Need a new moutain bike any advice

Moutain biker

I have a old giant talon 2 with upgrades and looking to buy a new moutain bike specifically for cross country I have around £1 500 for a new bike any ideas.
Thanks
* I am over 6 foot so I will need 29 wheels

rockmonkeysc

Your height has nothing to do with what wheel size you need.
This is a little over budget but excellent
http://www.tredz.co.uk/.Giant-Stance-27 ... AnYH8P8HAQ

Moutain biker

RockmonkeySC wrote:

Your height has nothing to do with what wheel size you need.
This is a little over budget but excellent
http://www.tredz.co.uk/.Giant-Stance-27 ... AnYH8P8HAQ

Thanks for that but I am thinking of going hardtail as I have had that before and less maintenance and you get more for your money.

rockmonkeysc

Maintenance is no different for FS

Moutain biker

RockmonkeySC wrote:

Maintenance is no different for FS

No I mean that there are more moving parts for the bike so it is less reliable than a hardtail for £1500. A 1500 pound hardtail would have better componets than a FS. Also a hardtail is lighter and for xc racing I need a lighter bike

Moutain biker

I have looked at a few bikes like,
https://www.merlincycles.com/sensa-fior ... 90139.html
https://www.boardmanbikes.com/gb_en/pro ... -29er.html
https://www.canyon.com/en-gb/mtb/grand- ... l-8-9.html
http://www.chainreactioncycles.com/mobi ... prod141192
Thry are kind of around the same price but don't know which one is best for xc racing

hsiaolc

Moutain biker wrote:

I have a old giant talon 2 with upgrades and looking to buy a new moutain bike specifically for cross country I have around £1 500 for a new bike any ideas.
Thanks
* I am over 6 foot so I will need 29 wheels

I know it's over budget a bit but I will go for this

https://www.yt-industries.com/uk/detail ... tegory/509

Moutain biker

hsiaolc wrote:

Moutain biker wrote:

I have a old giant talon 2 with upgrades and looking to buy a new moutain bike specifically for cross country I have around £1 500 for a new bike any ideas.
Thanks
* I am over 6 foot so I will need 29 wheels

I know it's over budget a bit but I will go for this

https://www.yt-industries.com/uk/detail ... tegory/509

Its a nice bike but looking at bikes with less travel and has more pedal efficiency and little out of price range

FishFish

Moutain biker wrote:

RockmonkeySC wrote:

Maintenance is no different for FS

No I mean that there are more moving parts for the bike so it is less reliable than a hardtail for £1500. A 1500 pound hardtail would have better componets than a FS. Also a hardtail is lighter and for xc racing I need a lighter bike

My take on this is to look at the modes of failure - that is the stuff that goes wrong - which sets the maintenance schedule. Your point about weight is valid but more moving parts does not decrease its reliability. For example an airbus A380 has more moving parts than most bikes yet is more reliable than most bikes. A giraffe has the same number of moving parts as an FS and lasts longer - and without maintenance. People do not oil giraffes.

rockmonkeysc

Maintenance for full suspension is just fit a couple nee bearings every couple of years. Sealed bearings means nothing to lube.
But since you want a hardtail for racing, how about a Giant XTC carbon?
https://www.mantel.com/uk/giant-xtc-adv ... Ajj88P8HAQ

The Rookie

My Litespeed frame is from 2006, I bought it 2 years ago used, I haven't changed any of the bearings or bushings in that time and still don't need to, I can't say the bearings are the original, but the side faces looked at least two years old (some surface rust) when I bought it, so I'd say they are now at least 4 years old.

Moutain biker

RockmonkeySC wrote:

Maintenance for full suspension is just fit a couple nee bearings every couple of years. Sealed bearings means nothing to lube.
But since you want a hardtail for racing, how about a Giant XTC carbon?
https://www.mantel.com/uk/giant-xtc-adv ... Ajj88P8HAQ

Thanks that has really helped what about the 29er version. Is there a huge difference between 27.5 and 29. I am used to riding 26 but want larger wheels.

rockmonkeysc

29ers aren't for everyone. They're faster in a straight line but more awkward around tight bends. Wheel and fork flex can be more of an issue as well.

Moutain biker

RockmonkeySC wrote:

29ers aren't for everyone. They're faster in a straight line but more awkward around tight bends. Wheel and fork flex can be more of an issue as well.

Are the 29ers alot faster in straights

rockmonkeysc

Not a lot, no.

cooldad

There are 29ers and 29ers, just like there are 26ers and 26ers and 27.5ers and 650bers and + stuff and fat stuff.

Not all 29ers are XC racing snake bikes.

Depends on the bike.

rockmonkeysc

This 29er for example is no racing snake:


This 27.5 is a racing rocket:

RichardSmart

RockmonkeySC wrote:

Maintenance for full suspension is just fit a couple nee bearings every couple of years. Sealed bearings means nothing to lube.
But since you want a hardtail for racing, how about a Giant XTC carbon?
https://www.mantel.com/uk/giant-xtc-adv ... Ajj88P8HAQ

Absolutely - I have a Scott MC-10 (from back when Scott also made the shorter-travel RC-series) and all I've ever done to it is change the tyres! I wouldn't worry about maintenance all that much - unless you are going to be racing every week, and, even then, there's really not that much that you have to worry about...

RichardSmart

If you are lucky enough to live reasonably close to a trail centre, I would DEFINITELY recommend going along and hiring a bike for the day. That's what I did (in fact I first got into mountain biking when I went to Glentress years ago) and I ended up buying the same sort of bike that I hired from "The Hub" - it's now an offshoot of Alpine Bikes. In fact, you could make a weekend of it and camp or, even better stay in one of these: http://www.glentressforestlodges.co.uk/ I used to go to stay in Wigwams fairly regularly a few years ago, and they are great - like tents, but with none of the drawbacks. So, check the weather forecast, find a nice weekend and get yourself to The Borders - You won't regret it - the trails are fantastic and the "Glamping" is good fun, too!

rockmonkeysc

Trail centres generally have a very limited range of bikes. Usually only one or two brands so it's not great for getting a comparison.