advice choosing a bike & size

zaku

i've came to these following bikes to choose:

- kona stinky (size M) ~$800
(marzocchi z1, fox vanilla, LX/deore, hayes hmx1,...)

- specialized fsr team dh (size M) ~$1100
(marzocchi shiver 02, fox vanilla rc, XT, hayes 8',...)

- santa cruz bullit (size 17") ~$1100
(manitou sherman 04, fox vanilla rc, XT/LX, hayes 8',...)

- cannondale super v 900 (size S)~$900
(moto fr, fox vanilla r, LX/XT, magura louise,...)



i know they're all very different bikes each other. but out of the prices, which one would be the best choice? and does the sizes differs much between those brands? which would best fit for me (170cm ~5'6)?

i'm personally more into the fsr team dh. but just wondering if the size will be ok for me (i can't try out the bike size cuz have to have it shipped to me).

by the way, all the bikes are pretty much stock bikes. and prices are in canadian dollar.

thanks for any advice!

Wherebob

I'd go with the Cannondale super v 900 myself, cannondale makes excellent bikes!

rek

As much as I like Cannondales (I've owned five, currently own three, and it would take a lot for me to consider anything else), I have to say the Super V is the first one to cross off your list.

The frame design has been twice superceded (first by the Jekyll, then the Prophet), and the Moto forks are just as old. Like at least 7 years old. (The last time there a "Super V 900" was offered was 1999)

Dual suspension frame design has gone ahead in leaps and bounds during that time. I'm sure it'd be a nice bike, but it'd be fighting an uphill battle against the other more modern framesets.

Then that leaves the other three. Looking at the component spec it seems as though the Spec and Santa Cruz are equipped as higher-end bikes, whereas the Kona seems to be more a mid-level sort of bike. If you can afford the $300 extra on one of the others, it's probably worth it. Eventually upgrading the Stinky with an equipment level to match the others (should you find it necessary) will cost you a lot more than spending that $300 now.

I know little about the relative qualities of freeride bike frames, so don't really know which is best out of the Stinky/Specialized/Santa Cruz. And of course it also depends on what you intend on doing with the bike..

__________________
Peter
Cannondale Synapse Carbon Scalpel Cyclocross Ultra