Cross the £1,000 barrier and the biggest choice you’ll face is whether to stick with a hardtail (a bike with front suspension only) or take the plunge and go for a full-susser. Because at this price point you can find outstanding examples of both.
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Of course, there are plenty more bikes for plenty more money, but from this point on every extra penny is only really buying you slightly less weight and slightly fewer compromises.
Frames at this price, whether hardtail or full-suss, are mostly aluminium but the odd carbon example will creep in. All brakes will be hydraulic and the suspension systems will be adjustable air-sprung units. The gears and drivetrain will typically come from the mid-range Shimano groupsets (SLX/Deore) with a few fancier items mixed in – Race Face or FSA cranksets, for example.
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Speaking of gears, the growing preponderance of single-chainring or ‘1x’ (one-by) set-ups in this price category, means less is often more. Without a second or even third chainring, you can do away with a front derailleur, cable, cable housing and shifter unit, which not only simplifies your set-up it also saves you a fair chunk of weight. And with wide range sprocket cassettes to compensate for the single ring, you’re unlikely to find yourself short of gears.
In short, you can expect your money to buy you a ‘serious’ mountain bike, whichever form it takes, and while the components may not be the top-of-the-range versions, they’ll be good pieces of kit that are more than up to the task.
Bird Zero AM2
- Transferable lifetime warranty on the bike’s aluminium frame
- Customisable build options from direct-sales model
- Slack front end comes into its own on rough downhills
Calibre Bossnut
- RockShox Sektor fork
- Great component spec
- Excellent straight out of the box
Pinnacle Iroko 3
- Well-made aluminium frame
- Long top tube/short stem combo make for great control
- Super responsive
Vitus Escarpe 290 VR
- 180mm rotors deliver stopping power to tame the 29er wheels
- Smooth front and rear suspension holds the trail
- A great value and complete package as it is — no need for upgrades
Orange Crush
- Huge grin-inducing fun factor
- Burly but easily chuckable
- Great frame geometry and strong reliable kit
Boardman FS Team 650b
- Decent suspension and component spec for the price
- Well-proven frame design
- Smooth and rapid handling
Haibike Freed 7.1
- Shimano XT/SLX/Deore transmission
- Benchmark Fox short-travel suspension fork
- A rapid, race-ready full-carbon frame
You can read more at BikeRadar.com
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