Hi, looking for budget bike, trail finding advice, etc

chrisbassist

Hi, my names Chris, and i'm new to this...

I want to get into MTB for health and fun. So not looking to go too serious (but who knows if i'll want to take things more seriously in a few years time) I was into BMX when I was younger, but BMXs are rather limited in their use...

So first question would be a budget bike... I was reading reviews on here, liked the look of the Mongoose Fireball, had a look round, and it seems they no longer do it. so had a browse and found the Ghost 4-X. This would be the very top end of my budget, so any other suggestions please keep them less than the £400 list price of the 4-X (hopefully will still be able to get a better deal, but I would rather spend closer to 300)

Is the 4-X (V brake) a good bike for beginners? and what are its strengths? and what others like this could you recommend?

how will these dirt jump bikes fair on the road? will they be easy enough to ride long distances? I'm training for a half marathon, so thought a few long bike rides every now and again would really help. I'm thinking about a 50ish mile trip to see friends, then ride back either next day or after a couple of days.

lastly how do you guys go about finding trails to ride? I don't know about any near here but is it a case of going for a ride to see what you can find? or is it more a case of looking at maps? or what?

Thanks for any advice you can give.

kaytronika

As far as finding trails is concerned... I suppose the first thing you can do is a bit of research on here and other similar forums.

Then when you find a place nearby build a bit of a strategy for exploring... With Delamere as an example I headed out the first time and just explored way marked trails... Now I have my bearings I'll try some of the unofficial routes through the woods.. That's working for me. I always have a GPS assisted phone with me to help me get back to civilisation should I take a wrong turn, I'm sure a map would be as good. A sense of direction always came in handy for me before the days of affordable GPS solutions!

It's worth heading out with people who know places well too. They'll point you in the direction of better routes to take that you might otherwise miss. People on here often seem quite happy to have people tag along on their rides. Check out the Rides section of the forum.

chrisbassist

so basically a bit of both then? look at a map, then explore anywhere you like......

and try and benefit from others experience....


one thing i am concerned about is how well DJ bikes cope on the road. I'm sure they won't be as good as a road bike, but how well will it do really? I'd much rather have a DJ bike since i like the look of them. but if the only way to get good performance on the road is to get something else then it'll have to be looked at.

chrisbassist

this is the bike i'm looking at:
http://www.chainreactioncycles.com/Mode ... elID=44878

hairy_boy

Worth getting hold of an ordnance survey 'explorer' map for your local area - can help you spot little paths/trails you never knew existed.

http://leisure.ordnancesurvey.co.uk/products/paper-maps/paper-maps-ordnance-survey-great-britain?_s_ref=PdPm75f8S&kw="ordnance%20survey"&creative=5161330980&gclid=CM-n8PCg7aECFSJl4wod5hSSHw

chrisbassist

cheers, so step 1, getr bike, step 2, get map, step 3, get used to riding bike, step 4 find people who ride near me, step 5, find the guts to throw myself over jumps n stuff.

any tips on bikes?

3110neil

try here
http://www.bikeradar.com/forum/viewtopic.php?t=12590132

Hope this answers your question (tips on bikes )

kaytronika

I've never ridden a jump bike on or off road. Didn't know what one was until last month :oops:

I'd imagine the long boingy fork would work against you on the climbs.


This months MBUK has a feature on 500-600 quid all rounders. Might be worth a read.

chrisbassist

cheers,

looked through that (now out of date) thread on bikes, didn't like the look of anything listed. don't know why but I'm quite keen on the DJ style... maybe it's because i was a BMXer.

as for the forks. how much difference can they make on a hill?

been browsing for some more...

like the look of:
Kona Shred
Giant STP1
Mongoose Fireball (but cant find it being sold anywhere)
specialized P2 Cr-Mo

bails87

Personally I think you'd be mad to do a 50 mile ride on a DJ bike. If you want to do massive road rides then get a road bike.

I'm not super fit, but I'm not particularly slow either and on a normal local trail ride I average around 10-11mph, on somewhere more technical I'll average 8ish mph. And that's on a fast, light cross-country bike. So that would be a lot of riding for a DJ bike.

Looks do count for something, but choosing completely the wrong type of bike because you like how they look is silly. You need a road bike or a cross country bike.

Oxygen Thief

I rode through an unofficial route the other day and came across an unexpected very VERY steep decent and ti was either ride down it or panic and fall off. Rode it and what a rush!! Scary as shit!

neninja

With your budget you'll get loads more bike for your buck buying 2nd hand.

For that sort of money you could get an excellent condition 2009 cross country hardtail - something like a Specialized Hardrock or Giant XTC 3 or 4

They would seem better suited for what you are planning.

butcher of bakersfield

chrisbassist wrote:

how will these dirt jump bikes fair on the road? will they be easy enough to ride long distances? I'm training for a half marathon, so thought a few long bike rides every now and again would really help. I'm thinking about a 50ish mile trip to see friends, then ride back either next day or after a couple of days.

What do you want the bike for? If it's mostly jumping, 4x or whatever, then go for that kind of bike. You'll pick up something for less than £50 on ebay that will be suitable for long rides if you want to do that occasionally. But don't spend £400 on a jump bike if you're going to spend most of the time on the road or out on trails. Your average trail bike however will cover pretty much everything.

Have a look at the Carrera range in Halfords, such as the Vulcan, or the Kraken. Maybe even the Fury if you up your budget a little. The Decathlon Rockrider range is popular too, though stores are few and far between.

lastly how do you guys go about finding trails to ride? I don't know about any near here but is it a case of going for a ride to see what you can find? or is it more a case of looking at maps? or what?

Different for everyone I guess. Some use GPS. Some use Ordnance Survey. Some mostly ride trail centres. Some just find whatever...ad some do all of the above and everything in between.

Depends on where you live really. If you're surrounded by trails and forests, just go out and have a blast - see what you find. If not, do a little research first and plan some routes.

chrisbassist

The long rides like that will be few and far between. And it also doesn't make sense to me to buy a bike I won't use often. If I buy a cheap bike second hand for it then it'll just take it away from my budget for my preferred bike. I used to do about 20 miles every Saturday on a bmx, I'm sure it'll be better than that... I loved my dyno performer.

As for regular riding, hopefully it'll end up being dirt jumps, but don't think I've got the balls at the mo, so trails, maybe a touch of downhill stuff til I grow a pair.

From what I hear there's nothing that great round here (Oxford area, more specifically kidlington) but hopefully I'll find something.

Thread8

I do all my riding on a jump bike, hasnt given me any greif

chrisbassist

Good to know, cheers.