Will it die? ...

lee_webber666

Hi. I'm just starting to get into downhilling, and have only jsut started riding again, so not proffesional at all.

I'm looking for a very cheap full susser under £500. Before you all start screaming out it it will be shit, I'm only talking local woods and stuff. I won't be racing with it or anything.

I'm pretty sure it won't break bad with what I want to do on it. Tiny tiny drop-offs and just simple tracks. I'm also very lightwieght (only 10st) so that should be an advantage.

I'm just looking for some advice. I'm thinking of the SARACEN RAW 2, CARRERA BANSHEE and the DECATHLON ROCKRIDER 6.3

PLEASE don't just say it will be shit for under a Grand, I won't be riding anywhere near as hard as 90% of the people reading this.

Thank you,

Lee

Alex

It'll be cack for under a grand.

Buy a hardtail instead. The kit you get on a hardcore hardtail at £500 will be be tougher, the fork will probably be better and it'll probably be lighter to boot.

Sub £500, i doubt very much that rear suspension will perform any better than a hardtail in grip or bump absorbption stakes.

lee_webber666

Cheers for the reply mate, but I'm just worried about a hardtail jnot coping with roots and rocks and that. When I go over rocks fast the whole bike jumps with me, so surely I'll die with a hartail.

And any suggestions for a good hardtial for 300-400 £'s?

Scubar

The suspension on a sub £500 full sus bike will be totally useless, especially if you plan on going downhill over roots and small drops. A Hardtail would be a far better option as the components will be much higher quality.

Steve_F

I ride a Banshee X, it does cost £650 but the extra kit over the standard Banshee is well worth it.

Forget about the people looking down on Carreras mine has tackled everything I have thrown at it including the type of stuff you are talking about. Have also shot past people on a lot more expensive kit around Glentress plenty of times.

I do agree that you would get a better hardtail for the money which should be able to tackle what you are talking about but there are full bouncers out there for the money you want to spend which will be a huge amount of fun.

Worth mentioning the bad point of the Banshee is that it's a heavy beast.

ddraver

you ll get better riding a hardtail...think of it like that

Markmjh

For the £400 to £500 price point i'd have a look at second hand.
You could get yourself quite a nice hardtail for £500, or even look about for an ok full suss. It will be a few years old, but definatly better than anything you will get new at that price point.
I've had an Azonic DS1 with Marz Z1 and hope disks for £500 and i'm now on a 04 Patriot that i got for £600 this year.

supersonic

Why not a hardtail for 500?

Full sussers are getting a little better at the ultra budget end, the Mongoose Otero and Decathlon dual biuncers are well specced and have damped shocks which is crucial. Don't expect too much, and they do weigh quite a bit more than a hardtail. I had a Saracen DTox dual bouncer - I changed the fork, shock and wheels and it performed superbly, and I actually made a profit selling the old parts! (form new).

Generally speaking, hardtails will be better at this price point for general trails.

mmm_pie

Hardtail will cope with rocks and roots fine just learn to do it properly.

BoredHousewife

Why not have a look around for a 2nd hand full suss, probs some old Kona Stinky's kicking around at you budget, just don't forget to allow a little for bearings. I would recommend a certain site but i think people will start thinking i work for them.

khorne

buy a hardtail
kona, norco, specialized?, gt and mongoose all make pretty good hardtails for your budget, and that way youll get good quicker, and have a frame worth upgrading

gouldie

check out the lastest mbuk, they test out two £500ish full sussers. they may not be full on DH, but you will be extremely lucky to find a £500 DH bike anyway!

howsmyriding27

http://cgi.ebay.co.uk/kona-stinky-2004_ ... dZViewItem

if your quick

Ticaboy

If you're gonna, go the Decathlon route. It was tested in one of this months mags (WMTB I think), and scored well. They were very surprised how competent it was for the price - albeit with some limitations.

crasher chris

go for the banshee x, the spec on them is actually unbeliveable , dont be fooled by the price and the frame is based on the 03 stinky anyway, all sealed bearings in the linkage, easy cope with what you wanna do and more! if you actually bought all the spec seperate its actually getting on for a grand, add to that the cost of the frame i dunno how they sell it so cheap! on offer at the moment in halfords aswell i think

richk

Ticaboy wrote:

If you're gonna, go the Decathlon route. It was tested in one of this months mags (WMTB I think), and scored well. They were very surprised how competent it was for the price - albeit with some limitations.

it was in MBUK this month & they raved about the decathlon (for the price)...

joed05

try ebay and SD for 2nd hand norco hardtails, they take a fair bit of stick for hardtail bikes.

deanvw

i got a saracen hazzard 4 sale eg: full susser frame
lol

cleric101

I have a Saracen Raw 2 (bought before I found the forum) and after riding it in some woods regretted it. Listen to these guys and buy a hardtail. I did as soon as I could - the avalnche 1.0 in the link and it is 1000 times better and I've ridden the Penhydd and the Wall at Afan on it no problem!

deanvw

why did u regret it???

cleric101

Very heavy frame and completely naff components. If I'd spent the same on a hardtail then I would have had a much better bike.

deanvw

fair nuff how much u pay 4 it

cleric101

Bought it just over 18 months ago and paid £350 (I think).

supersonic

Some of the Saracen frames are not that bad - sure a little heavy, but strong and pretty stiff. With my dtox I sold on the original parts from new, bought new wheels, fork and shock and made a decent Am mountain bike for under 400 quid total. The shock was replaced with an RS BAR:



Weighed 33lbs in all.

deanvw

looks good tho. i was about to sell all my old parts from my bike until the forks snapped-good job i had the guarantee! I was there for about 3 hours putting the original stuff back on unless the guarantee would be void.. thats front + back discs, cables, tyres, innertubes, derailler, back wheel, bars, stem, grips, fit old mech's, put the square taper bb in, new small star nut and remove all the stickers :-( if i didnt do it it would be void!