Time to try Full Suspension

I have had a great summer building up a second hand Coyote HT3 as my genral duty bike, whilst my original HT3 has spent its summer on the turbo trainer helping me restore my knees to full working order (plus I have lost half a stone without changing my diet).

Now it is time to add a trail bike to my collection, never having had a F/S bike I really fancy one. I have been searching for a Coyote XC2 for a while now with no look so I am spreading my net to other brands.

GT iDrive was my first foray, but I am unsure about serviceability of the iDrive and overall weight. I won't be doing downhill so a F/S XC bike is what I really want. This led me to Marins offerings and I really like the look of them (equally as important as overall ability to me).

I have discounted the Specialised F/S due to complexity nd parts avilability, pro flex equally seem to be a bit obscure on part availability.

So Marin is my current brand of choice, and it must have disk tabs. Question is do I go for the original single pivot or the quad link? I don't want a 40lb monster and I want something with longevity in the bearings and bushes.

Any advice would be appreciated, bearing in mind I hve already attempted to buy 2 today but both vendors were somewhat reluctant to barter!

Re:

I'd defo keep away from the GT's. I had a 1999 I-Drive from new and hated it.

Marin wise I'd go for the Quad link bike. My friend had a mid 2000's one that was decent enough and not heavy at all. Saying that, he then got a later (2009?) Wolf Ridge that was a real lead weight although the suspension itself was great and much better than his earlier one.

What's your budget? That will be key.

If you want simplicity and performance a mid to late 2000's Orange 5 would fit the bill.

Single pivot is dead simple and parts are available.
Never tried the quad but I guess they wouldn't make it worse?
Have a mount vision frame available if you're interested....

Thanks for the input BL023, Orange seem to be priced too high for my tastes. RickTC of course I am interested, I want a F/S and I like assembling my own bikes, just sometimes it makes more financial sense to buy a complete bike - PM me.

Giant trance would be my choice, great frames and cheap as chips in 26", run with 130mm fork.

I also have one if interested but only after going 27.5!

If you don't mind having to buy new wheels, I'd look into the 650b+ options.

Go to a local bike shop and see what they've got up for demo. I raced a Santa Cruz Bantam, and despite my bias against new bikes, I thought it was great! It was really smooth, and I also liked the adjustability of the shocks. One downside was the 27.5" wheels, I prefer 26".

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I hear what you are saying about the new bikes guys, I have already been to J E James and had a good look around. Many of my colleagues have bought new bikes on the cycle to work scheme but none of them enthuse me like the late 90s early 00s bikes. Plus the £1k bike always has the £1.5k bike next to it, right alongside the £2k bike and I wouldn't be happy with the cheaper option. Realistically though I can't justify that level of expense for the type of riding I will want it for.

I accept they will be better in almost every respect, other than aesthetically to me! This isn't a bike for serious riding just for me to indulge myself, plus I never really feel a bike is mine unless I have assembled it (or at least rebuilt it).

I think I am stuck on a Marin with the Ovation tubing, so early 00's with disk tabs on the swing arm. There are a few on Ebay right now but all seem to be miles away from me, so I either keep looking or plan a road trip..

Why not look for a Santa Cruz superlight? Single pivot design not too heavy plus lots of good reviews.

Those early full suss Marin mount visions do look good mind.

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Good call on the Santa Cruz, it was another I was considering although up to yet I haven't found one I can afford. Up until today I was struggling to find a Marin though and all of the sudden I seem to have a choice so perhaps a Santa Cruz will pop up also.

Got to admit though the Marin is looking likely and I wouldn't be surprised if I have one at the end of the week .