Spending half of yesterdays ride swearing at my bike I've decided I really should bite the bullet and treat myself to a mid range bike.

I am thinking...

Orange Evo8 because it's pretty
Clock Because it's retro and I like steel
Kona Kula I like the Kona ride
P7 pro...If I buy a bike like this I'll need to buy the missus a trip to paris too
Kikapu to show I'm not averse to the full suspension option

Anyway these are the bikes I'm going to try out on pay day, hopefully one will just feel right for me but any suggestions for others? anyone know where I can ride one of On One 456's near wales? for instance.

In fact i really want that 456...it doesn't half look nice! might bin the bb7's though

i like the look of the p7 pro.. and the 456 looks nice aswell. id go for the p7,but what do i know about bikes

I've got a 456 and Kula and they're both great, but the Kula leans more towards your regular short travel XC bike.

I wouldnt bin the bb7's they are a fecking good brake,,

I can only tell you that the Tora 318 forks are pretty good indeed.

The P7 pro is probably the better bike from the list, but for the extra £300, you'd bloody expect so.

Of the rest, I reckon that all the hardtails are a bit more racey with the exception of the 456 which is a long travel fork trail bike. It's probably the one I'd pick for whay, where and how I ride.

Bit of input on what, where and how you ride and what bike you have at the mo would help.

Pretty much I'm a fairly bog standard weekend warrior of the XC singletrack variety, and any jumping etc I will jump on a BMX instead.

I'm leaning towards the P7 Pro or probably the P7S as its a good few hundred quid cheaper but I chucked it in because thats the very very upper end of the budget. £900-£1200

I can't really comment on my bike at the moment because it's simply crap well it's not it's a reasonably light Dawes Acoma with a spattering of upgrades, however, and I'm not blowing my own trumpet but it's increasingly apparent it's not holding up to what I'm putting through.

Things I can see the bike doing...long backcountry rides, perhaps maybe a little fun class races, quick technical xc.

Never riden a long travel hardtail before so without riding one I've nothing to go on but it might open up some scope to my riding so long as it didn't hold me back on my normal xc style.

about the avids, I can only say i've had nothing but hell from the mechanical disc brakes I've got on my current ride! well I call them brakes what I meant to say was two slivers of butter clamping down on a circular sheet of bacofoil.

Thanks for the opinions guys

The BB7 I'm running as a tester on the back is a great brake so far, bar a couple of 'frozen cable' moments last week - actually much better feel than the old hydraulic C2 it replaced, despite being mated to a shonky 7 year old lever out of the spares box.

Has to be the Clockwork, just for the paint job...

Yeah but it wouldn't be the same without XT thumbies and xlite barends :)

I'd just swap over the X-lite bar ends and thumbies from my current bike...

#fashion police mode#

Risers with bar ends!

Ok I've been in work for two hours now and so far I've decided to seriously look at the P7S get a "performance pack" and a new helmet and invest in some quality tools with the rest of my budget...

But which would you upgrade to

hope mono minis.
Hope hubs.
Fox Vanillas
Thompson Stem+carbonbars+Thomspson seatpost+fizik Gobi.

Hopefully I'll get some work done today too

I would consider all except the Thomson stuff downgrades.

really? fair enough I shall spend the extra 150 more wisely, the drivetrain perhaps.

I'd have thought going from deore hubs to hope hubs might have been the better of the options, or is it just that the deore hubs will go on and on and on?

Have a look at this month's MBR. They've done a wee group test on some £800 bikes. Might influence your decision a bit.

As for upgrades. I'd say forks, then brakes, then wheels, then drivetrain.

In all seriousness: I'd use Shimano XT hubs in preference to Hope regardless of price. Shimano and Formula brakes have justified reputations for silent, efficient and reliable stopping: Marzocchi and Rockshox produce forks that are every bit as good as Fox (if not better) at a fraction of the price. All IMO of course.

I had a Clockwork and a P7, and preferred the former. Completely different bikes, mind.

Aye, As welcome as the distraction from work is, I can't really make any decisions of note sat at a desk.

Have been looking at P7S myself - am booked in for a trst ride locally next month (don't ask).

The P7S got a very good review in MBR - it looks a bit heavy, and the spec is not amazing, but as other posters have said it all works from what i've heard.

Mind you, if you like the more stand out look, go for a Clockwork..