Another "what bike" thread!
qczhao
Posts: 5
Hey guys, [first post!]
Just a little background on myself, i used to ride a lot when i was 15-16, did some trails and dirt jumping (nothing huge though), and then kinda stopped as i got into other things. I'm now 19 and have just rediscovered my love of mountain biking!
So...i was raring to get on some trails, and took my £90 hardtail uni bike, which probably wasn't the best idea. After only 2 hours on the trail (which is rocky ascents and descents), i had bent a front sprocket, bent the rear derailleur and snapped the chain
, so that kinda ended my first real trail foray rather abruptly.
My budget is £400, i don't think i can exceed it at all, unless the deal is amazing hehe. I'm not keen on a second hand bike.
Basically, what i'm looking for is a good trail bike which will last me for a good while (student, can't afford to break the bike etc etc :P ). , i will be riding mostly trails with it, but i'm quite aggressive on the descents and like to get some air and hit jumps whenever possible, so it has to be able to cope with that. Also, the terrain i'll be riding mostly on (dartmoor) is kinda rocky in a lot of places.
Because i can't make a huge initial outlay, i'm happy to go with a bike that has a solid frame at the cost of component quality because i can slowly upgrade the components as i go along. (As the student loans come in, :P)
I know the general consensus is that you can't get a decent full-susser for less than £1k, but are there -any- out there which has a solid frame to start from (even if components are shite). I won't be doing like, 20ft jumps and stuff with it (not yet at least) haha, so it doesn't have to be completely bombproof, just bombproof enough, if you know what i mean.
Hardtails which i'm eyeing up are these:
GT Avalanche Disc 2.0.
http://www.wiggle.co.uk/p/Cycle/7/GT_Av ... 360032286/
Specialized Hardrock DIsc
http://www.msteelcycles.co.uk/bikes/200 ... d_745.html
I would prefer a full-susser, so i can hit those downhills faster, and obviously leaves ya with less of a sore butt after a hard days riding :P
suggestions guys?
Just a little background on myself, i used to ride a lot when i was 15-16, did some trails and dirt jumping (nothing huge though), and then kinda stopped as i got into other things. I'm now 19 and have just rediscovered my love of mountain biking!
So...i was raring to get on some trails, and took my £90 hardtail uni bike, which probably wasn't the best idea. After only 2 hours on the trail (which is rocky ascents and descents), i had bent a front sprocket, bent the rear derailleur and snapped the chain
, so that kinda ended my first real trail foray rather abruptly.My budget is £400, i don't think i can exceed it at all, unless the deal is amazing hehe. I'm not keen on a second hand bike.
Basically, what i'm looking for is a good trail bike which will last me for a good while (student, can't afford to break the bike etc etc :P ). , i will be riding mostly trails with it, but i'm quite aggressive on the descents and like to get some air and hit jumps whenever possible, so it has to be able to cope with that. Also, the terrain i'll be riding mostly on (dartmoor) is kinda rocky in a lot of places.
Because i can't make a huge initial outlay, i'm happy to go with a bike that has a solid frame at the cost of component quality because i can slowly upgrade the components as i go along. (As the student loans come in, :P)
I know the general consensus is that you can't get a decent full-susser for less than £1k, but are there -any- out there which has a solid frame to start from (even if components are shite). I won't be doing like, 20ft jumps and stuff with it (not yet at least) haha, so it doesn't have to be completely bombproof, just bombproof enough, if you know what i mean.
Hardtails which i'm eyeing up are these:
GT Avalanche Disc 2.0.
http://www.wiggle.co.uk/p/Cycle/7/GT_Av ... 360032286/
Specialized Hardrock DIsc
http://www.msteelcycles.co.uk/bikes/200 ... d_745.html
I would prefer a full-susser, so i can hit those downhills faster, and obviously leaves ya with less of a sore butt after a hard days riding :P
suggestions guys?
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Comments
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Im confuzed, that GT's spec says it has hydraulics but the picture shows mechanicals??
Anyway i havnt had any experience with either but id go for the gt purely as it (should) have hydraulics and mechanical brakes will give you no end of trouble.
Obviously get other peoples opinions who have actualy ridden the bikes.
Dave0 -
The UK version is hydaulic - looks like the Wiggle numpties have a different pic from another country.
Much better bike than the Hardrock - superior forks, brakes and drivetrain.0 -
You might want to take a look at the GT Tempest, Lots of places had the tempest 1.0 on sale for £399.99 but i think they might be sold out at that price now.
The best thing you can do is go to your lbs and see what they have to offer.0 -
Other bike worth a look and with similar spec like the Avalanche 2.0 is the Scott Aspect 45 20080
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I went to my lbs but they did not stock the GT or the Specialized or the Scott
However, they did have some Land Rovers for £400, never knew they made bikes lol, has anyone ridden these (think it was the Khartoum), is it any good?
I did find this on the internet however,
Saracen Raw 3.0:
http://www.majorsporty.com/ms/store/pro ... s=0,srs=-1,
it looks quite well specced to me and its a very nice price. I'm just not sure if a 17" frame might be too small for me, (im 5' 10" with inner leg of ~31"). Anyone ridden one of these and can comment?
thanks in advance!0 -
Very heavy bike - a hardtail will be much lighter and better specced."Melancholy is incompatible with bicycling." ~James E. Starrs0
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Its heavy. Not bad spec, ok for shorter harder rides, but lacking. A hardtail would be better at this price.0
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How heavy is heavy exactly? :P
i'm just worried about breaking the hardtail (i'm not heavy...around 72kg) but i do like to rag it hard on the downhill bits
and am looking to do some jumping with it too, so will the hardtails hold up to this sort of abuse?
Also, i'm curious and this is probably an oft asked question, but what advantages do you get from a hardtail over full suspension other than cheapness?0 -
For £330 it has similar spec like the GT or the Scott.
If you don't bother the weight, wich I don't know how much is it, then this bike looks good.
About the jumps, I think it could take a little bit higher ones then the hardtails at this price range.
Size, if it helps this, I'm 6'1" and I ride 16" hardtail. For downhill is great and for uphill I can rise the seatpost for another 35cm (13,7"), wich is more than enough.0 -
It is round avout 38lbs. The rear shock is rubbish.0
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Cheers, Stu0
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Very good. Very very good.
This would be my bike of the year for XC and trails.
But try it out!0 -
Where are you? Might be an idea to look round the LBSs and see if they have any good deals, I know mine is trying to shift a lot of the 08 bikes fairly cheaply and there are some real steals to be had.0
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38lbs :shock: Some 7" Freeride bikes don't weight that much.supersonic wrote:It is round avout 38lbs. The rear shock is rubbish.
XC is not possible with that bike. But it he doesn't mind the weight........
Mate, go for hardtail, the GT or the Scott or if you don't mind waiting some time to buy disc brakes go for the Rockhopper.0 -
38lbs = 17Kg :shock:
I've just fainted from the thought 0 -
hey guys, would just like to thank you for your opinion and advice.
went round town this weekend just gone visiting all the bike shops, turns out one of them did have GT avalanches in stock and i really liked the feel of that bike, so thats what im going for, a GT Avalanche 1.0 Disc.
Should be here on thursday 0
