Another Newbie

Doctor Gonzo

Hello everyone, another newbie here
After promising myself a mountain bike for a few years, i finally got my arse in gear and started actively looking for a bike.

I stumbled across this place on my searches, really impressed with the information on tap, i look forward to picking your brains.

I'm after XC hardtail bike... after doing loads of reading and talking to some shop assistances / friends I’m finally starting to get my head around what to look for.

I’ve had a ride of the following bikes at some local stores:
- Gary Fisher piranha 2009
- Gary Fisher Tassajara Disc 2009
- Trek 6300 2009
- specialized rockhopper comp 2009

They all seem to fit well, at the moment i’m leaning toward the ‘hopper. It looks lovely in matt black, has a good spec and it’s within budget (£600 – £700).

Any other bike suggestions are welcome... any way that’s enough from me, thanks for reading.

Jim

rob_mafia

I'd have to agree with the spesh option, the Fishers are very nice but in my opinion lack something and you can't go wrong with the spesh, I think the fight should be between the Trek and Spesh....a hard decision indeed

Andy B

The Trek has a pi$$ poor fork, the Dart is a joke on a £675 bike. Even on a £300 bike it's laughable.

The Spesh has a much better fork & is just as good in all other aspects.

Test ride the bikes and see which you prefer.

Doctor Gonzo

The 'hopper comp seem to be the sensible / safe option at the moment. any worthwhile mods i should be look at?

There are so many to chose from at this sort of price, it makes it pretty tricky to choose one.

im going to think about the week, maybe try and a few more, then make a decision at the weekend.

Jim

Doctor Gonzo

Andy_B wrote:

The Trek has a pi$$ poor fork, the Dart is a joke on a £675 bike. Even on a £300 bike it's laughable.

The Spesh has a much better fork & is just as good in all other aspects.

Really? That's made it a whole lot easier for me to decide, the 'hopper it is then


unless someone throws a spanner in the works with an equally well spec'd alternative.

Si78

Doctor Gonzo wrote:

unless someone throws a spanner in the works with an equally well spec'd alternative.

Hi and welcome

Picking up spanner....

Boardman Comp, £699

...Im sure everyone is getting sick of me recommending this by now lol

Si

Doctor Gonzo

Si78 wrote:

Doctor Gonzo wrote:

unless someone throws a spanner in the works with an equally well spec'd alternative.

Hi and welcome

Picking up spanner....

Boardman Comp, £699

...Im sure everyone is getting sick of me recommending this by now lol

Si

Look like a nice bike for the money, good shocks too.

you can get these down at halford's right? might be worth a quick look later on!

Doctor Gonzo

opps DP :oops: :oops:

Doctor Gonzo

DP... opp :oops:

Si78

Doctor Gonzo wrote:

Si78 wrote:

Doctor Gonzo wrote:

unless someone throws a spanner in the works with an equally well spec'd alternative.

Hi and welcome

Picking up spanner....

Boardman Comp, £699

...Im sure everyone is getting sick of me recommending this by now lol

Si

Look like a nice bike for the money, good shocks too.

you can get these down at halford's right? might be worth a quick look later on!

Yeah, only sold by Halfords, which some think is a reason not to buy them!!! :shock:
You can always build it up yourself tho if you want.

Its the bigger brother to my bike, Boardman Sport... Wish I could have stretched to it, but I couldnt add any cash to my cycle2work voucher

Mine rides really well, very nimble. Looks great too (I think).
So I imagine the Comp will be fantastic!

Si

SpinningJenny

Here comes the spanner....

Or you could think about an 08 Specialized Rockhopper Disc Pro - it is a better spec than the Rockhopper you were considering and since it is an 08 verison, will be cheaper than the 09 version (around the amount you were considering to spend...

But as always, try 'em out and see what works best for you!

(PS - I AM biased as I've just bought one... )

Doctor Gonzo

SpinningJenny wrote:

Here comes the spanner....

Or you could think about an 08 Specialized Rockhopper Disc Pro - it is a better spec than the Rockhopper you were considering and since it is an 08 verison, will be cheaper than the 09 version (around the amount you were considering to spend...

But as always, try 'em out and see what works best for you!

(PS - I AM biased as I've just bought one... )

i have considered buying a better spec'ed 2008 model, the rockhopper pro being one of them. I just havent found anywhere that sells them, the cheapest i've found one is £799, however they where out of stock.

£800 is going to be dificult to justify to the missues :? but i'm not ruling it out though!

Where and how much did you pay for yours?

SpinningJenny

Yes, justifying the cost always a fun and challenging exercise

I got mine from Rayment Cycles in Brighton and it was £699. I originally went with a budget of £600 and Adam in the shop told me up front it would be more - when I told him I had a range above that, he smiled knowingly....

TBH, I tried out another (womens' specific) bike there, but the Pro blew it out of the water and fitted me better. I'd also tried a GT and a Focus elsewhere, but the same again - no contest.

I dont; know what their 08 stock is like now, but it's a fantastic shop. They sell mainly Specialized plus some Commencal.

Doctor Gonzo

Right i thought i would do an update, i ended up going with the rockhopper comp. Managed t get a good deal as my missue bought a Trek 6300

I'm going to have to wait until the weekend until i get it, hopefully the weather will be good as it was last week.

Feel like a 10 year old waiting for xmas day.

Thank for you assistance everyone.

Jim

SpinningJenny

\o/ another new bike - fantastic!

enjoy it all...

Ditch Witch

Grrrr, it bugs me that they make you wait to pick it up. It doesn't take all week to put one together, FFS :roll:

SpinningJenny

well, in my case, they were busy, they were going to do a full check of it, change the pedals (bit o' bling) and i couldn't wait as had somewhere else to be...

i was grinning like a fool when I picked it up though

Ditch Witch

I bet. It's an awesome bike!

SpinningJenny

no, it's a bit sh*t really.....

it's bl**dy marvellous

Doctor Gonzo

the wait is killing me, i should be doing uni work all this weekend... the temptation to go for ride will be pretty strong.

SpinningJenny

pssst...

*give in* *give in* *give in*

you know it makes sense...

Doctor Gonzo

SpinningJenny wrote:

pssst...

*give in* *give in* *give in*

you know it makes sense...

you temptress you're a bad influence!

Doctor Gonzo

well, i picked my bike up on friday, i really wanted to "man up" and ride the 6 miles home... but it was tipping it down.

Fitted a few essentials:

- Water bottle and holder
- Pump
- Saddle bag
- Puncher repair kit
- Helmet

I removed the bell and reflectors, looks much better without.

Had my first ride today, 10 miles in total. Really happy with the bike it feels very light and handles really well. Other than the sweating it was a lot of fun.

Found a nice thorn in my tire when i got back from my ride, pull it out to find it got the inner tube as well. :evil: So out came the puncher repair kit (and instructions).

Giving the legs a rest and going for my first XC blast this afternoon. Cant wait.