Confused Noob

SilvioD
SilvioD Posts: 12
edited April 2011 in MTB beginners
Hey All

First time poster, so please be gentle with me.

Considering a new bike. Currently ride a 9yo Claude Butler Stone River XCT. Its been a good bike and there is really nothing wrong with it, but the Ride to Work Scheme makes a new bike a no brainer IMHO. The discounts are huge and would allow me to spend upto £850. The way this government is behaving it will be the next thing that gets cut so better get in there now...Also I like new, shiny things!!

I will be riding mainly Road, light trail, and canal tow paths. A local bike shop suggested a Hybrid but I dont like the thin wheels and they just dont seem 'me'! So i think i will stick to a Hardtail MTB.

The choice out there is bewildering. So given the above and my budget can anyone help me compile a shortlist. (I do have a list its just the size of a piece of A4. it includes Giants, Scotts, Specialized, Cubes..you name it. ) I am terrified of making a bad decision. So any help will be muchly appreciated.

Thank you all for such a great forum.

Comments

  • anjs
    anjs Posts: 486
    best thing you can do is ride as many as possible and see which one you like
  • mak3m
    mak3m Posts: 1,394
    beats cooldad to generic have you had a look at the boardmans in Halfords post

    welcome to the forums matey :D
  • paulbox
    paulbox Posts: 1,203
    Check out the full details of the cycle to work scheme, it's not as good as it used to be... :(

    They used to let you buy the bike for a nominal (normally equal to your monthly payment) fee at the end of the 12 months. The authorities got wind of this and introduced some guidelines which say that if your voucher was more than £500 then your final payment should be about 25% of the value of the voucher.

    There are some work arounds that some companies are using which means that you pay the additional one month rental which covers you for a further 3 years, after which time the bike is yours. But not all companies are doing that, in which case you will be lumbered with another £250 bill at the end of your year (if you take a £1k voucher).
    XC: Giant Anthem X
    Fun: Yeti SB66
    Road: Litespeed C1, Cannondale Supersix Evo, Cervelo R5
    Trainer: Bianchi via Nirone
    Hack: GT hardtail with Schwalbe City Jets
  • cooldad
    cooldad Posts: 32,599
    mak3m wrote:
    beats cooldad to generic have you had a look at the boardmans in Halfords post

    welcome to the forums matey :D

    Will have to send the relatives to deal with you for that.

    Nice bikes anyway.
    I don't do smileys.

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  • c00lh4nd
    c00lh4nd Posts: 18
    Hi SilvioD and welcome from a fellow noob

    I have just gone through what you are asking and have plumbed for a Boardman Pro HT at Halfords. My experience with Halfords was good, but I have read on the boards that some have had bad experiences so I guess it is down to the quality of the store.

    Having ridden a number of bikes it came down to the stereotypical 2 with an additional wild card. My choice was the boardman v's Trek 6300 and the wild card was a Genesis. I rode Hardrock, Specialized and Orange but found I could not hit a good rhythm; this may have been down to setup of the individual bikes. One I considered but found out was not on the scheme was Merlin bikes so perhaps worth looking at, though they are difficult to find to test ride.

    As I said I went for the Boardman and I will say, yes it is a good bike, great value for the money, but I have had to change the grips as well as the seat.. And the 2x10 gears are more of an issue than I expected when moving from a 3x9 Carrera..

    Hope what I say helps, as it is really bewildering and the fear of making a bad choice is one that sticks in your mind..

    Good luck and let us know what you eventually go for


    C00lh4nd
    Ta Muchly

    C00lh4nd

    I thought of that while riding my bike.
    Albert Einstein (On the Theory of Relativity.)

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