5-600 to spend on new bike. Few questions
kingsmith
Posts: 3
Hi there, this is my first post. I am looking to buy myself a new mountain bike for around the 5-600 mark so after doing the research I know a hard tail is the way to go for my budget, but I have a few questions before I spend the money;
Firstly would it be better for me to buy from new or to buy second hand? I know you can probably get more bang for your buck second hand but I'm more swayed towards buying new to avoid the need to spend on servicing or repairs etc.
Secondly, I understand what lock out means and from the riding style I am planning to use the bike for I feel this is something I will find essential to my purchase. But can someone tell me the difference between manual and remote lock out? I know remote is the use of a lever on the handle bars... and I am guessing manual is the need to get off the bike and manually engage a lock out mechanism? If this is the case then remote lock out is definitely what I require. Can some shed some light on the situation for me? Also I've read somewhere that the lock out system can be damaged if used on too rough a terrain. Just how much force can a fork take before damaging it's lock out?
So far I have narrowed down my options to 2 bikes; The voodoo hoodoo and the Specialized rockhopper. The hoodoo seems perfect bar one thing and that is the weight compared to the rockhopper being a kilo less. I plan to ride mainly through town and country trails with no real extreme off trail riding but I have friends that do go trail riding and I want to have the option there to get a bit more serious if I want to. I plan to add water bottles and a few other necessary bits for long rides so obviously I'm adding weight and I'd like to ideally find a lightweight bike with good acceleration and ease of going up hills. Is the 13.7kg plus the weight of full water bottles etc going to be considered as heavy or is this a normal weight for what I intend to use the bike for? Are there any upgrades or modifications that can be made to lighten the bike at all?
The Rockhopper doesn't have the lock out feature so I'd want to upgrade the front forks. How do I know what the best fork is to go for? I mean are certain lengths of travel or different weight of forks going to screw up the performance of the frame? What is the fork to go for in terms of air sprung or hydraulic etc?
Also, I'm sure this gets asked all the time so I apologise, but frame size. I'm about 5' 8" - 5' 9". Would and 18 or 20 inch frame be best or is it a case of trying them both out and seeing which I prefer?
Sorry long post and thanks in advance.
K
Firstly would it be better for me to buy from new or to buy second hand? I know you can probably get more bang for your buck second hand but I'm more swayed towards buying new to avoid the need to spend on servicing or repairs etc.
Secondly, I understand what lock out means and from the riding style I am planning to use the bike for I feel this is something I will find essential to my purchase. But can someone tell me the difference between manual and remote lock out? I know remote is the use of a lever on the handle bars... and I am guessing manual is the need to get off the bike and manually engage a lock out mechanism? If this is the case then remote lock out is definitely what I require. Can some shed some light on the situation for me? Also I've read somewhere that the lock out system can be damaged if used on too rough a terrain. Just how much force can a fork take before damaging it's lock out?
So far I have narrowed down my options to 2 bikes; The voodoo hoodoo and the Specialized rockhopper. The hoodoo seems perfect bar one thing and that is the weight compared to the rockhopper being a kilo less. I plan to ride mainly through town and country trails with no real extreme off trail riding but I have friends that do go trail riding and I want to have the option there to get a bit more serious if I want to. I plan to add water bottles and a few other necessary bits for long rides so obviously I'm adding weight and I'd like to ideally find a lightweight bike with good acceleration and ease of going up hills. Is the 13.7kg plus the weight of full water bottles etc going to be considered as heavy or is this a normal weight for what I intend to use the bike for? Are there any upgrades or modifications that can be made to lighten the bike at all?
The Rockhopper doesn't have the lock out feature so I'd want to upgrade the front forks. How do I know what the best fork is to go for? I mean are certain lengths of travel or different weight of forks going to screw up the performance of the frame? What is the fork to go for in terms of air sprung or hydraulic etc?
Also, I'm sure this gets asked all the time so I apologise, but frame size. I'm about 5' 8" - 5' 9". Would and 18 or 20 inch frame be best or is it a case of trying them both out and seeing which I prefer?
Sorry long post and thanks in advance.
K
0
Comments
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Remote lock out is on your bars. Normal lock out is a dial on top of the forks - easily reachable whilst riding.
The Specialized Rockhopper will not be such good value for money. The usual recommendations are the Voodoo and Decathlon RockRIDER. The Rockrider 8.1 is lighter I think and prob more suited to your use - look at Supersonics sticky topic at the top of the page.
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Specialized Hardrock Sport Disc 10- CANYON Nerve AM 6 20110
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As for size - sit on it - only way.I don't do smileys.
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Parktools0 -
Thanks for the responses. chrisw333 why do you say the rockhopper is not good value for money? I've heard a lot of good reviews about it, all saying it's a good bike off the shelf and with the upgrade of the front forks would be a top ride. Plus it has options for upgrades in the future.
Also can anyone answer my question on how much abuse a lockout system can handle when engaged? I'm sure I read somewhere it can be damaged when used on rough terrain. Is this the case for all systems or just air sprung?
Thanks0 -
Simply put are better value and riding packages than the Rockhopper. In recent years their spec has dropped alarmingly.
Hydraulic lockouts usually have blow off valves.0 -
Links to reviews?kingsmith wrote:I've heard a lot of good reviews about it, all saying it's a good bike off the shelf and with the upgrade of the front forks would be a top ride. Plus it has options for upgrades in the future.
Very few owners will admit to buying a bad bike, the Spesh looks the part as well, however why buy the bike for more than the RR and then pay to upgrade it so it can be as good as the RR? There are no bad frames these days and the 'hopper is no better than many others (the frame weighs the same as that of my Kraken - see link in my sig)Currently riding a Whyte T130C, X0 drivetrain, Magura Trail brakes converted to mixed wheel size (homebuilt wheels) with 140mm Fox 34 Rhythm and RP23 suspension. 12.2Kg.0 -
The Rock Rider is amazing value.
I love the looks of most Specialized bikes. I'm just saddened that their specs tend to be awful Alivio on a £1000 bike? Are they fucking serious?
I love the Rockhopper frame design though...0 -
I bought a Sunn prim S2 last year for about 570. nice and light but nothing really to compare to though.0
