Is it worth buying a new bike ditch old one

jbord

Hi all. I have a felt nine sport 29 which i was given last year. I am pretty sure its too big a frame for me at 19.5 inches as im 173cm tall. I find the felt is a fairly numb and steady ride. Also get problems changing gear when theres pressure on the pedals - the chain has locked a few times too a bit scary.

I am wondering if it qould be better just to get a proper sized bike thinking of a Giant anthem x129er. Also considering a kinesis ff29 ht. Am a bit torn between ht andfs. I prefer the simplicity of ht but at 43 i wouldnt mind thecomfort of fs.

Would the above bikes represent a significant upgrade or is it going to be mrginal . I havea budget of around 2 to 2.5k.

Would appreciate anythoughts.

Cheers

JB

Tom Barton

If you are riding it and it feels the wrong size its never going to feel right. Pushing the saddle right forward, shorter stems etc, may help a bit but I doubt from what you've said that you'll be 100% happy with it. You could consider selling it to give you a nice deposit for a new bike.

The gearing; in terms of keeping the bike or not shouldn't be an issue - probably just needs a service of the drive train. (However the front derailluer is a poor one).

29er bikes in general (from the exentensive amount I've read - I don't own one) are less lively than 26ers. The steering is somewhat slower and they don't react to inputs quite as fast - but are very stable at speed somewhat lessening the feeling (of speed), they also roll over bumps better giving a more comfortable ride.

The anthem is an awesome bike and and a good choice - it would be a big upgrade from the felt. If you want to get more adventerous with you riding or do long all day rides you will benefit from the FS (comfort, traction, control plus it lets you get away with slightly bigger mistakes).

I'd reccomend test riding if your gonna spend that kinda money - plus you can compare 26 vs 29 and different size frames so you get the best bike for you.

If you can get to a demo day - ride a few bikes - something might really surprise you.

Happy shopping!