New or Old FS

alex100a

Hi All,

Well after advise on this forum a year or so ago I purchased a 2nd hand (like new) Chris Boardman Team 650b HT, which has served me pretty well since but following a recent visit to a Afan and Brechfa I’m keen to take the next step and look at full suspension bikes.

In an ideal would I’d pop down the road and speak to the nice guys at Bird and order an Aeris however their entry level bike is presently beyond my finances.

My question is… do I save up and wait 6-8 months until I can afford the Aeris, or similar (I won’t mention the Boardman Pro FS as it appears to have been discussed to death!), or should I opt for something 2nd hand and slightly older.
For an example, I found a 2009ish Specialized Pitch Pro for around £500 online, which looks and sounds very well looked after.

My one concern, other than the obvious of having 2nd hand bits that could fail, is going back to 26 inch wheels. I really noticed the difference when I bought the CB.

Any advice greatly appreciated.

Alex

rockmonkeysc

You're a better rider than most if you really feel a big difference between 26" and 650b. It's half an inch on the radius.
The Pitch was a great bike and for £500 it's a bargain.

buddy_club

Pitch will ride better overall so the 26inch wont make a difference. We are still seeing a solid amount of parts fro 26inch as well so thats something not to worry about it.

kajjal

If its in good nick and the right size for you the pitch is a very good bike. 26" wheels were fine for decades until the marketing departments discontinued them and produced other sized wheels enmass.

alex100a

'A better rider than most'.... I am not! To be fair the CB was such an improvement from my previous bike, which was a not really worthy of the title of 'Mountain Bike', that everything felt better and the wheel size probably made very little difference really (except in my head).

Thanks for the replies. I guess I could always go do the 2nd hand route and then look to upgrade in a year or so. Assuming I buy something at a reasonable price it should not depreciate a huge amount.

Will keep my eyes peeled.

rockmonkeysc

You won't loose much on that Pitch.
The only riders I know who really notice the difference between 26" and 650b are professional riders and one of them prefers 26"

Herdwick

Pitch is a good bike but being roughly 7 years old there is a chance you'll need bearings and stuff, the shock and fork may need service or even worst rebuild, the assumption that is in perfect order is made by the current owner who happens to want to get rid of it, I don't say that it's not well looked after but it is risky, and there is limited fork choice as there are less and less straight steerer forks that are decent, one main issue for me
Wheel size I would say is a prefference, not a defining factor

Save and get the aeris or whatever more recent made, the bikes got better since 2009, it will serve you better and probably longer

darren636

There's plenty of choice in the sub £1000 price range

Calibre bossnut
Boardman
Voodoo
Btwin
Giant
Vitus

It might be wiser to buy a bike you want to keep , instead of gradual upgrading over time.

kirby700

I could the difference between 26" and 650b......

all my spare tyres were useless!

and that's it.

alex100a

In the end I opted not to go with the Pitch Pro as neither the shock or forks had been serviced since new. I would have wanted to have got these serviced considering it was 7yrs old but this would have added nearly £200 to the costs.

So i' still looking... either for a new discounted entry level piece of kit or a decent 2nd hand bike. I've spent some time on eBay and Freeads etc but wondered if there are any other specific sites I should be keeping an eye on?

Thanks

Alex

The Rookie

Home service on the forks is at most £45 (with lots of fluid left over for the next 10 years worth!).
Never done a rear though as parts for my 2007 rear shock are no longer available so it will be used until it dies!
Just serviced my old Manitou forks ready for sale, these are 2005 forks I've owned since 2009, the stanchions and bushings are quite literally as new.

Thewaylander

if they are fox shocks and never serviced from that age, normally the stansions would be worn. I personally have been through a few sets of the older fox stansions even when they were regularly serviced.

And I went from a 26" dune to a 650b, and there was subtle but definitely notable difference, but you need to be riding a very similar bike to be able to tell.

The Rookie

Should be on RS Pikes, not a guarantee of their condition, but certainly an order of magnitude more durable than Fox!

Thewaylander

well that's true.. those older foxes were made of cheese... like a really runny bree or something

rockmonkeysc

Those Pikes fitted to the Pitch were excellent. Virtually indestructible.
I don't think they ever made it with Fox forks.

alex100a

Ok it sounds like I might have made a mistake in my rush to make a decision over the Pitch Pro! The advert has now gone so assume its been sold.

I'll keep trawling the internet and hopefully something else will come up.

alex100a

Sorry to keep this thread going but I need some more advice/suggestions...

Basically I'm looking out for a 2nd hand good quality full susser for around the £5-600 mark and would appreciate some tips on what bikes I should be looking out for.

I'm thinking of something around 4-5 years old maybe?

I intend to use the bike for trails such as Afan, Cwmcarn etc.

Currently look for Pitch Pro, Trek Fuel but any other suggestions would be appreciated.

cooldad

Santa Cruz Blur LT.

The Rookie

Giant Trance.

rockmonkeysc

The Rookie wrote:

Giant Trance.

Good suggestion. 2010 or later but the original Fox F120 forks will almost certainly be forked by now. The anodising on the stanchions was particularly rubbish and tended to wear away after a year or two causing horrific stiction and wear out seals in no time.

Antm81

2010 is the same frame as 2008, I had one, was great, persuaded me to buy another. Personally I'd go 2011 or newer, shouldn't be much difference in price but has a tapered head tube which gives a lot more fork options.