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Does anyone have any recommendations for full suspension bikes under £3000. I'm hoping to get a 29er around 150mm front / 140mm rear ish so I can do a bit of everything with one bike, from trails in the north of england up to bike park wales and trips to the alps. Not too fussed on which material, mostly just looking to get a good deal.
Very keen to avoid: push fit BBs, headset routed cables, weird propriety standards since I work on bikes myself at home.
Wondering whether the Spectral CF 8 CLLCTV would be a good fit?
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Or Cotic Jeht?
*press fit bb
I'm wondering whether the Spectral CF 8 CLLCTV or Cotic Jeht might be a good option?
Stif have got GT Sensors for 1/2 price at the moment...
Would be hard to look past these IMO. Get good reviews, good spec levels, great geometry...
Alternatively Pauls Cycles have got some crazy (sub 1/2 price) deals on previous generation Rocky Mountain Instincts right now which are incredible bikes! Or even the Cube Stereo One55, which is 150/160 travel but still pedals well, and they come with great kit on the money too...
Marin do some solid bikes for that sort of money. I'm sure you'd find this discounted somewhere.
Trek Fuel EX8? Can find some good deals on the 2023 models and the only real difference between that and the 2025 is some Shimano brakes and colours.
So much choice put there. If you're handy, why not build your own? That's what I do with my favourite bits to my exact spec.
I bought a cube 144 from Paul's recently, great value. Does have headset routing but I swapped out the brakes and drivetrain from new without any issues (I wanted a full XT build). This is my preferred route to a slightly custom build as you tend to get much more for your money buying complete bike, then sell on parts you don't want before they become 'used'. I now have a 27lb 140mm trail bike to my preferred spec at a great price.
I was going to say Cotic Jeht, but you mentioned it. Love mine. If you look around, I think there may be cheaper, equivalent bikes out there.
Search the sales. A chum of mine just got a 2023 Santa Cruz 5010 for 3k. Just old stock, nor 2nd hand.
If you XL I have posted my new Ibis Ripmo in the for sale section. Ticks all your boxes and nearly half your budget
I've got another 29er bike (hardtail) that has shimano deore drivetrain and brakes. Is it worth only looking at bikes that have compatible components?
Eg:
-Wheel spacing (110x15 front 29er, 148x12 rear 29er)
-Freehub type: microspline
-Drivetrain components: shimano deore
-Braking components: shimano deore
-BB style
I would have thought it would be useful to have compatible wheelsets, which means making sure the wheelspacing, freehub type and thus drivetrain are compatible. Other than that the rest seem nice to be interchangeable, but not essential.
The cotic jeht or Spectral CF 8 CLLCTV would allow me to have completely interchangeable wheelsets, drivetrain and brakes. Is it actually worth spending more (or waiting for the right bike on sale) for this?
Calibre Bossnut and money left over to buy other nice things.
I own the 2022 version of the Spectral CF 8 CLLCTV (150mm/160mm) and it's been a great bike. It has helped me improve my skill set all around. Now under £3k that's really good value for the spec.
Thanks for everyone suggestions.
-I strongly considered a rocky mountain instinct but was put off by the press fit BB, and RM going bust - will there be support in the future?
-I also thought about Cube Stereo One55 but I don't think I can be bothered with the extra maintenance with headset cables.
-Building my own sounds great but also exhausting finding all the individual components to make the bike, plus I'm sure it will cost more.
-I can't seem to find a Trek Fuel EX8 on sale in large
-I'd prefer new just to not have the hassle of being concerned about maintenance in the short term.
-Bossnut would be great but out of stock everywhere
Still considering but I think i'll either opt for a GT force sport from Paul's and then potentially upgrade components in the future, or just go all out for the Spectral CF 8 CLLCTV.
The Gen6 EX8 comes up long in reach. Both me and my lad are 6'0 and on ML.
Continuing the 'recommend what you have' tradition, something from Bird maybe? Very happy with mine, they're a good company for customer support and they often have deals on, ex demo models, etc.
-I can't seem to find a Trek Fuel EX8 on sale in large
Balfe's also have some great deals on other Treks and Scott models in your price range (though the Scott integration may not be your thing).
Simple solution... get in touch with my friend Tony @ Bikezone in Funchal, Madeira and order a shiny new Cannondale Habit LT 2 at a massively discounted price of just £1,550 delivered to his shop. Book some cheap flights out to Madeira, some epic days of guided Enduro riding with Freeride Madeira and then fly back with your 'used and muddy' bike, all for well below £3k, or the approx price of the bike new in the UK.
I have just this bike on order for my son (in size small) and it should arrive in about 14 days time, so nicely ahead of Easter holidays.
I looked around at everything in the UK and Europe and nothing really came close, aside from perhaps the Cube One55 already mentioned (from Bike24, delivered again to Madeira), or a Canyon Strive AL.
Portugal has a super-low VAT rate of just 6% for bikes so you can get some awesome deals if you can find a retailer that will change their domestic rate to 6% for delivery. Canyon is a prime example here. If you go to the Canyon Portugal site, you can get some staggering deals (either new or in the outlet) that smash any of the UK prices into the weeds (more than making up for travel costs etc). I bought a Strive CF 7.0 a few years back, delivered to Madeira for well over £1k less than in the UK.
and before anyone goes on about avoiding customs charges etc, the bikes referenced above all stay out in Madeira as I have a home out there 🙂
Very keen to avoid: push fit BBs, headset routed cables, weird propriety standards since I work on bikes myself at home.
-I'd prefer new just to not have the hassle of being concerned about maintenance in the short term.
I've got a 'requires no maintenance in the short term' 140/130mm bike available that ticks all of your above criteria, and well under £3k - apart from being used, obviously. And assuming you fit an XL Nicolai.
The deals on secondhand bikes at the moment are staggering, and I don't say that just because I'm trying to sell a couple. It can indeed be a minefield for unknown maintenance but it sounds like you know enough to go in with your eyes wide open.
I would speak to Cotic if you like the Jeht as they're completely customisable.
They could probably get you to a spec. that fits your budget or allows you to use your current wheels/groupset etc. to bring the price down. Do they still have the heavily reduced frame/shock deal on the last Taiwan frames? They're super helpful so worth a call or email if that's the frame you like.
ps I've got one and it's great 😀
Oops, think my recommendation was sold out.
Dunno if you said what size you're after, but this is a great bike if you're large-sized:
Orange Stage 6 Pro Full Suspension Mountain Bike 2021 - Orange – Start Fitness
I thought I'd broken my frame the other week and was looking at basically exactly this, but probably a little more rowdy as my riding is mostly Welsh Valleys off-piste stuff. The bikes I shortlisted were the Mondraker Foxy (or Superfoxy depending on how much travel you really want) and the Privateer 161 (although the 141 sounds better suited to you)