A quick hello and a few questions

RED_

Hi Everyone, I discovered this forum yesterday, and after having a look through all the brilliant advice (is ass-kissing welcomed from a noob? ) I now know what kind of bike I want...

It's the typical average noob shopping list of -£500 - Avalance 1.0/Rockhopper/Scott Aspect etc etc.

Anyway I've found a good deal on a Cape Wrath D27 which I've seen good reviews for. The question I want to ask about this, and the other bikes in this range is:

For spare parts, how easy is it to upgrade? eg. If I bought a new MTB fork, would it fit all these bikes? Would most MTB pedals fit them all?

I'd rather get a bike that's easy to upgrade/replace parts you see.

Also does the CW get the thumbs up from you lot?

Thanks for reading!

robmanic1

Welcome RED. And welcome to a world of unrelenting spending on all manner of tasty goodies with which to adorn your chosen steed.

It's way too easy to upgrade, as you will find out, the only limit being the depth of your pockets. My advice would be to get the bike first, get some miles in (which will benefit you far more than spending money initially), and then decide if the kind of riding you want to do warrants upgrades.

The Cape gets consistently good reviews and would be on my list if I were spending in your range, loads of choice in this price point, the best advice is to try before you buy if you can.

ENJOY!!!

andrewjoseph

All pedals I know of are a standard thread. i.e. as far as i am aware any pedals with fit any crank.

There are 2 different sizes of headtube/headset/steerer diameter. The normal size is used by 99% of bikes, and the oversized by the rest. Both are easily available but the oversized is usually for longtravel 'freeride' type forks. these will cost more.

So you can upgrade the forks easily, and practically almost any other part of the bike too.

RED_

Thanks guys, very helpful.

Rob, I can imagine what you mean about the unrelenting spending. It sounds like an expensive hobby, but most things are there days.

I don't plan on doing ANY upgrading (fingers crossed) if the bike is good. For what I want it for is should be (forest trails, XC).

Andrew, do the bikes I've mentioned fall into the 99% you mentioned?

I read a post yesterday about bike snobbery which made me laugh. Last year me and my girlfriend got matching bikes from Ebay, they were cheap folding mountain bikes as we had to get something to fit in the back of her Ford Ka (it won't take any roof racks), looking back I wonder what all the guys with the 2-3k bikes were thinking when we rolled up at the trail? They're too heavy anyway, hence wanting a better bike.

Hopefully the Cape will be what I'm after.

robmanic1

Crikey mate, you'll notice a massive difference between the folder and anything in the £500 range. Bike snobbery does exist, as you've already read about on here, but it's pretty rare on the MTB forums (not so much the roady forums). Anyone with any knowledge knows that the £500 mark is one of the most hotly contested amongst the bike manufacturers and therefore offers amongst the best value. Have a look a the Giants too while your at it. They are typically sneered at by the label snobs, but in fact offer some of the best value bikes around (I have a Trance2 from a couple of years back that, at the time, offered a far better class of components than anything else in the price range). That said, I also have a Cannondale from a few years back that was ridiculously expensive and had probably the cheapest components of similar bikes in it's price range. Not sure what that says about me.... :?

RED_

Cheers Rob, I'll have a look out for the Giants. I need to get myself to a shop and get on a few, before saying 'I'll think about it', then going internet shopping!

I'm saying the Cape, but I actually don't know. It's just that I saw a good price on it (£340 new). Hopefully Evans will have one I can sit on.

My mate wants me to go biking with him, but I said no chance with what I've got now. He's got a Commencal Meta 5 or something, so I need one that will keep up.

pdid

If your still struggling with the ka, Thule make roof bars to fit:

http://www.skidrive.co.uk/bars/selector3.php?idx=387

Should get two bikes on top no problem.

llamafarmer

The little things you'll most likely upgrade/replace are dead easy - pedals, saddle, tyres. The bikes you mention will all get you started very nicely and I reckon after a couple of years if you find you've outgrown it, you'll feel it's worth buying a whole new one rather than gradually upgrading major parts.

Best advice is definitely to go and try a few bikes, because I bet there's one of the four you mention that will grab you more than the others and it's a very personal thing.

RED_

Thanks Llama & pdid

Good shout with the Ka roof rack, I've never been able to find one. When we've been riding and come back to the car, it's funny to see people having a sly look to see how we get 2 full size bikes in the back of the Ka!

andrewjoseph

RED_ wrote:

...

Andrew, do the bikes I've mentioned fall into the 99% you mentioned?....

I believe so, most bikes that take oversize steerer tubes are full suss freeride bikes that cost loadsamoney and weigh half a ton.

A quick look shows it to be 38.1mm steerer diameter, oversized steerer's are 1.5".

Make sure you are happy with the size of the bike when riding. not too stretched out, not tucked up. You should be able to turn quite tight corners while pedaling without your knees hitting the handlebar.

Don't be too worried about standover, as long as you can get your leg over comfortably.

Th3 Firestarter

Hey RED, you may want to take a look at bikehut in halfords. They do the chris boardman bikes which seem to be well specced at reasonable prices. The following is a bargain at £549 http://www.halfords.com/webapp/wcs/stor ... 65499#dtab

cee

hey red....welcome...

true a$$ ki$$ing requires cakes! )

Fork will depend on the bike you want to put it on, and pototially the front wheel....forks obviously come in a range of lengths....wouldn't put a mahoosive fork on an xc bike for example. forks can have different axels and to ensure a cheap upgrade, this should match your wheel. The other consideration is your brakes. Disc brakes have a couple of different mounts to attach to forks, but adapters can be bought for a couple of quid (or a pack of choccy bickies if you speak to your lbs nicely). MTB pedals are pretty much all a standard thread.

When I drive myself and two mates with their bikes somewhere we also get strange looks and comments about the tardis effect of my boot.

My car (ok quite big....toyota carina) happily takes 3 burly blokes and 3 burly bikes. There is a stacking technique.....but thats another story.

Welcome...and i prefer chocolate cake to fruit cake.

RED_

Thanks everyone you've been most helpful.

The reason I wanted to know about which parts fit the bikes is I was considering the GT Avalanche, but read it's more compact in length. I'm 6'4 so it's probably put me off that bike, but then I thought about the possibility of fitting a longer handlebar stem. It's probably better just to get a bike that fits better though.

Cee, I'll tell the missus to get the cake in the oven. I'm useless!

nevinkeville

I agree with firestarter, Boardmans are definately worth a look great spec for the cash.

RED_

Lickle update, I plumped for an Avalanche 1.0 disc, just bought it off Ebay, it's a new 08 one and I paid 350. Picking it up this week. I know I should have tried some first but hey ho, spoke to a mate who had owned one and he said it'll be the right size for me.

I'm happy with that as I get a (hopefully trustworthy) bike with great reviews, and I've not paid enough that I'll be too precious with it.

So thanks all for your help. I'm sure I'll have tons more questions when I get it.

RED