What should I get, an Avanti or Felt?

[Krizto]

Hi People,

I'm new here and currently looking at getting myself and new MTB. The two I'm tossing up between are the Avanti 05 Barracuda and the Felt Q850. Both have similar features and around the same price mart $1,050 - $1,150.

Just wondering what everyone's thoughts are and if there is something else I should be look at around the same $$$'s? I did like the look of one of the Giants however a guy I work with has talked me out of them.

Cheers, Chris.

[24seven]

Hi Welcome to Farkin.

I would personally either reconsider the Giant or get the Avanti Barracuda. I had a 03 or 04 Barracuda and it was great for me to get back into riding so it should be fine for you. Having said that I would have a look at the Giant XTC3. Not 100% sure if this in your price range but it should suit your needs.

Check out the Giant website here: http://www.giant-bicycles.com/au

I've recently bought a Giant Reign 2 and so far love it but some people do seem to hate Giant.

Good luck and happy trails.

[Drizz]

Some people dislike Giant because they have an image that its a "cookie cutter" brand. To me I have a Reign 2 also and find it great. Test ride it, you be surprise how bias people can be sometimes.

Dun forget Kona as well! Their hardtails are bomb proof!

[Fatman]

Dude, to be honest, put a blindfold on and sit on a couple of different bikes. Don't just go for the brand name as it might not be the bike you want.
Obviously you need to take component spec into consideration but frames are a personal thing. I only ride GT's or Cannondale hardtails because I love the way they feel. I could have got a far better specced Giant for less money than the Dale but the frame felt crap to me. You may find something different from the brands you have been recommended feel better. There are quite a few hardtail manufacturers out there, don't feel shy about going and trying a few out. Thats what bike shops are there for. In the end it's better to have a rig you are comfortable on than one your mates think are cool but are crap to ride. My 2c.

[Pete J]

Heya! You probably couldn't go wrong with either of them i'd say. Maybe you should do what Fatman said and do the blindfold test! Or better yet try and test ride them both with as little time between rides as possible. That way anything you like or dislike comparatively will be obvious immediately.
Personally i think the Felt range of bikes is quite good value for money and seem to rate very well in tests that i have seen in magazines.

[Krizto]

Thanks for the feed back buys :D

Just one question and this is going to sound dumb but hey, I'm learning: What is a "hardtail"? I'm guessing you're refering to a type or frame maybe :confused:

I'm headding over to Ringwood this morning to try out the Avanti and then on the way in to work I'm going to have a crack at the Felt then this afternoon I'll jump on the Giant and see what feels best like you said.

The Giant I was looking at was the Iguana and for the price seemed like a nice bike but like I said I'm kinda new to all this.

My current bike is a '97 Mongoose Maneuver DX3.1 so its really time for an update. I did a ride earlier this year from Rye down to Sorento and it went fine I junt found even in 21st gear the bike wasn't producing much speed, the brakes took forever to stop me and the frame was a little small .... didn't think I had grown that much in 8 years :rolleyes:

Well I'll let you know how I go and hope to catch up with some of you on a patch of drit around Melbourne.

Thanks again for your input!

Cheers, Chris.

[hdtvkss]

Thanks for the feed back buys :D

Just one question and this is going to sound dumb but hey, I'm learning: What is a "hardtail"? I'm guessing you're refering to a type or frame maybe :confused:



yup your right a hardtail is a type of frame. basily defined by having front suspension and no rear suspension.

cheers

[johnny]

G'day mate, welcome aboard the Farkin train.

I know nothing about the bikes you've mentioned. But I do own a Felt myself (epo XC) and have been VERY happy with it. I'd definately buy another one!

Also, there is a mountain bike slang page here somewhere. Search under "slang" and you'll find it. Might help you out with some of the vocab ;)

[aaron01]

For my money I'd be looking @ the giant xtc3, have seen them as cheap as $900 recently & they are quite well speced with the exception of the forks (Judy TT) which should work well for you till you upgrade. But basiclally the base package is pretty damn good, great frame geometry & good equipment which should see you riding well into future. I know alot of the DHill guys are buying them & using them for trainning & as far as I know have had no problems to date.

[Krizto]

Well a little update for you, after spend a good hour at Goldcross this afternoon and then again another 45mins back with my misses, we've decided on the following .............. I think:

For Him - GT Avalanche Expert
For Her - GT Avalanche 2.0 DISC

We're getting a handy 10% discount with the RACV card which brings the total price down from $2,128 to $1,915. We're also getting some new helmets and a rack for the car. I have to get proper MTB shoes and have picked out a nice pair of Shimano's (SH-MT30).

We're now just gotta finalise sizes, etc. then its off to GC again :D

I might have some pic's up in the "My Ride" section soon.

Cheers, Chris.

[24seven]

Just had a look on the GT website at the bikes your getting. They look great for getting into the sport. I hope everything goes well with getting them and that you enjoy your riding.

Looking forward to the pics.

[Drizz]

GT Expert is nice, it will last you a while. Your wife's bike is cool for getting her into the sport, but she might be hit with a bout of upgradeitis if she takes up MTBing seriously. ;)

[johnny]

Yeah nice one mate, post 'em up when you get 'em ;)

[grumpy rooster]

I've got an 02 Avalanche 0.0 with some upgrades and love it.

I'm a big fan of GT bikes.

[Drop_Bear]

Heya Kris,

Welcome to the boards. I was recently in the same boat as you as I was tossing up between the XTC 2 and the Avanlanche Pro (slightly more expensive than yours) but I also looked at the XTC 3 and Avalanche Expert. For the price the Avalanche is great value and the frame is super tough though the I liked the feel of the XTC's so I opted for an XTC 2. The component spec on the expert is pretty nice coming with Egg Beater Candy's and SRAM X.9. Better than the LX/XT set up of the giant xtc 3 in my opinion. The GT's are a little on the heavy side but make up for that with toughness. My Giants a Cross Country MACHIINNNNEE but your GT will take far more punishment (Which it's bound to get if you havent ridden in a while).

However, it might be worth your while to shop around and try to get a better rpice (althought it seems like a good deal to me) as I did this and I was able to save myself a few hundred wingwangs and got a much better service deal than the bigger shops. I know that Goldcross in Croydon (not far from Ringwood) are moving and having a 25 % sale on remaining stock (Not much left but worth a shot) and with Christmas coming up lots of the smaller stores will be having sales so shop around. Plus with 2006 just around the corner all of the 2005 models will have to be sold and you could scoop up a real bargain. Hope this helped.

Droppy

[Krizto]

Well here I go for the second time .... bloody Internet Explorer decided to refresh the page didn't it and I lost the novell I had written :mad:

Basically it came down to the GTs and the Avanti's and after the youg fella at Goldcross being a little too honest, Dinah and I went for the following:

Dinah's Ride: Avanti Atomic in Hot Orange

http://www.avanti.co.nz/images/stories/bikeimages/06_Atomic_Lrg.jpg

Frame 7005 Formed Alloy with Replaceable Hanger, Integrated Head Tube
Fork RST CAPA T6 76mm Travel
Brake Levers Shimano EF29-8 Black
Brakes Tektro IO Disc
Shifters Shimano EF29 24spd
Front Derail Shimano Acera
Rear Derail Shimano Alivio
Crankset Shimano FC-MC08, 22-32-42
Bottom Bracket Shimano BB-UN26 Cartridge
Chain KMC IG31
Pedals Resin with Clips & Straps
Headset Zero Stack 1-1/8"
Stem Alloy Ahead
Bars Alloy Riser
Hubs Joy Tech alloy disc QR front and rear with Cassette
Cassette Shimano CS-HG30 11-30 8spd
Spokes Stainless Steel
Rims/Wheels Alex DM18 Double Wall Black
Tyres Kenda Kinetics 26 x 2.10
Seat Post Alloy 31.6mm Micro Adjust
Saddle Avanti Dual Density Comfort Sport

Chris' Ride: Avanti Barracuda in Midnight Black

http://www.avanti.co.nz/images/stories/bikeimages/06_Barracuda_Lrg.jpg

Frame 7005 Alloy Full DB, Integrated Head Tube, Smooth Welding
Fork Manitou Axel Elite FFD 100mm Travel
Brake Levers Shimano Deore BL-525 Hydraulic
Brakes Shimano BR-M525 Hydraulic Disc
Shifters Shimano Deore 27spd
Front Derail Shimano Deore
Rear Derail Shimano XT
Crankset Shimano FC-M470 Spline, 22-32-44
Bottom Bracket Shimano Deore Spline BB-ES30
Chain Shimano CN-HG53
Pedals Shimano PD-M505 Clipless
Headset Zero Stack 1-1/8"
Stem Alloy Ahead 31.8mm
Bars Alloy Riser 31.8mm
Hubs Shimano M-495 Alloy Disc Front & Rear w/Centre Lock
Cassette Shimano CS-HG50 11-32 9spd
Spokes Stainless Steel
Rims/Wheels Alex DP20 Disc Rim, Single Eyelet
Tyres Specialized Fast Trak Sport 26 x 2.0
Seat Post Alloy 31.6mm Micro Adjust
Saddle Selle Italia XO Trans AM

As for the price, well Steve did a nice deal for us. The Atomic was dropped from $599 down to $520 and the Barracuda was dropped from $1,499 down to $1,300. He has also offered us 15% off all accessories plus will fit our computers which were bought from Goldcross for nothing.

We still have to get a couple of drink bottles and holders each, halmets, car rack, and I also need shoes.

Goldcross have the Shimano SH-MT30's for $115 less 10% = $103.50

http://www.shimano.com.au/publish/content/australia/en/cycling/products/shoes_and_pedals/mountain_shoes.ProductPar.0007.Image.306.275.gif

Le Cross have the Shimano SH-MT40's for $125 less 15% = $106.25

http://www.shimano.com.au/publish/content/australia/en/cycling/products/shoes_and_pedals/mountain_shoes.ProductPar.0005.Image.306.275.gif

So again not 100% sure which way to jump there. I like the 30's as they're more of a casual looking shoe but will try them on during the week to see which I like better.

Well thats about all for now. The bikes will be ready for pickup on Wednesday afternoon but I wont get there until Friday afternoon at this stage and then on Saturday I've got my 25th party:D

Will get some pic's up once they're all decked out :cool:

Cheers, Chris.

[Drizz]

Hi Kris:

Goldcross gave you a good deal!

One suggestion: You might want to upgrade Dinah's pedals to SPDs or flats. Toe-clip is terrible on trails, SPDs has a better feel.

[Krizto]

It was actually Le Tour Cycles in Ringwood that gave us the deal. The GT's were at Goldcross and we were 50/50 between them at the Avanti's at Le Tour Cycles. We went back to Goldcross yesterday and the sales assistant basically pushed us away from the GTs and to the Avanti's .... very strange a sales assistant would push you toward their competitors product but he was up front and honest about it all which was good.

The reason's we went for the Avanti over the GT was the Avanti has a stronger frame, all Shimano components, toughter shocks and we could get a better deal on it ... not that I let $$$ come in to the decision making but it was kinda like the final turner.

Aparently Goldcross don't stock many Avanti's is because their buy price of them is too high. For example, a $1,500 Avanti might cost them $1,200 where as a $1,500 GT might cost them $900-$1,000. Thus when it come to closing the sales by dropping the price or building a package deal, they can't do as much with the Avanti's as they can with the GT, Giants, etc.

YES! This is what the Goldcross sales assistant told us! He was a really nice young bloke but not a expert in closing the daal. When I walked in there I was 95% set on the GT but after having him basically say the Avanti was a better unit and telling me the above, the choice was clear.

I still perfer the look of the GT however the Avanti is really nice too. Also I noticed the exact same product at Goldcross was more then at Le Tour Cycles. For example there is a nice black A frame rack I'm getting with valcrow strape for three bikes. At Goldcross it was $145 less 10% discount where as at Le Tour Cycles it was $125 less 15% discount. Like I said above I didn't let $$$ be a deciding factor but when you put everything together we're getting what I can see a better product for almost $500 less ... kinda hard to go past it.

Steve at Le Tour has ordered the bikes and they are suppose to be ready for pickup on Wednesday and when Dinah and I go down to get them, he'll put on things like bottle holders, pumps, etc. and even the computers which we bought elsewhere for nothing ... thats service! We also get a free full service after 12 months and I'll be sure to take the bike back there every 6-12 months for a service to keep them in tip top condition. Also Le Tour Cycles are a Avanti Specialized outlet and these are the only two MTB they deal in so they have a great relationship with the supplier for warrenty and parts if needed and seem to know their stuff.

Really excited about getting back in to riding now and with good hardware should make it all the more enjoyable. Down side to all of this? Well Dinah wants to do rides with picnic's ... yea, guess who'll be carrying everything! Might have to get one of those little dog trailers for all the crap, hehehehe

Cheers, Chris.

[Drop_Bear]

Nice deal. Le Tour folks have always been helpful and easy to get a good bargain if you ask nicely. NOW GET OUT AND RIDE :P

Droppy

[splunk]

Avanti is a great brand... My mate has one and has taken his 5 year old Avanti Hardtail Aggressor down DH runs and some serious drops and the frame still works a treat! He got his in LeTour in Ringwood too.

But saying that, GTs are nice bikes too.

You would have picked a winner either way. :)

[Krizto]

The Barracuda is basically one below the Aggressor and they have the same frams. I believe its just gears and forks which are different.

Ready tomorrow ..... can't wait !!!

:D