French guy looking for a new MTB !

chichil

Hello everybody!

I’m French (so my English could be a little bad) and I come here to have another point of view than the French point of view I can found on French forums.
I’m 21, I’m around 1,70m and I’m looking for a new MTB for less than 1000€, that’s equal to a little bit less than $1300 or around £800.

I ride in small mountains and forest. I want a bike that will be good for climbing or climb down on large and small trails (should I say path?).

The first question is: 26” or 29”? I notice that people here seems to prefer 29er, is that right? French are very reticent and lots of people think that it’s just modish.

Then comes the choice of the bike! That’s the list I make with the bikes that could fit my needs for the budget I have (and with air forks, bescause I understand that it's better than "normal" forks):
Connondale Trail SL 3
Connondale Trail SL 2
Scott Aspect 10
Lapierre Raid 700
Giant Talon 0
Connondale Trail SL 1
Cannondale Trail SL 29er 2
Trek Cobia
Trek 6300
Cannondale Trail SL 29er 3 (not mentionned on the French Cannondale website...)
GT Zaskar Comp
Canyon Grand Canyon AL 6.0
Canyon Yellowstone 5.0

(These are brands that I can found easily in France)

What do you think about that? Which one could you chose? Have you better ideas?

Thank you a lot!

cooldad

Or a Rockrider from Decathlon - they're French.

chichil

Yes there are the ROCKRIDER 8.1 2011 and the Rockrider 9.1.
But someone tell me that their frame geometry isn't very good... Is he right ?

blister pus

First task is to sit or test out as many of those bikes as you possibly can. If you have a Decathlon store near you it would be a great place to start. The RockRiders are very popular on here, and have been for a few years. The 8.1 is a great cross country bike to start with, so have a look if you can. It will give you an idea of fit and feel, and whether you like or not.

hainman

i have the rockrider 9.1 lastyears model and cnt fault it,only cost me £600 so was a bargain,not to sure about the geometry but i go anywhere my mate goes on his £2000 spesh stumpy.....this years has upgraded forks but everything else is mostly the same i think.worth a look

chichil

I just found these bikes :
Kona Caldera 2011 (un little bit expensive for the spec no ?)
Ghost SE 5000 2011
Cube Acid
Radon ZR Team 6.0 --> Reba fork !

What do you think about these 4 bikes ?

blister pus

It's between the Cube Acid and Radon ZR, you'd have to sit on them both to see which you like the feel of best.

chichil

You can only buy the Radon on the internet... So i'ts hard to test one.

blister pus

Then it's the Cube Acid out of that list. No point buying blind, spending big money on something that may or may not fit you, no matter how good the spec.

chichil

Ok.

I just see that the Radon ZR Team 6.0 exist in 29". It's called the ZR Race 29er 5.0.
Spec seems to be the same (right ?) and it is the same price !

An other question, I am 1.70m tall (I think that's equal to 5ft 7"). So the size of the frame should be 18" (46cm or M), is that correct ?

supersonic

No. Size of the bike depends on many factors, and they all measure up differently.

Have a read of the What Bike and What Size thread.

chichil

And what do you think about the 29er version, the ZR Race 29er 5.0 despite the fact I can't try it ?
Do people here in general tell that 29" are better than 26" ?

blister pus

Again, it's a got a good value spec on it. 29ers are great fun but they are definitely something you need to try, they aren't for everyone. Personally, I like them but I wouldn't use one full time.

I bought my second full bike (hardtail) blind off the web without trying it out, and it worked out well for me but only because I had another bike to work off. I knew the geometry, size and angles that I wanted. I was able to talk to the shop people and get exact details from them. Like real Top Tube length, etc. I took a chance because I had a pretty good idea of what worked for me. As it happened I got lucky and liked the bike.

You might not drop so lucky, is the point. You might hate the bike and will have wasted time and money returning it, or worse, you are stuck with it. You need to think seriously before buying blind.

If you know the angles and geometry that work for you, then great, take the chance. If you haven't got a clue what I'm talking about then you are taking a big risk unnecessarily.

chichil

I'm totally agree with you !

But I'm not sure to have enough experience to compare correctly two 26" or two 29".

And to test a 29er it would be great to ride in the place I ride usually, and I'm not sure that the bike shop would lend me a bike for that...

blister pus

Most bike shops will let you at least try out the bike for size and feel if they know you are serious. You might not be able to go on your usual route but at least you will have sat on it and gone on a small test run and got a feel for it - that's the important thing.

Only you can decide if you like a 29er over a regular 26" , a lot will depend on what kind of riding you do. You need to go to the bike shop and get a test ride and make a decision off that.