What next after a Carrera Vengeance Ltd ?

mountaingoatimnot

12 months ago i bought a 18" Carrera Vengeance Ltd from Halfords - at the time it looked a reasonable spec for the money (£230) and fell right in my budget for a first MTB. However i've never been comfortable on it - a combination of a bone hard saddle (razor !, now changed) and a feeling of reaching for the bars (despite moving saddle up/down,fore/aft, turning bars etc). So time has come to think about something a little better/more suited.

I'm a recreational rider - tarmac cycle paths, plus hard packed and loose canal tow paths with the odd light woodland trail. I'm not into billy goat mountain trials or big air !!

My budget stretches from £600 to £1200. I don't for one minute think i would fully exploit a bike at the upper end of the price range, but i'd rather buy something of quality to last for many years than be chopping n changing every year or so. I get drawn by websites offering previous year models at big discounts which isn't helping me focus at all !

I'm happy to support my local outlets but need suggestions so i can go armed with some initial ideas to help the sales person and me !!.

All help and suggestions (obvious and wacky!) most gratefully received.

chez_m356

was the bike the right size for you in the first place, and have you tried a shorter stem ? and this is always worth a look http://www.decathlon.co.uk/81-2011-id_8168695.html

mountaingoatimnot

Many thanks for taking the time to reply.

At 6' tall with a 31" inside leg, a 18" frame in theory is a reasonable start point. I found some very good online guides to help me with basic set-up, and with the advice of a few work colleagues who are MTB'rs through n through, i have managed to fine tune a few areas. In fairness, it does feel a lot better in the last few days after several progressive changes over the last few weeks. It feels a lot more comfortable to ride and more enjoyable to boot, but i just don't seem to 'gel' with it. I do wonder whether starting with a 20" frame may in reality been a better starting point.

I will be talking to some local retailers in the next week or so, so will see what they come up with and how their offerings feel in reality. I just don't want to be persuaded into a bike at a local outlet on the basis its the best they have to offer from perhaps a relatively limited stock.

bartimaeus

I would (a) see if you can find a 'demo day' near you, and (b) see if you can grab a ride on friends' bikes. That's the best way of trying bikes for size.

There are also plenty of things you can do which will change the way a bike feels... as suggested a shorter stem might help (cost £15) or even some different (wider) bars (£25).

At 6ft with 31" inside leg I'm not sure that there's an 'obvious' size bike - so try a range of sizes. I'm 6ft and both my bikes are L (20") but then I have long arms and legs... and one manufacturers 20" may be very different from another's.

The Rookie

At 5'10" I'm on a 16" Carrera Kraken, so the bikes size is not inherently wrong, what is wrong with the ride position? Perhaps you just prefer a more 'sit up and beg' riding position (as suggested by you not liking the saddle, the Carrera one I had was fine for me?), if you feel too stretched out you need a shorter bike not a longer one.........

mountaingoatimnot

The Beginner wrote:

if you feel too stretched out you need a shorter bike not a longer one.........

It's mainly the stretched out, reaching for the bars feeling - moving the saddle forward ca 20mm and rotating the bars to bring them slightly angled back has helped.

I've managed to make a short list of bikes to initially try, which at least means i can walk in the shop with something to say, and not be blown away by all the fresh metal !

Thanks for the replies once again.

bartimaeus

You could try one of these for £14.

parryman

The big problem with "what size?" is personal preference.
I like a short stem on a long frame.
sounds like the stem is too long for you, try grabbing a shorter one, I would recommend ~70% of the length you have, ie 120mm try a 85mm.
see if your lbs has some lurking that you can try, or get them to fit one and try it in the car park.

mountaingoatimnot

Quick update.

managed a quick 20 minutes in a bike shop near the office at lunchtime - whilst i didn;t get talking specifics the two guys in the shop both looked at me independently and said to start with a 19.5/20" frame and when i said i had a 18" they both said they'd never put me on one unless i realllllllly wanted 18


Then i got an hour with one of my local bike shops after work - again same conclusion. 20" frame. They have a few options i'm going to try in a few days time, Specialized Rockhopper, Whyte 805 and a Felt 29er. I sat on the Felt in the shop and whilst initial impressions were it was huge, it felt pretty good without any adjustments whatsoever.


To make sure i wasn't over awed by the new metal i went out tonight again for 30 minutes on the canal towpath on the Carrera. I'm now convinced the 18" frame is too small for me, and i'm not getting best efficiency, nor comfort from it as a result.

I have three pretty good bike shops in my town, who between them stock Giant, Scott, Felt, Whyte and Specialized. I know of another shop an hour away who stock Ghost, so i think i have some good places to view/test reasonable quality bikes. Going to limit my budget to £1k tops now too, it will cut down the initial test options and save me getting confused !!

mountaingoatimnot

Well after visiting 6 shops in the last week, and testing various bikes i finally came down to two safe options..

Giant Trance X4 '11 and Specialized Pitch Comp '10

Ordered the latter , on the basis it just looked a slightly better spec components, and was £100 cheaper too - £999 delivered can't be bad for a Specialized FS bike. Can't wait for delivery Wednesday now

supersonic

two guys in the shop both looked at me independently and said to start with a 19.5/20" frame and when i said i had a 18" they both said they'd never put me on one unless i realllllllly wanted 18

They are talking bollocks to be frank. You cannot tell what frame size somebody is by looking at them. Two reasons - frame sizes very MASSIVELY, even for a listed size. Secondly, people like different things.

A good shop will tell you this and invite you to try a range of sizes from a range of models.

mountaingoatimnot

I agree in some respects, but they did say 'start with a 19.5/20" frame'

In hindsight they were correct (perhaps by luck rather than good judgement) because every 19.5/20" frame i sat on or rode felt infintely better than medium / 17.5-18.5 frames. Main reason - higher bars due to the deeper steerer section on the frame. I got the same response in 5 other shops, although one did give me a 17.5 marin to trial which was OK because it had 3" of spacers on the stem, and 3 shops gave me 'medium' Giant/specialised/KTM frames to trial to check, all of which needed the saddle back on its limits.

Maybe my opening post was a little misleading, but i found it difficult to describe the uncomfortable ride position i had.

Anyway I'm more than happy with the Pitch Comp, due to arrive tomorrow morning

mountaingoatimnot

Just to close out this thread from my side..

the Pitch Comp landed yesterday - extremely well protected and packaged. Spent an hour last night going over it with a fine tooth comb and setting it up. VERY happy with the bike, the comfort is like chalk n cheese compared to my old ride. Can't wait to hit some trials now. Top marks to Certini for their customer service, packaging and free next day delivery.