mates that ride carbon hardtails so I was thinking this was the way to go, but maybe I should have a look at some full suss bikes. The only thing that bothers me slightly is that I'll be going from looking at a top end hard-tail to a bottom end full suss.

I don't mind adding about £500 to my vouchers, actually the more I look at bikes the bigger the budget seems to grow! I like the look of the Commencal Meta 5.5 Team, although there's no mention of weight in the spec and I'm guessing it's more tailored as a DH bike rather than an XC one?

[Roman]

I'd be looking at either:

Scott Spark 35
http://www.evanscycles.com/products/scott/spark-35...

or

Trek Top fuel
http://www.evanscycles.com/products/trek/top-fuel-...

Both excellent lightweight FS XC bikes.

Edited by Roman on Monday 13th September 12:49

[missing the VR6]

Friend has a Cube hardtail and it's incredibly light, can't tell you model numbers but it cost £1050, not carbon though.

[Torquey]

pablo said:

in that case go for the stumpjumper ht (i think the comp model)..

Been riding one of these 3 years now and wouldn't swap it for anything.
Still very happy with it and is probably the only thing I'd want to use for hill climbing. Extremely capable.

[Loopyleesa]

I've been looking into upgrading my road bike and everyone keeps telling me Boardman.
Have you looked at the Boardman Pro?

http://www.ukmountainbiker.com/view/Bikes/Boardman...

[matc]

Loopyleesa said:

I've been looking into upgrading my road bike and everyone keeps telling me Boardman.
Have you looked at the Boardman Pro?

http://www.ukmountainbiker.com/view/Bikes/Boardman...

I would have a boardman but unfortunately they're not available from Evans. I think I'm going to up my budget a bit, still undecided between a full suss, or a hardtail - I'm liking the look of the Scott Scale 35.

[Agoogy]

Aslo on Evans' internet price matching, make sure the company that offer it cheaper have theb size you want in stock. In my experience Evans ring the shop and if they don't have the right size in stock, they don't price match.... Reading was very strict on that.

[MattYorke]

Mmm. Must be a reading thing - I had them do the same thing, but other branches I have found much more flexible.

[shalmaneser]

matc said:

alfaman said:

I ride a stumpjumper fsr expert ( £2k full susser - haggled down to £1350 :-))

couple of things to bear in mind :

1/ carbon frames are a massive premium - for virtually no weightsaving

2/ full suss bikes are a LOT more comfortable for XC riding - and are these days very light ( v little additional weight vs a hardtail ) - my stumpy is actually lighter than my hardtail.

..suggestion would be to put the £1,000 to a lightweight full susser - you may need to top up slightly.

spec stumpy fsr's are very good allrounders , as are Trek EX full sussers( the ones wtith 5 inches travel , in my opinion cannondale are not as good as Trek or Specialized.

You've got me thinking there, I've got quite a few mates that ride carbon hardtails so I was thinking this was the way to go, but maybe I should have a look at some full suss bikes. The only thing that bothers me slightly is that I'll be going from looking at a top end hard-tail to a bottom end full suss.

I don't mind adding about £500 to my vouchers, actually the more I look at bikes the bigger the budget seems to grow! I like the look of the Commencal Meta 5.5 Team, although there's no mention of weight in the spec and I'm guessing it's more tailored as a DH bike rather than an XC one?

Meta Pro is about 30lbs, team might be a bit lighter but not much.

Quite a lot of travel if you've been looking at hardtails, probably better off with a shorter travel bike.

Trek Top Fuel is lovely.

[matc]

I think I've decided to stay with a hard-tail, I just don't think with the sort of riding my mates are doing a full-suss is justified, if I get right back into it again I might look at getting one next year. So after spending hours on the Evans site,I've pretty much decided on the Scott Scale 35, going to order it tomorrow when the vouchers turn up! Always fancied a carbon bike and this one looks good value for money compared with other Carbon hard-tails.

[Agoogy]

Thats a gorgeous bike... I nearly bought one, I ended up with a Specialized Carbon Expert HT.... a deal too good miss from the previous model year.... good luck with yours, they'll be no going slow... they're (both) racy machines..

[matc]

Bit of an update, after some absolutely shocking service and several lies from Evans regarding the Scott Scale, they've now decided they can't get me that bike! So I've negotiated a Cannondale Flash 4 for £50 more, which is in stock apparently....I'll believe when I see it! But I have got a £2k bike for £1450 which I shouldn't grumble about I suppose!

[Roman]

Jammy begger.

I started road racing on a bike heavier than that!

[matc]

Roman said:

Jammy begger.

I started road racing on a bike heavier than that!

I know, the weight seems crazy, just hope it's going to be tough enough! Some people have got them down to about 16lb with upgraded components.

Can't wait for it to turn up, although with the way the weather is out there today I might have been better off buying a canoe!