New.... To everything bike related

DrGashlycrumb

Last year I bought my first ever bike a £20 full Sus piece ..... Of rubbish
This is the bike I learnt on and at nearly 30 years of age this was a big deal, 8 months on and I have a real love for mountain biking, I upgraded to a Claud butler shaman and have gone through 3 sets of forks!
I don't think I'm to rough on the bike I use it to go to work and then occasionally in the woods or bridal paths over weekends, as I mentioned I'm new to two wheels
Yesterday I spoke to my employer about the cycle to work scheme and as such I have £700 ish to spend on a shiney new 29er bike.
I was hoping you kind folk would be able to advise me on which ones to go for/stay away from


http://www.tredz.co.uk/.Cube-Attention- ... _66705.htm

http://mobile.cyclesurgery.com/orbea-ma ... duct/52335

http://www.halfords.com/webapp/wcs/stor ... &langId=-1

I hope those links work

Cube attention 29er
Orbea master alma 29er
And then Halfords voodoo bizango 29er

Any help...... ANY would be amazing
Thankyou
Liam

buddy_club

Hello and welcome, sounds like the bug has bitten then!
A 29er sounds like the perfect bike for your riding, i would advise putting some slicks on it for commuting to work (if its on the road). I have the Voodoo Bizango (link in sig), and i really like it, the fork is very plush and has handled itself very well. Looking at the other bikes, they all have a decent spec, but i can't get my head round having Alivio/Acera everything else on the Orbea, then having an SLX RD. I would advise you to have a go on each bike if you can, but i'm going to recommend the Bizango because i'm biased
Good luck!

DrGashlycrumb

Thankyou very much!
I'm so hooked it's unreal!

The only thing that puts me off the voodoo is that it's from. ....... Halfords ...... This makes me nervous, there reputation isn't great and when I've mentioned I may buy a bike from halfords it's met with gasps and unnerving looks!

But then again you have one and you recommend it, that can't be a bad thing.
Thankyou

buddy_club

Erhhhh yeah Halfords' reputation isn't fabulous, but there are some decent bikes for sale, if you feel competent enough to do some every basic assembly and check a couple of bolts then I would just take it boxed, as I did. People's issues tend to be with the quality of their workmanship - not their bikes .

The Rookie

Argh the people questioning your decision to buy from halfords knowledgeable about bikes?

The Bikes are good, the Carreras, Boardmans and Voodoos are all made in the same Merida factory in taiwan that make Specialiseds that cost upst £2K, mostly using the same parts and using a frame they have also made. They are not to be confused with the cheap tat Apollo and Trax bikes they also sell (they have to turn a profit!).

Yes the quality of pre delivery assembly and after sales service can vary for sure, it's worth getting t know one of the bikehut team and making it clear you are an enthusiast and getting them to do the assembly (minimal required in store) for you, that or buy online and take it to a bike shop, in total will only cost about £20 more.

I know 2 people with recent Halford's buying experience, both good, both love their Voodoos.

DrGashlycrumb

Thank you rookie
I think it's quite set that a VooDoo will be my bike of choice!
I just need to persuade my employer now to join the halfords scheme!
There are so many different "cycle to work" schemes out there, all offering pretty much the same thing!!!!

Thankyou both for the reassurance tho, it's very much appreciated

The Rookie

Better still get your employer to administer their own scheme and then you have a choice of everything!

Please make sure you understand the scheme, that it is a one years rental and then you MAY have an option to buy at the end of it. (To guarantee an option to but would mean they weren't complying with the rules of C2W in the first place).

For a one year rental most schemes are hideously expensive (what else would you pay near the purchase price of to rent for a year?) unless you get that option to buy at the end.