which mountain bike should I get ????

acecleaner

Hya there

I have a careera vulcan hard tail with avid 5 breaks, and feel like I ma being restricted on my ability, I have friends with full suss, specialised etc, and struggle keeping upo goping upo and down big climbs, and in general fast getting going through single tracks, mine seems slow off the mark, I'm sure its not my legs!!

any advise on which bike I should go for next??

thanks

geordiefreerider

Is it for xc riding ? What is your budget ?

You need to be more specific.

stumpyjon

Before getting a new bike maybe worth checking a few things.

Tyres, big (wide, 2.35) tyres can be really draggy, lighter tyres will be faster.
Tyre pressure, if the pressure is low they will drag, try 35-40 PSI.
Brakes, check the brakes aren't dragging, are the pads rubbing?
Hibs / drivetrain. if the bearings on either are gunked it's not going to help.

As for a new bike, depends on how much you want to spend and what sort of riding you are going to be doing, time in the saddle, terrain, surfaces etc.

Personally I'd recommend a Specialized Stumpjumper for general trail riding, suits me brilliantly, however it may not be the best bike for you.

joshtp

dtumpyjon makes a good point, check the bike over. Without wanting to offend, have you thought that it may be your skill level? maybe you are simply not as good as your mates, if you are a good enough rider, and you have an ok bike(you do, the fury is quite good) you should be able to keep up with them no mater what they are on, unless you are riding crazy DH. if you borrow one of they'r bikes and then keep up with them, it is your bike,not you. its just an idea, and im sure you are actualy a great rider!

acecleaner

Thanks for the replies


I have checked all the things you have stated, other then changing tyres, they are a bit big though the tyres on mine!

I do a lot of woods type single track riding a bit of road in between, and now and again go to the peaks on some serious climbs, rocky areas etc

my budget is somewhere in the region of a grand to £1500

what du think?

acecleaner

joshtp/mbukman wrote:

dtumpyjon makes a good point, check the bike over. Without wanting to offend, have you thought that it may be your skill level? maybe you are simply not as good as your mates, if you are a good enough rider, and you have an ok bike(you do, the fury is quite good) you should be able to keep up with them no mater what they are on, unless you are riding crazy DH. if you borrow one of they'r bikes and then keep up with them, it is your bike,not you. its just an idea, and im sure you are actualy a great rider!

Thanks Josh/mbukman, no offence taken, I am a realist, and thin k I am everry bit as good as the other lads, once I get my bike going, I can keep the pace, but I am bouncing all over the place, when they seem more planted and riding at a lesuire!

one has a stuntjumper comp £2500 worth of bike, but not sure if I like it!

cgarossi

Don't worry about the climbs, as long as you can do them thats all that counts in my opinion. But theres nothing to stop you getting a bit fitter to try and keep up.

For £1500 you could get an awesome bike. My Trek was £1750, you could get the model below for around £1500, that is if you are decided on a full sus.

Anonymous

you should be able to get a good bike for 1500.... I got a Giant Trance X 5 for just under a grand, but it was for the upgrade capability at a later date.....i've not hammered it as hard as possible yet, but on a local trail I found I could ride faster on single track. the tyres were smaller and my rear shock set up was tight so it pinged ok.

like joshtp/mbukman says, swap bikes with one of ya mates a try and break it...ok he didn't say break it but you get the drift.

peace

G

acecleaner

thanks, I am pretty fit so I think thats not the problem

I have had a go on me mates stuntjumper breifly, and was shocked at how good the gears were compaired with mine, but didnt stay on long cuase I didnt want to replace it if I bust it!

I have just looked at a spech FSR XC PRO, looks good, seen really good reviews, and really bad reviews, what du think?

Anonymous

acecleaner wrote:

thanks, I am pretty fit so I think thats not the problem

I have had a go on me mates stuntjumper breifly, and was shocked at how good the gears were compaired with mine, but didnt stay on long cuase I didnt want to replace it if I bust it!

I have just looked at a spech FSR XC PRO, looks good, seen really good reviews, and really bad reviews, what du think?

not sure on the pro, on paper it looks good, I would ask for a test ride from the LBS and see how you feel.

cgarossi

It's a good bike. I think its about £1k right? For a full sus, its probably fairly heavy. It got 7/10 in some reviews.

The Tora fork is good with 120mm travel, not sure on the rear shock though.

Anonymous

you could look at the giant trance range.. or the FSR XC Expert?

kitenski

you need to try them if you possibly can. I am in a similiar boat to you and just demo'd the Giant Anthem and Trance. I loved both of them compared to my HT but the trance gave me lower back pain which I didn't get on the Anthem.

Cheers,

Greg

joshtp

a FS will improve comfort, and help you keep up, i think this is awsome for the price, better speck than some 1800 squid bikes, and just about perfect for your needs!
much beter than the spesh!
boardman pro fs
http://www.halfords.com/webapp/wcs/stor ... yId_165499
the bike radar review:
http://www.bikeradar.com/gear/category/ ... o-09-34684

acecleaner

kitenski wrote:

you need to try them if you possibly can. I am in a similiar boat to you and just demo'd the Giant Anthem and Trance. I loved both of them compared to my HT but the trance gave me lower back pain which I didn't get on the Anthem.

Cheers,

Greg

Thanks Greg

thats funyy, cuase I get a lot of lower back pain with the one I have now, how du go about getting a test ride?

cheers Andy

kitenski

acecleaner wrote:

kitenski wrote:

you need to try them if you possibly can. I am in a similiar boat to you and just demo'd the Giant Anthem and Trance. I loved both of them compared to my HT but the trance gave me lower back pain which I didn't get on the Anthem.

Cheers,

Greg

Thanks Greg

thats funyy, cuase I get a lot of lower back pain with the one I have now, how du go about getting a test ride?

cheers Andy

Speak to some local bike shops - some seem to charge for the privilege!! or get along to some events that may have some demo days (I couldn't find any local to me)

Cheers,

greg

Anonymous

lower back problems? now I get those in other sports I do, i've found it may be your riding position on the bike perhaps? typically mine is caused by bad posture, then again this is simply forum guess work..if you catch my drift.

that boardman looks good, a nice lightweight wippet of a bike and good spec too...

acecleaner

kitenski wrote:

acecleaner wrote:

kitenski wrote:

you need to try them if you possibly can. I am in a similiar boat to you and just demo'd the Giant Anthem and Trance. I loved both of them compared to my HT but the trance gave me lower back pain which I didn't get on the Anthem.

Cheers,

Greg

Thanks Greg

thats funyy, cuase I get a lot of lower back pain with the one I have now, how du go about getting a test ride?

cheers Andy

Speak to some local bike shops - some seem to charge for the privilege!! or get along to some events that may have some demo days (I couldn't find any local to me)

Cheers,

greg

thanks Greg, I'm from Donny, so have the same problem, have you ever tried Evans /

cheers Andy

cgarossi

I got my Scott from Evans and they take a 1p deposit from your card and keep it behind the counter. Then you can go off and play.

acecleaner

cgarossi wrote:

I got my Scott from Evans and they take a 1p deposit from your card and keep it behind the counter. Then you can go off and play.

thanks mate, thats good to know, I will try them

do you know anyone with a Boardman Pro ? been looking at them, they have some good kit on them, but I am worried about getting the wrong bike, the next one has gotto be a good en

cheers Andy

kitenski

the inability to test the Boardman put me off looking at one. If I'm spending that kind of money I'd want a proper test ride!!

acecleaner

GmanUK101 wrote:

lower back problems? now I get those in other sports I do, i've found it may be your riding position on the bike perhaps? typically mine is caused by bad posture, then again this is simply forum guess work..if you catch my drift.

that boardman looks good, a nice lightweight wippet of a bike and good spec too...

Thanks gman, gonna go in and have a look at the boardman I tyhink, they have some propper kit on em

cheers

acecleaner

kitenski wrote:

the inability to test the Boardman put me off looking at one. If I'm spending that kind of money I'd want a proper test ride!!

i take it you cant test ride them then ??

cgarossi

My best friend had a Boardman Pro Hard tail. Its a very racy agressive position. Great components on it (although I think that has changed in 09 models). Not sure how they managed to put Reba's, Juicy 7s and Sram components on it sub £1k and keep it at really low 24lbs!!!

Its a great bike but you might find the reach too aggressive, especially if you suffer from back pain, which is the reason he sold it.

acecleaner

does anyone know how the weight of the boardman pro mtb compaired with the specialized comp mtb ??

supersonic

Boardman Pro hardtail is 24lbs without pedals for an 18incher.

No idea on the comp!

joshtp

The boardman has the best components for anywhaer near the price. the FS's are suposed to be a bit more trail friently than the ht's and i think you can test them, if not on a big trail, you can ride it It would be my choice, but its what you want. The x.o rear mech is something rarely found at £2300 + and the toras are a very good fork, one of the best trail forks around!

acecleaner

cgarossi wrote:

My best friend had a Boardman Pro Hard tail. Its a very racy agressive position. Great components on it (although I think that has changed in 09 models). Not sure how they managed to put Reba's, Juicy 7s and Sram components on it sub £1k and keep it at really low 24lbs!!!

Its a great bike but you might find the reach too aggressive, especially if you suffer from back pain, which is the reason he sold it.

thanks mate, I was looking at the boardman pro full suss, is that the weight 24lbs ?

cheers

supersonic

Full suss pro weighs 27.4lbs.

For the money, unbeatable.

acecleaner

joshtp/mbukman wrote:

The boardman has the best components for anywhaer near the price. the FS's are suposed to be a bit more trail friently than the ht's and i think you can test them, if not on a big trail, you can ride it It would be my choice, but its what you want. The x.o rear mech is something rarely found at £2300 + and the toras are a very good fork, one of the best trail forks around!

thanks, Im off to halfords to look at one

cheers

joshtp

acecleaner wrote:

cgarossi wrote:

My best friend had a Boardman Pro Hard tail. Its a very racy agressive position. Great components on it (although I think that has changed in 09 models). Not sure how they managed to put Reba's, Juicy 7s and Sram components on it sub £1k and keep it at really low 24lbs!!!

Its a great bike but you might find the reach too aggressive, especially if you suffer from back pain, which is the reason he sold it.

thanks mate, I was looking at the boardman pro full suss, is that the weight 24lbs ?

cheers

weight is 27.3 lbs
crazy light!