MTB

8 Jaw Dropping MTB’s Between £1000 and £2000

Here's our selection of this year's beautiful bikes for £1000 - £2000

Recently we released our top 7 high-end mountain bikes for over £2000, but if they stretch the purses strings just a smidge too far then we have 8 amazing mid-priced steeds to see you through miles of trail blazing fun.

2016 looks set to be an exciting year for women’s mountain biking. Big brand manufacturers are releasing more and more women’s specific bikes to cover a wide range of budgets and skill levels. Even the competitive season ahead looks to be an exciting one with Rachel Atherton’s move to Trek as she prepares to defend her World Champion title.

If you want a beast machine of a bike that will effortlessly slay any trail you point it at, you’ll have to pay for it and that could be thousands of pounds. However, if you’re looking for something durable, fun and versatile, or you’re just after to upgrade, then up to £2k will get you plenty of bang for your buck. Here are some of our top picks…

Orange Diva Women’s Hardtail (£1000)

Made in Britain, Orange bikes have been on the scene for many years. Renowed for their simple and heardy engineering, this hard-tail is a nice piece of bike.

The 27.5″ (650b) ride is fitted with gold RockShox XC30 forks which offer a playful 120mm of travel. Fitted with a Shimano Deore groupset, this hard-tail is built for both trail shredding adventures, and long-journeys on the saddle. The longer top tube, and shorter stem combo provides better weight distribution and riding position which is essential for those XC rides.

If you did have a little budget left in the pot, it would be an idea to add a dropper post for uninterrupted riding, and consider upgrading the Shimano M506 brake set-up, to a Shimano XT system.

Lapierre X-Control 227W (£1450)

The new women’s specific X-Control from Lapierre is a great bike for the price tag. The geometry of this bike makes it great for all-mountain and XC riding.

The strong aluminium frame is equipped with 120mm of fork travel from the RockShox 30, and a Shimano Deore/SLX combo group-set gives it great control, all upon 27.5″ wheels. Arguably the best feature has to be the fork remote which allows you to quickly and easily stiffen the forks with a push of a button.

Mondraker Factor Go Women’s (£1600)

This striking blue and yellow full-suspension bike will get you noticed and keep you seen as you steam down a mountain trail.

Th alloy bike frame houses RockShox 30 forks with 120mm of smooth travel. In addition, the Factor Go is fitted with a Shimano brake system, and SRAM drive-train. This is a good looking bike with subtle design features that look great, such as the nested rear-shock and exaggerated curved top tube.

Giant Liv Lust 2 (£1600)

Whilst I’m not a fan of the model name, Lust, I can’t deny this bike’s allure. The frame alone is attractive, without being too pink and feminine, and the Giant Liv name is a reputable brand to put stock in. This bike is built to provide a fast and controlled ride.

Fox 32 Float forks on the front end provides 100mm of travel, and the consistent Shimano Deore group-set adds stability in the bikes performance. Although the Giant Liv Lust 2 doesn’t boast as much travel as some of its counterparts, you are paying for a brand with a lot of R&D into the promotion of bikes and women in riding.

Specialized Rumor 650b Women’s (£1600)

Specialized bikes have worked hard in the Women’s MTB department and their new line of bikes and kit shows this change. The Rumor is from their new range of women’s specific bikes which we love. It’s been carefully designed with the female rider in mind with its low stand over height and comfortable looking geometry. And the spec lives up to the impressive frame…

Silver RockShox Recon forks provide 130mm of travel for soaking up that rough riding terrain. A Tektro Gemini disc brake system is accompanied by Shimano combo drive-train to offer smooth gear shifting for those quick technical sections.

Similar to the Giant Liv, the Specialized brand name is highly regarded as being the best and most reliable bike brand in the industry, and in a lot of ways, you’re paying for that name and the extensive knowledge they have put into the development of their bikes.

Cube Sting WLS 120 (£1700)

Another beautiful bike from the 2016 Cube Women Like Series, is the Sting 120 all-mountain bike. It’s great looking and extremely good value for money.

The Aluminium frame is available in this attractive blue and yellow scheme equipped with a pair of RockShox Recon 120mm forks. Like the Lapierre, these forks come with a remote for adjusting the stiffness settings which is easily accessible from the bars.

The full Shimano XT group-set is why we love this bike also. High grade components, on an attractive bike, whilst remaining around the 13kg mark… AND for only £1600. It’s a pretty good bike package.

Ghost Lanao FS 7 Ladies (£1700)

For years, Ghost Bikes have been making women’s specific models which have been evolving year on year, into bigger and better machines. The new Lanao FS 7 is similar in that to the Cube, but stealth black and houses the Fox 32 forks with 130mm travel.

The FS 7 is a gorgeous stealth black bike with subtle purple highlights, for that “feminine touch” (if that’s your thing). It has a Shimano XT group-set and weighs just under 13kg. A great all-round trail bike with a comfortable upright geometry for those long days of riding.

Canyon Spectral AL 6.0 Women’s (£1899)

German manufacturer Canyon Bikes are a direct-buy company which is great for saving money and getting a lot of bike for your buck, but not so great if you want to try-before-you-buy. Either way, they have an extensive range of brilliant mountain bikes, a popular model being the Spectral which is available is a wide varieties of specs.

This 6.0 women’s version of the Spectral is available is two stunning colour options: pink/purple and grey/aqua. The strong aluminium frame comes fitted with Fox 34 forks with 140mm travel, a Shimano SLX set up and RockShox Reverb dropper post. The bike weighs 13.1kg and is available in sizes XS -L. A favourite feature of this bike is the relaxed geometry, and aesthetically pleasing frame design with the straight connection between the top-tube into the rear end.

This is just a small selection of the 2016 women’s specific bikes on offer this year, and I think we’re spoilt for choice on attractive looking bikes with great spec’s.