Beginner

andy_mtb

Hi All,

My names Andy, I'm new to the forum and a complete beginner... Although I used to mountain bike in my early days - I'm now 37

First up I'm after some advice on what kind of bike to get...

I'm 6ft 6" and not sure what size frame I need?

I will be using the bike off road mainly, with occasional road use.

My initial budget is around £300... Ideally after a decent second hand bike.

Any advice would be much appreciated.

Thanks,
Andy

supersonic

Size wise, whatever fits ;-). Sounds simplistic, but the sizing varies so much between brands that it is best to go and sit on some and see what suits if you don't understand the numbers.

Try Halfords and Decathlon, ie the Carrera Vulcan and Rockrider series.

JayKay3000

I'm 6 7 and none of the halfords stuff would fit. Go to the local bike shop. A good one will fit you rather than sell you junk.

23 inch for a hard tail & xl for full suss.

I sold my specialized carve 29er 23 inch 80mm hard tail for £500 last year. Would have been ideal beginner bike. I took mine down black graded trails hammering past full suss riders with 130mm travel.

Good times.

rockmonkeysc

JayKay3000 wrote:

23 inch for a hard tail & xl for full suss.

Sizes can vary hugely between brands though. Im 6'1" and ride an XL Nukeproof Mega at the moment but have also had large and medium frames which have fitted equally well. I have also had hardtails with frame sizes described as 18", 19", 20", 21", long, large, medium and extra large.
You need to get to shops and try bikes for size. Not my local shop though, they size mountain bikes the same as road bikes. Their customers all come away with 29ers which are too big.

kajjal

JayKay3000 wrote:

I'm 6 7 and none of the halfords stuff would fit. Go to the local bike shop. A good one will fit you rather than sell you junk.

23 inch for a hard tail & xl for full suss.

I sold my specialized carve 29er 23 inch 80mm hard tail for £500 last year. Would have been ideal beginner bike. I took mine down black graded trails hammering past full suss riders with 130mm travel.

Good times.

I am over 6ft6 and have a 23" specialized carve. It is the first mountain bike that fits me without any changing of parts. I use it for XC and trail centre riding which it handles fine. If that is above your budget second hand there are also 23" rockhoppers but the spec is not as good, especially the forks and saving the extra £200 to get a second hand carve gives you a much better bike. Just make sure the bike is the right size as often being tall shops try sell bikes that are too small but in stock.

To give another idea of sizing I also ride a 62cm Trek Road bike.

The Rookie

At that budget you'll struggle to get a semi decent bike apart from at the main cheap own brand options from Halfords/Decathlonor Go Outdoors. That's why used makes a lot of sense if you can't get a bike at the right size from them.