[Fotis Voutsas]

Hello everybody! So I am looking for a new bike. My current one is an Ideal hardtail with a coil spring suspension nothing too flashy... Im looking for a full suspension bike with 1x or 2x up front and also because I find myself changing my saddle like more than ten times in one ride a dropper post is a must (terrain is steep where I live so climbing is involved every ten to twenty mins).

>Budget:
1500 euros, (thats like the cap and it would be cool if I could spend less to buy more gear and tools)

>Bikes I am considering:
I liked some other that run out of stock so my last are:
https://www.merlincycles.com/marin-attack-trail-7-mountain-bike-2016-144268.html
https://www.merlincycles.com/marin-mount-vision-6-mountain-bike-2016-144462.html
https://www.evanscycles.com/en-gr/norco-fluid-fs-4-2019-mountain-bike-EV337727
I dont have any problem getting an older year bike but it has to be brand new and not used

>Type of riding:
I live in Greece where the terrain is either pretty good rocky singletrack or trails that look like paths that Frodo would take the ring to Mordor through em, so most of riders here have aggressive enduro bikes with longest possible travel. As said most of the trails are rocky or dry dirt and they are steep af!

>Im about 180-185cm tall and ~65kg

>Local bike shops tend to rip us off having bikes at very high prices for no reason or they just dont hava good looking bikes / good spec'ed bikes so im looking to buy online (but if we find a bike I will definately search for it here and then online).

>Also all my gear is black and red and the first marin bike which has green accents although it has killer specs imo it aint feeling very cool to me but that can be solved with new stickers or something!

 

[eb1888]

For the trail conditions you've described I pick the Vision 6. More travel and better fork.

 

[Fotis Voutsas]

Is the Vision 6 better than the Attack Trail 7? The Attack Trail has more travel though 160mm front and 150mm back. Are the suspension models better so the Vision is better?

 

[eb1888]

For me the Vision would be more versatile given the range of conditions you listed. It would be useful to see if the forks use the same shimmed based high speed compression and rebound damping(PCS-Piston Compensator System) as the versions on Suntour's current site. These are older models.

 

[Fotis Voutsas]

Also the Attack has maguras mt4 front back compared to the Vision's Shimano M445 and I will search for the air forks to see their specs! Thnaks for helping me I will update when I find more about the forks/shocks

 

[Fotis Voutsas]

After further search the two forks have the same PCS system, but the Attack has 160mm and the Vision 140mm
As for the socks the Attack has the SR Suntour DUAir LO-R with 150mm travel (i have heard good thing about this shock) and the Vision has a RockShox Monarch RL Debonair with 140mm travel! So considering the Attack also has magura mt4s compared to the shimano ones on the Vision isnt the Attack more of a better deal considering it is like 100 bucks cheaper? This money can go to tubeless sealant, valves, tubes etc!

 

[eb1888]

Looking more closely at the geo of the available Medium size leads me to ask about fit. At 180cm you're 5'11". The Attack has only 417.5mm of reach. The Vision has 425.4. Both are short by current standards and also by any standards. What is your actual inseam length? If you have long legs and a somewhat short torso for your height you may fit on the Vision without using a long stem. If you're 185cm or 6'1" you need a bike with more reach.

Make sure the forks from 2016 have the PCS system.

The Norco may be the only bike that you can get to fit. A Large may be your size in the Norco.

 

[Fotis Voutsas]

Right i should mention that! Yes I am tall for a medium size bike but atm Im riding a small size and i like it because i can throw the bike around! I dont know guess I am one of these dudes that likes to have a smaller bike! Also what is inseam lenght? I dont know about that

 

[eb1888]

Inseam is your leg length. A book between your legs like a saddle against a wall, measure down to the floor.

See if you can find the geo for your current bike to get a reach number for it.
Or ride some mediums and large bikes at a shop and find the reach for those.