Hello fellow bikers!
I live in Brussels (Belgium) and I have been riding my cheap hard-tail for around two years. Now it starts to break all the time and I am looking for something pricier. In Belgium the tracks are mostly white roads and muddy single trails in the woods. Since last year, I have been driving to Lenzhreide to ride enduro trails on the Alps, but there I can get my hands on a Trek Slash (though it is not mine).
I am looking for a bike that I would use 80% of the time on XC trails, but that I would occasionally bring to small enduro parks in Belgium or to biking trips where trails will be gnarlier (Finale Ligure, Tremp).
I understand that the best bike category would be "downcountry", though it is so broad as to include a wide variety of bikes. A friend of mine who has a shop recommended a Cirex Expert AXS with this configuration. I could test it this weekend in Lenzhreide (not the bike park, but mountain trails with roots and rocks) and it was wonderful: super fast uphill, very stable downhill (it is lighter than 12 kg).
The problem is the price (8k, but I could get it for a discount at 7k) and the fact that it is a downcountry (120mm of travel) heavily geared toward XC. Another friend of mine told me that: a) it is way overpriced, and I could get a similar bike for 4500/5000 searching for mainstream brands; b) in any case it is way too high end for my biking skills (definitely true).
Long story short, I would like to get your opinion on the following:
1) Is the bike a bit overpriced vis-Ã -vis its components?
2) what kind of "abuse" can this bike endure? Should I exclude doing any enduro trails with this bike? In Belgium, enduro parks are without skilifts, forcing you to pedal uphill. I could not imagine going uphill with the Trek Slash, which is super heavy.
Sorry for the long message 🙂
by MrPolase