Hey all, first time poster. Looking at taking the plunge into mtn biking. Visited my local shop and got given 2 recommendations, Merida Big Nine TR 700 and the Cube Reaction TM One. Both are at the limit of my budget and im currently leaning more toward the Cube because of its longer fork travel. Any tips or guidance on picking between the two?
by Fr0stie99
4 Comments
What is your budget? Can you post the specs of the bikes or urls to the webpages? What do you plan on doing with it?
Merida is more of a Cross Country ( XC ) oriented bike. Think faster speed on flatter terrain, lighter and more nimble. Cube is more a Trail oriented bike. It’ll be marginally slower on flatter terrain but it will feel planted and more forgiving off road
I shouldve added goals. This is honestly gunna be a more fitness oriented hobbie as a supplement to my motorbike road racing. The downhill trail riding speaks a little more to my style so I’ll probably end up doing more of that than anything else
It might be because of the paint to job, but the cube has a tapered head tube and the Mérida does not mention it in their specifications, go with the cube.
The lack of a tapered headtube will severely limit you if you decide to stick with mountain biking, and want to upgrade to a lighter air fork