Another 'what bike' post from another newbie...
bensaunders
Posts: 8
I am getting back into biking after 5 or 6 years out, and need to get myself a new bike.
Way back in 1998 I got myself a Giant Box One top of the range entry level (f you get me) full suspension, which was alright for its day. The one big complaint I had with it was as soon as you got on the flat, it seemed like about 25% of your pedal power was going into the rear suspension, and even more on the climbs! I'm guessing that they have come on leaps and bounds since then?
I have a maximum of œ800 to spend on my new bike, and my first dilemma is whether to go for a fairly decent mid range hard tail, or go for low specced full suspension. I will be using the bike for the daily commute to work involving a lot of road riding, and the weekend/evening trail riding. I'm not planing on doing any big downhill runs just yet!
At the moment I am erring on the side of the hard tail, and you guys on the forum seem to have a lot of good things to say about the Specialized Rockhopper, but I prefer the look of the Scott Reflex 10 which is on evans cycles for œ20 more than the Rockhopper. The specs of the two bikes seem pretty similar to the untrained eye, but I can't find any reviews of the Scott on the web anywhere so wasn't sure what the frame was like.
And while we're on the subject of the Scott, the Reflex 20 also looks fairly similarly specced - different chainset, different rims, the biggest difference is the forks - Rock Shox Tora 302 on the 10, Rock Shox Dart 2 on the 20. Anyone got a feel for the difference between the two, and is the reflex 10 worth the extra œ100 over the reflex 20?
Finally, a bit of a wildcard is the 2006 Claud Butler Cape Wrath Carbon, which is on Pauls Cycles for œ589. This seems like a bit of a bargain to me for a carbon framed bike - plenty of potential to upgrade. The only drawback is that it doesn't have dsic brakes, and I've been told that the hubs aren't disc ready, so an upgrade is probably gonna cost œ200-300 for new hubs or wheels plus brakes. Again, I can't find a single review of this bike on the web, but I think the 2006 Cape Wrath alloy frame is supposed to be a good frame - anyone know if this applies to the carbon frame as well?
Thanks a lot for your help!
Way back in 1998 I got myself a Giant Box One top of the range entry level (f you get me) full suspension, which was alright for its day. The one big complaint I had with it was as soon as you got on the flat, it seemed like about 25% of your pedal power was going into the rear suspension, and even more on the climbs! I'm guessing that they have come on leaps and bounds since then?
I have a maximum of œ800 to spend on my new bike, and my first dilemma is whether to go for a fairly decent mid range hard tail, or go for low specced full suspension. I will be using the bike for the daily commute to work involving a lot of road riding, and the weekend/evening trail riding. I'm not planing on doing any big downhill runs just yet!
At the moment I am erring on the side of the hard tail, and you guys on the forum seem to have a lot of good things to say about the Specialized Rockhopper, but I prefer the look of the Scott Reflex 10 which is on evans cycles for œ20 more than the Rockhopper. The specs of the two bikes seem pretty similar to the untrained eye, but I can't find any reviews of the Scott on the web anywhere so wasn't sure what the frame was like.
And while we're on the subject of the Scott, the Reflex 20 also looks fairly similarly specced - different chainset, different rims, the biggest difference is the forks - Rock Shox Tora 302 on the 10, Rock Shox Dart 2 on the 20. Anyone got a feel for the difference between the two, and is the reflex 10 worth the extra œ100 over the reflex 20?
Finally, a bit of a wildcard is the 2006 Claud Butler Cape Wrath Carbon, which is on Pauls Cycles for œ589. This seems like a bit of a bargain to me for a carbon framed bike - plenty of potential to upgrade. The only drawback is that it doesn't have dsic brakes, and I've been told that the hubs aren't disc ready, so an upgrade is probably gonna cost œ200-300 for new hubs or wheels plus brakes. Again, I can't find a single review of this bike on the web, but I think the 2006 Cape Wrath alloy frame is supposed to be a good frame - anyone know if this applies to the carbon frame as well?
Thanks a lot for your help!
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Comments
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Best thing to do is get to your local bike shop and test ride a couple of bikes. Personally I would say get a hard tail as you will get something decent for that kind of cash. My first bike after a few years 'off' the bike was a hard tail to get back into it. You should have a look at maybe Trek's or Giant's as they are generally good value for money. If your getting one with disc brakes make sure there hydralic brakes.0
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Have a look and see what your LBS stocks then either ask them for advice or look onto the internet into the makes, see one which seems in your budget and then go have a look if they have any of them in or are ordering any in
<b><center>Got My Vans On But They Look Like Sneakers</center></b>0
