Mountain bike experts?

**220bhp** · 2 May 2010, 11:35

My son works at Putney Cycles I will speak to him, maybe he can be of help

**avants2turbo** · 2 May 2010, 11:41

Firstly, how tall are you, as the 3 links you sent have sizes between 18-22"! im 5'10/11 and I ride a 17/18"

secondly what do you want to use it for? if your looking for offroad riding you need the smaller end of your "height" range so you can move around on top of the bike, if you go for to big it will be very awkward to ride and to small it will be uncomfortable and usually hurt your lower back.

The links youve attached I personally would steer well clear of, they are going to be heavy (very) gimiky (cable disk brakes for example) and very crapply spec'd with components that will last 5 minutes of off road riding, chainsets, bottom brackets, fr and rr mechs, wheels that will be likely to a best end up looking like a 50p piece at worst totally calapse!

I appreciate that you are looking at a limited budget, so my advice would be identify the type of riding you are going to do, then identify the size bike you require and style (different manufactures geometry vary enourmously) so for example a 18" Kona might be more like a 17" Specialized etc.

Best way of measuring in my experience is standing over the top tube with the front of the seat touching your bum/back you should be looking for approx 2" clearance between your conquers and the top tube, and the correct seat height determined by where you are riding the bike, but rule of thumb is with you sitting on the seat squarely (not leaning either left or right) with the pedal at the bottom of its stroke and your foot on the pedal your leg sould just be off streight (any more that stright, so your stretching and your kill your knees, and any less than just off streight your wasting your time and energy)

I would suggest you identify all the things you need to then look for a decent second hand Kona Lava Dome, cindercone, fire mountain, caldera or specialized Rockhopper, maybe an old stumpjumper, Trek 3-4000 series, Orange clockwork, , gringo, 02 Evo

but i would steer clear of new bikes at that price as they are pretty gash...

of course all this is just my opinion with some experience having worked for several well know bike shops in the late 90's early 00's and still riding activly today

**Smith_S2** · 2 May 2010, 13:49

I would stay away from cable disc brake's if you can most of the hydraulic disc brakes these days are pretty good.

eBay seems to be pretty good for bikes also try this if you looking for something a bit more specific,

http://www.pinkbike.com/buysell/?region=5&countryid=193 or http://www.singletrackworld.com/forum/forum/classifieds

Pinkbike is pretty good, singletrackworld never used before but i've heard it's alright.

you might find there are some pretty good 2nd hand deals out there, just finding the time to look.

Another place to look for a bargin would be mountain biking uk

there is always some bike shop punting 2008/2009 models mega cheap, www.chainreactioncycles.com might be worth a look.

my new steeds

Attached Files

**Musicmadmike** · 2 May 2010, 17:51

Try Halfords

Don't let the shop put you off but the Boardman Pro hardtail available at Halfords is an absolute bargain considering the gear it's got on it. Not sure what the top end of your budget is but £999 buys an awful lot of bike. Only thing is though don't let Halfords set it up. Take it to a decent shop and get them to do it for you. I have one of these and I ride with some fairly serious enduru riders and they love my Boardman Pro. Got mine on a Ride To Work scheme so got even better deal.

http://www.boardmanbikes.com/mtbht/ht_Pro.html

MMM

**dest** · 2 May 2010, 18:13

Thanks for the comments, Ive now had a total change of direction, and have just read about the ride to work scheme!
That will easily allow me to get something decent, with a budget of about £750

**Smith_S2** · 2 May 2010, 18:20

£750 will get you a lot of bike, lets us know what you buy!

**dest** · 2 May 2010, 18:21

Ill have a chat with work tomorrow to check they are ok with it (dont see why not!) and then go from there.
Ive got to confess to being a big fan of GT, so would probably go for one of those.
Something along the lines of this would be nice:

http://www.evanscycles.com/products/gt/avalanche-10-disc-2010-mountain-bike-ec020895

**chezz** · 2 May 2010, 19:26

Scott,Scott,Scott - Ultimate Mountain biking circuit = the karrimor circuit in wales 25 miles of sheer hell...I made it round on a Scott and it was a truly fantastic bike.
You get what you pay for!

**Big Lee M** · 2 May 2010, 19:49

Scott are awesome bikes I've got a scale 30 with hope disc upgrade. But I do think that Trek are a brilliant bike good for money very strong good component too and with a budget of £750 you will get a nice bike. I've also had GT's they went a bit crap a few year ago when they went bust and started again, not sure what they are like now though?

**Flat on my back** · 2 May 2010, 20:19

.

Or if you prefer classic steel, look at Charge...sold in Leisurelakes or a Sanderson.

You'll get more for your £ with a hardtail.

**re2500** · 2 May 2010, 20:48

Or build your own bike with a combo of secondhand, sale, clearance and last years stuff. I built a killer hardtail dual slalom when i was in uni for about £600.
Lots of high spec stuff on it. 6" travel up front, hydraulic brakes, Small Strong gusseted Aluminum frame, etc. Much more than i needed at the time but it felt lush to ride and still does today.

**europeanme** · 3 May 2010, 11:34

Originally posted by re2500

Or build your own bike with a combo of secondhand, sale, clearance and last years stuff. I built a killer hardtail dual slalom when i was in uni for about £600.
Lots of high spec stuff on it. 6" travel up front, hydraulic brakes, Small Strong gusseted Aluminum frame, etc. Much more than i needed at the time but it felt lush to ride and still does today.

Thats what i do all the time when i replace my bikes....

and smithS2...sweet 'rides' dude....

if you buy from a shop try and get last years model...the spec will not be that different and they will be as cheap as chips compared to the new versions....just paying for a new paint job...which will only get covered in mud anywho!!!...

keep it rubberside down!!

**istoo** · 3 May 2010, 13:00

Dest you should have a limits of £1000 on the bike to work scheme. May i also note that also includes accessories as well, ie helmets, clothes/ armour/ lights/ locks etc etc
Please buy a helmet and a lock!

avantS2turbo summary is bang on. Establish a well sized bike first even if you like the look it might not fit with your physique. A lot of shops do demo bikes to try before you buy, get a gauge of what they are like. As riding positionas and geometry make a big difference. Just had a mate round in the same position as you. Sent him off to try 3 different hardtails (front suspension bikes) as he wants to do some mountain biking near our part of the world, but also go out on the roads. So that ruled out a Full Suspension bike immediately. One XC bike, one Trail Bike and a freeride hardtail. All will be very different to ride but cost wihtin £50 of each other. If you are lucky location and time wise there might be a demo day on near you soon. http://demodays.bikeradar.com/

Buying SH will work as well, but the scheme needs a reciept from a shop regisered with the government scheme. I was lucky and bought a SH frame and parts that way, you need a friendly shop to do that though.

SmithS2, wrong colour of helius...and too light. Now all you need is to ride it

**Smith_S2** · 3 May 2010, 13:12

Wrong colour!!!, i hear your AM looks like a fire engine, you'll be dressing up as fireman Sam when we do Bennachie. Oh nice vid off the top of Mithertap by the way!!!

Mountain bike experts?

Mountain bike experts?

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