I'm in a bit of a pickle

Lancstony

Hi All,

I am returning to mountain biking after many years with these last three years or so having been a particular nightmare but I wont bore you with the full details.

Anyway during this time I have ballooned to 20 stone which is why I am currently looking for a new bike, I have a budget of approx £1900 and I have decided a decent hardtail is the way to go and so far I am being torn between a Canyon or an Orange, I've had a look at the Exceed CF SL and Grand Canyon AL SLX, one being carbon the other Aluminium and the Orange I have seen is the Crush Pro.

I'm going to be starting off slowly at first, hopefully burning off a couple of stone so my question is this, for the first month or two I wont be going at anything hard so I'm thinking I would be ok getting a carbon framed bike or am i realistically not going to be able to use that until i am a lot lot lighter? as in down to 15 stoneish? which would be light for me and secondly if not carbon the difference between the other two is the Canyon is a 29er and the Crush is 27.5 so any suggestions which may be best?

Sorry if its a stupid question but I am really having an issue deciding which way to go as what i want to try and avoid is getting something that I will want to replace once I am slimmer and fitter if that makes sense?

Anyway any advice/suggestions would be greatly appreciated

Cheers,

Tony

BOSSNUT.DAVE

Hi Tony,

As to the weight side of the question, I'm 6'3 and 99kg or just under 16 stone. Exercise helps to lose weight but it's more about the extra cal's or bad foods you've/we all eating. i was told but a gym trainer that losing weight is about 80% food and 20% exercise.

As to the bikes, I'd consider buying a cheaper bike. maybe even a BOSSNUT at only £899. Then if it all works out sell the Bossnut and trade up.

JBA

Any particular reason for getting a hard tail?
For your budget then are some very good full sussers available.

Where do you intend to use the bike, both short-term and longer-term?

Lancstony

JBA wrote:

Any particular reason for getting a hard tail?
For your budget then are some very good full sussers available.

Where do you intend to use the bike, both short-term and longer-term?

Reason I was looking at a hardtail was because I thought due to my weight I'd struggle getting a full sus at the moment, most of my riding is going to be in my local hills and some trail centres for now, long term I want to be hitting the hills of the lakes and doing some decent long rides, once I'm fit enough obviously

JBA

20 stone is about 127kg.
I'd look at something like the Giant Anthem. Recommended maximum rider weight is 136kg.
It will be more comfortable initially and will be more fun when you get off-road.
There are some good deals to be had on last year's models if you look around. e.g. Anthem 2 2016 is £1,250 from Paul's Cycles.

Lancstony

JBA wrote:

20 stone is about 127kg.
I'd look at something like the Giant Anthem. Recommended maximum rider weight is 136kg.
It will be more comfortable initially and will be more fun when you get off-road.
There are some good deals to be had on last year's models if you look around. e.g. Anthem 2 2016 is £1,250 from Paul's Cycles.

Thanks I'll have a look at that

Jonesinamilion

why would you want / need to spend that much on a bike when you're just getting back into it and wont be able to push the bike anywhere near its capabilities?

get a bloody good used hardtail for £500 with £1400 in the bank... then shoes, clobber, spares, garmin, lights, insurance, tools etc... to see if its the way forward or you?

Pay the right price and you can sell it without substantial loss in 6-12 months time if you want to upgrade.

Good luck on your quest but be sure to enjoy it along the way!

Lancstony

Just thought I'd give you an update, I have purchased an Orange P7 Pro which has arrived today so looking forward to getting home and unpacking it.

Did some research and the price on the P7 was reduced already and I got a further 10% off so as it gave me the option to upgrade the fork I did that as the upgraded fork option was same as the saving made from the further 10% discount so made sense really (hope that makes sense!!), really pleased with my purchase and looking forward to setting it up and getting out on it tonight.