New to MTB

Lungs94

Hi, I've recently have taken an interest in MTB and I love it, I have been using a Scott Tigua hardtail is that a good MTB or should I upgrade? I ride on gravel, rooty etc, I have been looking at the Carerra Kraken which is highly rated by what I've read. My budget is around £300-£500, also should I wear a FF helmet?

oxoman

Hi Lungs welcome to the forum, firstly fullface helmet is really for the big downhill stuff and I suspect that you aren't going to do that so a normal helmet will do. If you are looking at the Carrera at halfords I would look at the fury first as a better bike than the kraken. When you say rooty and gravelly is this single track or out in the wild as there is loads of good bikes out there to choose from.
If you look at the first post by supersonic in beginners section that will help you understand what is available and also what not to buy.

robertpb

If I were you I'd go for the Kraken with the discounts at the moment in Halfords it's a bargain.

You'll notice the difference with front suspension and disc brakes.

No you don't need a FF helmet.

Lungs94

Hi Oxoman thx for the reply, regarding helmet I will be using it for forest trails which has a DH section aswell, the FF helmet gives me confidence at speed, is there any other decent reliable bikes? Thx

Mattharrier

If you've only recently taken an interest in MTB, you could just stick with your current bike for now, and wait until you've worked out what you want from a bike, and what yours doesn't provide you - you can also save up more money and buy something better when you do upgrade.

The Rookie

You won't be riding hard enough on a Kraken to warrant an FF helmet, and it will be horrible and sweaty when pedaling.

He said its for Downhill (type of riding) not riding downhill.

oxoman

Lungs have a look on YouTube at downhill mtb riding and see if this is what you intend doing or just general trail riding which isn't nearly as extreme. I do see people on the trail occasionally in full face helmets and they tend to be on their way to downhill runs or little kids.

Lungs94

Yes I know what DH is & Im not a complete nooby I have done MTB before just I wasnt engrossed in it back then, I plan on doing everything with it, AM, DH, XC, etc not 1 specific "type" which is why I need a reliable up to the job bike, and sweating is a minor inconvenience considering a FF could save my life incase I fall off a singletrack & plunge 30ft down rocky slope

FishFish

Buy a full face helmet if you want. It is your decision and not ours.

Lungs94

Yes I know I dont mean to come off as arrogant but I've seen topics of riders "bashing" FF helmets for XC when I dont really understand why, Its sort of like "Im too good for FF, FF is for wimps" type of thing, then I've seen alot of topics stating that lots of people use FF on easy trails, I guess im just trying justify me buying one, they look better than "half" a helmet "(sorry lol)

cooldad

XC can mean long rides. After 30 miles I'm half dead. In a FF I would be fully dead.

To ride down you first have to ride up.

Unless you are talking using uplifts, which is neither XC and hardly AM, in which case you are buying the wrong bike to go with the helmet.

mattyfez

A couple of alternatives are

http://www.gooutdoors.co.uk/calibre-two-two-alloy-hardtail-mountain-bike-p275612

And http://m.evanscycles.com/products/specialized/pitch-sport-2015-650b-mountain-bike-ec070611
Alternatively some of the voodoo or carrera models at Halfords are very good.

My friend bought the speciaized in the link above and managed to smash his front chain ring up on a rock, not sure if it's because the front rings are not very good or just bad luck, but it's a nice bike.

mattyfez

Lungs94 wrote:

Yes I know what DH is & Im not a complete nooby I have done MTB before just I wasnt engrossed in it back then, I plan on doing everything with it, AM, DH, XC, etc not 1 specific "type" which is why I need a reliable up to the job bike, and sweating is a minor inconvenience considering a FF could save my life incase I fall off a singletrack & plunge 30ft down rocky slope

I'd say technique and skill is more important than an ff helmet, an ff helmet won't stop you breaking your neck and/or back if you take a 30ft plunge. The trick is to ride in a way that you wion't take a 300ft plunge in the first place.

If your getting back into it, I'd suggest riding at a sensible speed, especially on downhill sections, and not doing downhill single tracks with 30ft drops to the side until you have built up some experience.

EDIT: Also as mattharrier mentioned, the best way to look at upgrading is to look at your current bike and think about what it doesn't do as well as you'd want, if it's in good working order it might well be that it's the rider that needs to bee improved or it may benefit from a couple of upgraded components here and there. A couple of well targeted upgrades is much cheaper than a new bike, but that depends a lot on the general condition and suitability of your current bike.