Complete n00b here, I want to get into freeriding

Alex1927

Hey there!

As the title suggests really! I need a new hobby to get out of the house rather badly and getting into FR has a large appeal somewhat. I did trials about 8 years ago when I was 14/15 but got real bored of it after a couple of months and just kinda stopped. I ride to work a lot nowadays on a shitty bike every day which has spurned my interest a little bit

So what should I be looking for in getting a bike? Am I best to look for a second hand build? I had a look briefly on pinkbike but I don't know what's a good reliable bike and what isn't! Budget ideally would be less than £500, Im guessing for a beginner I could pick up something decent. I'm about 5ft7 and weigh about 125lbs if that's any help

Any help/tips/advice/links to good bikes would be much appreciated!

Thanks

cavegiant

Freeride bikes are the most expensive type of bikes, and not something to cheap out on.


An amazing deal, but if you want to huck stuff you need a real bike.

http://www.paulscycles.co.uk/products.p ... 1b0s1p2600

Alex1927

I do not have £1000, LOL

What are the good beginner bikes I could pick up 2nd hand?

Ransaka

It's probably going to be easier if you give us an idea of your budget but, as cavegiant said, freeride bikes are not cheap.

RevellRider

Why not get out and ride a little? Just going out and launching yourself off the nearest cliff face will end you up in hospital

Alex1927

Well £600 initially, could push to £750-800 if I really had to. I thought I'd be able to get something 2nd hand for £600 with no trouble whatsoever. Ah ignorance.

supersonic

How big will your riding be? You need to factor in all the safety gear too.

Alex1927

RevellRider wrote:

Why not get out and ride a little? Just going out and launching yourself off the nearest cliff face will end you up in hospital

Well what discipline should I go for first then? Thanks

RevellRider

Mountain biking. :P

You ride whatever and where ever you can. That way you can work up to the bigger stuff

cavegiant

+1 on start with a normal mountain bike and get your skills up.

Starting with free-ride is like saying I want to drive formula 1 before getting your licence.

This is a great bike for the money, my wife rides one

http://www.paulscycles.co.uk/products.p ... 1b0s1p1504

Good for everything up to and including basic DH and drops of a few feet. However it pedals very well and is quite fast.

Freeride bikes are multiple meter drops, start with something smaller first =-)

Alex1927

Ah cool. Guess in reality it does make sense to go from the basics and work up.

Cheers for the above link, anything else out there on the market?

cooldad

Alex1927 wrote:

Ah cool. Guess in reality it does make sense to go from the basics and work up.

Cheers for the above link, anything else out there on the market?

Plenty. Google is your friend.

Alex1927

Well Googling 'good freeride bikes' just leads me to an eternal sea of 'wtf' hence asking for opinions on here

cooldad

But you are no longer looking for a freeride bike.
Try looking at a few shops, real or online.
Also look in the buying forum, pages of posts on various bikes in various price ranges.
Then when you have some idea of what you want, look for opinions/reviews.

cavegiant

for complete bikes, pauls cycles is unbeatable, like CRC for components.

Look for an all mountain bike, does a bit of everything.

Alex1927

How about the Carrera Fury? Sounds like it'd be a good starter bike,

Mental Mickey

Alex1927 wrote:

How about the Carrera Fury? Sounds like it'd be a good starter bike,

Yes the Fury is an award winning bike, hard to beat what that bike will give you for the money. I've met guys at a local trail centre on them and they are just as capable at dealing with the trail (XC red graded with a few black graded parts) as more expensive hardtails.

Or if you can up your budget to £850, you could consider this..
http://www.on-one.co.uk/i/q/CBOOINSLX/on-one-inbred-slx

which would also be an excellent starter bike to get you into mountain biking.

I definitely agree with others though that say you would be better off learning all about XC riding, get the basics nailed (as there is SO MUCH to learn) first, before getting into the more hardcore end of the market.

Those skills you learn on smaller jumps and drop offs (which the Fury and Inbred are perfectly capable of) and general trail riding are where you will hone your skills, this will be very useful when you get into the bigger stuff where you will need to spend far more money on safety gear for starters.

Good luck.

Alex1927

Sounds like the Fury will be right down my street, will pop down to Halfords and see how it feels.

Gonna read through the buyers guide/beginner stuff here, get a better idea and try to understand the terminology a bit better.

Atz

Don't be sucked in with the marketing terms like "all mountain", "enduro" etc until you're comfortable with what you like to ride. Get a decent bike that covers a lot of disciplines (i.e. don't get a jump bike, big slack DH oriented bike, flat bar race bike) and then ride it until you find yourself moving in a specific direction.

Alex1927

Cheers for that, will bear it in mind.

Reading the reviews from a few places the Fury seems good to start with, but like I say gotta pop down to Halfords and give it a demo to get a feel for it.

Luckily as well there's a newly formed club in Peterborough so not before long I'll be hitting hit up.

Alex1927

Bump.

How would the Carerra Vulcan do for a first timer? It's over half the price at £260 and reviews seem to suggest it's a decent enough starter bike

Alex1927

Ah balls that'd be the v brake, I'd like disc if possible

Northwind

You get quite a lot more if you can step up to the Fury- not that the Vulcan's a bad bike but it's total entry level. The Fury won a "£750 bikes" test a while back despite being only 2/3ds of the budget It's no freeride bike obviously, but it's up for a lot harder use than most bikes at this price which tend to be very XC- more travel, good solid parts, nice fork.