Please help me pick out one of these bikes(first timer girl)

kittyCake

Hi, I am a 5'8" female about to buy my first MTB, and Im super excited. I haven't really done a lot MTBing, but I used to try out the MTB roads with my old, cheap mtb which got stolen.

The thing is that I also commute a lot. like 30km a day. But I thought long and hard, and I decided I want a nice full suspension MTB. My old,cheap bike had fullsuspension, and I honestly like it way better as I tend to bike on bumpy roads in general. I dont think I will be doing any extreme MTBing any time soon, as I live in denmark, and our land is mostly flat.

Anyway, I have found 3 bikes from Canyon that Im very much considering, but need help in choosing. THe components seem very similar on all three, so I am having trouble knowing which one is the right one for me. I also dont know a whole lot about frames, but I want one that is upgradable over time as I keep learning and saving money for better stuff.

Anyway so I'm mostly interested in the Nerve. Seems proper for a beginner.

There's the 29 version which I'm leaning for greatly, an then there's the normal version. For good measure I am also interested in Spectral. But can really only afford the entry level bike..

Can someone tell me what the pros/cons are of these bikes? And is there a great difference between nerve/nerve 29? Also would it be a problem for me that the nerve 29 version doesn't offer woman-specific frames?
Also will the 29 version make a difference for long-distance biking?

Nerve AL 8.0 W
http://www.canyon.com/_en/mountainbikes ... tml?b=3569

Nerve AL 29 8.9
http://www.canyon.com/_en/mountainbikes ... tml?b=3662

Spectral AL 6.0
http://www.canyon.com/_en/mountainbikes ... tml?b=3563


For the record... I think the blue version of the nerve 29 is absolutely gorgeous

But anyway, yeah... I'd appreciate any good advice regarding this
Also if anyone knows of a bike with similar quality or better for the same price, I'm ok with suggestions for other bikes too.

mcnultycop

Do you commute on road?

mikety

I personally would go for a 29er hardtail for commute/mtb duties as I have found mine to be the best compromise for both, however you seem to have made your mind up about full suspension - this may be a little less efficient on road. Go for the 29er, trouble is it needs to fit ok, I understand that the canyons come up short on length, so female specific may not be a problem - check what else is female specific, maybe you could change the saddle/grips.

kittyCake

The road I commute on is half paved road and half light bumpy/traily ...

But yea,I want to do proper MTBing and I dont mind putting in the extra effort into riding a full suspension bike.. I intend on keeping this bike for a long time

I might eventually consider getting a cheaper road-specific bike later on. But for now, this will be my main bike.

Anyway, so you think that getting a non-woman-specific bike will be ok? Can things be adjusted?

supersonic

What is your budget? Sizing varies between brands.

The Rookie

Definitely go with a 29er, and I'd suggest cyclocross tyres for your commute to loose some drag.

Lots more options to look at, Paul's cycles website has some Giant Anthem 29ers for example.

kittyCake

As for budget, for me the bikes listed cost about $2750 i do not feel I can go above that.

And I was planning on maybe keeping 2 sets of wheels one for commuting and one for MTBing. Thanks for the suggestion on tyres btw.

diy

With disc brakes its not a simple job of flipping the wheels out as it is on road bikes. by the time you have realigned everything you might just as well have swapped the tyres over instead.

The Rookie

As diy says, swapping wheels can mean realigning brake callipers and re indexing the rear mech, not really worth it.

As you say $ is that US or one of the other $ round the world? Are you US based?

kittyCake

I converted dkk(im in denmark) to $. In Danish krones, if I dont buy pedals, those bikes would cost me about 16000kr.

Well apart from it being a little time consuming, is switching the wheels a bad thing? Like could I accidentally break something?

rockmonkeysc

diy wrote:

With disc brakes its not a simple job of flipping the wheels out as it is on road bikes. by the time you have realigned everything you might just as well have swapped the tyres over instead.

It works as long as you have the same hubs, discs and cassette on both sets of wheels. I have two sets for my DH bike, one with dry tyres, one with spikes. Never need to realign anything when I swap them.

The Rookie

You are unlikely to break anything by swapping wheels. and if you get the same make and model of hub they are more likely (though not certain) to align without major hassle.

I'd also seriously consider this http://www.paulscycles.co.uk/m1b0s154p5 ... 9ER-1-2014

kittyCake

Thanks for the advice about the wheels

The Rookie wrote:

I'd also seriously consider this http://www.paulscycles.co.uk/m1b0s154p5 ... 9ER-1-2014

Why this one? Is it better than the nerve?

Edit: It seems like they dont deliver outside of UK anyway

diy

kittyCake wrote:

I converted dkk(im in denmark) to $. In Danish krones, if I dont buy pedals, those bikes would cost me about 16000kr.

Well apart from it being a little time consuming, is switching the wheels a bad thing? Like could I accidentally break something?

My point was really that its a load of extra expense having a second set of wheels for the convenience of just swapping one with the other to avoid changing tyres. Unless you get an identical wheel you will end up mucking about with adjustments. given how easy it is to flip a set of MTB tyres on and off and given the expense of having another set of wheels, I'm questioning the benefit. On a road bike of course its a different story. I have 3 sets for my road bikes.

The Rookie

kittyCake wrote:

It seems like they dont deliver outside of UK anyway

Sorry, I thought they did, my apologies.

To correct diy slightly, it's the hub that needs to be the same not the (rest of the) wheel....

kittyCake

thank you everyone for the answers and advice ... Since no one is greatly warning me against any of these bikes, I think im just gonna go ahead and get the Nerval Al 29 ... It seems like the best fit for what im looking for, and I'm assuming I can upgrade everything later on

Im so excited! ^^

The Rookie

kittyCake wrote:

Im so excited! ^^

Keep that spirit!

The Canyons are good bikes, but its always worth looking around to be sure of your decision, but you wont regret it.

kittyCake

I've been looking for quite a while by now So whatever else might be out there.... I know I wont regret my choice.

I can hardly wait. It's always the hardest part.

The Rookie

Between my Shimano rear hub and my Novatec (Superstar) the cassette is a whole gear out, so both stops and the indexing needs doing in full (actually I changed one stop and ran it as an 8 speed until I got the regular wheel back on!)