£1000-£1500 What to do?

CharlieV453

Im thinking slightly ahead here about my next bike (or maybe even bikes) and was looking for peoples opinions and help. I currently have a ragley marley 1.0 from 2017 with a fair few upgrades on it and I really like it. Although I just come into the large category, I feel just a tiny bit cramped so upgraded to a wider and taller bar so it should last me through to 2019.
As I am still growing fast I want my next bike to be an XL so it fits with room to spare. Im not into tricks and throwing the bike around and am more someone who charges into things straight on so i like my bikes long, low and stable. Im not sure what to do with my next setup.
There are a few options for me: a hardcore/enduro hardtail, a mid range full sus, a second hand full sus and hardtail if I can afford it, build a bike up myself or one second hand and one first hand.
90% of riding is street or commuting over stairs and drops etc in my town so a hardtail is quite practical but i recently went to a demo day and really felt the advantages a full sus gives and how confidence inspiring the right one is. However i would not like to lock up an expensive fs bike in public places where it could be tampered with or stolen. In an ideal world i would have a hardtail and a full sus so when i ride trails i would have an ideal bike and when i commute or ride localy i would have the right tool for the job too.
To cut it short i will either need a hardtail or a hardtail and a fs (probably second hand) but the lack of a warranty worries me. I would prefere something with a fair bit of travel (140-150 for hardtail or the same or more on a full sus) but a good full sus with lots of travel first hand is probably over budget. A 1- by is a must and good suspension is another big seller for me. Does anyond have any ideas on any options and if so any specific bike that are a good choice.

slc123

So you kept the ragley? I thought you returned it as per your last post viewtopic.php?t=13086562

Ultimately, looking at the post above it’s a similar discussion. I posted a few days ago about some of the new Calibre FS bikes that look fantastic value and might be worth a look for you. viewtopic.php?f=20005&t=13090308

If you want a decent hardtail and don’t want to spend budget, build one yourself. You can get parts in good condition cheaper and probably save yourself 50% on RRP or if you were buying new.

02gf74

6ft1 is about the limit for large (19in.) frame.

CharlieV453

Yes that was the plan but after entering a letter for a refund which was when i posted that thread they came back a week later saying i had no terms to return it on (although im pretty sure i did) so basicly i couldnt send it back so was forced to hang on to it.

CharlieV453

02GF74 wrote:

6ft1 is about the limit for large (19in.) frame.

Yep. Im now just 5. 11" so not far to go

DrZoltan

Hi Charlie,
you stated your ride is quite aggressive; can you elaborate a bit more on your annual mileage?

JGTR

Sonder Transmitter

robertpb

DrZoltan wrote:

Hi Charlie,
you stated your ride is quite aggressive; can you elaborate a bit more on your annual mileage?

That's a roadie question

CharlieV453

robertpb wrote:

DrZoltan wrote:

Hi Charlie,
you stated your ride is quite aggressive; can you elaborate a bit more on your annual mileage?

That's a roadie question

Have to say I agree with that. Lol. Any bike should hold up fine if properly maintained. Especially a MTB

CharlieV453

JGTR wrote:

Sonder Transmitter

Ok. I will have a look.

CharlieV453

CharlieV453 wrote:

JGTR wrote:

Sonder Transmitter

Ok. I will have a look.

On the topic of plus bikes, has anyone had any experience on one. How much more effort to ride are they, how much speed difference is there etc.

DrZoltan

robertpb wrote:

DrZoltan wrote:

Hi Charlie,
you stated your ride is quite aggressive; can you elaborate a bit more on your annual mileage?

That's a roadie question

Gentelmen, I have never shaved my legs

CharlieV453 wrote:

On the topic of plus bikes, has anyone had any experience on one. How much more effort to ride are they, how much speed difference is there etc.

To me - simply to heavy, but I'm relatively short and below 60 kg. Heavier riders are often enthusiastic about fatter tires, but I have my own "plus" size already at 2.4". Try (test-ride) it by yourself.

Back to the main topic. Charlie, theoretically you are in a very comfortable situation - it's is now possible to buy a capable FS bike having only a grant, which was not an option in early 2000s, when I was at your age. In my opinion, instead of comparing in detail pros or cons of the bikes already named here (and all of these bikes are good value deals, but surely have several drawbacks, sharing one common - a kind of overweight) - I would buy a first "true bargain" appearing in your size and stay with some spare money to personalize it properly.

I applied this approach on point of arrival to the UK a few weeks ago. Leaving my bike park in the continent, I've decided to buy some entry level gear in case of an urgent need of escaping into wild. Some selected models, no particular sentiment towards any of them - first to appear at low offer to retail price ratio wins.
So I got a second hand, but never used Boardman FS Pro @ 900 GBP, vs 1350 in Halfords. While used to a bit more refined machines, I can say it's my my best MTB buy ever

Do not overestimate the warranty issue. As you have already experienced, the claims, although time consuming (thus sometimes restraining your rides), are not always successful, especially when tear and wear starts to appear on the bike. When I made a warranty claim concerning a fork, I simply had to install another one - it took 3 months in total.

But this is only about buying a bike of certain type. You're a young lad, having many different ideas going through your mind and seemingly, planning get almost broke by buying your new bike (never do that ).
This is why I asked how much you actually ride, what would be the main activity on this bike. It might be the case, that strategy of smaller steps might be more optimal for you advancing in enduro and general MTB. Sorry for patronizing, but recalling my teenage MTB-mania, I think I could have avoided several unfortunate decisions if advised what to do rather than what to buy
Best,
Krzys

CharlieV453

I ride for about 3 miles a day on my commute which involves lots of street. On the weekends I then ride for another 5 miles on average involving trails and jumps at my local forest.

CharlieV453

I'm 75kg and tall too.

DrZoltan

So, 5 miles of MTB per week is something like one hour, maybe two if kind of social event. Not a lot, in fact.

Nothing bad about it - focusing on one activity at the age of learning and exploring would not be very healthy either.
Still, instead of making investments which are huge for your scale, consider getting right/ upgrading your current bike, also moving the components to the new larger frame, when you feel its time - not earlier.

Consider following options:
1) Your cycling is mainly commuting - if only you have enough place to keep two bikes, buy a cheap, second hand "true commuter". Splitting of daily duties will reduce wear and maintenance to the MTB bike (obliviously more expensive), it will be safer as well. Commuting on a one-grant bike - totally OK, if you make a grant in a week.

Moreover, cheap second-hand bike will keep the value, in fact, it can be a nice investment. You can also use is as lab rabbit for practicing repairs, as it's worth to...

2) invest in a reasonable (not the cheapest, neither "profi") set of bike tools and start to maintain it all by yourself. Short term advantage are considerable savings on labour. In the long term - understanding how this all works is not only a nice technical skill (other guys will appreciate), but also essential part of adventure AM - e.g. in Eastern Carpathia, the first to learn about your problem will be a brown bear.

3) practicing more serious MTB - experiment & experience. Try to schedule a few weekends at bikeparks, borrowing/renting (cash, though) quite different machines, built along different ideas. This might surprise you not only in the terms of preferred bikes, but also favourite riding style.

Best,
Krzys

CharlieV453

3miles a day. 5 times a week is 15miles plus the other 5 on the weekend is 20 miles a week. As I said my commute is not your average commute. I go with friends and do drops, jumps and large stair sets so a commuter wouldn't help really. And the reason I commute on my 1k bike is because I don't have any others that can do what I need to do.

I have the majority of tools I need at the moment too apart for specialist things like bearing tools. I do all my repairs myself bar the odd thing I don't have the tools for.

Also, I have ridden a bigger variety of trails such as fort William red giant and llandegla forest so know what I like to do (rough chunky dh tracks are my favourite). However as the rest of my family isn't into biking they won't take me to more varied trails. Mainly I piggyback off friends once every 2 or 3 months or so to get me to those kinds of trails. Also, the demo day helped me figure out the types of bikes I like (long, low and slack rigs with lots of travel) e.g. orange alpine 6 etc. However unless I have two bikes a 160mm fs isn't ideal.

Also, moving all my parts over isn't as easy as most. My wheels are non boost and my rear is qr so would need a qr frame and non-boost which I rather wouldn't have. Also the feel of the fork isn't great and the clicking really bugs my OCD so I wouldnt want it ok my next bike. I would swap both of those meaning an extra 400 or 500 quid. I would also be replacing my drivetrain around that time meaning and extra 70 pounds. That makes it worth just buying a new bike I think or building one up

DrZoltan

So I got the "street-commuting" part wrong. While these 20 miles still rather moderate level of activity, it seems that you use literally every opportunity to keep your bike entertained.
Similarly, your feeling of a need for change is strong and I see no point in interfering with it.

But keep in mind that:
- if you're being rough for your bike, you might face similar problems with the new machine. Choose something simply built, thus not necessarily FS, as those @ 130mm travel are now trail optimized and within the budged - lightened.
I guess the target user is not expected to use every opportunity to fly... and land hard.
Check also for Dartmoor or NS bikes - tough machines and components, sometimes on bargain.

- remember about repairs/maintenance budged.
Best,
Krzys

CharlieV453

DrZoltan wrote:

So I got the "street-commuting" part wrong. While these 20 miles still rather moderate level of activity, it seems that you use literally every opportunity to keep your bike entertained.
Similarly, your feeling of a need for change is strong and I see no point in interfering with it.

But keep in mind that:
- if you're being rough for your bike, you might face similar problems with the new machine. Choose something simply built, thus not necessarily FS, as those @ 130mm travel are now trail optimized and within the budged - lightened.
I guess the target user is not expected to use every opportunity to fly... and land hard.
Check also for Dartmoor or NS bikes - tough machines and components, sometimes on bargain.

- remember about repairs/maintenance budged.
Best,
Krzys

Most of the problems wernt to do with my usage. The freehub siezed due to poor greasing from the shop within a month and the crown was broken from the start.
I get the simply built. Something like the Kalashnikov of a bike that'll handle anything. Wouldn't slightly more travel make it a bit more robust too instead of just 130? Something like the hornet or on one dee dar looks like the kind of thing I think.

OXIVECARBON

build the bike youself