Hard tail mtb £350 slightly flexible

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Comments

  • The Rookie
    The Rookie Posts: 27,812
    You'll pay a premium for 650b, at this price point that premium means money has to be saved elsewhere when the budget is tight already, again you'll get a better bike by sticking at 26"
    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.
  • kixx
    kixx Posts: 16
    yeah maybe if it comes down to it I'll have t stick with the 26" and have done with it. does anyone know what Suntour XCM LO forks are like? I know they come on a lot of bikes as standard but is it worth looking at a bike with them on? I know some people obviously get on with them fine but I've seen a bike with the same frame as some £900 bikes so the option to upgrade if I went with that is there whilst still having a frame that is maybe slightly better for the time being and having to put up with the forks ect. Confusing this bike stuff is!
  • Chunkers1980
    Chunkers1980 Posts: 8,035
    Buy the best bike to use now or wait and buy a better bike
  • cooldad
    cooldad Posts: 32,599
    kixx wrote:
    yeah maybe if it comes down to it I'll have t stick with the 26" and have done with it. does anyone know what Suntour XCM LO forks are like? I know they come on a lot of bikes as standard but is it worth looking at a bike with them on? I know some people obviously get on with them fine but I've seen a bike with the same frame as some £900 bikes so the option to upgrade if I went with that is there whilst still having a frame that is maybe slightly better for the time being and having to put up with the forks ect. Confusing this bike stuff is!
    Some XCM are hydraulic (XCM HLO I think) some are mechanical (XCM MLO I think). Mechanical are really really rubbish. Hydraulic are pretty rubbish but not really really rubbish.
    I don't do smileys.

    There is no secret ingredient - Kung Fu Panda

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  • The Rookie
    The Rookie Posts: 27,812
    An XCM with hydraulic lockout (HLO) is the very minimum acceptable standard for a mountain bike fork, mechanical lockout (MLO or often just written as LO to fool you) is below that minimum. It's like driving a car with no shock absorbers on it....you just wouldn't.
    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.
  • kixx
    kixx Posts: 16
    What's the difference then in say this fork the ones supplied with the two two.
  • cooldad
    cooldad Posts: 32,599
    It's damped, so actually works.
    I don't do smileys.

    There is no secret ingredient - Kung Fu Panda

    London Calling on Facebook

    Parktools
  • photonic69
    photonic69 Posts: 2,674
    You'll be very unlikely to get a Two.Two now as they are sold out everywhere with no stock due for a month or more.

    Don't get too hung up about forks in this price bracket of bikes. At this level you'd be foolhardy to take one full pelt down black runs or do 360 back flips off ramps. Think about your likely terrain you'll be cycling over for the next two years. Just remember - the budget forks of today are superior to the top end forks of 12 years ago and people raved about them then.


    Sometimes. Maybe. Possibly.

  • The Rookie
    The Rookie Posts: 27,812
    What a load of tosh, do you actually know anything or just feel the need to do a 'brain' dump?

    My 8 year old forks are multi adjustable with air spring and pedal platform (yes I know that's not quite 12).....what rubbish was ridden before doesn't mean we have to ignore progress.

    A damped fork makes for a massively better ride, it will cope with a red just fine, one without damping will not.
    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.
  • photonic69
    photonic69 Posts: 2,674
    My mistake. It should be 15 yrs ago. Just comparing today's Suntour XCM hlo's with forks fitted to an original high spec Specialized Stumpy from 1999, where these perform better than the old.

    Also we don't know what riding the op typically does.

    No need to behave like you have a wasp up yer arse, is there?


    Sometimes. Maybe. Possibly.

  • The Rookie
    The Rookie Posts: 27,812
    So you are comparing hydraulic damped forks and then advocating damping doesn't matter.....so you have no basis for that assertion then? (Just clarifying).
    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.
  • kixx
    kixx Posts: 16
    Riding will primarily be red/Black runs, not jumping 30ft jumps with a double backflip in between but again not meandering along a canal path. It basically needs to be good enough for me to be able to thrash it about (nothing like a pro, but you get the idea) if you're familiar with the area then it'll mostly be up haldon forest
  • chrisw333
    chrisw333 Posts: 695
    kixx wrote:
    Riding will primarily be red/Black runs, not jumping 30ft jumps with a double backflip in between but again not meandering along a canal path. It basically needs to be good enough for me to be able to thrash it about (nothing like a pro, but you get the idea) if you're familiar with the area then it'll mostly be up haldon forest

    If you're riding red and black runs, the fork is absolutely paramount. FAR more so than 27.5 wheels etc. Get the best 26" er you can, with emphasis on the fork above all else.

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