A list of €1250 - €1500 Hard Tails.

DHFrame

Hi guys, I am in the market for a nice Hardtail in the region of €1250 - €1500.

I don't have a huge amount of knowledge about components. All I know is I use my mountain bike cross country every weekend for 4hrs + so I need something decent. At first I was trying to find the lightest in this price bracket but quickly discovered it's a factor but not a deciding one. I have wittled the list down to the bikes in the list below but really I need help deciding which has the best frame vs components. I sometimes find it difficult to work out the difference between, say, a Deore and an XT set... etc...

Also, I don't mind the 29rs. But I am worried that I might not find a 29r suitable. I suppose its just a case of finding one and testing it out.

So the list below is a set of nice bikes between €1250 - 1500/600. My personal favourites is the Kona, Scott and the Canyon. The specialized looks quite nice. Would be quite nice to see what you guys think and which is the one thats mostly recommended. Oh, and I cannot benefit form any government/company bike schemes or anything like.

Kona Kula €1520
http://www.konaworld.com/bike.cfm?content=kula
http://www.rutlandcycling.com/26616/Kona-Kula-2011.html

Marin Eldridge Grade €1260
http://www.marin.co.uk/2011/bikepage.php?ModNo=11NT

Rocky Mountain Vertex 30 €1,440
http://www.bikes.com/main+en+01_102+VERTEX_30.html?BIKE=910&CATID=1&SCATID=2&Y=2011
http://www.silverfish-uk.com/products/1390-2011_rocky_mountain_vertex_30.php?r=1m1d0b0s2

Scott Scale 50 € 1493.56
http://www.scott-sports.com/gb_en/product/10024/55476/217944
http://www.evanscycles.com/products/scott/scale-50-2011-mountain-bike-ec025362

Canyon AL 8.0 €1499
http://www.canyon.com/_en/mountainbikes/bike.html?b=2056

29r Gary Fisher X-Caliber 29er 2011 €1493
http://www.evanscycles.com/products/gary-fisher/x-caliber-29er-2011-mountain-bike-ec023854

Specialized Stump Jumper €1436 Don't think they have a 2011 yet.
http://www.evanscycles.com/products/specialized/stumpjumper-comp-2010-mountain-bike-ec020342#reviews

Lapierre Pro Race 200 2011 €1320
http://www.evanscycles.com/products/lapierre/pro-race-200-2011-mountain-bike-ec024823

And for a little more time saving up....

Rock Lobster £1650
http://www.merlincycles.co.uk/Bike+Shop/Bikes/Mountain+Bikes/Rock+Lobster+Bikes/Rock+Lobster+Team+Titanium+Bike_RL-TITANIUM-BIKE.htm

nomadic

The new on one carbon whippet looks very tasty at £1000. Paul's cycles is worth a look , some nice giants with big discounts there.

Golfanatic

i just got an on one summer season 456 frame. its slick seriosly i could check out on one very good value either makin your own or off the shelf

DHFrame

Ah, never heard of the 'on one' brand. Looking at them now. They look pretty sweet.

http://www.on-one.co.uk/i/q/CBOOCAR456TRAIL/on-one-carbon-456-trail

Barrya

of the bikes on your list, i would say the canyon is the best bike. Frame quality aside, (I have never ridden any of the frames on your list so I can't comment) the components on the canyon are a cut above with a good fork, wheelset and brakes, the things i find affect the quality of my ride the most.

that would be my choice for a short travel hard tail.

DHFrame

Barrya wrote: »

of the bikes on your list, i would say the canyon is the best bike. Frame quality aside, (I have never ridden any of the frames on your list so I can't comment) the components on the canyon are a cut above with a good fork, wheelset and brakes, the things i find affect the quality of my ride the most.

that would be my choice for a short travel hard tail.

I've been looking at the Canyon for a while now al right. What do you think of the On One Carbon 456 Barrya?. It looks very, very nice. They are getting amazing write ups.

As i use some road surfaces, I sometimes do 4-5k round the block some evenings, Would the 'On One' be good for that, with it having such a huge fork travel?

Barrya

hmmm looks nice indeed, but then you have to decide if you want a carbon or alu frame, or a shorter or longer travel bike/fork. after a quick glance, i venture the canyon has better specs than the carbon 456 trail, which is the one in your price range i think.

the carbon 456 and canyon are two different animals it seems. i have never ridden a carbon mtb, and am not sure if i want to since i am neither a racer overly concerned with power transfer nor a weight weenie. but then again, i am sure that people who have one say they would never go back. same with people who ride 29ers.


good luck.

uberwolf

this is a question on my mind too Canyon is the standout for me. But I've always felt that if you're buying a bike, you expect stuff to break. So buy the best frame you could afford, because the rest will fall off and need upgrading eventually

/subscribes to thread.

D20903

You couldnt go too far wrong with one of the Focus' listed here - a little more than your budget but twice the bike than most of whet you have listed......

http://www.donedeal.ie/for-sale/gentsbicycles/1630392

DHFrame

uberwolf wrote: »

this is a question on my mind too Canyon is the standout for me. But I've always felt that if you're buying a bike, you expect stuff to break. So buy the best frame you could afford, because the rest will fall off and need upgrading eventually

/subscribes to thread.

Very good point! I am a little paranoid about the lifespan of a carbon frame. It sounds very appealing but the first sign of trouble would be regrettable. Just been doing some research on it and I believe the On One can suffer from chain damage, one rider getting down to the fibres! The other thing is if you crash, one have a big chance of a snap. New frame after crash is 50% at On One. The Canyon is still my favorite. Like you said. Strong light frame can last forever and the stuff around it can evolve. And with me using on road a few times a week the Canyon is probably best choice atm.

Why do they never sell pedals with the bikes! lol

Thanks uberwolf. V Helpful

angry_fox

what about the trek 6 hardtail

would you not go for a la Pierre x-control or a zesty?

DHFrame

angry_fox wrote: »

what about the trek 6 hardtail

would you not go for a la Pierre x-control or a zesty?

I like that Trek.. Seems everyone has one though. Want something different. Saw a homeless man walking down the street with a ****ty old Trek yesterday, lol, kinda looses the magic factor after that...

I'll take a look. Do you have links to any in particular with the others?

adrianshanahan

HI,

My mate has a KTM RaceCross for his hardtail comes with mostly SLX groupset and comes in around €1200. He knows what he is on about and really rates it.

Classy looking bike that you dont see too often.

Adrian

DHFrame

adrianshanahan wrote: »

HI,

My mate has a KTM RaceCross for his hardtail comes with mostly SLX groupset and comes in around €1200. He knows what he is on about and really rates it.

Classy looking bike that you dont see too often.

Adrian

Wow, very, very nice looking bike, nice frame. Can't even see the weld work! Looks like a 29r? I would be very interested in to where your freind got that bike now. Some parts of the site are under construction for 2011 stock...

Looking forward to mulling over that in the morning. Thanks Adrian!

http://www.ktm-bikes.at/en/mountain/race/hardtail-alu/Racecross.php


edit. mmmmmmm in ireland too.!! Waterford. Not too far from Portlaoise eh?

Put in Ireland for dealers and it came up with this. They sell it?

http://maps.google.com/maps?f=q&source=s_q&hl=en&geocode=&q=altitude,+28+Ballybricken,waterford,+ireland&sll=52.259188,-7.115557&sspn=0.009969,0.014055&ie=UTF8&hq=altitude,&hnear=28+Ballybricken,+Waterford,+County+Waterford,+Ireland&ll=52.260041,-7.118561&spn=0.007486,0.022724&t=h&z=16&layer=c&cbll=52.260037,-7.118567&panoid=RlME4JNSUS46EO_8KwZZ0Q&cbp=12,289.99,,0,1.73

Barbut Ltd
22 Ballybricken
Waterford
SHOW ON MAP

adrianshanahan

Nope its at 26inch, I'm not a hardtail fan myself but he rides that and a Cannondale Prophecy for the also and he has done pretty much everything on the KTM that most use Full sus bikes for.

As I said I pref to ride my big full sus but there is no deinying how sexy and classy the ktm is. Most unlikely you will see too many of them about.

His is this color

DHFrame

Looks like this is the 2011 line up version. €1699

http://www.ktm-bikes.at/de/mountain/race/hardtail-alu/Racecross.php

bit of a hike in price from 2010...

Struggling to find a source that sells them though.

The Canyon is still ahead in terms of equip. They are even the same weight and the frames are almost identical. Under close inspection there is hardly anything between the 1699 KTM and the 1499 Canyon AL8. Canyon being the easiest to order cheaper with better support.

angry_fox

DHFrame wrote: »

I like that Trek.. Seems everyone has one though. Want something different. Saw a homeless man walking down the street with a ****ty old Trek yesterday, lol, kinda looses the magic factor after that...

I'll take a look. Do you have links to any in particular with the others?

Here is a link to the x-control 310 this a 2010 model but is a great deal

The zestys are all over €2,000

If you looking for a rare enough hard tail in ireland how about a transAM or a cove stiffee. (stiffee is more for downhill)

paddyduc

Here's another rare one in Ireland.
http://www.chaindrivencycles.com/bottecchia_stelvio.html

DHFrame

So glad I started this thread. Some really nice stuff being posted! Some real amazing stuff to research over the coming months. Bikes available in Ireland are massively appealing. Just a case of driving there.

angry_fox

DHFrame wrote: »

So glad I started this thread. Some really nice stuff being posted! Some real amazing stuff to research over the coming months. Bikes available in Ireland are massively appealing. Just a case of driving there.

There is some great choices out there, but if you have the money never mind a hard tail just buy this beauty

at1withmyself

Chainreaction have 25% off Cube's at the moment, great deals to be had...