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I bought a genesis, picked up a Shimano 10 sp groupset, a secondhand Hope front hub (ended up buying the rear new), made some brake mistakes but settled for Shimano Deore, got the brand X dropper and a secondhand fork.
Conclusion - its great.
Do I still want a full suss? yeah probably. Do I still want something with Santa Cruz written on the side? Of course. Should I have bought a fork with less travel? yes.
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You and @PhilDAS get the platypus seal of approval for nice bikes and happy riders
True to form, I’m going to disagree with everyone. But then again I lived in Camberwell for a long time and rode lots of MTB from my doorstep, most enjoyably to Epping, round Epping, and back.
A steel hardtail is the right bike for 90% of riding in England unless you are a professional. I would avoid buying a complete build secondhand as most of the components will be worn out, even if it doesn’t seem so at first glance. I would highly recommend buying the frame secondhand, something by Cotic or Stanton or Genesis or similar, some second hand wheels with Hope hubs, secondhand Shimano 10spd groupset with new 42t cassette and chain obviously, then some new Magura brakes, a dropper, and a fork. All in all for £1k you can build a banging bike that will ride a lot nicer than a needlessly expensive Santa Cruz.