Hi all,
I`ve been road racing with a local club for a few years now, Roads are getting a little dangerous for my liking. So i`m taking the step to Mountain Biking! Be riding trials and XC i think? Like Coed Y Brenin for example. Cos i only live about 90min away.(sorry for going on and on) But my quesetion is>
My first full suss bike?????so many!!
I`ve seen the reviews on Trek and Scott.
Maybe the Trek Liquid 25, Fuel 90 Disc, or the Scott Genius MC 30/40.
HELP!!!or maybe you can think of another good bike up to £1500 mark.
thanks in advance.
ps. I`m off to the Bike show next week

I've never liked Scott's - think they usually look really gawdy. I've been considering a Trek Liquid myself so i do like them. Specialized always come out well in tests and a lot of people on here rate Giants.

Simple law you should obey is make sure you test ride any bike you seriously consider. £1500 is a lot of money to waste if you buy on-line then find you're not comfy on the bike.

Also, the Fuel is more a lightweight XC racer and the liquid more all day epic/freeride.

If you are a roady by nature you may not want to chuck yourself off drops as you won't ever have done it on your road bike.

Thanks Steve,
I do like Trek i must admit, There is more travel in the Liquid rather than the Fuel.I saw last week on my travels to have a look at some bikes, A Liquid 55...I went to this shop in North Wales which had shut down a fortnight before,He had a Liquid 55 in the window for £1600. Brand new!! What do you think?
I also noticed for 2005 Treks,There are a couple new models like the EX-7 and 8 i think. These will have bars mounted Lockout switch just like Scott genius bikes.And a little cheaper to.

Haven't seen the 2005 stuff yet (apart from glimpses in magazines) but £1600 for a Liquid 55 seems like a great deal.

Trouble is, whatever you buy is outdated pretty quickly now. Something shinier always comes along. The reality is as long as you get a bike you like, actually using it is by far the most important thing. I can have as much fun on my £50 hack bike as i can on my £1500 hardtail. But then we all like nice things. The new years stuff is coming up now so the usual bargains will start to appear. But that Liquid won't hang around long so i'd suggest a test drive and credit card session...... good luck.

Of the two makes I would go for the Trek Liquid though as I have a 2003 Liquid 30 I would say that.
£1600 is a good deal and though the Trek might seem heavy I have found the ride quality makes it feel light can't explain it it just seems that way.
I am being a bit one sided as I have not ridden a Scott FS but as many people will tell you a Test ride is a must.
Good luck

Test rode an MC50 on the w/e (looking at getting MC30). Loved it - especially compared to Whyte 46 I also tried. I put a better review on my thread Mount Vision v's MC30 - search by keyword MC30.

For your info I've had a spanner thrown in the works by someone mentioning the Turner 5 Spot - but I cant find a lot of review material on them (or comments on bulletin boards). In theory they are similar bikes to bothe the Trek and the Scott - 5" travel XC style etc.

Well guys as per my previous thread replies, About Rob`s what bike shall i buy.
I`ve bought a Scott MC30. A `04 model for £1600, One hell of a bike for that price. Amazing to ride and the handling is out of this world. SCOTT is very underated by the Marins or the Spesh. If anything handles better than this bike, Is must be a bike worth £3k or more. If you get one. Change the saddle :-o Like any other MTB i suppose.
Rob, Get an MC30, A big bike for the price.

Cool Paul, glad your happy, all the Spech's and Marin's I've ridden, have SUCKED, very strangely there all just paid for Media hype to me. Especially the 46 yeah it's light and it's got loads of travel, but felt horrible Maverick forks uggg to much stiction.

Never ridden a Scott, don't know anyone who's got one, very strangely.

Talking to a Turner and Scott dealer this morning. He advised that he really likes the Genius range. They got the MTB manufacturer of the year award last year (not sure who from !) and the MC50 was also voted MTB of the year somewhere. Must question him harder when I go for my Turner test bike.

I fancy a Turner 5spot, or a intense 5.5vpp next august.

Nah proberley be sensible, and get a light hardtail or maybe a Epic ??

The Fuel EX you mentioned is a lightweight, 4 inch travel full suspension bike, to rival the Specialized Stumpjumper (which, to Dylan's disappointment I'm sure) is an incredibly popular bike, and seems fairly universally liked.

If you find the Fuel 'too racey' and the Liquid 'too bouncy' the Fuel EX is probably where to go.

I'd be inclined to look at the new Spesh Stumpjumper FSR 120 and the Epic as well.

There is a Dealer not far from me, that deals with Trek's and Scott's, but still strangely everyone I ride with has a Spech or a SC.

Actually I'd REALLY like, the GT XC1.0 or 2.0 big I-drive fan, but would be much the same as current GT ruckus I-drive, although lighter. ( Not seen one, in the flesh and the 2005 raised rear end look ugly so ?? )

Why's it strange they ride Spesh or SC? They're both excellent manufacturers. Look at the number of people riding Merlin's, you can bet their LBS isn't Merlin!

Not keen on the I-Drive's, but I've only ridden the cheaper ones, higher end ones are probably nicer. Have to agree with you Dylan on Marin's though, hugely over rated IMO.

klein palomino?

Newer I-drives are supposed to be Excellent, mine rides very nicely especially for a tank like freeride rig :)

Not a Spesh fan either, don't like 4bar back ends though.

Why a full suspension bike ?