Another buyers advice thread £1200 Hardtail

theozricle

I have had a scan through the forum and have a few ideas.
I have been a total roadie for a number of years and have an old Kona kula which I would like to upgrade. I am moving house soon to a place right beside some nice woodland trails. I am fairly tall so i'm leaning towards a decent 29er hardtail to hack around the woods and some old mining trails. Thinking i'm going to use a local store for my purchase as I have a good road bike to trade in against the cost of the new bike.
With the LBS near me I am going to be limited to the bikes they deal with which will be Trek, Cannondale, Specialized or Whyte. At present my MTB skills are going to be scarce but i'm looking to buy the best bike in my budget to gain skills and grow with. Looking at £1200 max.
At the moment I feel myself leaning towards the Whyte 629. Just seeing if anyone with more than my limited knowledge can chime in with any advice.

slc123

Wheel size has no relevance to height so I wouldn't worry about that. You can still be tall and have a 27.5 or 26. It's the frame size that you will need to consider. My suggestion would be make sure you try one so you get the right size!

I have a cannondale trail which I absolutely love for XC riding, it's been a great bike after a few simple upgrades (bars, stem, tyres, pedals)

Post a couple of links of the bikes you are looking at with the exact specs and people will comment. Assuming this is the bike you are referencing: https://www.rutlandcycling.com/bikes/mo ... gILHfD_BwE

It's not a bad bike, but all pretty entry level kit. I like the Whyte bikes but think you are going to pay more for a lesser spec.

theozricle

Thanks for the reply and I'm taking onboard what you say.
I still think a 29er is probably going to be right for the kind of riding I want to get out of a new bike.
Another bike I'm looking at which I may be tempted by but know absolutely nothing about is a Polygon xtrada they seem pretty well specced for the money.
https://www.mtbmonster.com/2018-polygon ... -mtb-29er/
Anyone know much about the Polygon bikes?
If I'm honest entry level equipment isn't going to really matter to much to me, as I'm an entry level rider!
If anyone has any suggestions as to good 29ers out of the box, which maybe I can upgrade at a later stage as my skills improve. If I have to save a bit more and buy from an online store that's what I will do.

itsnotarace

This would be a good buy if it fits you, I have a Reaction GTC SL and love it

https://www.tweekscycles.com/Product.do ... &p=1232858

theozricle

Thanks for the tips so far here.
I know which store which will be my best option to trade in my road bike. So I have now got to limit my new bike to specialized or whyte.
I still like the whytes. My question now is should I stick to my original choice of the 629 or maybe stretch my budget into the 905 region.
As I've said I'm not exactly experienced in the trails(yet)but am keen to progress to some harder trails. I've read some good reports on the 905 but would I be over biked so to say being a Bit of a novice.
Would the 905 still be well suited to riding around in the dunes, old mining trails and woodland trails.
What I'd like is the bike to give me the most confidence to progress as quickly as possible.

kajjal

How tall are you, I am 2m tall and it restricts the bikes I can buy. Due to this both my mountain bikes are xxl sized.

theozricle

Height is not a problem for me 6ft 2 and I've had a sit on the whyte 629 and I'm thinking the large should be ok.
I had a chat with a couple of chaps from the local MTB club today while out on the road. They seem to think a 29er would suit The kind of riding I want to do rather than a plus bike.
Dilemma is I prefer the spec on the 905 but think the 629 would be better suited.

kajjal

You’ll be fine. When buying a bike the key thing is it is the right size, you like the look of it, and it is a good spec for the money. The advantage of 29 hardtails is they grip better on climbs, maintain speed and roll over things better, the downside is they take a little more effort to get up to speed and are less manoeuvrable. It’s not a huge difference but worth being aware of as my 26” 1990’s hardtail is good fun to ride but I prefer the 29” bikes.