Hey up! I'm after some advice on buying a new bike. I'm currently riding a full suspension trek ex5 and its perfect for trail centers but not so much for bikepacking and the wildcat 100 that i've signed up for.

My budget is about £800, I can stretch a tiny bit more if its the deal of a century.

The problem I have is I have no idea what I am looking for. I've been looking at cyclocross bikes as they seem to cover everything I am looking for (road use/bikepacking/Wildcat 100)

I was hoping someone can give me a point in the right direction and some real world advice/reviews before I spend my hard earned cash on something that's not right.

any suggestion will be welcome as I am becoming increasingly confused.

Salsa El Mariachi half price at £750 from Billys.co.uk (if they still have any) has to be worth a look for a versatile bike.

If you are looking for something more "crosser" then the Giant Revolt looks like a cheaper alloy Fargo. Not quite the full drop-bar MTB it will fit 50mm tyres apparently. Two models, one at £800 and the other a grand iirc.

I've been very impressed with the stuff from Pinnacle. The Ramin 29ers look really good value and most models are below budget.

http://www.evanscycles.com/products/pin ... 8#features

If you're not bothered about 29" wheels I'd see if Burty still has his 26" Inbred for sale in the classifieds. At £300 it was a real bargain.

I was originally looking at the pinnacle arkose. The reviews were pretty good but it's not a brand I've ever used or know anyone who has.

I'll have a look at burtys classified ad

I went from an ex 5 to a Croix de Fer £1150 (or a CDF at £850). I love mine, nothing it cant do. its been used for a coast to coast, loads of fire roads Chunks of the pennine bridleway and general trail bashing in the Peak. Planning for the wildcat and LeJog on it this year and to start commuting to work on it.

http://www.genesisbikes.co.uk/bikes/adv ... -sport/cdf

I was originally looking at the pinnacle arkose. The reviews were pretty good but it's not a brand I've ever used or know anyone who has.

Here's my Arkrose build, it's not the same spec as an off the shelf build but it'll give you an idea. The gearing has now changed but apart from that it's as it appears in the link.

http://bearbonesbikepacking.blogspot.co ... acker.html

s8tannorm wrote:

I was originally looking at the pinnacle arkose. The reviews were pretty good but it's not a brand I've ever used or know anyone who has.

Here's my Arkrose build, it's not the same spec as an off the shelf build but it'll give you an idea. The gearing has now changed but apart from that it's as it appears in the link.

http://bearbonesbikepacking.blogspot.co ... acker.html

How does it hold up against the Welsh hills and forrests?

I imagine its going to be a bit jittery in the rough stuff?

How does it hold up against the Welsh hills and forrests?

I imagine its going to be a bit jittery in the rough stuff?

It's not as bad as you might imagine but I think it possibly depends on where you're coming from, ie, whether you're used to suspension and large volume tyres.

At the moment I've got 35c fitted front and rear but I think there's room for 40c, although I've yet to try. It doesn't sound much but the extra tyre volume should cushion things a little more.

Setting the thing up so you can happily descend on the drops is a big thing in my mind too. When you look at most drop bar bikes intended for off road riding, the levers are set in a very compromised position (imo) ... so you can't comfortably brake from the hoods or the drops.

Anyway, back to the Arkrose ... The quality of the F&F is superb, there's lots of really nice touches that you might only expect to find on something costing much more. If I were considering buying a complete bike I'd give some very serious thought to the 2014 Arkrose 2. It's set up 1 x 10 with a 38 x 11/32, I'd stick a 36t cassette out back and off you go, looks ideal for bikepacking duties.

Coastkid is really enjoying his new CDF http://coastkid.blogspot.co.uk/2014/01/ ... first.html

Bought from here http://www.edinburghbicycle.com/products/genesis-cdf-13

For £699 in their sale.

Brian

BrianP wrote:Coastkid is really enjoying his new CDF http://coastkid.blogspot.co.uk/2014/01/ ... first.html

Bought from here http://www.edinburghbicycle.com/products/genesis-cdf-13

For £699 in their sale.

Brian

I'm really not sure about the cdf. I've no idea why but my initial thoughts about them are they seem to be bit more focused towards touring/bikepacking. I'm edging towards something a bit more road orintated as the majority of my weekend mileage will be road based mashed in with the odd bridleway here and there.

s8tannorm wrote:

How does it hold up against the Welsh hills and forrests?

I imagine its going to be a bit jittery in the rough stuff?

It's not as bad as you might imagine but I think it possibly depends on where you're coming from, ie, whether you're used to suspension and large volume tyres.

At the moment I've got 35c fitted front and rear but I think there's room for 40c, although I've yet to try. It doesn't sound much but the extra tyre volume should cushion things a little more.

Setting the thing up so you can happily descend on the drops is a big thing in my mind too. When you look at most drop bar bikes intended for off road riding, the levers are set in a very compromised position (imo) ... so you can't comfortably brake from the hoods or the drops.

Anyway, back to the Arkrose ... The quality of the F&F is superb, there's lots of really nice touches that you might only expect to find on something costing much more. If I were considering buying a complete bike I'd give some very serious thought to the 2014 Arkrose 2. It's set up 1 x 10 with a 38 x 11/32, I'd stick a 36t cassette out back and off you go, looks ideal for bikepacking duties.

That sounds almost perfect, but I'm not too sure if I'd miss the granny ring. Some of the hills around your end of the world are pretty meaty

That sounds almost perfect, but I'm not too sure if I'd miss the granny ring. Some of the hills around your end of the world are pretty meaty

£40 for a new chain ring and cassette?

A single ring is always going to be a compromise but off road so is a compact double.

My lbs was offering the forme cxs for a pretty good deal . I can't find many reviews for it but it seems pretty good, they also had the trek crossrip comp which I wasn't too impressed with.