fork and shock quandary

[linton]

I have been looking around at different bikes to get at the end of the month, there have been a few reasonable deals on 2010 stock, but I have decided to try and keep it 2011 so as to get the Dyna-sys stuff from shimano.

I've narrowed the soft tail choices down to the merida onetwenty 800d, giant trance x3 and the cube xms.

One bike will have better componentry in one area, over another... My choice (i think) will pivot on the suspension of each bike.

merida - Rock Shox Recon Silver Soloair 120/X-Fusion O2RL Remote

cube - Manitou Minute LTD 100mm, Air Assist, Remote-Lockout/Suntour Epicon 165mm length, Lockout

giant - Fox 32 F125RL (Giant LTD Edition)/Fox Float R

 

my knee jerk is that the giant system is better, however each bike shop has daintily danced around saying that if you don't service the fox stuff pretty often, you will have issues.

 

The merida looks to be the best bang for buck, but i have never heard of x-fusion O2RL ever, and i have no clue how good or bad it will be.

 

the cube is most expensive, looks the best (probably get bored with the 'bling' after a while though) but i am completely prejudice against suntour, anyone got any experience with the suntour epicon shock?

 

The giant looks the least appealing of all the bikes.

 

Am i hinging my decision on the wrong aspect here? is there a specific weakness that should make me cross one of the bikes off my list? Or are they all much of a muchness, and i won't go far wrong choosing any of the 3?

[Brian Fantana]

Even if the Giant was the ugliest bike I have ever seen I would still take it if I had to choose between the three bikes mentioned.

 

Fox suspension needs regular service, so does manitou, so does Rockshox. Whether you like it or not suspension has to be serviced regularly, not just to prevent damage but most importantly to keep the performance high.

 

The Giant trance is one of the selling 120mm travel bikes on the market and there is a very good reason for that.

 

I hope you enjoy that Giant.

[nolipoli]

I used to own a 2010 Trance, and it was flippin' good. I would guess that the 2011 is even better. The Fox suspension components really are excellent.

 

Suntour as a brand is largely slated, but that is not necessarily fair. You see what happens is that most of our experience with the brand is on the entry-level "suspinshun baaiks", using the cheapest, forks available. because we are all brand snobs, as soon as we have a little more money to spend on bikes, we immediately fixate on the 'top' brands, forgetting about the upper level offerings from a brand like Suntour. A mate of mine has a Suntour Epicon fork, and is very happy with it, but he is not brand conscious.

 

I don't know x-fusion at all, but it may be painted with the same brush as Suntour...

 

That said, what you should do is test ride each one, even if in a parking lot and see which one feels like home. There will always be a stand-out.

[DJR]

Giant

[AndreZA]

The suspension, after the wheels and frame, is the most expensive part of a bike especially as and aftermarket item. And if you look after it it can last the lifetime of the bike. The other components will be replaced every now and then. You can then upgrade them.

[Johan Bornman]

my knee jerk is that the giant system is better, however each bike shop has daintily danced around saying that if you don't service the fox stuff pretty often, you will have issues.

 

 

Go back to those bike shops with an A4 notepad and a pencil.

 

Ask the shop assistant to draw sketches of the various forks and point out to you where the design differs in such a way that the one requires more servicing than the other.

 

Scan the sketches and post them here. My guess is that he audio will be more entertaining than the blank paper - Uhmm.Ahhh. Mumble. Jumble