Hey everyone,

New to the MTB scene and looking to get a bike. Have gone through post #1 and have a basic understanding of what to look for.

What I want to ask is recommendation for a bike:

1) Below RM2,000 (it's my first purchase and as a beginner, I don't plan to invest too much unless advised otherwise)
2) For use in beginner to intermediate courses (in the future)
3) Will be mainly for cross-country riding

I'm looking at XDS, GT, Merida and Fuji bikes but not sure what else to look out for except what is stated in the specs posted by people (fork brand, mostly 32T, and brake types)

Hope to get some advice and apologies in advance if this troubles

Thanx for the info guys, will go take a look soon. My first cross country will be a company event end of this month in Bali. Boss told me should look at getting my own bike, it's worth the investment if I plan to take this hobby up seriously.

Hey man, thanx for the offer. But, as it'll be my first bike, I'd like to start off by getting a new one. No disrespect to you, and thanx again for the offer

Hey all,

Went by a shop this evening and saw some Lapierre bikes. Store owner said that Lapierre is in the high-end category of bikes whereas Giant is in the middle-end category. Also mentioned that Giant is more common nowadays compared to Lapierre and that Lapierre is better going uphill compared to Giant.

Showed me the X-Control 210 and 310, and I must say that I liked them. Didn't get to test ride the bikes, but like it just for the looks. Anyway, couldn't find many reviews on these models so want to ask if anyone here has either the 210 or 310 and how is it compared to a Giant Trance or Anthem (my first choice is the Trance).

210 would've been RM5.4k and 310 RM7.2k iirc.

Of course I thought he said that just to make the sale happen. Only thing about these 2 models I've read is that the absorbers uses Lapierre's own stuff and doesn't perform as well as others. But this is just reviews off the net I found a while ago.

Having said that, I am hoping someone here owns one and can give better insight compared to the Trance or Anthem.

Thanx, this is more than enough to reinforce my decision to still get a Giant. If the parts on the Anthem X3 is better compared to both the 310 and 210, then I'll just keep looking out for the Giant bikes.

Thanx for the advice. As Cyphereza said and some of the guys here can testify, Giant bikes are proven so I'm sticking to my decision to get one.

And who is the owner of the bike? Can't quite make out the model but look forward to getting one that can handle like that