Looking to buy first 'proper' mountain bike, a few questions

garynevstasche

Hi,

Having recently purchased a road bike, having not ridden a bike for years, I'm now looking at a buying a mountain bike as my father-in-law and brother-in-law are both keen mountain bikers and have often asked me to tag along.

It's fair to say that a lot has changed since I last had a mountain bike (around 16 years ago) so I'm just after a bit of advice really.

I doubt I'm going to be doing anything too technical, local trails and the like, although a bike which wouldn't restrict me as I get more adventurous would be an advantage.

It's probably also worth noting that in a lot of cases I'd actually be riding on the road to trails (rather than driving there), so I was wondering whether looking at 29ers might be beneficial as I guess they're a little less hard work on roads than traditional mountain bikes.

My budget is £400-£600.

Outside of that, I'm a little bamboozled by spec. Forks on budget bikes seem to be a compromise, so I was wondering whether a rigid would be a good idea. Not clue the difference between different gearsets (in terms of performance), and little clue regarding different brands of brakes (so any guidance would be good).

I've been looking at the usual suspects in this bracket (Voodoo Hoodoo, Carrera Fury, Rockrider 8.1) but also some of the big name brands (I have a Giant Defy which I love, so naturally had a look at the Revel and Talon, though forks seem to spoil the potential). I've also been quite interested in the Islabikes Beinn 29er, which may provide a good upgrade platform.

Any guidance gratefully accepted

Twelly

This was my reply to a girl who was confused by spec's also, may help you out.

With regards to drivetrains and components, this is a list of the Shimano and SRAM groupsets available with the best stuff at the top of the list. Should help you compare bikes with different components.

Shimano
XTR
Saint
Deore XT
SLX
Deore LX
Deore
Alivio
Acera


SRAM
XX
X0
X9
X7
X5
X4
X3

With forks it is a little different because different high end forks are built to do different jobs but as a general guide for the Rock Shox range...

Rock Shox
Boxxer
Revelation
Sid
Reba
Recon/Sektor
XC

If you are looking at hardtail bikes (front suspension only) I would expect at least a Reba fork and Shimano XT or SRAM X9 drivetrain. Full suspension bikes are more expensive so your budget will not stretch as far. I would be looking for nothing less than a Recon fork (or equivalent) and maybe X5 or Deore components.

Other things to consider:
Weight - Full sus 13kg or less is good, hardtail anything around the 11kg mark is ok
Brakes
Suspension Travel - dictated by the riding you intend to do

Obviously there is a lot of other things to think about, not least the size and fit of the bike and the kind of riding you intend to do on it but this will give you something to start with.

Her budget was £1500 so some of that may be irrelevant for you. For your budget full sus is pretty much out of the question.

29ers tend to be more expensive for similar spec'd bikes so unless you test one and love it, I would stick with 26" for now.

For your budget, my money would go on a Rockrider 8.1, Carrera Fury or, for a couple of pound over, maybe a Cube Acid (cheap at the moment from German sites - Euro crisis)

Majski

It seems that at the minute the rockrider is the best value <£500 hardtail, not sure if it comes with lockout but if you're going to mix in some road riding then i'd say that's pretty essential

garynevstasche

Thanks so much for the quick reply.

Understanding the 'hierarchy' of the various kit is really helpful.

Even though your buying advice is geared to a £1,500 budget, I guess moving down the list of drivetrains/forks will give me an idea of what to expect at my budget (as well as the weight increase).

garynevstasche

Majski wrote:

It seems that at the minute the rockrider is the best value <£500 hardtail, not sure if it comes with lockout but if you're going to mix in some road riding then i'd say that's pretty essential

Rockrider 8.1 does appear to offer superb spec for the money.

Twelly

Yep exactly. As you move down the fork hierarchy you will add weight, lose adjustability and lose smooth damping. The Rockshox Recon Silver is a safe bet for your budget - ok weight, nice feel and fairly adjustable. I was one click away from ordering a bike with a Recon fork and that bike was £750ish.

By the way, don't ignore bikes with Suntour forks as some of them can be very respectable at this price range. My Suntour experience is limited as I have only ridden a bike with an Epicon fork but I was impressed by that. Have heard the cheaper ones are crap though.

As far as drivetrain goes, don't settle for less than Deore. I have run full Deore kit on my old full sus for years and never let me down, shifts well and just generally does the job.

Focus on a good fork and reasonable drivetrain then look at which is prettiest/cheapest

garynevstasche

TwellySmat wrote:

Yep exactly. As you move down the fork hierarchy you will add weight, lose adjustability and lose smooth damping. The Rockshox Recon Silver is a safe bet for your budget - ok weight, nice feel and fairly adjustable. I was one click away from ordering a bike with a Recon fork and that bike was £750ish.

By the way, don't ignore bikes with Suntour forks as some of them can be very respectable at this price range. My Suntour experience is limited as I have only ridden a bike with an Epicon fork but I was impressed by that. Have heard the cheaper ones are crap though.

As far as drivetrain goes, don't settle for less than Deore. I have run full Deore kit on my old full sus for years and never let me down, shifts well and just generally does the job.

Focus on a good fork and reasonable drivetrain then look at which is prettiest/cheapest

Seems to be the general consensus on the cheaper Suntour forks. I'd be interested to know where cheap ends and mid-range begins in their line-up as the Voodoo Hoodoo sports a Suntour fork, but this is widely praised as one of its key benefits.

garynevstasche

So looking at the Rockrider 8.1, the Recon Silver fork and Deore crank plus SRAM X7 derailleurs/shifters seems to put it head and shoulders above anything else below £500. Though it does take a bit of a beating when it comes to the 'prettiest' stakes.

EDIT: out of interest, where do the Dart 2/3 forks sit in the RockShox hierarchy?

cooldad

Replaced by XC, so at the bottom.

Twelly

garynevstasche wrote:

So looking at the Rockrider 8.1, the Recon Silver fork and Deore crank plus SRAM X7 derailleurs/shifters seems to put it head and shoulders above anything else below £500.

Definitely yes.

It is way over spec'd for it's price point. Recons are common on £700-£1000 bikes (you will find them on £1500 full sus bikes), X7 is again normal on bikes costing £600+ and it weighs a respectable 13kg.

The only downside I have seen pointed out about it is that it is an XC bike and anyone wishing to jump straight into jumps/DH/FR may find it restricting but you have already said you are not buying for extreme use so this does not apply.

Go to a Decathlon store and go for a ride.

RE the Suntour forks: Heard good things about the Epicon and Raidon but the 'XC_' range is a bit naff (with the exception of XCR). Bear in mind this is just what I have picked up from these forums...I can only vouch for the Epicon from personal exp.

garynevstasche

Hmm. A trip to Decathlon might have to be squeezed in this weekend!

garynevstasche

I think I may have tempted fate...

Just had a phonecall, other half's car needs new spring and shocker fornt drivers side.

Bike budget taking a hit.

Bugger.

Good Old Bakes

Majski wrote:

It seems that at the minute the rockrider is the best value <£500 hardtail, not sure if it comes with lockout but if you're going to mix in some road riding then i'd say that's pretty essential

I can confirm that it does indeed have a remote lockout. 8)

First thing I did (or got the Decathlon guys to do for me when I bought it) was replace the horrendous own brand tyres with a pair of Schwalbe Land Cruisers. You might want to consider similar hybrids if you do quite a bit of road riding to and from the trail.

garynevstasche

With the car rapidly swallowing the bike fund (its realistically £400 tops now) I've been reflecting on what I need from a mountain bike (probably a good thing to do).

Now the majority of my riding will be on my road bike, I'm unfit, a bit overweight and I have a 4 day London-Paris a year from now, so I'm getting the miles in on that.

This bike is going to be used to let me get places the road bike wont go. I'm not talking purpose built extreme trails, just exploring really. I used to ride loads when I was a kid, over all sorts of terrain, and did it all on a ten speed rigid. I guess I'm just wondering whether suspension and other complexity is really necessary, or whether I'd be better off with a rigid 29er with knobblies on it. Perhaps I'm just nostalgic for a simpler time though!

I'm thinking 29er as One thing that does put me off a 26er though is the fact it will still rqck up a fair amount of road use.