Advice on bikes for Xmas Present (£1250)

missy

Hi,

Firstly, my apologies for asking for your help but I am a clueless wife looking for some advice to help pick the right bike for my hubby for Xmas!

We live in the countryside and he currently has a very old bike which he uses a couple of times a week to go off road. He has some aspirations to go to Snowdon etc, if he ever got the chance to have a decent bike. He is 6ft 2 and weighs around 15 stone and I would say he is reasonably fit.

Unfortunately I have no knowledge about bikes so would really appreicate any help/suggestions. I am looking to spend a max of £1250 on a new bike...

Many thanks

stumpyjon

Hi welcome to the forum. You've certainly come to the right place for some advice and I'm sure people with more knowledge than me will be along soon but in the meantime a couple of questions.

What sort of bike will he want, full suspension or hardtail, for the money you're talking about you can get a reasonable full suspension bike or a good hardtail (suspension on the forks only).

To help answer that it would be useful to know what sort of riding he does, i.e. lots of long distance epics or lots of rocky downhill etc. Which part of the country do you live in (will give us an idea of the terrain)?

Regardless of the advice on here it would also be a good idea to go and talk to people in a local bike shop, try and avoid places like Halfords (some are OK but you're more likely to know more about bikes than the Halfords people in many stores), try to find an independant one, also avoid buying from the internet, it's great if you know exactly what you want but if you don't you can easily come unstuck.

FInal comment, bike sizes are a bit like clothes, two bikes may have the same frame size but they'll be a different fit. It really is a good idea for the person who will be riding the bike to at least sit on it and preferably ride it to see if it 'fits'.

Sure some more knowledgeable people will be along soon with some suggestions for specific bikes (and possibly local shops?).

If it turns out you want a full suspension bike you could look at either the FSR XC Expert (£1099) or the Picth Comp (£1199) both made by Specialized (my bikes a specialized ).

dave_hill

Also have a look at the Trance range (full suspension) from Giant or if a hardtail is more his thing, have a look at Charge or Voodoo bikes.

Be aware that we are right on the changeover to the new model year - 2008 bikes MAY be in short supply, but dealers will be keen to get rid of their 2007 stock so you have the potential to haggle a bit, wave cash under their noses and get a bargain or some extras thrown in.

As Jon has said, buying blind is a bit of a minefield - you really need to be buying from a shop (don't be tempted by mail-order) and you need to explain to them up front that you may need to bring the bike back for fitting or even to swap for a larger or smaller model.

A reasonable way to determine if the bike will be a decent fit is to take your hubby's inside leg measurement and deduct 14" - that will give a good indication of a basic frame size. As an example, I'm 6 foot tall with a 32" inside leg, so my ideal frame would be 18" - but I prefer a slightly smaller frame so I tend to go for 17" if I can.

Perhaps you can let us know whereabouts in the country you are then we can perhaps point you towards some dealers who may be able to help??

missy

Hi,

Thank you both so much for your help, it really is much appreicated...

We live on the outskirts of Sevenoaks in Kent - so lots of hills around us (North Downs), and from your advice, I definitely think he would rather have a full suspension bike.

If you do know of any good shops, that would be great.

Thx

dunker

well the safest option is ask him what bike he'd like, i know it's not as much fun as the full on suprise but at least he'll get the bike he wants the most and there'll be no returning to the bike shop on 27th hopefully. you could ask which bike he would like then get it ordered and hide it for xmas day and pretend it wont arrive until 4th january or something hehe.

pittpony

Your husband is a lucky man!

Depending where he's likely to ride will dictate whether he wants a full sus or hardtail. A lot of bikes i see at Bedgebury and Blean are hardtails, whereas there are more full sus bikes at the steeper trails around Dorking. I ride a hardtail and have coped with everything i've come across in this part of the world, however if you think he'd prefer a full sus then i guess that's the way to go! My gf rides a full sus and says she'd never have a hardtail, whereas i'm much happier on a hardtail. Its very much a matter of preference!

Let us know what you end up getting anyway

The Big Cheese

If you nip into Bikes Bikes Bikes in Sevenoaks you should get some decent help/advice. Nice bunch of lads and that's where I bought one of my bikes from - they stock Marin (amongst others) and the Elridge Grade is a bloody good hardtail....

http://www.marin.co.uk/2008/bikedetail.php?ModNo=3847

£999.00 so leave some extra cash for extras (Helmet, gloves etc)

I would advice a hardtail for someone who is looking to develop their skill on a bike - but then again it's totally a preference thing - but they stock loads of other stuff too.

Ask for deals on 2007 marin stock

Or if he is dead set on a FS you could do a lot worse than this:

http://www.marin.co.uk/2008/bikedetail.php?ModNo=3820 (£50 over budget though)