Mountain bike: whaddaya reckon?

[Kathy]

Our employer is bringing in a Cycle to Work scheme. I am thinking of using this to add to the stable and purchase a mountain bike to commute to work the interesting way once in a while.

I'm considering one of these (rrp around £650).

What do people think?

[hazeii]

Not familiar with that model (Myka HT, if I got that link to work right), but unlikely to go wrong with a Specialized - definitely go for a test ride first to make sure it fits you.

From the spec. that's a pretty robust (and fairly standard) build that would cope with going 'the interesting way' all the time, not just occasionally - only black mark in my book is it's an octalink BB which can be a problem longevity-wise.

[blackpuddinonnabike]

If it's the Myka Pro Edinburgh Bike Co-Op do it for £550 - though I would imagine a bike to work scheme is tied to a specific supplier.

As hazeii says, you can't go far wrong with Spesh. I like the Commencal range as well (not sure if they do women specific bikes though).

[Paul]

I think I saw similarly specced (front sus, Deore/LX transmission, hydraulic disk brakes) Scott mtbs in my LBS for about £550, but they weren't WSD.

But worth a look?

[bobajobrob]

I'd go for a steel MTB frameset like an on-one or cotic. After destroying my very robust aluminium framset with a big stress crack in the chain stay, I don't have much confidence in them anymore I did ride lots of rough trails on it though

[blackpuddinonnabike]

I'd go for a steel MTB frameset like an on-one or cotic. After destroying my very robust aluminium framset with a big stress crack in the chain stay, I don't have much confidence in them any more

Not gonna manage a Cotic build for a £650 total - well, not without going bargain basement on the parts. Frameset is £420 - I blew the £650 budget when I added the fork....

On-one do do deals on bikes every now and then (and I'm pretty sure are signed up to the Bike 2 Work scheme). Forget my mention of Commencal earlier - if you can put up with Brant the On-One frames are great.

[Kathy]

I think I saw similarly specced (front sus, Deore/LX transmission, hydraulic disk brakes) Scott mtbs in my LBS for about £550, but they weren't WSD.

But worth a look?

The bike has to come from Wheelies Direct (I believe there is a discount on the prices on top of the tax-break provided by Cycle To Work).

What's WSD?

[Dave]

Women's Specific Design (aka D4W)

Looks like a decent bike for the money. Steel frames are fine, but for a bike used "to commute the interesting way once in a while", no better than alloy. And as BPoaB said, you won't get a Cotic for that money anyway...

Deffo something you need to testride though. You may find that a Rockhopper or a Hardrock fits better.

[bobajobrob]

Not gonna manage a Cotic build for a £650 total - well, not without going bargain basement on the parts. Frameset is £420 - I blew the £650 budget when I added the fork....

'tis a nice frame fro the money though.

On-one do do deals on bikes every now and then (and I'm pretty sure are signed up to the Bike 2 Work scheme). Forget my mention of Commencal earlier - if you can put up with Brant the On-One frames are great.

The 456 looks like a good buy but they're out of stock at the moment

[bikenerd]

Deffo something you need to testride though. You may find that a Rockhopper or a Hardrock fits better.

+1 for that.  My girlfriend's sister has just bought a new bike and looked at the Myka.  She went for a men's Rockhopper in the end, though, as she was more comfortable on it.
As for steel bikes: my Pipedream Sirius cost £850, only £200 of which was the frame!  Genesis do the Altitude 00 (Reynolds 520 main triangle, no-name rear) at £570.

[PhilO]

I think I saw similarly specced (front sus, Deore/LX transmission, hydraulic disk brakes) Scott mtbs in my LBS for about £550, but they weren't WSD.

But worth a look?

The bike has to come from Wheelies Direct (I believe there is a discount on the prices on top of the tax-break provided by Cycle To Work).

There wasn't when I bought my Orange P7 from Wheelies on the scheme - my employer used a small administrator, though, rather than Cyclescheme so you may find differently.

I'd agree with the others - any hardtail in that price range is going to be pretty good, and the choice is really one of personal component preferences, and 'does it fit'?

FWIW, the brakes and forks are both good. The groupset is solid, reliable mid-range stuff.
I disagree that Octalink BBs have any issues - I have an Octalink XT chainset on my On-One and that is on (I think) it's third BB after about 8 years. And it doesn't get mollycoddled...

Besides, a replacement is less than £15, anyway.  

ETA: I also agree that a men's bike may fit better. You need to try it out. Remember, though, that WSD bikes don't only have different geometry; they often also have softer sprung forks and smaller levers/grips. In fact, some use the same frame as the men's, and only make the bolt-on changes. Which suits you is a matter of your size and build.

[blackpuddinonnabike]

Not gonna manage a Cotic build for a £650 total - well, not without going bargain basement on the parts. Frameset is £420 - I blew the £650 budget when I added the fork....

'tis a nice frame fro the money though.

And only £400 when I got it - before they were famous like...   Very very nice frame - if/when it ever breaks I'll likely try and replace it with the same, in the meantime no need for another MTB.

Back to the OP - I like the Orange bikes at that place, but as Dave says, can't beat a test ride just to see what suits you.

[ABlipInContinuity]

Kathy,

I think it's a fine choice if you need a ladies frame.

• D4W (Designed for women) = Specialized.
• WSD (Women specific design = Trek.
• Scott tend to label there ladies bikes with 'Contessa' (Someone not very far from me would quite like one of these..).
• Kona tend to label there ladies bike with Lisa.

I'll echo what Dave said. It maybe a gents version fits you better. It really does depend. Some women do need a ladies frame. Other's don't.

[andym]

At the £650 pricepoint you won't get a Cotic MTB (unless you've got loads of spare bits for it), but could get a Cotic SS Roadrat fully built.  Would need to tinker with the spec. All depends on what the terrain is like on "the interesting way".

No experience of spesh, so can't help there.

Another option would be Cube. They get pretty good reviews, and tend to have pretty good spec for the price.  Tricky to find in UK, and I think the UK importer is in Netherlands?  Genesis/Ridgeback could be another option (more readily available in in UK I expect).

Cotic is very sweet though

[tonycollinet]

Looks like a nice bike. I am riding a rockhopper comp disk 2007 version, and really like it.

The only aspect of the alu frame I am not happy with, is that I have managed to strip the threads in two of the bosses.

[Frenchie]

I am not in MTB at all, but Rockhopper is the name that regularly comes around.

[CathH]

Rockhopper, rockhopper, rah-rah-rah.  My trusty commuting steed for the last couple of years nearly and the only thing that's needed replacement is the chain.

[Paul]

The bike has to come from Wheelies Direct

From that website, in the same price range as the spesh you were looking at, and WSD aside:

This looks neat, and Charge seems to be 'in' at the moment. Plus it's steel.

I've always liked the idea of the headshock. It's just so sensible.

But for WSD (etc), in the same page, it's a toss-up between the Scott and the Kona. The Kona might just win, 'cos I always thought they were cool.

[PhilO]

I noticed in Tesco this morning, that Singletrack have a WSD grouptest in the current issue. I didn't look to see what price range they were covering, but it might be worth a look.

[bobajobrob]

This looks neat, and Charge seems to be 'in' at the moment. Plus it's steel.

Very nice, have also spotted a rigid version for 500 quid Bargain. There's not much point in having bouncy forks on a commuter, so fit some Panaracer Pasela tyres anna saddle bag and off you go.

[Paul]

Very nice, have also spotted a rigid version for 500 quid Bargain.

Yes, except:

The bike has to come from Wheelies Direct.

But luckily (if suspension isn't necessary for the interesting route)

[bobajobrob]

Yes, except:

The bike has to come from Wheelies Direct.

Oops, missed that bit.

But luckily (if suspension isn't necessary for the interesting route)

 

[Kathy]

Thanks for your input, people. I quite fancy front-suspension, on account of my arms being juddered to bits using the Pompino as an off-roader. The "interesting" route can include Box Hill...

[Craig]

I noticed in Tesco this morning, that Singletrack have a WSD grouptest in the current issue. I didn't look to see what price range they were covering, but it might be worth a look.

They're all from about £1000 upwards, and all full suspension. Though the Orange Five Diva does look rather nice (for £2200).
Probably still some useful general advice about women specific bikes.

[Zoidburg]

IIRC cant you get an on one inbred or similar on the bike to work scheme?