hello all :)

emilie...

Hey Everyone!
Im Em, From the Midlands and kinda new to mtb!!

I got a Carrera Vulcan last year (possibly because it was a nice colour and cheap ) haha!! But have found its quite "clunky" and hurts my arms...
So am looking for a new bike for around £350 ?
As i would like to get into the whole mountain bike thing..

Anyone got any ideas or advice?

Cheers xxx

nicklouse

Em. Welcome, For 350 i would not look at a new bike, as you have one, I would be looking at get some parts changed out.

Do you have a link to the one you have? or can you post up a picture (How to post pic can be found in the Bikeradar FAQs).

Initial thoughts are swaping the fork out to one that is lighter and works better.

Have you found a Good Local Bike Shop or are you stuck with Halfords?

Mrs Toast

Welcome aboard!

You need to identify why your arms are hurting - if it's a case that the bike is too big and you're being overstretched, getting a new bike (or a new frame a the least) would probably be the way to go - I'd expect your back to be hurting too though?

If it's just your arms, it might be that some relatively minor tweaking might help - making sure your brake levers are set up at an appropriate angle, that the grips are right for you, that the handlebars are the right width.

If you definitely want a new bike, best thing to do is to make a short list of possible contenders- for £350, you'd be looking at a hardtail like your Vulcan. Ideally you need to try out the bikes to see which ones fit you best. If you go for a model from the previous year, you can normally get very good discounts.

Thewaylander

As Mrs toast says i would check out your set up brake level alignment with your forearms and so on. and then persevere with the vulcan until you build a bit more budget,

In my view mountain bikes start really kick off at about £500 below that they tend to be a bit heavy and clunky

Si78

Hi Em, and welcome!

(I apologise for gatecrashing the womens forum )

The Vulcan doesnt look too bad to be honest, a £350 bike would not be much better.

I agree with Mrs Toast...Find whats causing your arms to hurt.

Is it that you are stretching too much to reach the bars?,
Is your seat a bit high or sloping forwards (putting all your weight on your arms/hands)? Is it vibrations or bumps that are causing it?
Brake levers at the incorrect angle?

If you are happy that the bike is the right size for you then it is worth keeping and ,like nicklouse says, maybe upgrade some of the components.

Maybe get a new suspension fork, or get some hydraulic brakes (much less effort required when braking), or something as simple as new (more comfortable) handlebar grips, or a shorter stem if you are having to stretch to reach the handlebars.

Like Thewaylander says, you need atleast £500 to get a really good new bike (unless the Carrera Fury gets reduced to £400 again!).

If you do upgrade some of the components remember you can always transfer them to a new bike if you ever buy one, or sell them on ebay, so you wouldnt be wasting any money really.

Hope this helps!
Si

P.S. You say your bike is 'clunky'. Does it maybe just need a bit of TLC? Maybe get a bike shop to give it a service to ensure everything is running smoothly?

Ditch Witch

Not much more to add than Welcome!

SpinningJenny

Yep - all the wise people got there first. Welcome!

(Fresh meat - mwahahaha!) :twisted:

emilie...

Hey..

Thanks for all the advice Its a biiiig help!!

My boyfriend said it might help to tweak it a little which he has done to the forks and it hasnt really made alot of difference to be honest and tried the seat at different angles / lengths etc... Although i never really thought about changing parts on it .. (will try that along with brake level alignment )

Yeah theres a few bike shops around here.. One in Wolverhampton called Leisure Lakes and theres also a few in Birmigham.


This is the bike i currently have
http://reviews.halfords.com/4028/385724/reviews.htm


Thanks again for everyones help ...
I'll let you know how i get on as if the weather holds out like this i should be going on a ride tonight xx

Ditch Witch

Go into a proper bike shop and have it setup for you, see if that helps?

Ditch Witch

And easy, SJ, let the girl get settle in first

emilie...

to the bike shop it is... if all else fails i guess i can try all the other suggestions ..

SpinningJenny

Ditch Witch wrote:

And easy, SJ, let the girl get settle in first

god no, the sooner they learn, the easier it is... short, sharp shock

(only joking emilie...).

Ditch Witch

She's not joking at all. You watch out for her. She's trouble!

SpinningJenny

:twisted:

elPedro666

Can recommend Leisure Lakes in Wolves - generally a really good bunch, all really into their riding.

Fred Williams on Snow Hill is also a great shop - just don't be put off by it's roadie looks!

They should take one look at your position on the bike & be able to make recommendations. Actually - we could do that too if you can get a pic of your bike set-up and of you on it in the riding position. Otherwise it's just random guesswork!

canadiankate

This may sound a bit random, and to be fair i've only skimmed the comments above, but are you overgripping the handlebar/brakes?

My arms hurt and i get pumped out when going down hill and its simply because i'm overgipping the handlebars. If i make a concious effor to actually relax, and loosen my grip, i don't feel as wrung out at the end of the ride.

I would suggest getting someone experienced to have a look at your bike with you on it.

Good luck anyway, and hello!

nicklouse

emilie...
shame the link does not give a spec list.

the reason for the question was mainly to try and identify what the parts are (mainly the fork).

emilie...

nicklouse.. ive looked everywhere on the net for the full spec and can only find the 08 version.... i think i have the info somewhere at home... ill look in my lunch break!!


Does anyone know what time leisure lakes is open till... im heading near wolverhampton tonight on my bike so can pop in?

canadiankate.. hello to you too and i will try and relax a bit more and see if that helps.. hopefully not relax so much that i fall off!! haha!!

just out of curiousity .. do many of you go to mountain mayhem? x

SpinningJenny

I do agree about the relaxing your arms thing - it's all too easy to tense up and also, it does make it easier to control the bike if you're a bit more relaxed...

elPedro666

Head up, heels down, relax, look further ahead.
Keep chanting it.
Maybe just in your head though... :oops:

Today being Thursday, it's late night opening until eight 8)
Makes a change; late opening is usually yesterday...

SleepyLea

I feel the above is my new mantra, which has scrubbed out, why oh why cant I go faster... PMA is the key.

Hello Em, I am new too. Tis the season for noobs.

SpinningJenny

oh no, chant it out loud!

that way, you get the bike path to yourself

SleepyLea

Hmm, you have not seen me ride have you? I am the one with spokie dokies and streamers from my bars... I get the whole county to myself I fear if I start chanting, the men in white coats would be fast approaching me!!!

SpinningJenny

no sh*t - i saw a guy at London Bridge station yesterday with spokie dokies... man alive they were noisy!

and those men in white coats would need to run fast if they wanted to catch you on your bike...

SleepyLea

I dont actually have the above, but have seen them for sale, am trying to resist purchasing them. I also would like a wicker basket for emergency supplies of cake.

No, really they wouldnt have to run, I actually ride an exersize bike

Mrs Toast

elPedro666 wrote:

Can recommend Leisure Lakes in Wolves - generally a really good bunch, all really into their riding.

Fred Williams on Snow Hill is also a great shop - just don't be put off by it's roadie looks!

They should take one look at your position on the bike & be able to make recommendations. Actually - we could do that too if you can get a pic of your bike set-up and of you on it in the riding position. Otherwise it's just random guesswork!

Aye, Leisure Lakes are good - they have good access to the manufacturer's demo fleets, plus do a lot of different brands. The Specialized Concept Store in Birmingham is also very good, they have members of staff who are trained to alter/adjust bikes to fit people and their riding styles properly, and are very keen on getting people the right size bike - obviously you'd be looking at the cheaper Mykas/Hardrocks with a budget of £350.

I'd have to disagree with the £500 price tag comments though, you can get a decent hardtail for less than that - you just have to be a bit more accepting that you'll have to compromise on certain things.

For example, I got my Trek 4500 WSD for £400, and it's a great bike - certainly good enough for a beginner, and it didn't have any issues with the red routes I've ridden. But it didn't come with disc brakes - however, I knew it was disc brake compatible, so it could be upgraded at later point. The fork (Dart 2) was actually pretty decent - the only difference I really noticed when I upgraded to Rebas was the weight difference.

And that's the main thing - cheaper bikes will always come in heavier. My Trek hardtail is pretty much the heaviest bike in the house! If you do look at getting a new bike, I'd look to getting one with good frame, so you can upgrade it gradually as you get into biking.

For example, look at the 2009 GT Avalanches - the cheapest one (the Avalanche 3.0) is £299 at Evans, the higher end one (the Avalanche 1.0) is over £600. They all have exactly the same frame though, just different paint jobs.

SpinningJenny

Yes, they will be heavier. I agree. My bike is so light, it really surprised me - and I'm sure there are much lighter ones out there.

My poor old hybrid feels like a ton of bricks now!

elPedro666

Listen to Mrs Toast - spot on!

Although I'd also go for £500 as my 'getting serious' point. If you're not 'getting serious' then no problem compromising!

emilie...

thanks mrstoast
and
hey SleepyLea 8)
well i certainly have alot to try now... tonight hopefully ill pop to leisure lakes if the group im going riding with will let me haha!!
then saturday few in brum ... see what they suggest...
My friend recommended getting the GT Avalanche because of the frame and then said to just upgrade the parts when i get some spare cash!

In the future ill probably end up getting a more expensive bike as i do like the whole bikes and outdoors thing!

will update you tomorrow if i get to leisure lakes..

xx

elPedro666

emilie... wrote:

In the future ill probably end up getting a more expensive bike as i do like the whole bikes and outdoors thing!

will update you tomorrow if i get to leisure lakes..

xx

Hope they were extra bloody nice after I recommended them!

You just made me think - so long as you're enjoying your current bike, it might be an idea to wait a little longer before splashing cash to give you chance to identify what you actually need from a bike (lightweight, long travel, both etc ). Also your position on the bike will change with time; a few weeks ago I finally got back into my 'tucked in grinding out a huge hill' position for the first time since I got back into things seriously again and suddenly my old bike felt like it had been built for me again (it was, years ago)!

Just a thought.

emilie...

hello again....

sorry its taken me so long to reply... I got a bike off a friend and we ended up going camping for a few days as i wanted to try it out somewhere different!!

i got a gt avalanche in the end and i think i might be in love a little bit , gonna see how it goes with that for now but i can already feel the difference! then maybe get some new bits and pieces for it when ive got some cash!!

thanks everyone for your help xxx