Recommend a good place (shop) to buy full sus mtb

BLW

Hi

Both myself and the hub are after a new full suspension bike each, we've looked online and trawled through the mags to see what's out there, types, price range and spec etc, but we'd prefer to go to a really big bike store that stock a large range so we can view them in the flesh, talk about what we want and get some good advice and choose the right bike from there, don't mind traveling (we are in East yorks) if it's a big store, thought about Leisure Bikes or similar?

Anyone suggest a few?

Thanks

rockmonkeysc

Big shops are usually crap. Go to a few independent shops instead.

The Rookie

Budget?

The Decathlon bikes are well specced and a good price, just need a shorter stem to turn them into a good UK trail bike.

CitizenLee

Whilst it’s always nice to support the independent shops, the bigger stores are more likely to offer discount if buying more than one bike + they will probably have a better range. I'd see if there's an Evans nearby.

rockmonkeysc

Sometimes it's worth paying a little extra for better service.
Last time I was looking for a new bike my local Evans didn't have a single member of staff in who rode mountain bikes, they were all roadies and couldn't explain why one bike would be better than another.

CitizenLee

RockmonkeySC wrote:

Sometimes it's worth paying a little extra for better service.
Last time I was looking for a new bike my local Evans didn't have a single member of staff in who rode mountain bikes, they were all roadies and couldn't explain why one bike would be better than another.

A valid point for someone new to the sport I guess.

Angus Young

RockmonkeySC wrote:

Big shops are usually crap. Go to a few independent shops instead.

RockmonkeySC wrote:

Sometimes it's worth paying a little extra for better service.
Last time I was looking for a new bike my local Evans didn't have a single member of staff in who rode mountain bikes, they were all roadies and couldn't explain why one bike would be better than another.

There's absolutely no guarantee that your local LBS is going to be any better (Mine leaves a lot to be desired in certain areas, for instance, 5 recent emails gone unanswered. And that's not the only thing.) and they're going to want to sell you something from their inevitably limited stock, so a recommendation might not always be from the heart. Not to mention that saying "Big shops are usually crap." is a classic sweeping statement. My guess is that some are, some aren't.

rockmonkeysc

I think some independent shops target road cyclists more and others target mountain bikers more. It's usually fairly obvious from their website.
Fortunately, one of my local shops is run by an ex pro mountain bike racer with an almost irrational hate for roadies. Another of my local shops has two mountain bikes in stock and between 30 - 40 road bikes.

Angus Young

RockmonkeySC wrote:

Fortunately, one of my local shops is run by an ex pro mountain bike racer with an almost irrational hate for roadies.

Sounds like the kind of LBS I need in place of the one I've got! Who are they?

The Rookie

I've got a local shop also run by an ex pro MTBer (doing this years UK Gravity Enduro series) but he sells roadies as well and also supports the local cycling club and can often be seen on both road and off road rides. Best thing is he gets some top riders in to give the odd talk. I try and buy stuff in there when I can, but he ain't cheap!

BLW

Sorry for only just getting back to you guys, thanks for your replies btw.

Budget would be around £2,500 or there about’s, although I could be tempted to spend more if I fell in love with one…Santa Cruz for example *coughs* but I also have to be realistic, I’m sure a lower budget bike would be just fine for what I will be using it for.

I’m into trail riding (we go to Dalby, Sherwood, Sutton Bank, recently Wharncliffe Woods, just to give you an idea of where we ride) as they are the nearest to us (unfortunately we live in East Yorks, so not blessed with any good ‘MTB territory’ unless we travel further a field) but I’ll be going off to the lakes, Wales the Peak District to explore come spring, I have a hard tail already and can’t fault it (Voodoo Hoodoo) but always fancied having a FS bike as well, I know you can get various types of FL bikes but I just need a jack of all trades really, something that can cope well with the downhill sections too (mainly why I’d like to get one) but also cope with the climbs too, so basically a bit of an alrounder full suspension bike shall we say.

Reason I wanted to go to a large store was just so I could see more of them in the flesh, suppose it’s all part of the excitement, looking at a big choice and getting to pick one out, but yes, I’d definitely need to speak to someone in the shop that’s clued up and would give me a short list of the type of bike I’d be best suited to.

Suggestions, advice, much appreciated.

Angus Young

Visit both large and small. Take the time to see as many as you can - after all, shopping for your bike is half the fun. And you've picked a good time to shop as the riding opportunities are fewer at this time of the year so there's not as much urgency as there might be when all those dry trails are calling to you.

Antm81

Try Cycle Supreme in Doncaster, a bit roadie biased but seem to have a good selection and I've always found their service very good.

Or there's JE James in Sheffield

Mad_Malx

If you do a trail centre with a shop then they probabky have models you can try out properly before buying.