New MTB advice

the-sprinter

Hello all

Was after some advice, I'm a road cyclist wanting to purchase a cheap and cheerful mtb for winter training - Canal trails and possibly some local hills. I'm 5ft11 and around 90kgs have a reasonable level of fitness with good power in my legs but fairly green to Mountain biking.

I Have narrowed my choice between two either :

Decathlons Rockrider 520

http://www.decathlon.co.uk/rockrider-54 ... 50454.html

Or the Specialized Pitch

https://www.evanscycles.com/specialized ... e-EV279814

I am leaning towards the Decathlon Rockrider - as its slightly cheaper and seems a better spec, I can also buy the bike from a local Decathlon as opposed to ordering the Specialized online.

Any help and advice would be appreciated many thanks.

midgehulluk

I like the decathlon bike, I'd get the red one

winter_zombie

can i ask why you want to go for a hardtail ? is it because your used to the hardtail of the road bike

the Decathlons Rockrider 520 is fine but for £40 more you can go for the B'TWIN Rockrider 520S Full Suspension Mountain Bike or for under £300 you could go for the lower spec B'TWIN Rockrider 500S Full Suspension Mountain Bike

depends on what you want i guess. it could also be worth waiting a few days to see if they do a black friday /cyber monday deal..

The Rookie

The XCT is shockingly bad, that fork has no place on a £300 bike, let alone a £400.

As for HT v FS, the 520s is good value, but the hardtail will always be that much lighter which probably suites your (currently) intended use better.

Cubehead555

Look around and look for deals on 2016 bikes as they sell them off a lot cheaper.I bought a 2016 Cube Analog for £400.
Hargroves have them in stock 17" 29er and 23" 29er.
I had a B'twin 540 and sold it within a few weeks as I hated it.

the-sprinter

Thanks all,

Personally I feel a hardtail would be best for me as I'm limited on budget and also not particularly looking for a performance bike, more something as a change to road riding, using the canal towpaths (In the West Mids in England) and the hills in Wales. Something that digs in well and is sturdy.

Personally I thought the full suspension B-twin looked a little archaic - but the benefit of the B-Twins is I should be able to view them in the flesh so to speak.

I ride a specialized road bike and I'm impressed by its build quality and overall performance.

The Rookie

If you like the Specialised, its made and assembled by Merida for Spesh, just like any of the Halfords brands (Carrera, Voodoo, Boardman and 13), Merida also do their own brand and do bikes for others as well ( I have a feeling the Evans 'pinnacle' range for example).

the-sprinter

Yes have thought about the Merida - but they seem to do higher end priced mountain bikes.

I have found a Pitch for £320 today (might be black friday sales) - which levels it off with the B-twin. I think if the price is the same I'm tempted to stay with Specialized bikes.

The Rookie

At this price point I wouldn't be paying £100+ for the brand!

A hugely better bike at a ridiculous price
http://www.halfords.com/cycling/bikes/m ... -bike-2015

The fork alone is 3 grades (XCT-XCM-XCR-Raidon) better than on the Pitch and still made in the same factory.

supersonic

The Pitch barely scrapes through as a reasonable bike at £400. £320 is not bad, but the aforementioned 13 Incline Alpha is streets ahead. And I'd take the Rockrider over the Pitch.

the-sprinter

The Rookie wrote:

Many thanks 'The Rookie' for the Halfords find, this does indeed look a far superior bike. I will be heading down to the store this week to see them in more detail.

supersonic

They are few and far between unfortunately, but are worth hunting out. A few stores have them dotted about, but are none are (were) left at the Halford's distribution centre.

Ask your local store to do a store search if they do not have one: it may be possible to courier one in from elsewhere, though I can't promise that they can. Items showing on a store's stock file may be display models.

Danieljephcott

Bizango from Halfords is on offer. Use the British cycling discount and you will not find anything even close to how good this bike is for that money. Which is why it's won bikeraders bike for under £500 about 2 or 3 years in a row

http://www.halfords.com/webapp/wcs/stor ... reId=10001

If the bizango is to much then get the hoodoo. I have this bike before upgrading to a full sus and it's very very good. Does well at trial centres, canal tow paths, farmers fields and roads.

http://www.halfords.com/webapp/wcs/stor ... reId=10001

antsmithmk

I'm similar to the opening poster. Just picked up the Bizango about 4 weeks ago and the last couple of weeks have put in 30 miles XC on a sat morning. Definately a nice break from the road and am loving exploring the tracks, trails and bridleways.

larkim

The mantra on sub-£400 bikes has simlpy got to be "get the one with the better fork". If you're only prepared to spend £400 on a bike, you won't want to spend £150/£200 on the fork upgrade which you will need or want in the future.

All other components wear out and can be replaced at moderate costs. When your fork wears out on an entry level bike you won't want to have to shell out to replace it!

the-sprinter

Unfortunately couldn't get hold of the 13 incline over the weekend and so it might be back to the Rockrider.

Saw a Scott Aspect in Evans and apart from the whacky paint job thought it might be a contender?

https://www.evanscycles.com/scott-aspec ... e-EV253415

cooldad

Bargain basement parts and back to a very mediocre fork.

cooldad

Good bike, good deal.
http://www.gooutdoors.co.uk/calibre-two ... ke-p383858

the-sprinter

Thanks guys - Maybe I'm slowly getting the hang of what to look for in a mountain bike.

My road cycling background makes me look at frame, gear range and brakes (which are all quite similar on road bikes) - i'm guessing the forks are a critical thing to note?

I've gone back to Decathlon and found this 'full suspension' - Looks far superior to any of the 'big brand' equivalent bikes?

https://www.decathlon.co.uk/rockrider-5 ... 22501.html

Thanks once again for the knowledge passed on.

Danieljephcott

I really don't think you should get a full sus at this price. Also it's a 26" wheel which are becoming increasingly rare. For a beginner the 27.5 or 29" are better as they will help.

Again did you look at the bizango? Colour is a bit crazy but it is a fantastic bike for the money.

the-sprinter

Danieljephcott wrote:

I really don't think you should get a full sus at this price. Also it's a 26" wheel which are becoming increasingly rare. For a beginner the 27.5 or 29" are better as they will help.

Again did you look at the bizango? Colour is a bit crazy but it is a fantastic bike for the money.

I did yes, it looks a solid bike with my limited mtb knowledge - its certainly a contender

Briggo

Just no to that full sus or any full sus at this price point.

the-sprinter

Thanks again all, hopefully not making a mountain out of a molehill with this search but how would the following fare?

https://www.google.co.uk/webhp?sourceid ... ke+-+Large

If the Focus Black Forest 4.0 can be got for around £299 Would that be a good price for the bike - looks similar to the Pitch (but at a more reasonable price) - it also has a 4/5 star rating from bikeradar reviews. Thanks.

larkim

the-sprinter wrote:

Thanks again all, hopefully not making a mountain out of a molehill with this search but how would the following fare?

https://www.google.co.uk/webhp?sourceid ... ke+-+Large

If the Focus Black Forest 4.0 can be got for around £299 Would that be a good price for the bike - looks similar to the Pitch (but at a more reasonable price) - it also has a 4/5 star rating from bikeradar reviews. Thanks.

I think rookie said it before:-

The Rookie wrote:

The XCT is shockingly bad, that fork has no place on a £300 bike, let alone a £400.

It is the lowest end of the XC% forks from Suntour and is "not good".

The fork is the single most important item to get right on an entry level MTB (assuming we're discounting the Toys'R'Us and Halfords £99 type offerings).

If you can't stretch to the Bizango or the Hoodoo, then Decathlon or GoOutdoors are your best bet. With due respect (!), you're unlikely to find anything better than those tried and tested options, no matter how good your googling is!

RichardSmart

winter zombie wrote:

can i ask why you want to go for a hardtail ? is it because your used to the hardtail of the road bike

the Decathlons Rockrider 520 is fine but for £40 more you can go for the B'TWIN Rockrider 520S Full Suspension Mountain Bike or for under £300 you could go for the lower spec B'TWIN Rockrider 500S Full Suspension Mountain Bike

depends on what you want i guess. it could also be worth waiting a few days to see if they do a black friday /cyber monday deal..

The problems with cheap full-sussers tend to be their weight and the quality of the components fitted - obviously, adding a suspension system and shock to a bike will add weight, and because the frame materials aren't going to be the lightest, the overall weight is going to be quite high. If you are going to go for a hardtail, just make sure that the frame is as light as possible - or, perhaps, buy second-hand: that way you will get quite a lot more for your money. If you DO decide to go down the pre-owned route, just make sure that the seller is legitimate and that the bike isn't stolen...

RichardSmart

I wouldn't bother getting a full-susser for that amount of money - it will be either heavy, or very poorly-specced, or both.

[

quote="the-sprinter"]Thanks all,

Personally I feel a hardtail would be best for me as I'm limited on budget and also not particularly looking for a performance bike, more something as a change to road riding, using the canal towpaths (In the West Mids in England) and the hills in Wales. Something that digs in well and is sturdy.

Personally I thought the full suspension B-twin looked a little archaic - but the benefit of the B-Twins is I should be able to view them in the flesh so to speak.

I ride a specialized road bike and I'm impressed by its build quality and overall performance.[/quote]

RichardSmart

winter zombie wrote:

can i ask why you want to go for a hardtail ? is it because your used to the hardtail of the road bike

the Decathlons Rockrider 520 is fine but for £40 more you can go for the B'TWIN Rockrider 520S Full Suspension Mountain Bike or for under £300 you could go for the lower spec B'TWIN Rockrider 500S Full Suspension Mountain Bike

depends on what you want i guess. it could also be worth waiting a few days to see if they do a black friday /cyber monday deal..

The problem with cheap full-sussers is that they tend to weigh more than the sun and the components aren't usually the best. Unless you have, um, a thousand pounds (or two) to spend, I'd go for a hardtail.

Steve-XcT

I'd hire one for your intended use...if you have somewhere local and a CX bike for towpaths if you don't want to risk the roadbike ???

My local prices are £15 for 2 hours (or might be 3)
but thats a lot of rides for the price of a £300 bike if you went offroad once a week.

If you get hooked you might decide on something completely different.

RichardSmart

winter zombie wrote:

can i ask why you want to go for a hardtail ? is it because you're used to the hardtail of the road bike

the Decathlon Rockrider 520 is fine but for £40 more you can go for the B'TWIN Rockrider 520S Full Suspension Mountain Bike or for under £300 you could go for the lower spec B'TWIN Rockrider 500S Full Suspension Mountain Bike

depends on what you want i guess. it could also be worth waiting a few days to see if they do a black friday /cyber monday deal..

I wouldn't bother with a cheap full-susser. Y'know the famous Keith Bontrager quote - light, strong, cheap - choose two? I wouldn't bother with a full-susser for less than, oh, a thousand pounds - it will probably weigh more than the sun, and will be less fun to drag up hills than a bag of rhinos. Or it will break as soon as you take it off-road. I would recommend a hardtail.

RichardSmart

oxoman wrote:

I think someone ought to read up on reviews a bit more, there are several £1000 ish full sussers worth getting, however the hardtail route would be best to start with on a low budget. The biggest difference on any bike is the engine riding and pedalling it.

I'm (fairly) sure I said "unless you have a thousand pounds to spend" - thanks for agreeing with me!

RichardSmart

Steve-XcT wrote:

I'd hire one for your intended use...if you have somewhere local and a CX bike for towpaths if you don't want to risk the roadbike ???

My local prices are £15 for 2 hours (or might be 3)
but thats a lot of rides for the price of a £300 bike if you went offroad once a week.

If you get hooked you might decide on something completely different.

Just don't do what I did and hire a full-sus ,carbon-fibre mountain bike at Glentress and end-up spending two-thousand pounds on buying the same bike - actually, DO do what I did - I've never regretted buying my Scott Genius MC-10! It's a fantastic bike and I'm glad I bought it!