Any mountain bike riders out there?

[BadgerBadger]

I want a full susser but too much choice

[Ruffo]

what type of riding do you want to do? Downhill, cross country, all mountain, free ride, shuttles etc.

[BadgerBadger]

Cross country and trail, probably more trail - getting too old for flinging myself off big jumps.

Needs to be a jack of all trades as it's gonna be my stead for many years to come

 

But I do want to get up into them Welsh single tracks this year - have ordered a test ride on a Giant Trance and have just sat on a 09 Roscoe which is going for good money...tempted

[sotonjoe]

I wouldn't buy a full suspension bike unless you have in the region of £1300 to spend.

 

The 'cheap' ones (£800 - £1100) etc will be heavy, have poor quality rear shocks without a full lockout option, and will use low quality components akin to those you would find on a £500 hardtail.

 

You can get some used bargains though; i have friends who have purchased Specialized FSRs for approx £500 from ebay!

[Son of Bob]

What's your budget?

 

Joe is right. I would go for a hard-tail everytime unless you're going hardcore. You'll get a far lighter, better specced bike for the same money. In the long term will reduce fatigue on long rides, not only from the lighter weight, but from the lack of po-going as well. I switched from a Gary Fisher Joshua F2 (F/S) to a Marin Eldridge Grade (H/T) in 2007 and it was a great move. The Marin is a far better trail bike.

 

If you're spending mega bucks that's a different kettle of fish mind you! The real top end F/S trail bikes are awesome but at my £1000 budget the hard tail offered the best choice.

[sotonjoe]

What's your budget?

 

Joe is right. I would go for a hard-tail everytime unless you're going hardcore. You'll get a far lighter, better specced bike for the same money. In the long term will reduce fatigue on long rides, not only from the lighter weight, but from the lack of po-going as well. I switched from a Gary Fisher Joshua F2 (F/S) to a Marin Eldridge Grade (H/T) in 2007 and it was a great move. The Marin is a far better trail bike.

 

If you're spending mega bucks that's a different kettle of fish mind you! The real top end F/S trail bikes are awesome but at my £1000 budget the hard tail offered the best choice.

 

 

Definitely.

 

The Specialized Pitch looked good value last year with its two models priced at £1199 and £1399. It's an all mountain bike so is designed to cope with anything, i.e. a jack of all trades bike, but the reviewers say it's defintiely a competent all rounder. However, this year's bike is identical to last year's and they've simply hiked the price to £1399 and £1599 to compensate for the weak £. The cheaper of those models still gets the decent frame and competent components but the rear shock is still without a full lockout. At £1199 last year it didn't look too bad a proposition. At £1399 this year, it's not so hot.

 

The OP should definitely get on ebay though. If you find somebody local selling a one or two year old high spec full suspension bike, you could get a great deal.

 

Try this sort of thing ... link

 

This one is a really good bike if you've got the cash - link

Edited 15 January, 2010 by sotonjoe

[Saint in Paradise]

How much for a bike !!!! Dear oh dear my first brand new bike cost 19 pounds and I thought

that was expensive. Mind it did have lights but not the 3 speed gears

 

 

 

One small point this was in 1961

[BadgerBadger]

Looking at spending £1500+ using £1000 on the ride to work scheme (should save me around £350 in tax), was gonna wait to next year but reckon whoever wins the election will scrap it to save some cash to pay the bankers

Should've have done it last year, bikes were much better value, this year not so much.

 

Agree that hardtail is the way forward on a lesser budget did that with my Rockhopper 3 years ago but the fun factor on single track and downhill on full suss is immense - as long you can justify the cost by the amount you use it

[sotonjoe]

Definitely go for a Specialized Pitch then. You can afford the top end version.

link

Edited 15 January, 2010 by sotonjoe

[John Boy Saint]

As we seem to have some serious Cyclists out I will ask this question (apprehensively): If you had £5-600 in your pocket for a mountain type bike that will be used for Tarmac country lanes, farm tracks, footpaths, and forest/cycle ways. Not hooning down 1in2's through the woods, what would people recommend?

[sotonjoe]

As we seem to have some serious Cyclists out I will ask this question (apprehensively): If you had £5-600 in your pocket for a mountain type bike that will be used for Tarmac country lanes, farm tracks, footpaths, and forest/cycle ways. Not hooning down 1in2's through the woods, what would people recommend?

 

 

If you're sticking to the surfaces you mention, you'd be better with a hybrid than a mountain bike.

 

Here's a couple, one

two

[BadgerBadger]

As we seem to have some serious Cyclists out I will ask this question (apprehensively): If you had £5-600 in your pocket for a mountain type bike that will be used for Tarmac country lanes, farm tracks, footpaths, and forest/cycle ways. Not hooning down 1in2's through the woods, what would people recommend?

 

Or you could go for a basic mountain bike so if you wanted to venture off the the track a bit more then you can but still use in on the road etc:

 

Cube Acid - bit more than what you want to spend at £678 but great bike

Scott Aspect 20 - you can get 09 models for around £550

Specialized Hardrock Pro for £550 - which is my recommendation

[BadgerBadger]

Definitely go for a Specialized Pitch then. You can afford the top end version.

link

 

Been looking at FSR XC and Stuntjumpers but not the Pitch, looks good I'll check it out

[sotonjoe]

Been looking at FSR XC and Stuntjumpers but not the Pitch, looks good I'll check it out

The FSR is too much of a dedicated cross country bike compared to what you say you want to do with it. The Stumpjumpers will need a higher spend to get as good a bke as the Pitch I think. All in my opnion of course, but the Pitch is the one explicitly marketed as the 'all mountain' bike, whereas the others have a more specific target.

[sotonjoe]

Or you could go for a basic mountain bike so if you wanted to venture off the the track a bit more then you can but still use in on the road etc:

 

Cube Acid - bit more than what you want to spend at £678 but great bike

Scott Aspect 20 - you can get 09 models for around £550

Specialized Hardrock Pro for £550 - which is my recommendation

 

Onve you start spending that sort of money in the Specalized range, you should be looking at Rockhoppers in my opinion. The Hardrock Pro is an entry level bike, but with upgraded components, whereas the Rockhopper is a 'mid range' bike with a higher quality frame and more potential for later upgrading of componenets. I had a Rockhopper last me 12 years without any significant component changes!

 

I'm hugely biased towards Specialized, but GT have had rave reviews for some of their mountain bikes in the £500 bracket.

 

These sort of bikes are only worth it if you're going truly off road though. They will be bigger, heavy and harder to pedal than the hybrid / cross trail bikes. Riding my Rockhopper on the road is a real drag. For the riding mentioned by the OP, it's the hybrids all the way, as this is the sort of riding they were explicitly designed for.

[Ruffo]

Around September/October the bike manufacturers bring out there new models. Just keep an eye out at your local bike shop to drop the price on the current stock. The advancement in bikes is not that great for the likes of hardtails so the new models probably just have a different paint job and parts.

 

I picked up a cannondale for just over half the retail price by doing this.

 

Whiles Specialised bikes are good bikes they are overpriced imo. You can get better value by looking at some of the other big players - GT, Giant, Marin, Kona. They all have good bikes. Ask to take one out on Demo to get a feel for what you like.

 

Finally, don't dismiss second hand bikes. Loads of people pay large in the view that they are going to get into riding then find out that they no longer like it. I bought a Specialised Stumpjumper Comp 2nd hand in 93. Used it pretty much everyday for either commuting or mountain biking and have just given it to my dad so he can do some leisurely riding.

 

HTH