Buying a hardtail

qwerta

Hello,
I am buying a new hardtail bike. I am a beginner, female, 25y/o, 169cm, 63kg. I am an ex-runner who can't run anymore due to injury. But I'm looking forward to some serious cycling now. My preference is climbing but I also enjoy technical descents (but without big jumps, I am not talking about downhill). I want not too heavy, good equipped bike for a reasonable price. I think I should look for hardtail XC, right?

So far, my favorite option is Giant XtC Composite 29er 1 2014 (or 2013 since it's a bit cheaper-around 160$ )... what do you think about it? The equippment is mostly SLX, is that good enough?

Thank you for your help.

rockmonkeysc

It's a good bike. I would go for the 2013 model and save a bit.

qwerta

I just edited my first post with 2013 vs 2014 bike compare. There are some differences with fork, saddle, handlebar, shifters?, rear derailleur, brakes? and wheels. I am not familiar with bike equipment so I have no idea which is better and why :oops:
So, in your opinion, the improvements are not worth additional 160$? Thanks.

rockmonkeysc

Fork is pretty bad on both and it's an odd size meaning you won't be able to sell it to buy a better fork. For the same reason it's difficult to find different length stems.

qwerta

Why is it so bad, what's wrong with it?
What about other components? For example, rear derailleur looks different on 2013 vs 2014, is 2014 version much better?

bartimaeus

The difference between the Shadow and the Shadow+ is that the shadow+ has a 'clutch' which puts more tension on the chain to help stop it slapping/bouncing/dropping on rough terrain. The Shadow+ is only a 'a nice to have' unless you are are a racer, and even then you's likely need to racing enduro rather than XC to worry about dropping your chain.

batmo

There are lots of threads on here and reveiws of the forks in question going into great length but not much depth on the shortcomings. These come down to two issues:
1. Too flexible (actually people tend to say "flexy" for some reason) meaning that the front wheel may not be pointing exactly where you expected it to under load.
2. Poor damping, leading to being unresponsive to small bumps, but going to full compression too easily under big hits (especially in the "descend" setting).

The question you need to ask yourself is "Will this be a problem for me?"
The flex issue is less with 100mm travel versions (many of the complaints I've seen are from people's experiences with 140mm travel forks), the 2014 version will be slightly better as it has a through axle.
As for the damping, it really depends on how aggressive your riding style is and what you're used to.

I've recently bought a new bike with similar Fox forks on, but my old bike had coil-spring forks with very basic damping so I've decided to suck-it-and-see, rather than selling them unridden and shelling out for some Pikes as many would advise as the only course of action!

Ferrals

The issue rockmonkey was referring to with sizing is that the steerer is wider and specific to giant which will be a pain if you do wish to change fork or stem

bartimaeus

Yes, this particular Giant headtube standard means you need new headset cups to install a 'normal' tapered fork, as well as a new stem. The bigger issue is selling your old fork as it's a non-standard steerer size. If you aren't going to sell your fork (and why would you plan to) then the only issue you have is less choice of stems should you wish to use a shorter one.

For more info see: http://www.pinkbike.com/news/Giant-Over ... -2011.html

Long_Time_Lurker

The bike is a good bike. Especially as a first bike.
The mix of SLX/XT kit is decent - and to be expected on a bike at that price point.

Don't get too hung up on the bespoke fork size. If there is an issue, it can still be fixed by a regular bike mechanic. Most faults with a fork have nothing to do with the headset.
Chances are that you won't want to upgrade the fork. If you get into mountain-biking you are more likely to do what most people do - buy a whole new bike.
(If you are still on this forum in a 18 months time, I bet that you will be asking about new full-suspension bikes)

Oh...nearly forgot. Welcome to the Forum!

qwerta

Since I'm a beginnner I'm not sure I would even notice the issues of this forks? Or it means that they require more experienced rider? Too bad I can't do a test ride before buying, they don't offer test rides, you can only do few circles in their parking lot.
If fork issues are not very problematic I will probably stick with them.

However, looks like 2014 is slightly better idea than 2013, right? Since they don't offer big discount for 2013.

Thanks a lot.

@Long Time Lurker, thanks for the wellcome! But I have to say that my plan is to buy a bike for more than just a year and a half - that's why I'm planning to spend that much money on it. (For the first real bike it really is A LOT.)

The Rookie

Welcome to the forum.

As a tinkerer I wouldn't buy the Giant due to the steerer size, but as 95% of buyers never swap there forks only you will know if that is an issue.

Also the Fox is a bit of a Marmite fork, they do need a bit more looking after than the main competitors and many people don't rate them as highly as Rockshox for performance, that said they are far from being a bad fork.

qwerta

I have just found out that I can only get size M in 2013. I am only 170 cm tall, so I need size S.

So 2014 or some other bike

What is your opinion about Giant geometry? Some claim it is "old" and it is twitchy going downhill on it?

qwerta

I have just found a new bke to look after: http://www.canyon.com/_en/mountainbikes ... ab-reiter2

Comparing those two, which one would you choose? The price is similiar. Thanks.

atomic fox

canyon,great bike for the money.

The Rookie

An XC bike will be twitcher going downhill than a trail or more aggressive bike, you get the benefits back on the flat and going up, no geometry works perfectly in all scenarios so you have to buy the bike to suite your riding.

raldat

qwerta wrote:

I have just found a new bke to look after: http://www.canyon.com/_en/mountainbikes ... ab-reiter2

Comparing those two, which one would you choose? The price is similiar. Thanks.

I love my canyon alu 29er. Just check delivery time though as they are very popular and often slow to delivery as a result.

qwerta

The Rookie wrote:

An XC bike will be twitcher going downhill than a trail or more aggressive bike, you get the benefits back on the flat and going up, no geometry works perfectly in all scenarios so you have to buy the bike to suite your riding.

That's right but this is a comment about Giant XTC vs. Grand Canyon I got yesterday:

This bike (Canyon) would increase your enjoyment in descending technical trails...stable performance and damping with quick accurate tracking is what you will have. The right tool for the job. With the XTC climbing will be all you get. Descending will be possible but twitchy in bumps without full concentration.

It is only one opinion but that's why I'm asking for more opinions

Also, I think Canyon has better equipment (for the same money) but I am afraid of ordering it online without even try to sit on it.

paul.skibum

qwerta wrote:

The Rookie wrote:

An XC bike will be twitcher going downhill than a trail or more aggressive bike, you get the benefits back on the flat and going up, no geometry works perfectly in all scenarios so you have to buy the bike to suite your riding.

That's right but this is a comment about Giant XTC vs. Grand Canyon I got yesterday:

This bike (Canyon) would increase your enjoyment in descending technical trails...stable performance and damping with quick accurate tracking is what you will have. The right tool for the job. With the XTC climbing will be all you get. Descending will be possible but twitchy in bumps without full concentration.

It is only one opinion but that's why I'm asking for more opinions

Also, I think Canyon has better equipment (for the same money) but I am afraid of ordering it online without even try to sit on it.

Definitely a difficulty with the distance seller - no test ride, not even a sit on it in a shop option but the benefit is the massive saving on quality spec on the bike.

If you can test an XTC and like it you have hit one of the very important check marks - in my opinion your first bike is probably not best bought mail order as the geometry numbers and "what you like" stuff isn't cemented in your psyche yet.

Other bikes to consider might be Boardman from Halfords, some good spec and decent hardtail frames for good money plus you can generally sit on one at the very least.

Also check out Paul's Cycles (no relation) for some decent discounts and bargains on last years models (although obviously you dont get to try them again)

batmo

You can't try a bike before you buy with the online retailers, but you can normally send them back without needing to give a reason. Someone else with a better memory will say what the statutory time is, but many of the online sellers extend this to up to a year! They stipulate that it should be "unused" and put back in the packaging, but Canyon for example allow you to have attached the pedals and ridden down a dry street without any penalty.

I have personal experience of this: I ordered a Canyon model that was in stock, it arrived 5 days later, I assembled it, sat on it, knew as soon as I had that it was wrong for me, dismantled and re-packed it, filled in the return form online, it was collected and once they had it back every penny was credited to my credit card. So don't necessarily rule online retailers out.