New to MTB and not sure which bike to get....

Xr4eyes
Xr4eyes Posts: 6
edited May 2009 in MTB buying advice
Hello

I've been thinking about getting a bike and doing some moutain biking for some time now and as my 30th birthday is coming up i thought i would treat myself, buy a bike and just do it. I plan to bike to work and take it off road over the weekends to have some fun.

Ive been looking round on the net, doing some research and have got two bikes in mind.

http://www.evanscycles.com/products/mongoose/tyax-super-2008-mountain-bike-ec000855

and

http://www.evanscycles.com/products/claud-butler/cape-wrath-d24-2008-mountain-bike-ec000251

£350 is about the most i want to spend and from a total novice point of view both of those look decent bikes and have good reviews ( Atleast the 07 models do).

Any thoughts on these bikes would be greatly appricated as i really cant make my mind up ><

Thanks in advance

Comments

  • xtreem
    xtreem Posts: 2,965
    The Mongoose is a bit better in spec.
  • jmillen
    jmillen Posts: 627
    If the choice is just between those 2, I'd probably go with the Mongoose. If you're open to other suggestions, have a good look at the Fury, excellent bike for the price, especially if you can get it with the 20% off taking it down to £399
    2010 Specialized Stumpjumper FSR Expert Carbon
    2014 De Rosa R848
    Carrera TDF Ltd Commuter
  • You could get the 2009 Moongoose Super Tyax for not much more: (£360)

    http://www.cyclelane.co.uk/products.php?plid=m1b2s2p1478&rs=gb
  • Xr4eyes
    Xr4eyes Posts: 6
    That Fury does look a good buy!

    I think i'll head down to Halfords in the morning and try it out. If im honest i would rather buy it from a local shop than online, much easier if things go wrong and i can actually sit on the bike before purchasing.

    Thanks for the heads up guys :)
  • Xr4eyes
    Xr4eyes Posts: 6
    Thought id report back with what i decided to do in the end...

    I took a trip down Halfords to try out the fury, they didnt have one made up in the size i wanted but they did have a Kraken. I like the feel of it and the sales person at Halfords said the frame is basically the same shape wise so i bought one, £100 off rrp so i went away rather pleased.

    I picked it up a few days later and i really liked the bike but after a short ride my view changed slightly..

    Changing the front gears wasnt very smooth at all, they would jump as you changed up or down from the middle cog. I had a look at them when i got back and noticed that the cable wasnt running through the plastic guard at the bottom of the frame properly, it only ran through the first half then shot up rubbing against the frame!
    The brake disc's also seemed to rub against the caliper perminently making a loudish humming sound as the wheel turned.

    I took the bike back to halfords explaining what the problem was and the person at the store took a quick look at it.
    To sum it up he said that the brakes just need bedding in and its normal for them to make that noise for over a month of being new.
    Regarding the cable, He said that its quite common for it to come off the guard, it can easily get hit by a stone and come off. pushed it back on and said that there is nothing to worry about.

    To be honest i wasnt that happy with what he said / did but didnt want to make a fuss, so went away feeel a bit unsure.

    I used the bike just going to work over the next few days and whilst the gear changing had improved, it still didnt feel right. Last night i took the bike over something a bit rougher, a local bridal path. About a mile in i tried to change up from the middle to the outer cog, there was a loud clanging, that chain got stuck and i couldnt pedal. Upon further inspection at home i noticed that part of the middle cog isnt in line with the rest at all, it actually bends inwards!!

    Opps, ive just looked up at what ive wrote and its seemd to drag on a bit :?

    Basically, i like the bike but not so kean on halfords. i dont think they set the bike up correctly in the first place. Im going to speak to the manager tomorrow and try to get this thig sorted out.
  • supersonic
    supersonic Posts: 82,708
    Bikes do take time to bed in and do ned readjusting throughout the first few weeks of ownership and then periodically. Cables stretch, brakes bed in - though what he said about the cable guide is rubbish. Doesn't seem they made a great job to start with.

    I'd take it back and invoke your free service, then get a guide on how to maintain it.
  • Xr4eyes
    Xr4eyes Posts: 6
    I appriciate things take time to bed in especially brakes and that regular maintanance is needed...

    But would you say that after doing 1 mile a day on flat tarmac roads for 10 days and then one 30 min run on a bridal path that i wouldnt call rough terrain, for the middle front cog to bend and make it unridable in all but the 3 bigger rear cogs acceptable?

    Could it just be down to bad luck or even bad riding? From my inexperiecned view it seems like it wasnt set up correctly in the first place.

    Im kean to learn more about maintaining my bike, any recomendations on what would be a good manual to get?
  • supersonic
    supersonic Posts: 82,708
    I would say the chainring sounds abnormal, and rare as long as you didn't change gear under very heavy pressure or bash the ring), but the rest does sound like normal bedding in. Hopefully Halfords will fully sort it out and awap it the chainring and just tune up the rest.

    A good book is the one by Leonard Zinn, but Park Tools website has some excellent guides.
  • xtreem
    xtreem Posts: 2,965
    Im kean to learn more about maintaining my bike, any recomendations on what would be a good manual to get?
    http://www.bikeradar.com/forums :D
  • Xr4eyes
    Xr4eyes Posts: 6
    Hello again,

    Just thought id reply back with what happened...

    I took it back to halfords and left it overnight for thier mechanic to take a look at, i got a call the following morning saying that they didnt know what caused the ring to bend but have bent it back so its nice and straight again. I wasnt too happy with that and after a short talk with the manager they replaced the ring with a brand new one.

    Since then i've used the bike no end, had no problems with it and lots of fun.. well i've had a puncture but i cant moan about that considering where ive took it!

    Thanks for eveyone's replys and i hope to be apart of this great forum in the future :D