Looking for a decent XC mountain bike!

[Wodge80]

I'm in the market for a good dual suspension cross-country bike with an element of downhill runs and uphill climbs... generally an all-terrain MTB.

I'm from Adelaide and I've been recommended on two bikes and am curious if anyone could advise on the pros and cons of the following two bikes:

The Epic Specialized Enduro vs the Ellsworth Distance (both retailing for about $5G's)

Any advise would be greatly appreciated including their recommendations on better MTBs to look into...
Cheers

Wodge

 

[robalert]

those are nice bikes and so they should be, since you are spending serious $$

i got a VT3, and it is an awesome bike, but not so great for serious freeride or on the road, more suited to long rougher XC riding

simple fact, more laid back geometry = more confident for jumps/drops/monos BUT the trade of is poorer for climbing

my mate has a giant reign and is very happy with it... even the trance is good if you are not too nuts

my preference would be santa cruz rather than ellsworth... not that i have ridden ellsworth bikes... but the geometry on santa cruzs are great

 

[Mellic]

Go for the **** factor and get the Ellsworth!

 

[rek]

Both very fine bikes.. I've ridden a Specialized Epic and it's very nice indeed, but as Mellic says, the Ellsworth has the brand/**** factor in its favour

Maybe also look at a Cannondale Prophet? I think the Prophet 2000 is well within your $5g price limit (heck my LBS has an ex demo one for about $3k) and has some nice componentry on it. Once you go Lefty, you'll never look at a normal fork the same again.

 

[robalert]

hang on... was that an specialized enduro or epic?

 

[Wodge80]

I'm leaning towards the Epic Enduro at this stage... nicer look to the frame as well and looks more sturdy.

Any ideas on the pros and cons of the ITch switch shocks versus the IQ brain (both by FOX)?

 

[whackyscientist]

Check out the Product Reviews section at http://www.mtbr.com

Have a look at what is said about the bikes you are interested in an pay attention to what componets are mentioned (if any). This is because the site is a USA site and the bikes sold in Australia may have different components.
You could also check the manufacturers site and see if there is a seperate section for the US and Australia, then compare specs here.