MJB2

Im off to Leisure Lakes tomorrow to have a look for a new mountain bike.
My workplace is currently running the cyclescheme and i can spend up to £1000 and get about 43% off.

Full Sus options
Cannondale 08 Prophet 3 £999.99 - Leisure Lakes Bikes
or
Specialized 08 FSR XC Comp Bike £899.99 - Leisure Lakes Bikes

Are either of these bikes worth getting or would i be better going for a more expensive hard tail?

Hardtail £600-£900 - Leisure Lakes Bikes

Sorry for 20 questions, im just a bit clueless as to whats good and whats not. I will mainly be doing xc stuff so dont really need full sus but i do like Dyfi Mountain Biking : Welcome

hux309

An fsr will go through shock bushes in no time, personally i like this one, had a marin years back and loved the thing.


Marin 08 Eldridge Grade Bike £999.99 - Leisure Lakes Bikes


But for a full suss id stretch for this, much better frame and components.

Scott 07 Genius MC50 Bike £1,299.99 - Leisure Lakes Bikes

ScoTTyB

Scott Genius is very good. Personally I would buy a Specialized Stumpjumper full sus.

P1Fanatic

I have also been looking albeit at a lower budget of £600 (but under the cycle scheme). I think Ive narrowed it down to Specialised or Kona myself. Shame is I gotta wait til april for new scheme at work to start.

Simon

PG

I went for the Spesh Stumpy FSR comp last year on the cycle scheme. Excellent bike, great value for money. This years FSR has the hand -me-down frame from that bike.There is talk about the bushes on the FSR system but I've done +1000 miles of hard riding on it and had no problem. (gone through 2 BB and several chains and brake pads but that's par for the course) The one you have linked to lacks the quality in components but lets face it, it's £600 cheaper. The Pitch is a nice bike but you'd need to add a couple of hundred to get it.
This year I am going to go for a hardtail (no idea which though) to replace my Cannondale but one of the others at work is looking for a full sus. I suggested this to him. Superb frame, again, it does lack a bit up front but there's always going to compromises.
The Cyclescheme is great eh!

Paul.

Mogsi

If you use the cyclescheme dont you have to use it x% of the time to commute to and from work? Not very practical on a full susser..

P1Fanatic

No. You dont have to use it for work at all.

Get a tax free bike for work | CYCLESCHEME

Simon

Mogsi

although a bike purchased under Cyclescheme should be ridden for at least 50% of time during trips to work.

hux309

Though this site isn't running atm it is very good for those shock bushes you can't get hold of, it was a lifesaver for my tomac revolver.

https://www.betd.co.uk/

They custom make provided you give them the right dimensions.

Chain wise i use sram, shimano are nice but shocking on strength and as for the bb im using shimano which atm seems fine but i prefer race face atlas.

Commencal are up and coming and are meant to be very good for the money.

But top dog for sus frames has to be tomac/giant/scott.

This is my 2004 revolver, love it to bits.

MJB2

Thanks for all the help, it’s much appreciated!
I had not been to Leisure Lakes before because a couple of people I work with said they were expensive. As far as I can tell the prices are the same as what other places charge and the service was amazing. I now know a lot more about what im buying and they let me take a couple of the bikes out for a test ride.
I will be using it a bit for work so decided best thing for the money would be a hardtail. Looking at either the Specialized rockhopper pro or rockhopper disk. The pro does have better forks but im not sure for how much it will be used, its worth the extra £300. My logic is that the disk’s forks are about £150 and pro £300 so do all the other bits on the pro add up to £150 to make it worth while. (does that make sense!)
Cheers, Mark

ScoTTyB

Hardtail Stumpjumpers are around 1000 quid. If you got 50% off that then I wouldn't recommend anything else. It will still be going 10 years from now.

Jer

LOL, I was in JJB sport today and they had MTB's for £35 reduced from £180. I bought one for my wife and I. I cycled home 3 miles and drove back in the scooby to pick my wifes up. It was the first time I have been on a bike for 14 years.
I got them home and spent an hour or so getting them up to scratch and they seem good compared to my 12 speed racer I used to cycle 18 miles to work and back every day on.
My son is 5 and is getting good on his bike so I can go out with him but don't know how much I will use it.
Two bikes and helmets for £90.

MJB2

LOL thanks for that Jer, whats the spec so i can compare the two?

P1Fanatic

Should be i.e. not enforced in any way and no log needed to be kept so in short you can do what you like with it. At the end of the day if it even stops someone using a car for 1 or 2 trips a year to work its a good thing imho.

Simon

PG

One of the guys on my shift took his <£100 full suss bike to Laggan WolfTrax. After every run there was yet another bit falling off
The little sticker stating "This bike is not to be used for jumping or stunting" should have been warning enough.

PG

Yup, very true.
I already have my winter and summer road bikes that I use as often as I can to commute so I offset that and get my MTB via the scheme.

Jer

Hay don't mock it man, its got two wheels like yours and 18 chermanio gears. If I get into it I may spend more money.

No way man? I woz going to get a Bike rack for my M5 and take it down Ben Nevis.

Jer

I was taking the front wheel of my wifes bike to get it in the car, when I slackened the nut a huge chunk of paint flecked off it.

[Davey]

If its for commuting to work you want something light and free rolling.. Marins are awesome and well worth every single penny!

Dont go crazy and buy a long travel full suspension bike because it 'looks cool'. Because You'll kick your self every time you ride to work lol!

Or you could go wild and build something yourself

I have a Marin Pine Mountain for the Road and a home brew freeride bike... The latter looks the nuts but its FAR to much work to use on the road, it weighs about 50lb's and only has 8 gears which are soo wrong for longdistance riding; combined with the bobbing of the suspension its a killer on the road!

I've got a Marin Bear Valley for sale if anyone is interested?

hux309

Depends on the frame you use, most forks have lockouts nowadays so negate the bobbing effect, mine doesn't as such but it uses a manitou spv that again helps eliminate this.

My revolver is about 26lbs, the scott genius above comes in at around 29lbs and for a £1300 full sus with that conponents list it's a steal.

But as you say a hardtail with road slicks would be a much better road bike, but id still have front forks partly for comfort plus also should he want a bit of fun on some trails.

Funny enough my first serious bike was a marin pine mountain, while everyone was going ali mad they bucked the trend and used a triple butted steel frame, light and responsive like ali but more forgiving, i had years of fun on that thing and it was fully rigid, naturally ive just added bits over the years hence my bike now.

[Davey]

Its not the forks that are the issue, its the rear end that causes bobbing, even the new double valve shocks still bob like hell..

But yeah a cross cycle bike with a lock out rear shock is a good idea but you'll be paying through the nose for a light one that makes sense on a daily commute.

hux309

I know it's the rear, the front also does to an extent, didn't click on that pic of my bike did you?

Manitou spv shocks are very good at keeping bob to a minimum, you can bump the pressure up in the main chamber to near eliminate bob provided you stay in the saddle.

The scott i suggested has a remote adjuster so i presume a lockout too.

A well setup full suss can be used as a commute bike, you just have to use the right components the downside being extra cost but imo it's worth it.

MJB2

Ive gone for the Rockhopper Disc, which is going to cost £366 (i think)
Now ive got to wait for the forms to clear! Thank you for all the help!

Mogsi

Nice choice....

I did close to 2500 miles on my 07 Disc last year, still looks and rides like new......

P1Fanatic

Hmm thats on my shortlist. Did you go for the Silver or Red colour? Im torn between that and the Kona Cindercone - both very similar specs as youd expect as identical price. Preferring the Kona aesthetically but need to test ride one:

Kona 2008 > Back Country Hardtail > Cinder Cone

Simon

MJB2

Ive gone for the silver but only seen the red in the flesh!
That Kona seems alright but i could not say which is better, who knows!
I have no idea how long its going to take for the paper work to be sorted out. Already got a trip to Chase Trails - The Mountain Bike Guide to Riding on Cannock Chase and Dyfi Mountain Biking : Welcome planned

PG

If it were me I'd deffo. go for the Rockhopper over the Cindercone. It's just a better all round package for the money (imo of course) but as you say, go for a test ride. Ensure the fork is set up correctly and I'm sure you'll find the geometry very similar but the Tora fork to be a little more plush and substantial.

ScoTTyB

You're welcome, although it was a waste of time since you chose a bike no-one recommended

Good choice though

MJB2

You see ScoTTyB i knew you would approve

The Stumpjumper would have been nice but out of my price range im afraid!

andythejock01wrx

Ahh, a Rockhopper ! My first "proper" mountainbike ! Nice comfy geometry.

So are bikes half price on the Scheme, with employer paying half ?