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Mountain Bikes

Navraj Singh

Well-Known Member
Joined
Mar 10, 2010
Messages
252
Garage
Hey Guys,

I am thinking of getting a mountain bike but do not have any experiance with them. I was wondering if anyone here can offer me some advice....there are too many choices and the price ranges are huge.

Would it be better to go for a second hand bike as opposed to a new one?
What would you consider a reasonable price for a bike for a novice?

Cheers
 
Nav
Very big subject, you can spend thousands, what sort of mountain biking do you want it for? A bit of everything?
have a look at this
http://www.wiggle.co.uk/p/cycle/7/Focus ... 360045262/
Not a main line brand frame, but a good reliable list of components
What sort of money would you be comfortable spending, is the bike above about right? I used to run a bike shop so should be able to point you in the direction, so if you have found something you like the look of post a link and I will have a quick look at it.
On the subject of sizing, how tall are you and what is your inside leg measurement?
 
It all depends on your budget...

and what riding you intend to do. canal paths, forest trails, purpose-built mountain trails, rocky peak district bridleways, biking off scottish munros!?

two types of bike are common these days

1) hardtail: front suspension (forks) only
2) full-suspension: front and rear shocks

The more you spend, the lighter the kit and the more reliable.

For a hard-tail - £500 is often seen as the cut-off, above which you start getting light enough and strong enough bikes
for full-suspension, about £1000

yes, you can get £100 full suspension bikes from ASDA, but I would destroy one in one ride down a mountain!

I have always bought "last years model" bargains for my last couple bikes, as they normally have 40% off the new models coming into shops and are just as good. late summer/early autumn is usually the change over time.

best thing to do is always try the bike and a range of models to see what suits.

main models are: trek, specialized, kona, marin, garyfisher to name a few
 
Hi, If you are going to places like Afan in South Wales you will need a higher budget full suspension bike, I use a Cannondale Prophet 1, which I have found to be a great bike within its budget range, Saving up (could take a while) for its 2010 replacement the carbon RZ 140.

I have noticed a lot of riders are switching to Titanium hard tail bikes for forest riding.

GT make great entry level bikes, anything below these will leave you disappointed.
 
Julian said:
Nav
Very big subject, you can spend thousands, what sort of mountain biking do you want it for? A bit of everything?
Not a main line brand frame, but a good reliable list of components
What sort of money would you be comfortable spending, is the bike above about right? I used to run a bike shop so should be able to point you in the direction, so if you have found something you like the look of post a link and I will have a quick look at it.
On the subject of sizing, how tall are you and what is your inside leg measurement?

Hey Julian,

Had a look at the bike, it is sort of the thing that I am looking for.
I need a bike that I can use for everything from riding to uni and some mountain bike trails sort of thing.

I would prefer to keep the cost of the bike down to about GBP500.
I am about 6'1", have never measured my inside leg but I think it is 33"
 
Locrep said:
Hi, If you are going to places like Afan in South Wales you will need a higher budget full suspension bike, I use a Cannondale Prophet 1, which I have found to be a great bike within its budget range, Saving up (could take a while) for its 2010 replacement the carbon RZ 140.

I have noticed a lot of riders are switching to Titanium hard tail bikes for forest riding.

GT make great entry level bikes, anything below these will leave you disappointed.

Hey Locrep,

I was having a look at the GT bikes and they are more inline to what I was thinking of spending as a first serious bike. Havent ridden for years now.
 
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Going through the bikes, there is an option for the bikes in terms of 13 inch, 17 inch, 19 inch and so on.
What is this in reference to and how do I decide on what size would suit me??
 
Nav on the size you should be looking at a 19" or some brands you will need a large
GT make good bike, you won't go far wrong
 
Nav, A independant bike shop will do their best to sort you out size wise & they should put you on the right bike for what you want to do.
 
rite so 19" or Large is what I should be lookign at :thumbup:

I am checking out the different bikes at the moment and will post the links on my choices.

Cheers guys!
 
You should consider whether you want a full suspension or a hardtail too. Full suspension can be counter productive on steep or long uphill climbs as half your effort is wasted pushing the suspension down. They are far more comfortable on long rides, though. I ride a hardtail Saracen whereas my brother rides a full suspension Mongoose (bought end-of-line last month for £450 :shock: ). Although his rear suspension is supposedly lockable he still has greater trouble on uphill sections, however on fast bumpy tracks he always takes the advantage in terms of control.

I use my bike more for leisure than competing, doing the odd mountain track in my own time and enjoying the exhilaration, so a hardtail suits me. I like having the edge on uphill sections, and having to slow down more on the rougher bits doesn't bother me too much. It's all down to personal preference, but there is also the £500 or so extra on most full suspension bikes so I guess it's partly down to price too :?

Jim.
 
I will most likely go for the hard tail bike. The Full suspensions are actually quite costly :oops:
 
A word to the wise; do not be fooled by flashy looking disc brakes with cable calipers.

Cable calipers are next to useless so either get hydraulic calipers if you can afford it or v-brakes if you can't. Cable driven disc setup's might be priced inbetween but seriously, you might as well have a wooden stick to drag on the floor. They're worse than the old centre-pull's.

I only mention this as I've seen both Carrera and GT (possibly other big names too?) are outfitting some bikes with this technology :?

Jim.
 
Interestingly enuf, I had actually selected that perticular bike and put it in the shoping basket.

I think then that would also be my first choice.
 
Nav, I would go for choice 1, better spec. Shimano XT rear mech, Shimano hydraulic disc brakes (much easier to get replacement pads), better forks and much better tyres
Just a small aside I don't know if you know this, the vast majority of far east produced aluminum bike frames come out of 2 factories, just different stickers and paint jobs applied
 
I have just replaced my sons bike & found that within my budget there was a huge choice.in the end i drew up a spec list - good advice from jimbo by the way - that narrowed the choice somewhat.in the end we bought from Orbea , a spanish make , but the service offered by our local bike shop was the deciding factor.
 
Cheers for all the input guys.

So we got the focus and the GT on the sort listing.

I like both the bikes but will go down to a bike shop and check the physically fot myself before I actually buy one. If you know any good bike shops plz let me know. I will get intouch with them and fing the nearest store.

:thumbup:
 
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