Buying advice for a beginner!

inertiatic_esp
inertiatic_esp Posts: 5
edited June 2007 in MTB general
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Howdy all,

Hoping to take up riding relatively soon in order to save money and get fitter, used to muck about on a BMX when I was a nipper though that's a fair way behind me.

Looking for something that can do a bit everything, though the bulk of my time will be spent riding around Newcastle , I'd like to be able to do some trails and possibly dirt in the eventuality that I muster the skill/balls to try it.

Almost certainly want a hardtail, something that will last quite a while, and hopefully something on the light side, though I'm aware this may trade off against strength. I'm leaning towards a single speed for ease of maintenance

Some of the mid range DMR and Flow models had caught my eye, though I'm unsure as to how suitable they'd be for anything outside of jumping...

I'm around 5'9" so I'm thinking something on the small-ish side would be better for me - easier to handle and such.

Got around œ400 to spend (which I know isn't much), could possibly be pushed into œ500 and eating beans for a month...

Cheers

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Comments

  • Norco_Hucker
    Norco_Hucker Posts: 170
    Kona Shred? - http://www.sunsetmtb.co.uk/shop/index.p ... gory_id=11

    GREEN MACHINE http://www.pinkbike.com/photo/1225611/
    GREEN MACHINE
  • Norco_Hucker
    Norco_Hucker Posts: 170
    Dmr - http://www.chainreactioncycles.com/Mode ... elID=17137 + http://www.chainreactioncycles.com/Mode ... elID=15117

    GREEN MACHINE http://www.pinkbike.com/photo/1225611/
    GREEN MACHINE
  • inertiatic_esp
    inertiatic_esp Posts: 5
    Thanks Norco, I quite like the look of the Shred, the DMRs are generally pretty attractive though I think the Drone and Trailstar have more of a "big bmx" feel about them.

    I was eyeing up the Rhythm but I've not seen one below œ550 which would be pushing it a bit.

    However, there's always ebay. (incidentally, there are a couple of really nice looking Norco's on at the minute, both are being watched :D)
  • roj279
    roj279 Posts: 579
    my rhythm was 350 on ebay, and yer since then ive put a few bits on it but for 350 it was a bargain, so keep your eyes pealed on there!

    <center> <font color="black">rhythm</font id="black"> </center>
  • Norco_Hucker
    Norco_Hucker Posts: 170
    Yeah, there's quite often alot of nice Dmr's + Norco's on eBay!

    GREEN MACHINE http://www.pinkbike.com/photo/1225611/
    GREEN MACHINE
  • dan1983
    dan1983 Posts: 314
    If you have a look in Evans cycles which has just opened at the Metro Centre (round the back of Ikea) they have a 10% discount on all bikes (dowload the voucher off their website - it says only valid until 15th june but guy in shop said the offer runs until end of august) - that way you could get the œ550 bike you mentioned within your œ500 budget.
  • inertiatic_esp
    inertiatic_esp Posts: 5
    <blockquote id="quote"><font size="1" face="Verdana, Arial, Helvetica" id="quote">quote:<hr height="1" noshade id="quote"><i>Originally posted by dan1983</i>

    If you have a look in Evans cycles which has just opened at the Metro Centre (round the back of Ikea) they have a 10% discount on all bikes (dowload the voucher off their website - it says only valid until 15th june but guy in shop said the offer runs until end of august) - that way you could get the œ550 bike you mentioned within your œ500 budget.
    <hr height="1" noshade id="quote"></blockquote id="quote"></font id="quote">

    Ah! Thanks for the shout, I'll definitely have a look at that, see what sort of things they could get. I was thinking about maybe doing a 0% interest thing so I can maybe spend a little more, so I'll see if Evans do that too...
  • dan1983
    dan1983 Posts: 314
    Yeah they do, 6 months interest free. The discount doesnt apply to Specialized bikes though.
  • inertiatic_esp
    inertiatic_esp Posts: 5
    Okey doke, had a look at some bikes and had a good old think. I've narrowed it down to a few bikes, I could use some opinions on them each if anyone's spent any time with them. Put my limit up to œ600 due to the wonder of 0% finance.
    The shortlist looks like this...

    DMR Rhythm - œ600
    Charge Blender -œ600
    Identiti 666X Comp - œ550 (I've heard this is a really heavy frame?)
    Kona Shred - œ600 (œ500 for an '06)
    Norco Kompressor - œ630 (I think this is probably the "luxury" option :P)

    I've been noticing more and more how steep the hills on my route are. Weight is definitely a big factor and I'm also open to the option of a rear cassette.
    Any thoughts would be great.
    Thanks!

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