JulienR Posted August 22, 2019 Share I am looking at graduating from my Giant Talon HT to a DS bike. I ride about once a week and enjoy modderfontein / northern farms / spruit. I dont really enjoy going downhill fast. I am considering the above three bikes. I can get the Trek for ~28K on sale (with a 3K voucher), the Scott is on sale for 23K and the Silverback is 21.5K.- I like the colour schemes of the Silverback and Trek but dont like the Scott (the black and yellow is similar to my HT)- the components seem similar - the trek has full Rockshox but the other two have an x-fusion rear shock; all have Shimano Deore 10speed RD and shifters- The Scott has a 2x10 and the other two have 1x10 (which i like)- All three are similar in weight (14.5-15kg for a medium) Any advice on the bikes / brands will be welcome! Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
thebob Posted August 23, 2019 Share All great bikes! From experience, the Trek is the most "trail" oriented and better than the other two at descending. It bobs a bit on the flats and climbs, but not too much to be a pain. The Scott is an excellent all rounder and the Twinloc is not a gimmick. It is a bit more nervous on the descents than the Trek, but is better on the climbs and flats. The new Silverback looks like a great bike overall, but is probably the most XC focused. Try get a test ride if you can and make sure you choose the correct size frame! Especially if you decide to go with the Trek! Edited August 23, 2019 by the_bob Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Hairy Posted August 23, 2019 Share The geo on the Silverback looks good and is really not far off that is the new 29er giant trance bikes. Personally the AL has my interest.... If you are able to save a little more the AL2 looks like the golden ticket bike to buy, these should be landing in SA by the end of this month Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
DirtyFrank Posted August 23, 2019 Share Not sure what deals there are on the Merida 120 but they are worth a look against this group Hairy 1 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Hairy Posted August 23, 2019 Share FYI .... a geo chart I have been working on with the different bike options that are being considered .... list will still grow a little more before it shrinks to the final option. GEO.pdf dasilvarsa 1 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
JulienR Posted August 23, 2019 Share Thanks for the feedback. The geo chart is helpful but is a little over my head. I will check out the recommendations but think that i need a bike that suited to XC Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
JohanC Posted August 23, 2019 Share Trek with its life time warranty - WIN Hairy and DieselnDust 2 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
nox1111 Posted August 26, 2019 Share As far as I know and remember; Trek, similar to Silverback offer limited lifetime warranties on their frames. The fine print says - 'reasonable lifetime of a bicycle with a single owner'. And that, sadly enough is becoming shorter periods of time. So if I'm not mistaken, it is around 5 years warranty period on these in the case of alloy frames. Anyhow, just my 5c: The Stratos AL5 is not a trail bike per se. It started life as an XC race bike as was dialed over to the 'light trail' category to make it more fun to ride for the weekend warrior and more forgiving on technical rides than an XC race bike. There's a whole lot of serious tech in the design of the frame - completely asymmetric to deal with different forces, pedaling, braking etc. Sure the part list is similar, and at this price point not that exciting ( or light), but the AL5 frame is the exact same frame you'll get on the AL1. So you are getting a great frame at an entry level price. Easy to upgrade parts in the long run also. In my opinion, anyone not a serious racer, should be riding something like this. BikeisLife 1 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
JulienR Posted August 26, 2019 Share Thanks for the feedback. I have broadened my search to include some light trail / all round bikes:- Merida one twenty 400 - I can get a 2019 model for 20k- Specialized stumpjumper ST Alloy - R30k- Giant Stance 2 - R27k I must say that the look and Colour scheme of the bike are important to me (not sure if there is something wrong with me) and the mostly black bikes look great (Silverback, specialized, giant). I managed to look at some of the bikes over the weekend and was put off by the Silverback - they have a plastic cover on the down tube to hide the cables that looks tacky ...not sure if it is the cyclelab guys that did not assemble neatly or one of the cost saving initiatives that was introduced... Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
slickjay007 Posted August 26, 2019 Share retract comment. My bad Edited August 26, 2019 by slickjay007 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Super Sywurm Posted August 26, 2019 Share I have the Silverback AL5, excellent bike. I just upgraded the fork to a RS Reba, total cost was +-R25k Edited August 26, 2019 by Super Sywurm Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
thebob Posted August 26, 2019 Share Sizing, frame, components and support should be your priorities. Looks count, but should not be the deciding factor in buying a bike Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
nox1111 Posted August 26, 2019 Share Thanks for the feedback. I have broadened my search to include some light trail / all round bikes:- Merida one twenty 400 - I can get a 2019 model for 20k- Specialized stumpjumper ST Alloy - R30k- Giant Stance 2 - R27k I must say that the look and Colour scheme of the bike are important to me (not sure if there is something wrong with me) and the mostly black bikes look great (Silverback, specialized, giant). I managed to look at some of the bikes over the weekend and was put off by the Silverback - they have a plastic cover on the down tube to hide the cables that looks tacky ...not sure if it is the cyclelab guys that did not assemble neatly or one of the cost saving initiatives that was introduced...That cover should be on neatly- it is essentially 'external internal routing', cables hidden without the need for internal fishing for cables. For ease of maintenance and installation - basic two screw undo to access cables.Makes sense to me.I've had a long frustrating day working on my bike looking for the flippen cables without luck. Taking a break/beer and then starting again. dasilvarsa 1 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Super Sywurm Posted August 26, 2019 Share Thanks for the feedback. I have broadened my search to include some light trail / all round bikes:- Merida one twenty 400 - I can get a 2019 model for 20k- Specialized stumpjumper ST Alloy - R30k- Giant Stance 2 - R27k I must say that the look and Colour scheme of the bike are important to me (not sure if there is something wrong with me) and the mostly black bikes look great (Silverback, specialized, giant). I managed to look at some of the bikes over the weekend and was put off by the Silverback - they have a plastic cover on the down tube to hide the cables that looks tacky ...not sure if it is the cyclelab guys that did not assemble neatly or one of the cost saving initiatives that was introduced...Ja, the plastic cover thing is an eyesore. But, the idea is good. dasilvarsa 1 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Hairy Posted August 26, 2019 Share Thanks for the feedback. I have broadened my search to include some light trail / all round bikes:- Merida one twenty 400 - I can get a 2019 model for 20k- Specialized stumpjumper ST Alloy - R30k- Giant Stance 2 - R27k I must say that the look and Colour scheme of the bike are important to me (not sure if there is something wrong with me) and the mostly black bikes look great (Silverback, specialized, giant). I managed to look at some of the bikes over the weekend and was put off by the Silverback - they have a plastic cover on the down tube to hide the cables that looks tacky ...not sure if it is the cyclelab guys that did not assemble neatly or one of the cost saving initiatives that was introduced...I swung a leg over the ST over the weekend and it is a nice feeling bike! The boys and girls at Spaz now also offer the origional owner of their duallies a free shock service every 150hrs of riding or every year if you do not do much riding .... that is impressive. They also offer a crash replacement policy (Beyond the std manufacturers warranty) that covers you rather well should you plow into a tree or a rock and wreck your bike or components ... they give a rather heavy discount on replacement parts. So I am keen on the Spaz, but also still looking around. Nox .... would appreciate it if I could chat to your directly please RE the AL as I have a few tech questions. PhilipV 1 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Hairy Posted August 26, 2019 Share Ja, the plastic cover thing is an eyesore. But, the idea is good.Hard to tell from the pic ... can any of you riff raff take a better pic please? dasilvarsa 1 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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