Help - which bike to buy?

Well of those I would probably choose the cube stereo BUT if you are in the states you should look at other smaller companies as well like Transition, Guerrilla Gravity, Revel or Reeb, stuff like that I think you'll be happy with the value you get your for your money on them!

You might also look at the Nukeproof Reactor or Mega. Should be in a similar price range and climb-abilitiy (particularly the Reactor).

Somewhat biased answer, but historically radon and cube have put out some hit or miss bikes. Canyon generally have much more consistent positive reviews. Added to that the latest spectrals have gotten very good reviews.

Only caveat is you could get unlucky with a quality issue, but I would say all german direct sales bikes are of similar quality (I have 2 YTs, my riding buddy 2 canyons).

Got Radon Slide 10.0 for 2 seasons without any issues
(apart from the fox factory dropper that started being very slow but was fixed under warranty in roughly 1 month)

The only downside is the poor rear tire clearance which might be an issue if you ride in muddy conditions a lot.
Otherwise great specs, frame is OK, you just need to add some tape on the chain stays to prevent chain slap...
Internal cable routing doesn't make any noise at all.
(When I removed the fork, I could see that they put some kind of "brush" in the main tube that keeps the cables from moving)

Swoop might be different, but overall I'm very happy with this bike and have just bought the current Slide 9.0 for my wife.

The value/specs are probably the best you will find.

His location reads as IRL. Ireland?

If Ireland, I'd be terrified of box bikes from German brands and no dealer support. I know they might hit a price point, but going into multiple shops and having them run the numbers on the brands they have in stock more often results in a better bike & purchase.

Keep in mind that bikes off the actual showroom floor tend to have a 1 year warranty on the WHOLE BIKE. Stuff like derailleurs, pivot bolts, even the freaking wheels. And you get 6 months to a year of tune ups from the shop.

All of that is a TON of money and way less down time riding. If you're looking to upgrade because your riding is progressing, the biggest loss of riding time and money is all that crap that breaks, bends or gives out in year one.

I bought a Kona w/ a year warranty & 6 months free service. Had to warranty the dropper post, the rocker arm, bearings, etc. Labor cost would have been a killer if not. Plus the tune ups saved me a lot more.

Buy a bike in a box and you're gonna have down time, pay for plenty of service or take time off the bike or away from other things at home to be doing your own service.

That's a LOT of time and money that could be spent elsewhere having good times.

I have a cube 170. The geo/suspension on it are dialed. Definitely not the slackest bike, but I swapped to the slacker headset cup and installed a bigger airshaft in the fork (180). That being said, if you're looking for a bike that you don't want to crawl up the hill on, the Canyon might be a better choice. The cube is a really good bike, but my medium has a 1230 ish wheelbase and by the time you put some heavy tires on, throw in some inserts, and put better wheels on it, you're looking at a decently hefty bike. If you ride trails where you climb then descend, the cube is a great option. Super planted on the descents and has a really lively suspension feel that also lets you pop up and over things relatively easily. One of the most underrated bikes in the category in my opinion. Bike Radar put out a Youtube video when Cube released this bike that was helpful.