Cycle Surgery buying advice

Kate_Guyana

Hi there.

I am looking to buy a MTB, but am limited to Cycle Surgery (If I wasn't I'd be going fora Voodoo Hoodoo). I have only been biking a few times, so still a beginner, but have decided to invest in my own bike. I am looking to spend around £500-£1000. Any suggestions? I noticed the vast majority are 29ers which I have been advised against slightly.

Any advice/recommendations would be appreciated.

http://www.cyclesurgery.com/hardtail/bikes/fcp-category/list?resetFilters=true

thanks

welshkev

OK, first question should be what do you want it for? will it be just fireroads and cycle paths or do you intend to ride trail centres etc?

Kate_Guyana

Trail centres. Been going to Swinley a fair bit and doing reds, so something that will get me round that sort of thing.

thanks

supersonic

In the other thread you say you can get a bike from Evans? They have a better range.

BG2000

Cycle surgery is a nice shop, they'll have all you need, all the brands they stock are good.

There's quite a difference between a £500 and £1000 bike, so that's quite a price range you're specifying.

You're right to limit yourself to a minimum of £500 though. You might need to invest in other bits if you're a beginner, i.e. helmet, shoes, shorts, gloves, eyewear, tools/pump etc..that could easily come to £150 - £200.
Avoid full suspension at those prices. You should test ride similar specced bikes: one with 26" wheels and one with 29" wheels are see if you prefer the latter. You'll need to try going over bumpy ground to find a difference.
I like the look of the new Orange Clockwork 29er....if you like orange coloured bikes that is !

Kate_Guyana

supersonic wrote:

In the other thread you say you can get a bike from Evans? They have a better range.

Yes, I've just looked and I can. Need to spend over £750 at evans though (to qualify for finance). Any ideas?

Just from a quick look I'm thinking something like these:

http://www.evanscycles.com/products/sar ... e-ec043438
http://www.evanscycles.com/products/kon ... e-ec044007
http://www.evanscycles.com/products/kon ... e-ec044009

Any ideas on these or certain componants which are particularly important (i.e. expensive to change) would be great.

thanks

supersonic

This is worth a look:

http://www.evanscycles.com/products/bmc ... e-ec024709

It is a full suspension bike, but still better specced than most of the hardtails, and is light too.

Kate_Guyana

Nice! Hadn't even thought about full suspension to be honest. I'll go up to one of their big stores and try some bikes.

This may seem like a stupid question, but everyone says to try out different bikes before you buy, but where exactly would you do this? As far as I know most big bike shops (where I'll be needing to buy from), don't have areas for you to do this. do they??

supersonic

Depend on the store - some may just let you sit on it (better than nothing!), others a ride outside - some even full tests!

Kate_Guyana

BG2000 wrote:

There's quite a difference between a £500 and £1000 bike, so that's quite a price range you're specifying.

I would prefer to keep to the lower end of that range, however, if it makes a huge difference to pay a little bit more then I am willing to go up to £1000. Really I just want to get the best I can for my money.

It's very difficult to know where to start when I know very little about components. I'm trying to educate myself by reading blogs etc, but still all very daunting! And I guess it's also a large part about whether the bike is good for a particular person as well as whether all the components are decent.

It would be useful to know a few things about the main parts of the bike. E.g. certain features of a fork to look for. Also perhaps certain things to definitely avoid that some bikes compromise on.

thank you

supersonic

Adjustable hydraulic rebound damping is essential on a fork - 32mm stanchions help the stiffness of the structure, and air springs are easily adjustable to your weight.

Kate_Guyana

thanks. Have been looking at these 2. Any thoughts would be great. I'm a little out of my depth! My favorite is the first one and the one I'm leaning towards:

http://www.evanscycles.com/products/cannondale/trail-sl-3-2013-mountain-bike-ec042884
http://www.tweekscycles.com/Product.do?method=view&n=3282&g=303560&p=303564&c=215&utm_source=Google&utm_medium=Base&utm_campaign=Hardtail%20Mountain%20Bikes&gclid=CJf5yNXzzrYCFQbHtAodyRkAQA

If anyone has anything that they think would be better value for money within the price range, I'm very open to suggestions.

thanks

Kate_Guyana

Oh and also this one: http://www.evanscycles.com/products/bmc ... e-ec031130

jairaj

The Cube from Tweeks Cycles would get my vote as it has a better fork.

But I am confused I thought you were limited to shopping at Cycle Surgery or Evans?

Kate_Guyana

jairaj wrote:

But I am confused I thought you were limited to shopping at Cycle Surgery or Evans?

I'm limited to places which offer 0% finance. Problem with the big online shops like Tweeks is I can't go and try them, so I was limiting myself to big shops that offer finance and I could actually try the bike (Evans and Cycle surgery). However, I'm based in London, so hopefully will be able to find a bike I find online to try somewhere in London!

thanks for your advice.

jairaj

Have you looked in to getting one of those 0% introductory offer credit cards?

By the Voodoo from Halfords on the card, pay the amount off bit by bit within the introductory period. Then stop the card and cut it up into many tiny bits to stop you using it further.

Kate_Guyana

I had not thought of that no! Definitely worth looking into. Would you say the Voodoo compares with these bikes then?

Kate_Guyana

OK I know I've just been sending lots of links, but I think I may have actually found the bike for me!

http://www.allterraincycles.co.uk/.Cube-2012-LTD-Hardtail-MTB-Bike_125878.htm

welshkev

Kate_Guyana wrote:

OK I know I've just been sending lots of links, but I think I may have actually found the bike for me!

http://www.allterraincycles.co.uk/.Cube-2012-LTD-Hardtail-MTB-Bike_125878.htm

nice bike. a few friends of mine ride cubes and love them.

it looks pretty decent spec. I had the silver TK coil forks and they did the job ok so the air one's should be even better. the rest of the spec looks decent to.

jquach

bit cheaper here

http://www.paulscycles.co.uk/m1b0s2p4207/CUBE-LTD-2012

and if you need a 18" frame

http://www.paulscycles.co.uk/m1b0s2p5137/COSMETICALLY-DAMAGED-BIKES-CUBE-LTD-18%5C-inch-2012

Kate_Guyana

thanks for the links! Unfortunately I need a 16". I am also wondering whether it is worth paying a bit more for an anodized frame? I don't know much about this, so wondered if anyone had any thoughts? (It also looks way better )

Kate_Guyana

By the way, I mean because there are 2 versions of the bike above. The anodized and non. he former is £80 more. worth it?