Mountain Bikes
Posted by: David C on 22 June 2004
Hi,
I am looking to replace my ageing Marin hardtail. I am looking for a Cross Country bike, something fast under £1000. Has anyone here tried the Rock Lobsters? Any other good choices at this price point? I have also looked at the Cannondales F800 now being in budget with their price cuts.
Any feedback would be appreciated.
David
I am looking to replace my ageing Marin hardtail. I am looking for a Cross Country bike, something fast under £1000. Has anyone here tried the Rock Lobsters? Any other good choices at this price point? I have also looked at the Cannondales F800 now being in budget with their price cuts.
Any feedback would be appreciated.
David
Posted on: 22 June 2004 by ErikL
David,
Scroll through this and the past 3-4 pages in the Padded Cell and you'll find several threads discussing new mtb purchases and advice.
[EDIT: Sorry, I didn't mean to sound rude but I see that I did! It's just that those recent threads did a great job of capturing opinions from all the mtbers here and it's difficult to summarize.]
Scroll through this and the past 3-4 pages in the Padded Cell and you'll find several threads discussing new mtb purchases and advice.
[EDIT: Sorry, I didn't mean to sound rude but I see that I did! It's just that those recent threads did a great job of capturing opinions from all the mtbers here and it's difficult to summarize.]
Posted on: 22 June 2004 by Mekon
Steve G is your man with the plan when it comes to building up bikes, but I reckon he'll mention at least a couple of these. An On-One Inbred could be built up with some compromises, as could a Cove Handjob. I love the look of the Dialled Bikes Prince Albert myself, but I bend stuff. With some budgeting and s/h stuff, you might even stretch to a Cotic Soul, which I'm also very tempted by.
I've never ridded one of the Merlin Rock Lobsters, but I rode an orginal one back in '94-'95, and it was dead nice.
I've never ridded one of the Merlin Rock Lobsters, but I rode an orginal one back in '94-'95, and it was dead nice.
Posted on: 22 June 2004 by ErikL
I second Mekon's thought that Steve G is the go-to-guy. He's the mtb spec-meister.
Posted on: 23 June 2004 by Steve G
Thanks for the vote as resident MTB geek...
Anyway the Rock Lobster bikes are well regarded and seem to offer great value:
TIG Team SL - Easton frame, MX Comps, XT, Hope Minis, XT/XC717 wheels, Easton EA50 finishing kit £959
TIG Team 853 - 853 steel frame, MX Comps, Deore, Magura Julies, Deore/XC717 disks, FSA finishing kit £649. Upgrade to XT drivetrain and discs - £225
The Merlin branded bikes are similar spec and value.
Chain Reaction do bikes now and they have the Kinesis MaxLight Custom Sport Disc for £799.99 - MX Comp, Deore hydro groupset etc.
There are loads of other options at £1K or so as well, including 2003 model Specialized Epics.
Checking out the Lesuire Lakes site:
'03 Cannondale F800SL - looks a good bike for £950
'03 Cannondale Jeckyll 500 - a bit downmarket for wheels and brakes but still looks decent for £1K
'03 Specialized Epic - £1K. Same as my bike (pre-upgrades) and very nice for that sort of cash (which is what I paid for mine) but no disc brakes or disc capable wheels.
Anyway if it were my cash I'd either get the Epic and upgrade it later, or build a hardtail from scratch using a Inbred (£225) or Soul (£410) as the base (the Prince Albert would also be an option at £200). Using a 2nd hand frame and components my Soul has cost about £800 to put together and that's for a decent spec - Fox Vanilla R forks, Wheeltech Deore disc/Mavic X221 wheels, Avid cable discs, XT/XTR drivetrain, Easton EA50/EA70 finishing kit.
Regards
Steve
Anyway the Rock Lobster bikes are well regarded and seem to offer great value:
TIG Team SL - Easton frame, MX Comps, XT, Hope Minis, XT/XC717 wheels, Easton EA50 finishing kit £959
TIG Team 853 - 853 steel frame, MX Comps, Deore, Magura Julies, Deore/XC717 disks, FSA finishing kit £649. Upgrade to XT drivetrain and discs - £225
The Merlin branded bikes are similar spec and value.
Chain Reaction do bikes now and they have the Kinesis MaxLight Custom Sport Disc for £799.99 - MX Comp, Deore hydro groupset etc.
There are loads of other options at £1K or so as well, including 2003 model Specialized Epics.
Checking out the Lesuire Lakes site:
'03 Cannondale F800SL - looks a good bike for £950
'03 Cannondale Jeckyll 500 - a bit downmarket for wheels and brakes but still looks decent for £1K
'03 Specialized Epic - £1K. Same as my bike (pre-upgrades) and very nice for that sort of cash (which is what I paid for mine) but no disc brakes or disc capable wheels.
Anyway if it were my cash I'd either get the Epic and upgrade it later, or build a hardtail from scratch using a Inbred (£225) or Soul (£410) as the base (the Prince Albert would also be an option at £200). Using a 2nd hand frame and components my Soul has cost about £800 to put together and that's for a decent spec - Fox Vanilla R forks, Wheeltech Deore disc/Mavic X221 wheels, Avid cable discs, XT/XTR drivetrain, Easton EA50/EA70 finishing kit.
Regards
Steve
Posted on: 23 June 2004 by David C
Steve,
Thank you for the feedback. I was in Leisure Lakes at the weekend looking at the Cannondales. I did not see te Epic's I shall take a look at them.
I must admit that Merlin 853 with XT and hope upgrades has been calling out to me.
I have also seen a Marin Team frame Dedaccai (spelling?) tubing that looks really nice. I can use my current bike as a donor, it is mainly Xt but old 8 speed stuff. although there are worse starting points!
I had been following your thread on your new toy, it looks very nice.
David
Thank you for the feedback. I was in Leisure Lakes at the weekend looking at the Cannondales. I did not see te Epic's I shall take a look at them.
I must admit that Merlin 853 with XT and hope upgrades has been calling out to me.
I have also seen a Marin Team frame Dedaccai (spelling?) tubing that looks really nice. I can use my current bike as a donor, it is mainly Xt but old 8 speed stuff. although there are worse starting points!
I had been following your thread on your new toy, it looks very nice.
David