[fireyfoo54]

Hi i'm looking for an amtn bike at max £1200 and I was looking at either the marin alpine trail, Kona dawg or a last yrs deal on a specialized enduro. what are your opinions on these bikes and do you know any good alternetives to them less than £1200.
cheers Pete

 

[Bombardier]

I don't really care for the Enduro's interrupted seat-tube, and after having ridden both a Horst-Link bike, and a VPP bike, I think the Horst-Link is not all it's cracked up to be.
However, I don't see any reason why you'd pass one up with a good parts spec for the right price.

I'd suggest the Kona Dawg, as you get durability and decent parts with a simple & proven suspension design for a decent price.

I dunno about the Marin, never rode one.

 

[lakasbraso]

i have an enduro and very happy with it. However there are some minor parts that's just needed to be replace i.e. seat post and may be BB. I ride X-country with some aggressive downhill and this bike has been very forgiving and kept me upright up to this date. It's a little loud on the decent, it makes that annoying sound. I got mine for a really good price cuz it was an older model excess.

I don't have any experience with the other two bikes but I find kona owners to be very loyal and proud of their bikes. It must mean something. goodluck.

 

[JustFuzzIt]

If you dont bind the interupted seat tube go with the enduro. Ive had lots of experience with this bike and no problems.

Sometimes bikes dont have an interupted seat tube but has stuff sticking into it so it cant go down further than a certain point due to suspension pivots and stuff.

 

[Dawg Fu]

1200 pounds is about US$2200 currently, right? For that amount you could buy a 2006 Dawg Deluxe and make the following upgrades and have plenty left over for food.

* Change stem to Thomson 80mm x 15deg. (or thereabouts)
* Change seatpost to Thomson Elite
* Change saddle to WTB Laser V Ti (or your preference, of course)
* Change tires to WTB Timberwolf 2.5 front and Panaracer Cinder 2.25 rear (or your favorites)
* Change bars to Azonic World Force 1.5" rise
* Add Oury Lock-On grips
* Buy a 3L Camelbak, patch kit, pump, spare tube, bottle of Dumonde Tech chain lube

All of the above made me one of the happiest riders I know. Many hundreds of dirt miles later I'm still grinning. My souped up Dawg and I are inseparable.

Or for US$100 more you could just go for the Dawg Primo and have a better fork.

 

[fireyfoo54]

but the dawg delux is £1500 in uk thats £300 over budget

 

[uktrailmonster]

Well I'd bin the Marin first off that list. I quite like the Enduro, but I'd probably go with the Dawg for it's simple no messing rocker layout. Cool bike.

 

[856er]

You really need to test these bikes on your prefered terrain before parting with your hard earned cash,
at the moment the Dawg is the cheapest if your budget is of concern,quick search and found one for £999,the Marin most likely will have a better spec and there warranty is first rate,doubt you will go far wrong with any that you have mentioned,you could hold on a little longer and you may be able to pickup a blowout bargin, but whatever you do test them first because whatever is one man's ideal bike can be another man's lemon.

 

[Webtoes]

I concur with 856er. I own a Dawg and love it. But everyone is different. The best advice anyone can give you is to test ride the bikes in question. Only you can decide what bike is best for you. Besides, you will only get biased opinions from said bike owners anyway.

 

[mzungo]

I concur with 856er. I own a Dawg and love it. But everyone is different. The best advice anyone can give you is to test ride the bikes in question. Only you can decide what bike is best for you. Besides, you will only get biased opinions from said bike owners anyway.

I just bined my Dawg for a Giant Reign ....can be bought well cheap, is lighter, quicker, plusher,better climber,better downhiller, can be had in the uk for as little as £850

 

[fireyfoo54]

Actually I rented the dawg for a 10 mile ride and thought it was really good but I haven't tried the other bikes yet - better get testing I will look at the giant reign aswell but I dont think I have any dealers nearby

 

[MattyBoyR6]

I recently bought a Marin Wolfridge. I was lookin at the Dawgs as well but the wolfridge came better spec'd. Climbs a hell of a lot better than I expected, very well in fact. Took it DH at the local ski resort and had no problems. I like it, but probably would have liked the Dawg as well.

 

[elivingston]

I don't have an Enduro, but I do have 3 other Specialized bikes (Epic, Stumpy, P3)... I can't say enough good things about them. I'd go with the Enduro.