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£1000 Bike Suggestions?

gohan2091gohan2091 Posts: 6
edited March 2018 in MTB buying advice
I am 6’2” tall and weight 16 stone. I haven’t owned a bike since I was a child but am planning to buy one to go on biking trips with family members both on and off road. I won’t be travelling along mountains but light woodland trails would be likely and of course roads in neighbourhood areas.

My biking knowledge is really limited but I am thinking from visiting Halfords the other day I want to spend at the top limit £1000 on a half decent bike (hardtail) that will last me a good while with some upgrading in the future on the weaker parts. My sister’s boyfriend knows a bit about bikes, how to upgrade and repair them so he may be a useful contact once i have my bike.

Since I am tall, I heard getting 29” wheels is preferable to 27.5”. I also heard a 20” frame would be good for my height. Since I heard getting good wheels is really important on a bike, I want to make sure I have good wheels and I want to go tubeless.

The bikes I have been looking at are the Norco Fluid HT+ 7.2 which is £999 from Evans Cycles https://www.evanscycles.com/norco-fluid ... =Affiliate but it’s currently out of stock and now discontinued? I’m not sure it would even fit me well for my height due to the smaller wheels. They have a Fluid 2 but was told the brakes on this are not as good, is this true? https://www.evanscycles.com/norco-fluid ... e-EV306510

I also am interested in the Boardman Mountain Bike Pro 29er http://www.halfords.com/cycling/bikes/m ... -20-frames Reviews said it has a very thin paint job with damage to the paint happening very early on. So this means I would have to get this repainted. So what would you recommend I buy for £1000?

Posts

  • JGTRJGTR Posts: 1,404
    Sonder Transmitter NX Recon

    Be quick though, might be all sold out now :|

    And you would not need to get the Boardman repainted :lol:
  • cooldadcooldad Posts: 32,599
    Wheel size bears not relation to height. Frame size does. Try whatever you buy out first.

    One of the Norcos is out of stock, but the Boardman has better bits than either anyway.
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  • gohan2091gohan2091 Posts: 6
    JGTR wrote:
    Sonder Transmitter NX Recon

    Be quick though, might be all sold out now :|

    And you would not need to get the Boardman repainted :lol:

    Why would you suggest the Sonder Transmitter NX Recon? It's £999, is that the cheapest price you can see? it has good reviews but is better than the Boardman I linked to?
  • JGTRJGTR Posts: 1,404
    Well the Norco is a 27.5+ and so is the Transmitter, it’s got better reviews and it’s within budget. Plus tyres also make riding a hard tail a lot more comfortable.
  • gohan2091gohan2091 Posts: 6
    JGTR wrote:
    Well the Norco is a 27.5+ and so is the Transmitter, it’s got better reviews and it’s within budget. Plus tyres also make riding a hard tail a lot more comfortable.

    So you're saying the Transmitter has better reviews than the Boardman? I like the idea of 29" wheels more than 27.5 but I am not sure why. Are you saying the transmitter has better tyres too? Unfortunately the XL version is out of stock when I go to add to basket :(
  • slc123slc123 Posts: 407
    I would say the boardman has better components than the Sonder and the 2 x Norcos.

    Boardman has the GX, which is better than the NX
    It's got the Reba's which are better than the Recons
    It's got the Guide R brakes rather than the Level's

    In terms of repainting the Boardman, I can't comment but I am pretty sure it will be fine. I wouldn't worry about keeping it that pristine, it's a mountain bike...
    Cannondale Trail 27.5 | 2015
    Titus El Chulo 27.5 | 2017
    Trek Slash 9 27.5 | 2015 (building)
  • gohan2091gohan2091 Posts: 6
    slc123 wrote:
    I would say the boardman has better components than the Sonder and the 2 x Norcos.

    Boardman has the GX, which is better than the NX
    It's got the Reba's which are better than the Recons
    It's got the Guide R brakes rather than the Level's

    In terms of repainting the Boardman, I can't comment but I am pretty sure it will be fine. I wouldn't worry about keeping it that pristine, it's a mountain bike...

    Thanks for your input. Would the 19" frame be a problem? I am 6ft 2 and read that I should be aimming for a 20" frame. Is there any discount available on this bike on top of the £900 sale price? I heard I can join a cycling club to get further discount? and what do you recommend I buy with the bike? Any must have upgrades I should get ASAP?
  • slc123slc123 Posts: 407
    Sizing is a tricky one as it doesn't come down purely to your height, we are all different sizes so some people prefer different frame sizes dependant on body and arm length. There is no substitute for actually sitting on the bike itself.

    I am 6'1 and generally ride a 19" (Large) frame, but sometimes I would go up to an XL depending on the bikes geometry.

    I wouldn't worry about upgrading anything... Ride it and then you can make a decision whether you think you need to improve/change anything.

    Yes you can get a further 10% off Halfords purchases - https://www.britishcycling.org.uk/clubs/membership
    Cannondale Trail 27.5 | 2015
    Titus El Chulo 27.5 | 2017
    Trek Slash 9 27.5 | 2015 (building)
  • JGTRJGTR Posts: 1,404
    I’d agree that you would be better suited to the Boardman rather than the Sonder, Sonder is more trail and gravity orientated, Boardman is more XC and long distance orientated
  • gohan2091gohan2091 Posts: 6
    Great, thanks for your help guys. Does the 10% off for British Cycling membership work with items already on sale? because the Boardman has been reduced from £1000 to £900. Under the terms and conditions it says: "Discount not applicable on sale items." - https://www.britishcycling.org.uk/membe ... -discounts

    Apparently membership (Bronze) is free to first time members
  • jamskijamski Posts: 737
    gohan2091 wrote:
    Great, thanks for your help guys. Does the 10% off for British Cycling membership work with items already on sale? because the Boardman has been reduced from £1000 to £900. Under the terms and conditions it says: "Discount not applicable on sale items." - https://www.britishcycling.org.uk/membe ... -discounts

    Apparently membership (Bronze) is free to first time members

    My experience is it shouldn't be used with already discounted products, but it can be, and all depends who you get at the till! Any 'priced matched' items that you order online for pickup in store shouldn't be discounted further either, but I got my 10% off something at the weekend on top of that. It's always worth a go, and well worth the £20 membership anyway. Easily make that back over the year between Halfords and CRC. Enjoy. :)
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  • swod1swod1 Posts: 1,639
    jamski wrote:
    gohan2091 wrote:
    Great, thanks for your help guys. Does the 10% off for British Cycling membership work with items already on sale? because the Boardman has been reduced from £1000 to £900. Under the terms and conditions it says: "Discount not applicable on sale items." - https://www.britishcycling.org.uk/membe ... -discounts

    Apparently membership (Bronze) is free to first time members

    My experience is it shouldn't be used with already discounted products, but it can be, and all depends who you get at the till! Any 'priced matched' items that you order online for pickup in store shouldn't be discounted further either, but I got my 10% off something at the weekend on top of that. It's always worth a go, and well worth the £20 membership anyway. Easily make that back over the year between Halfords and CRC. Enjoy. :)

    I'd try it as well, if you don't ask you don't get etc.

    Is this the fan membership you have?
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