Warning - Newbie Post - What to buy?
Gavzooka
Posts: 4
Hi All
As the title suggests, I'm completely new to cycling and mountain bikes. I have read the sticky post but anyway....I'm approaching 40 and over weight and decided that I would follow something that I had a passion for years ago when I grew up in Wales and now, after going through several 2nd hand bikes and destroying them in various ways (I'm talking old knackers off of Facebook for £20), I'm biting the bullet and buying myself and my daughter new bikes.
My budget is reasonable but the cheaper the better.....but don't want to lose quality. I've been looking at the following and would appreciate and views people have regarding these:
Boardman Team 29er - £650
http://www.halfords.com/cycling/bikes/m ... -team-29er
This is my first choice at present, simply down to the specs. I'm looking for light and as feature packed as possible without going stupid on the budget. I'm not sure how I would take to the gears though (being SRAM GX 1x11).
Voodoo Bizango 29e - £625
http://www.halfords.com/cycling/bikes/m ... ntain-bike
This is one of my other choices and although it saves a little, its not a lot. The specs seem lower than the Boardman though and its back to traditional gears which I'm used to. I hear Voodoo bikes are good though and are considered one of the better ready built bikes.
Carrera Fury - £600
http://www.halfords.com/cycling/bikes/m ... ntain-bike
This was my initial choice until I spotted the others. Seems to be a reasonable spec considering the price and reviews I've read see it in a positive light albeit not as positive as the Boardman. Considering the Boardman is just £50 more and seems a lot better spec, is it really worth getting this unless I can find it a lot cheaper in a sale?
On these, my mind is kind of set on the Boardman but looking for views on all three to see if I'm making a bad choice or not....or do others have other suggestions? I was looking at the cheaper steel framed Halford Carrera bikes but they just seem too heavy in comparison...but then, as a newbie, do I need all the fancy features of those above? Would a 27.5 bike be better than a 29?
On to my daughter, she likes pretty but wants the best. She's 7 and just got in to riding...i.e. she recently learnt. This will be her first new, proper bike as all others have been cheap 2nd hand bikes to get her riding. I'm looking at three and going from top to bottom based on her preference and my geeky nature for getting the best gadgets for her:
Voodoo Nzumbi 26 - £435
http://www.halfords.com/cycling/bikes/k ... in-bike-26
This is her preference but I'm concerned about the overall size. She's got a 21" inside leg and is about 128cm tall. This seems to be the Voodoo offering for slightly older children than my daughter. If she'll fit though, then I think this offers the best features out of the selection for her and should last her to her teens.
Voodoo Bakka - £400
http://www.halfords.com/cycling/bikes/k ... in-bike-24
This was my first preference until we saw the Nzumbi. Seems to be reasonably featured for a Junior bike although not top notch stuff. This also seems to be just about the right size for her. Just concerned that for £35 more, we'd be missing out on a lot better spec.
Carrera Luna 24" - £250
http://www.halfords.com/cycling/bikes/k ... in-bike-24
This was the recommendation from Halfords staff based on her trying the 20" version of the same. On a similar bike, she was on the balls of her foot instead of flat footed like on the 20" version. My concern with this is that its multiple gear levers and she's not even used basic gears yet whereas the other 2 above have a single gear lever. It seems a reasonable attempt otherwise by Halfords and good for the money.
So that's my list of bikes to look at with my daughter in tow. As said above, really appreciate any input or even alternative suggestions....not looking second hand though as fed up with bikes breaking on us :-)
Thanks in advance
As the title suggests, I'm completely new to cycling and mountain bikes. I have read the sticky post but anyway....I'm approaching 40 and over weight and decided that I would follow something that I had a passion for years ago when I grew up in Wales and now, after going through several 2nd hand bikes and destroying them in various ways (I'm talking old knackers off of Facebook for £20), I'm biting the bullet and buying myself and my daughter new bikes.
My budget is reasonable but the cheaper the better.....but don't want to lose quality. I've been looking at the following and would appreciate and views people have regarding these:
Boardman Team 29er - £650
http://www.halfords.com/cycling/bikes/m ... -team-29er
This is my first choice at present, simply down to the specs. I'm looking for light and as feature packed as possible without going stupid on the budget. I'm not sure how I would take to the gears though (being SRAM GX 1x11).
Voodoo Bizango 29e - £625
http://www.halfords.com/cycling/bikes/m ... ntain-bike
This is one of my other choices and although it saves a little, its not a lot. The specs seem lower than the Boardman though and its back to traditional gears which I'm used to. I hear Voodoo bikes are good though and are considered one of the better ready built bikes.
Carrera Fury - £600
http://www.halfords.com/cycling/bikes/m ... ntain-bike
This was my initial choice until I spotted the others. Seems to be a reasonable spec considering the price and reviews I've read see it in a positive light albeit not as positive as the Boardman. Considering the Boardman is just £50 more and seems a lot better spec, is it really worth getting this unless I can find it a lot cheaper in a sale?
On these, my mind is kind of set on the Boardman but looking for views on all three to see if I'm making a bad choice or not....or do others have other suggestions? I was looking at the cheaper steel framed Halford Carrera bikes but they just seem too heavy in comparison...but then, as a newbie, do I need all the fancy features of those above? Would a 27.5 bike be better than a 29?
On to my daughter, she likes pretty but wants the best. She's 7 and just got in to riding...i.e. she recently learnt. This will be her first new, proper bike as all others have been cheap 2nd hand bikes to get her riding. I'm looking at three and going from top to bottom based on her preference and my geeky nature for getting the best gadgets for her:
Voodoo Nzumbi 26 - £435
http://www.halfords.com/cycling/bikes/k ... in-bike-26
This is her preference but I'm concerned about the overall size. She's got a 21" inside leg and is about 128cm tall. This seems to be the Voodoo offering for slightly older children than my daughter. If she'll fit though, then I think this offers the best features out of the selection for her and should last her to her teens.
Voodoo Bakka - £400
http://www.halfords.com/cycling/bikes/k ... in-bike-24
This was my first preference until we saw the Nzumbi. Seems to be reasonably featured for a Junior bike although not top notch stuff. This also seems to be just about the right size for her. Just concerned that for £35 more, we'd be missing out on a lot better spec.
Carrera Luna 24" - £250
http://www.halfords.com/cycling/bikes/k ... in-bike-24
This was the recommendation from Halfords staff based on her trying the 20" version of the same. On a similar bike, she was on the balls of her foot instead of flat footed like on the 20" version. My concern with this is that its multiple gear levers and she's not even used basic gears yet whereas the other 2 above have a single gear lever. It seems a reasonable attempt otherwise by Halfords and good for the money.
So that's my list of bikes to look at with my daughter in tow. As said above, really appreciate any input or even alternative suggestions....not looking second hand though as fed up with bikes breaking on us :-)
Thanks in advance
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Comments
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Have a look at the Trott MTB1 at halfords, forget the 'women's' claim its a man's frame with some colour added but its an amazing spec and value at sub £400, you may even manage to get your daughter onto an XS and that would be massively better than the Luna.
Its not the frame height that is most important it's the length as that has very little adjustment, most people will try and sit too upright at first but check out some online photos of the correct riding position.Currently riding a Whyte T130C, X0 drivetrain, Magura Trail brakes converted to mixed wheel size (homebuilt wheels) with 140mm Fox 34 Rhythm and RP23 suspension. 12.2Kg.0 -
As rookiw says but buy 2rr and save some money mate.0
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What are you going to do with them ? Ride offroad ? Race them ? Go round forest tracks ?
I'm kind of thinking gentle pootling thru a forest type of thing given your daughters age ?0 -
If you're buying from Halfords, join British Cycling. Costs £30 but you save 10% on every purchase so will end up saving a few quid overall. Also wait for the price drops at Halfords, the Trott was £380 and the Bizango was down around £550 IIRC about 6 weeks ago when it was on Sale.0
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If you decide on a Carrera Luna ( I got one for my 9 yr old), they are quite heavy, and the forks don't move much because the rider is too light. I swapped the grip shift for thumb shifters for £15 to make gear changing easier. There are usually quite a few Lunas on eBay, decent one can be had for ~£100 if you're careful. The one I got looks brand new, and I'll be able to sell it for about the same in a couple of years when she outgrows it.0
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At least your links work this time.My advice is the same as what was given on the other Forum
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