ADVICE NEEDED BUYING MTB

my upraded caldera was knicked (see oh f**k posts)
seen 4x second hand bikes i,m interested in buying, good advice needed,
metalic burnt orange kona hoss delux, shimano, cable disc brakes, xt rear mech, hollowtech chainset, rst sus forks
kona kikapu full sus silver /black, cable discs,marzocci forks, bit scuffy but ok ish
gt avalanch 2.0,slx groupset, shimano hyd disc brakes, alex rims.rock shox forks,satin silver frame, bit of work needed but nothing to much,again just a bit worn.
now the one i liked a lot, giant xtc 4 , cream frame, totally std, hyd disc brakes, truvative chainset, deore rear mech, hutchinson tyres, its absolutly mint apart from seat wear where it has been scuffed againt garage wall, bloke who owned it rode it for a couple of summers then stored it because he stopped riding bikes,
realisticly i think its between the hoss & the xtc,
as they say on brainiac "but which is best"?, any advice appreciated
thanks , chris

Step one Chris - Take off capslock .there really is no need to shout

Step two-Are there new bikes youre talking about or 2nds ? Post up some links to each bike, a particularly lazy lot this .


Thing is .What do you like? do you have a preference at to a frame or fork or brake manufacturer ? Kind of need to narrow it down but then we're maybe not the best to pick the bike for you,that is something only you can decide upon :?

No experience of the Hoss, but I have an XTC 3, same frame as the 4.0 and reasonably light, you have to step up to the 2 to get the Aluxx SL which is lighter. Decent middle of the road machine.

post does say 2nd hand, like them all really but condition wise hoss and xtc 4 are best
hoss appears to be a bit of a mish mash as according to websites and especially kona
rst forks & cable brakes were not fitted, usually dirt jumper forks & hayes hyd brakes
think i,ll give that one a miss as i think someone has swapped the whole front end, bars & stem are cheapo ones too
strange how expensive kit is missing though,
prob buy the giant & upgrade bars stem & rear mech, think that will make me happy
thanks for the replies
chris g
sorry for the caps, didnt know it meant i was shouting

A lot depends on your intended use.

The hoss frame is aimed as a 'hardcore' hardtail but that doesn't mean it can't be used as normal. The rst forks and cable brakes don't seem right as said above.

Personally I'd be more tempted by the giant.

Personally I'd go with the Giant, although it does depend on what sort of riding you usually do, I'd avoid RST forks like the plague, unless they're XMOs or late 90's Mozo pros. The fact that the Giant has decent "history" and you're buying off the original owner would be a real plus for me, especially if they have the original manuals for the brakes, forks and full bike.

glad you agree with me , thanks for the advice ,cg