I am new, I know nothing. Hello.

MyNameIsDavid

Basically I have spent a lot of the last year bike riding on a useless bike I have owned for years and want to start riding properly.

I have money and want advice on what bike to get, where to ride etc.

I live in a flat area near lots of forests on the edge of London and want a bike that can handle a lot of bumps and is easily able to ride over any conditions especially mud, rocks etc. and I'm hoping to go to mountain bike course in a few years in Wales or the Lake District etc.

I want a hopefully full suspension mountain bike with good quality brake discs that can handle a lot really and can last me a long time.

My budget is from £200 - £600 at the VERY most.

Also consider I have a hugely limited knowledge of bikes and am a beginner mountain biker.

batch78

I am not as new, I possibly know more, hello.

Firstly, good quality, full suspension and less than £600 is all but impossible, sorry

On the plus side, good quality, HARDTAIL, less than £600 is absolutely possible

As ever, take a look in the what bike thread, search through the buying forum, try a few bikes from local bike shops (LBS), then get back on here with a shortlist.

MyNameIsDavid

So how much would good quality full suspension cost then, in the region of £1000?

As to be perfectly honest I would much rather get a great bike that would last me 5+ years than an average one that I would want to sell in a few years.

andyfla

Buy a decent hardtail and then in 2/3 year trade up to a full sus- the skills you learn on the ht will make you a much better rider overall, and after a few years everyone ends up with more than one bike ....

ride_whenever

You can get a good FS bike for a grand, but I'd still rather ride a hardtail because I'm a luddite.

comencal meta 4 from merlin comes in under a grand, there is a current thread about 1k FS bikes running at the moment somewhere...

ride_whenever

andyfla does make a good point, a while on a HT will make it easier to learn the necessary skills, I currently have 4 bikes in various stages of disrepair...

Possibly blow a wad on a good hardtail now and then down the line look at a FS to complement it.

cee

and this months MBUK (August) has a sub grand full-susser-off.....

£600 gets a really good hardtail, and this should not be considered to be something that would not last you 5+ years......it will, and with fewer complaints and service requirements of a full susser

A good hardtail will last a loooooong time!

MyNameIsDavid

It's quite clear I should get a hardtail then, preferably brand new. Would anyone advise buying new tyres, bar end grips and a saddle when I buy a new bike or is it simply not worth the money or does it depend on the bike.

I was thinking about buying two different saddles, one for road riding and another for tough trails would this make any sense at all?

ride_whenever

For road/off road what sort of distances.

No need for separate saddles.

If you try a HT and don't like the saddle then get it swapped at point of purchase, pay a premium to get one that is comfy. Look for a small amount of padding on a flexable shell which will be more comfy.

Don't need to change grips til they wear out.

If you are doing a lot of road get two sets of tyres. Where will you be planning on riding? Only worth changing the original tyres if they are poo!

Milkie

No matter what you are spending on a bike, you will still need to buy some accessories...

Cleaning kit, helmet, lube, lights, pump... the list is nearly endless!

MyNameIsDavid

ride_whenever wrote:

For road/off road what sort of distances.

No need for separate saddles.

If you try a HT and don't like the saddle then get it swapped at point of purchase, pay a premium to get one that is comfy. Look for a small amount of padding on a flexable shell which will be more comfy.

Don't need to change grips til they wear out.

If you are doing a lot of road get two sets of tyres. Where will you be planning on riding? Only worth changing the original tyres if they are poo!

Off road hopefully about 10km per day and I will just buy a more comfortable saddle then during the purchase as pretty much every bike I have tried has been uncomfortable for extended periods of time.

I will be planning on constantly riding on trails in mainly forests, a nearby mountain bike (gravel) course and on roads.

cjw

Just be warned that with saddles, one that feels really comfy and hugely padded when you sit on it for a few minutes will probably be very uncomfortable after half hour. Whereas some of the saddles that look like razor blades (look at mine for exmple) takes a few weeks to get used to but after that you can ride on them for hours. Might be worth trying what comes with your bike for a few weeks and see how it feels then. Also remember that most(?) wear padded shorts and that makes a big difference to saddle choice as well.

ride_whenever

For 10km on roads daily you could live with reasonably fast rolling mtb tyres. I'd say stick with the tyres on arrival and get the saddle swapped to a charge spoon, popular and pretty comfy, definitely puy padded shorts.

Anonymous

its not as hard as you might think to get a decent full susser for 600 quid you know:

http://www.paulscycles.co.uk/products.p ... 1b0s1p1356

the whole "riding a hradtail makes you better" subject has been done to death and im sure it is more accurate to say that riding a hradtail, makes you good at riding a hardtail.

full sus is a different beast requiring different skills and techniques, get what you want and not what folk tell you you should have.

Papa Smurf

Learning on a hardtail would be a good idea because if you can ride one of them good, you can ride a full suss even better!
What you say about the type of terrain you'll be riding on does suggest you'd be ok on a hardtail and as your a newbie to it I wouldn't rule out perhaps looking for a second hand full suss either in things like Freeads/friday-ad or possibly ebay.
You can get a Spesh FSR for about £400 on there.
Run it past a few of the guys on here who will tell you if it's good or not, take your time though and try learning whats good and whats not and you cant really go wrong...

kegs

Yeah you might be able to get a decent full sus for £600, but for that type of money a hardtail is always going to be lighter and better equipped.

And most of the skills you'd learn on a hardtail transfer right across to a full sus anyway.

I'd personally go for something like a GT avalanche or similar for that kind of money, remembering to have enough left over for a decent helmet and other bits and pieces like padded shorts and a pump.

supersonic

sheepsteeth wrote:

its not as hard as you might think to get a decent full susser for 600 quid you know:

http://www.paulscycles.co.uk/products.p ... 1b0s1p1356

the whole "riding a hradtail makes you better" subject has been done to death and im sure it is more accurate to say that riding a hradtail, makes you good at riding a hardtail.

full sus is a different beast requiring different skills and techniques, get what you want and not what folk tell you you should have.

Very heavy, poor fork, and wrongly specced discs.

Good frame though! One for an upgrader.

Anonymous

supersonic wrote:

sheepsteeth wrote:

its not as hard as you might think to get a decent full susser for 600 quid you know:

http://www.paulscycles.co.uk/products.p ... 1b0s1p1356

the whole "riding a hradtail makes you better" subject has been done to death and im sure it is more accurate to say that riding a hradtail, makes you good at riding a hardtail.

full sus is a different beast requiring different skills and techniques, get what you want and not what folk tell you you should have.

Very heavy, poor fork, and wrongly specced discs.

Good frame though! One for an upgrader.

dont get me wrong, i wouldnt buy it perhaps but even with the questionable discs and poor fork, its not bad for starter, it is more of an example of the fact that a decent root about shows that the lines arent as clear as they once were about what you can get for your money.

as has been quoted elsewhere, a bike is often more than the sum of its parts, if someone wants a full sus for whatever reason, perhaps it's within our remit to offer some FS bikes instead of banging on about hardtails blah blah blah

supersonic

Oh, I completely agree that offering a range of bikes is a good idea, and sometimes stepping out of the original breif. There are full sussers to be had for very little money, but you have to be careful and realise the limitations that they can have. As full sussers are getting better, so are hardtails, and if you don't plan to upgrade straight away then a good fork is essential.

Anonymous

that is fair enough but the fact remains that with me for example, you could fit a (insert whatever is the bestest fork around atm) to the lightest super hardtail in the world and i stil wouldnt want to ride it.

there is no denying that for the most part hardtails tend to be better spec for any given price.

i'm only moaning on as some folk reel out the standard answer to "what bike for less than a grand?" as "buy a hardtail" when folk desrve the chance to see what else is available and then choose to make their own decision,(the OP did say they wanted a ful suss and is the only reason i set about finding FS that fitted in the price range)

i'm under the impression that new posters on here looking for advice hold that advice in high regard and it influences the spending of their hard earned.

supersonic

It is good to show a range of options, and as the OP quite openly admitted they know nothing, then it would be beneficial to show other ideas. And that is what I always base my advice on. In the end it comes down to the rider to test some machines out, and make their own mind up. If I feel a bike has a sore point I will point it out. People are saying go for a HT at 2-600 quid because the majority of full sussers at this price are compromised.

MyNameIsDavid

Even though it's debatable clearly whether I should get either a full suspension or hardtail from reading most of this thread and lot's of others around the forum for my price point I think I will go for a hardtail.

So any advice for a hardtail?

Preferably with hydraulic disc brakes (If worth the money), very low in weight and an actual highly reviewed or rated bike please under £500 if possible.

The only bike I have seen remotely like this is - http://www.decathlon.co.uk/EN/rockrider-5-xc-disc-34964379/

The Rockrider 5 XC DISC. However I have a huge suspicion it is not worth the price and has low specs for the money.

Anonymous

you have made the right choice to be honest in picking a hardtail, although full sus is getting cheaper, at your price point (which is a very healthy budget by the way) it doesnt offer the best value.

there will be lots of advice as to which hardtail coming but for the most part, make sure you get to swing a leg over whatever you choose before you buy to make sure it is deffo the right bike.

MyNameIsDavid

sheepsteeth wrote:

you have made the right choice to be honest in picking a hardtail, although full sus is getting cheaper, at your price point (which is a very healthy budget by the way) it doesnt offer the best value.

there will be lots of advice as to which hardtail coming but for the most part, make sure you get to swing a leg over whatever you choose before you buy to make sure it is deffo the right bike.

I will make sure to at any local stores I can find. It's then the matter of probably spending £200 on accessories which as they are so many to choose from will be pretty difficult as well,

Anonymous

well, there is loads of good advice to be had here, i would imagine evrything on the market has been tried by someone here so make sure you come back with your list of options and see what folk think.

MyNameIsDavid

sheepsteeth wrote:

well, there is loads of good advice to be had here, i would imagine evrything on the market has been tried by someone here so make sure you come back with your list of options and see what folk think.

I will to be sure, I will try and concentrate on a good hardtail first though as it is the most important thing obviously.

Yukon Lad

batch78 wrote:

I am not as new, I possibly know more, hello.

Firstly, good quality, full suspension and less than £600 is all but impossible, sorry

On the plus side, good quality, HARDTAIL, less than £600 is absolutely possible

As ever, take a look in the what bike thread, search through the buying forum, try a few bikes from local bike shops (LBS), then get back on here with a shortlist.

My ykuon fx2 was £600 and has a giant air shock, shimano hydraulic disc brakes, sram x.5 gears and dart 2 forks, same quality components as most hardtails and is full-sus, the fx3 is less and has the same shock and forks but different gears and has mechanical disc brakes but the frame of a bike worth over a grand, for around £500

Check out rutland cycling, just cos its not a grand don't mean it aint good

Yukon Lad

supersonic

That Decathlon bike seems very well specced for the money. Takle a look also at the Carrera Kraken, and GT Avalanche 2.0

MyNameIsDavid

supersonic wrote:

That Decathlon bike seems very well specced for the money. Takle a look also at the Carrera Kraken, and GT Avalanche 2.0

I really like the look of the Carrera Kraken 2008 from Halfords. It's even got hydraulic brakes but I have no idea how good a quality they would be clearly. I might try it out soon if it's recommended enough on here.

http://www.halfords.com/webapp/wcs/stores/servlet/product_storeId_10001_catalogId_10151_productId_273305_langId_-1_categoryId_106166#

supersonic

Its a great bike, if you like the riding position, I'd get it!

Chris5.5

I too was new on here a couple of months ago and took Supersonics advice (and a few others) and bought a Carrera Fury (£450 at the moment).

The quality of the frame is great, the brakes are great as is the forks and all the components.

I would agree that Carrera make excellent bikes.

I have been up and down Jacobs ladder in Edale and Macc forest, its never gone wrong and the frame is taking my 17 stone weight with no problems at all.

Chris