Comments on: Which mountain bike for under £1K

By: Anthony

Anthony — Wed, 25 Feb 2009 18:40:48 +0000

Hi James, yes I got the difference between then two, went down to Merlin to have a proper look the other week. Both got same geometry its just the malt is a fraction lighter and fancy tubing. Bloke in the shop basically said it comes down to which one you like the look of the best. Reckon I will go with the same as yours, glad to hear you are liking it!

I did like the Boardman, but just not quite sold on them.

You still ride the full suss or you converted?

By: James

James — Tue, 24 Feb 2009 08:26:44 +0000

I recently took delivery of my 2009 Rock Lobster from Merlin (aluminium). I am blown away at how nice it is to ride for a hardtail (I’ve just come off at full sus Commencal Meta 4). I think you’ve probably identified the difference between the Malt 4 (more race focused) and the Tig Team (more compliant, slightly heavier, all day trail bike). Either would be a great bike, so long as you choose the one that suits your riding.

The other option you may want to look into are the Boardman bikes. Updated for 2009, and probably the best spec at the price out of any bikes. Geometry is probably setup more towards a trail bike than XC race bike. Very light weight.

http://www.boardmanbikes.com/mtbht/ht_Pro.html

By: Anthony

Anthony — Mon, 09 Feb 2009 14:32:01 +0000

@kateC rode afew friends, soon wrote off full suspension. Rode a steelie and wrote that off. Now tried the two bikes from Merlin and reckon the black Rock Lobster is the way to go.

By: Anthony

Anthony — Mon, 09 Feb 2009 14:30:31 +0000

Hi Mick, Good to see you are reading! My mate has an Ornage P7, two may be a bit greedy though? Will give you a shout when I get the bike, maybe a bit of midweek riding when the weather is a bit better?

You at noonstones? Running much at the moment?

By: kateC

kateC — Sun, 08 Feb 2009 20:28:00 +0000

i think the best thing to do is test ride as many as you can