When you've tried both you'll realize front suspension is what you want...

Also, the black cannondale from the picture is basically a racing bike with flat handlebars. This means it is geared towards speed (35kmh +) and not so much towards climbing. A mountainbike like the Trek's I suggested is more geared towards climbing (meaning it has very low gears which make it easier to climb hills) and not so much towards speed (around 35kmh max).

If you're not able to sustain 30kmh and higher kinds of speeds you're better off with the lower gearing of a mountainbike

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Look.
A bike is made of "components".
The total price of the bike is not the "sum" of the separate components but sold as a "whole". Example that Bad boy from canondale must have x and y components. But the "selling price" is not the "sum" of those parts.
Apparently it's definitely not good value for money- As other have also said here.

But you can get an idea by googling the parts!
Example:

Shimano XT Shadow

Gives:
http://www.bikeradar.com/gear/catego...mech-08-22860/

So I know that parts cost approx 45GBP.


Of course don't do that for the whole bike- but only the main components to give you an idea....

Like front suspension-


Or just pick a bike that was selected as good in the bike magazines.That will be a good start!

Anyway I suggest you start with a crappy bike to understand what it is!

I remind you again that even a 10 000CHF bike can be ruined in months if not well taken care of!

I have the same issue, I want to copy both of you in the price range of 300-700 CHF And I need 2 bikes; one for me and one for my wife.

999chf list - great bike for your needs
http://www.specialized.com/ch/de/bc/...rt+%2F+Fitness

599chf list - good bike but no disc brakes - maybe not an issue if you're not riding in the wet/mud
http://www.specialized.com/ch/de/bc/...cname=Freizeit

bit more mountain bike style - 1199chf i think list
http://www.specialized.com/ch/de/bc/...000&scname=MTB

don't get city slick tyres if you're riding on gravel...

Awful specced bike for 809 EUR... this Canyon Yellowstone series blow it out of the water http://www.canyon.com/_en/mountainbi...llowstone.html

sure canyon are great value for money!
but...
they don't ship to CH anymore
something goes wrong send it back at your cost
no bike for a while with servicing as many local bike shops won't service them
etc.

so they're not without their hassles or risks either... if you value aftersales local service then a local bike shop can sometimes save money in the long run

but essentially i agree canyon are the best spec'd bikes for the money...

Are the tracks you'll be riding on rough? Full of pot holes, kerbs, rocks? If so you definitely want front suspension.

If, however, they're all Swissified and are pretty smooth or packed, don't bother with suspension. On a cheapish bike, it'll need replacing after a couple of years as it starts to wobble.

Reduce vibration on your hands by (a) putting comfy rubber things over the ends of your handlebars and/or wear goves.

http://www.wiggle.co.uk/cycle/bar-grips/

Gloves are useful if you fall as they'll stop gravel rash.

Did you want to borrow a bike first for a few days? I've got one I can lend you. And, as I edited above, ride all the way. Don't pansy out and get a tram when you're so close and near the easy riding of smooth roads.

There's expensive models where you can "lock" the front suspension.
it gives flexibility

(poor guy I'm affraid he's going to buy a car now )

Actually the point of gloves is to cushion your hands from vibration and also to stop your sweat making you hands slippery on the bars. They're far too thin to offer more than minimal protection in a fall.

There's even more expensive models where you don't need to lock the suspension as it does it for you!

Hmm, this thread made me think about getting myself a new bike. My Scott Scale 60 is cracking on for 5 years old now and I wouldn't mind getting an upgrade. What would you guys recommend in the 1500.- price range MTB? I would use it more for XC biking than out-and-out MTBing and deffo not downhill madness. There's a local Specialized dealer with a great reputation. Worth checking out?

Not true, a bike is a bike and if you give an LBS money they'll service anything. There aren't too many proprietry components that would cause issues with Canyons. The only problem would be if something broke that was propriety and Canyon can not send it into the country. There are ways around this though, like get the part sent to you and bring it to the bike shop to have them fit it. (or DIY!)
You won't beat Canyons value for money at that budget. Lately I've been supporting an LBS a lot as he gives great value for money on the equipment I need, but no LBS here will be able to match the value for money for lower budgets that Canyon offers.

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Interested in skiing, Snowboarding or Mountain Biking in Switzerland? Information in English available here.

Any opinion on Merida bikes? A friend of mine has a retail outlet in the UK and his Trail bikes are Meridas. If possible, I'd like to give him the business, if it's worth it.

Let me try

http://cgi.ebay.de/KROSS-LEVEL-A6-DI...item7b67d05a62

Euro- 799 .. should have it for like 600 euro after negotiations + tax return

(it's not to open discussion which one is better and why until there is significant difference I missed).

cheers
hoover

Sorry I'd still take Canyon, you'll get a similar specced Canyon for 699 and they even have one that is not that much worse for 599. You'll still get the VAT back. At this point they have a volume that you won't beat. The frames are basically free. I know people who ride more niche bikes who have considered buying canyons because it's cheaper to buy the whole bike and ditch the frame than to buy a group set.

Put that along with the fact that their frames are actually quite good and you have a winning combination in my book.

By the way I reckon it is open to discussion, we're talking about a difference of 100 or 200 Euro which is a pretty large percentage of the over cost at this price point.

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Interested in skiing, Snowboarding or Mountain Biking in Switzerland? Information in English available here.

I need a new bike, just for city riding, my old el cheapo mountain bike isn't cutting it and has started falling to bits. Many of the city bikes I've seen only have 3 gears, I'm used to 15, though to be fair tend to avoid routes where I would need the lower ones plus I've noticed I seem to go very much slower than most people, even downhill ; either they're all much fitter than me (highly likely), or I have the wrong tyres and my el cheapo's too heavy for city biking.

Aaaanyway, I'd ideally like to get it sorted this Saturday. Going back to Carlos' question, there are roughly a billion bike shops in Basel, anyone have any recommendations? I had a quick look in Athleticum the other day but didn't like the look of any they had in there. I don't need super high spec sporty business and don't want to be fiddling about with fitting my own bits (am a girl, don't do that stuff), but do want a decent, reliable, not too girly one. Wouldn't mind buying second hand.

Also I heard about a velomarkt/boerse in Basel in June near Barfi - is it worth waiting for that? Anyone have any details?

one more small detail to keep in mind when buying a MTB for sporty use. There's two systems to operate the gears, Shimano uses the two levers while SRAM uses the twist-grip.

I hate the twist-grips as they become very difficult to operate when your hands get sweaty and slippery...

Not true, SRAM has an option of using gripshift, but more often their triggers are button release like Shimano. Shimano doesn't have a grip shift option, but it's not fair to say that SRAM only has this option.

The only difference between SRAM triggers and Shimano triggers is that the Shimano trigger can be dropped to a smaller cog by pushing or pulling the button, SRAM only works with pushing. This is not an issue for most people though and they can use both systems without any issue.

So, I tried a couple of different bikes, including a Trek bike and another brand that I can't remember the name of.

Last time I seriously owned and rode a bike was when I was a student and the few years after, before I could afford a car. Anyways, suspension was radical and disc brakes a thing of the future. The point I'm trying to get to is one bike I tried had V brakes, the other disc, and quite honestly the V brakes were better. Am I missing something?

(Both bikes were similar spec and priced 1300 CHF)

Another option over in Lörach: http://service.synapplix.de/cgi-bin/...ml?id=snGvIIK3

Was there yesterday - had some good offers and with the tax savings pretty hard to beat. To be honest, I'm guessing I'll be heading this way myself to pick up a bike at a fraction of the cost of what I can get in CH.

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I don't think you really need disk brakes unless you are doing MTB races.

My City/Commuter bike has Canti Levers that according to some "experts" are old and weak technology, but I have set them up with a quite strong stopping power, I could set them even stronger but then I don't want to fly over my handlebars whenever I brake