hi folks, i've been lurking on the forum for a while, gathering lots of very useful info on bikepacking and i'm now ready to plan some trips later in the year. my work is running one of the cycle to work schemes, so i'm hoping to get myself a new bike soon.. my current bike is an older 90's mongoose xc bike which I now only use for keeping my fitness up and cycling to work.

i can only really afford to spend around £500 and I know my local dealer stocks the Trek Marlin that I quite like the look of.. http://www.trekbikes.com/uk/en/bikes/mo ... t/marlin/#

Any advice on this model please... oh and buying thru the CTW scheme does mean I'm restricted to the more popular brands unfortunately..

cheers
peter

Looking at the spec' there's a few bits that might need replacing fairly quickly depending how much you use it, ie, forks and brakes. Replacing those wouldn't have to cost a fortune though, rigid forks and cheap Shimano hydraulic discs maybe. The 8sp drivetrain would no doubt put some people off but in reality there's nothing wrong with it. It's an 11-34 set-up so you shouldn't be short of gears.

However the frame looks like something that's worth upgrading. When all said and done, pretty much any £500 bike's going to have certain compromises ... I think the secret's been aware of them.

1 last thing ... throw the pedals in the bin

over time I know people who have worked in bike shops (evans & specialiszed factory to name a couple of high profile ones). The bikes on the £300-£500 genrally speaking have the highest markup, then as you get more expensive, the markups actually decrease. The brand also makes a difference, specialized bikes have a hige markup and cube bikes a fairly low markup.
And like with everything, you do get what you pay for.
I would suggest you do some quick maths looking at the cheaper models and how much you'll have to spend on upgrades/maintenance compared to a model which already has these. If my company had CTW, I would use the whole £1k if I could.

Back to the bike, trek bikes are generally pretty solid

Thanks for the advice folks, much appreciated. I know there is a higher spec model called the Mamba, costs £700 tho. Might need to see if a deal can he done!

I have the 2011 singlespeed model. First thing I did (or rather Holey Trail did) was to replace both the forks and the brakes. So far, so good. Has coped well with a few bivvy trips and general use. Good, solid bike if you can find one cheap.

Don't be surprised if you don't wangle much of a deal - most bike shops get charged 10% of the sale fee by the company who runs the CTW scheme (e.g. cyclescheme) on behalf of your employer. Meant to ask - what's with the trek fixation - as the guys mention there are lots of other equally good/better brands out there and depending on your CTW scheme you're not actually restricted to your local bike shop. Have you also thought about shopping around for a last years model from one of the big companies like Evans ?

that's a good point zigrat... well the first bike i found was a specialized hardrock sport 29, but this didn't seem to get very good online reviews. i then just stumbled across the trek and liked the look of it. i think there's an evans up in Glasgow - so that opens up a can of worms I guess - can anyone recommend any particular make/model? budget's gotta be no more than 600, otherwise the wife will go nuts..

If I were shopping at Evans, wanted a 29er and didn't want to spend above £600, I'd give this Charge a serious look at. There still might be things you'd want to change over time but you're getting a fantastic steel frame as a foundation.

http://www.evanscycles.com/products/cha ... 3#features

When you're looking at the cycle to work scheme make sure you do your sums as you might not actually save that much overall. You'll probably have to pay full price as well, so shopping around for a deal and 0% might just be as good.

Up your budget slightly and go for the old favourate?
http://www.on-one.co.uk/i/q/YBCL265167/ ... __195_inch
No immediate need to upgrade anything

If I were shopping at Evans, wanted a 29er and didn't want to spend above £600, I'd give this Charge a serious look at. There still might be things you'd want to change over time but you're getting a fantastic steel frame as a foundation.

Or if the above didn't apply I'd just buy the On One as Chew suggests ^^^^

good advice, thanks a lot

just discovered that on-one bikes can be purchased through the cycle to work scheme..hmmmmm
http://www.on-one.co.uk/cycle-scheme

http://www.evanscycles.com/products/pin ... e-ec044226

We just got these in at Evans for £500 RRP if that's who you're buying on CS through, I can vouch for it but the fork as always is the weak point in hitting £500.. but discs are shimano hydros and it handles well. (disclaimer - I'm biased - I work on the Pinnacle bikes for Evans)
On-one are tough to beat on VFM tho... and the steel frame of the Charge is an ideal longer-term upgrade base.

thanks for that james. i notice that on-one make you pay the 10% charge for the C2W, so the cost rises to almost £900... just more than I can afford right now.

i get that cheaper bikes have lower spec components, but the prospect of upgrading a fork would mean a significant outlay in the future.. so.. what about a bike with a rigid fork, for example:

http://www.evanscycles.com/products/can ... e-ec042867

just noticed its single speed..

If you're happy to replace a sus' fork with rigid when the need arises, then it shouldn't need to be a massive expense. The Pinnacle looks like a good buy ... add £100 for a nice rigid fork and it still looks like a good buy.