Wildfx

Thanks. Appreciate your opinion. The Anthem X3, seems to have lower spec compenents for around the same price as the Merida. So Merida seems to be the better choice. How about Trek EX5? Anyone else? Wildfx2010-02-02 01:06:15

From what I understand: An all mountain or trail bike will be able to handle all situations that a ride like epic will throw at you, the less knocks your body will have to take could mean you finish feeling stronger. Whereas a XC bike likes to be hammered to be more responsive, has a less comfortable riding position for a long tour. But XC's are usually lighter and more efficient bikes. So you will have to weight up the options.

Also looking at the Merida, what did u go for? Meirda seems to have better components than the Giant.

I am wanting to upgrade to a soft tail, but have had different advice on weather I should go for a bike with 100mm travel or 120mm travel. I enjoy riding on the more technical stuff, but tend to do longer rides/races around 40km mark. The bike I like most is the Merida 120TFS800 that fits into my budget (15000 to 20000), but I'm worried that as I get more experienced I'll wish I had a racier bike with the 100mm Travel like the new KTM comp R1 Will this make much of a difference? Any suggentions.