Buying Advice

salt

Hi all,

I've been wanting to get back into Mtb after a long time out. After a few years racing on the road, I moved to CX, but that doesn't quite cut the mustard anymore. Recently I've been to FoD twice, once on the rental HT and once on the rental FS. I was much faster on FS, pushed harder, felt more comfortable etc.
This may have been because I knew the FS could take more punishment and potentially cover up bad technique?

I can't decide whether I can justify buying a new bike as I don't have many friends with mtb's (mainly roadies).

After researching (and pushing my budget up already) I have found the following two bikes:

Orange Clockwork 120 S
Fork: Recon
Cons: Rear QR rather than Bolt-Thru

Pinnacle Iroko 4
Fork: Pike
Cons: Badge snobbery

Or getting a better specced second hand Full Suspension off ebay?

Budget is £1300 MAX.

Type of riding: All day riding XC & Trail centre days. I was thinking about a do-it-all HT, but my recent experience on a FS has swung me towards a FS. But at my budget it's not really feasible. Could it have just been that the HT I rented was a bit pants?

Thanks!

cooldad

Links help, but FS, £999, gets excellent reviews. Job done.

http://www.gooutdoors.co.uk/calibre-bos ... ke-p347143

salt

Sorry, here are the links:

Pinnacle: https://www.evanscycles.com/pinnacle-ir ... e-EV244135
Orange: http://www.leisurelakesbikes.com/108469 ... -grey.aspx

cooldad

The Orange seems a bit confused about it's forks, either Recon or Reba, but either way the Pinnacle is a step up on all components.

Both seem a bit pricy to me.

The Rookie

According to Oranges website the Clockwork 120 has a Recon and the 120s has a Reba, I suspect a copy and paste error at LL's end.

The Pinnacle looks the better bike to my mind, stiffer forks with a better damper slightly better drivetrain although I suspect the BB spec is wrong as you can't fit a Shimano crankset in a GXP BB!

salt

Cheers guys, I'm still stuck in the HT/FS dilema. The FS compensates for bad technique somewhat, but was more fun, but the HT could be a good way to learn proper technique better first.

Just found this on Halfords: http://www.halfords.com/cycling/bikes/m ... nsion-27-5

No idea what to do!

cooldad

Forget about FS being a 'skills compensator', that's just bullshit. They are different.

If I could only have one MTB, it would be FS.

The Rookie

I switched from an HT to an FS as it allows me to ride harder for longer, it doesn't compensate for lack of skills (in fact in some ways its easier to get into trouble on an FS) the biggest benefit for me (being 50) was that my legs were taking such a pounding going down that they were tiring and holding me back, the small amount of extra suspension in even just my 100mm FS has removed that as an issue for me, going up was never an issue.

I'm with CD, for just one bike I'd get a short/mid travel FS (100-130mm) with decent trail geometry (not so extreme as to become a liability for more XC style riding) and good components and moderately lightweight - which just about describes my Niota (link in sig - one further top secret upgrade is planned).

What FS bike did you hire, what did you like and dislike - it would help make suggestions.

doomanic

salt wrote:

I can't decide whether I can justify buying a new bike as I don't have many friends with mtb's (mainly roadies)

You could always start by riding on your own. Your tales of daring do may persuade your Lycra clad mates to do the decent thing and join you.

I'm in the FS over HT camp; I've got 3 bouncers and one hardtail. I don't bother with the HT at all these days, I even use a FS for commuting although that's as much to do with logistics as anything.

supersonic

The Boardman Pro - top value, but maybe a touch overkill for your intended use. Though that good value does translate into a competitive weight for this cash when comparing to other brands FS machines, even more XC oriented ones.

Always worth looking for Giant Anthems. A few retailers have them at reduced prices, such as:

https://www.paulscycles.co.uk/m1b0s183p ... 7-5-2-2014

Though XL only. Very good reviews everywhere.

salt

I hired the Cube Stereo 140, which is a lot higher than my budget. I really enjoyed throwing it down stuff that I would have held back on if I was on a HT, felt a lot more planted in berms etc. without the back wheel bouncing about on the braking bumps before the corners. What I really didn't like was the effort needed to get it uphill, coming from the road I'm not a slouch, and on the HT I was flying up the climbs, but the added weight and bounce made me curse the bike when I was climbing. (Although I didn't know how to turn the lockout on!)

LimitedGarry

Well HT vs FS wold depend entirely on the kind of riding you do. XC is a pretty wide term, which is why dedicated XC bikes are built as all-rounders, typically with emphasis on climbing performance and speed on flats. That said, the most expensive ones come as FS.
If you intend to ride anything from tarmac to technical climbs and want to put high effort into it, yeah, HT is better. If you want to be planted on the trails all the time, I'd say FS. It would also make for a good variety - you know, having two completely different bikes.
While it's true that HT will require you to really stick to good technique, the main benefit of FS in my eyes is that descending technical terrain is not so damn fatiguing.
On the other side of things, HT will be cheaper and easier to maintain. Also cheaper to buy

The general preference depends greatly on the locale. UK seems to be more oriented towards trail and FS bikes. Here in Central Europe, it's mostly all-round XC and HT bikes with fast geometry. During season, I meet a lot of carbon hardtails with inverted forks. Actually, lot of people here buy HT 29ers to ride just on tarmac bike trails and hardpack :roll: I rarely meet riders in remote woods and fields.

At the end of the day, I'd say it's less about getting the right tool for the job and more about having the right tool for the rider.

YellaBelly

By your own admission, you enjoyed the FS more. There's plenty of room between a hard tail and a cube stereo to pick a bike from the middle ground. A short travel 29er FS will climb well (many have remote lockouts) and won't be as wallowy, whilst still offering some of that confidence you enjoyed from the stereo. Anthems are great bikes, but Giant are very focused on 27.5" wheels these days. Personally I'm a 29er fan when it comes to short travel XC.

The Rookie

The Stereo isn't the best climber....

Something like an Anthem SX sounds ideal, if your experienced then you know your way round a bike enough that you could look at buying a used bike to get a better one for less money.....