Hello All!
I am new here, and also new to forums, at least as active member. So I apologize for any possible mistakes, which I will try to avoid.
Now, I recently sold my custom built bike which was a hardtail aluminium XC model, with Shimano gearset and Marzocchi Bomber air fork. Now I look for a new bike for me. I ride XC trails and offroad over the mountain Ucka, western Croatia. I do not need rear suspension, but I have never ride a bike with one, so I am in doubt. It seems to me that you can lose a lot of energy pedalling up the hill with rear suspension. I use the bike for commuting and going into town doing things and allover I spend a lot of time on a bike. On this bike I had, the main problem was my lower back was suffering due to a bad geometry of the frame. Now, after considering all the Trek Fuel models, Orange, Marin, it seems to me that I am attracted by English bike manufacturer Saracen, model Zen3. It is not expensive, something more than 1300 Euros. And there is also Commencal CombiS or Supernormal bike of which the CombiS has a rear suspension and latter does not have it, and price is also OK for both. So I need some help here, to decide what is best ride for me, and if someone owns or has been riding one of these mentioned, I would be happy to hear any comments. Upper limit of my budget is 1500 Euro (cca 2300 US dollars).
I am new here, and also new to forums, at least as active member. So I apologize for any possible mistakes, which I will try to avoid.
Now, I recently sold my custom built bike which was a hardtail aluminium XC model, with Shimano gearset and Marzocchi Bomber air fork. Now I look for a new bike for me. I ride XC trails and offroad over the mountain Ucka, western Croatia. I do not need rear suspension, but I have never ride a bike with one, so I am in doubt. It seems to me that you can lose a lot of energy pedalling up the hill with rear suspension. I use the bike for commuting and going into town doing things and allover I spend a lot of time on a bike. On this bike I had, the main problem was my lower back was suffering due to a bad geometry of the frame. Now, after considering all the Trek Fuel models, Orange, Marin, it seems to me that I am attracted by English bike manufacturer Saracen, model Zen3. It is not expensive, something more than 1300 Euros. And there is also Commencal CombiS or Supernormal bike of which the CombiS has a rear suspension and latter does not have it, and price is also OK for both. So I need some help here, to decide what is best ride for me, and if someone owns or has been riding one of these mentioned, I would be happy to hear any comments. Upper limit of my budget is 1500 Euro (cca 2300 US dollars).