looking to take up mountain biking

bleasy
bleasy Posts: 98
edited March 2012 in MTB beginners
Hi guys i use to do abit of mountain biking 15years ago, im looking to take it up again but cant decide what bike to get as there are so many out there. I will be riding gisburn forest, lee quarry, grizedale and whinlatter but also just normal bike rides. I dont know weather to get a hardtail or full sus. Im not sure how much money i have to spend yet as it depends on a compension claim i have going on but was looking around the £1000 but that was also to include tools helmet etc. I know i couldnt get a decent full sus for theat price but like i said not totally sure what i have to spend yet. I was looking for people to give me a few ideas of good bikes that i could look at as im not sure what i should be looking for in a bike for the riding i plan to do.

Comments

  • scarbs85
    scarbs85 Posts: 170
    I'd have thought you could just about manage either. You can buy a very nice hardtail straight off the shop floor for that money. You'd also pick up a good full suss (albeit lower end) especially if you can find some 2010 models. Look to things like the Giant Trance, Spesh Camber going in a sale or last years clearance stock.

    The other option is look on ebay. You can find some nice bikes on there, ridden twice and locked in a garage for a couple of years before making their way onto the internet.
  • 1mancity2
    1mancity2 Posts: 2,355
    All good modern bikes will handle trail centres with ease, look on pauls cycles they have some cracking deals.

    Giant Trance is a good starting point as said above, look at what it has i.e 120mm forks which etc and compare it to other makes and models, a friend of mine has a Giant yukon paid £400 for it of pauls and upgraded the forks.

    When you get it let me know and I will show you round Gizzy,Lee as they are local rides for us.
    Finished, Check out my custom Giant Reign 2010
    Dirt Jumper Dmr Sidekick2
  • mintedox
    mintedox Posts: 273
    I bought a £700 hardtail when i got back into biking and used it at the places you mentioned. The bike was great and a lot more capable than i was.
    Im using a cheaper hardtail now (thieving scum) and it does the job fine for now. I was looking to get a grand saved for a full suss but for that money there are some very nice HT's to be had.
    Papa? Nicole
  • bleasy
    bleasy Posts: 98
    Thanks guys, I may not get my money till later this year so may wait till places are selling off this years models to get ready for next year. Ive got a few ideas of bikes I like but was told on another form that they were to xc to be able to ride at the places I plan on riding and that they wouldn't take jumps. The bikes Wer orange g2/g3, canyon yellowstone 5, lapierre raid 700, cube acid/attention, whyte 801, but I'm also open to other ideas. Fancy something with at least 120mm travel on forks
  • The Rookie
    The Rookie Posts: 27,812
    Baloney, my 100mm HT copes just fine with Cannock and local riding including smallish drop offs and step decents....

    Simon
    Currently riding a Whyte T130C, X0 drivetrain, Magura Trail brakes converted to mixed wheel size (homebuilt wheels) with 140mm Fox 34 Rhythm and RP23 suspension. 12.2Kg.
  • Thewaylander
    Thewaylander Posts: 8,594
    bleasy wrote:
    Thanks guys, I may not get my money till later this year so may wait till places are selling off this years models to get ready for next year. Ive got a few ideas of bikes I like but was told on another form that they were to xc to be able to ride at the places I plan on riding and that they wouldn't take jumps. The bikes Wer orange g2/g3, canyon yellowstone 5, lapierre raid 700, cube acid/attention, whyte 801, but I'm also open to other ideas. Fancy something with at least 120mm travel on forks


    Tell them there taklking rubbish, Some people think trail centers are so tough, but everything there is always easily ridble it has to be, can imagine the claims if there were unavoidble drop offs and so on.

    AS you get faster and more aggressive you may what a more aggressive bike towards DH, but to start with i'd advise staying as nuetral as you can untill you actually figure out what you enjoy, even to the point of buying a cheaper HT at first(say £500) get an idea to what riding you really enjoy then save for the year while you figure that out addding the cash to the cash you'd saved on the inital purchase, then get something you know is exactly what you want :)
  • lostboysaint
    lostboysaint Posts: 4,250
    Don't do it, it's the road to poverty - in both the time and economic sense, it makes you dirty, smelly, constantly irritable that it's too dry, too wet, too hot, too cold, there's always too much kit lying around the house/hanging over the bath/tripping you up in the garage, your wife will divorce you and your children forget who you are.

    There, that should keep him off the trails to leave more space for me :)
    Trail fun - Transition Bandit
    Road - Wilier Izoard Centaur/Cube Agree C62 Disc
    Allround - Cotic Solaris
  • bleasy
    bleasy Posts: 98
    Thanks guys, can anyone recommend any good bikes for no more than 800, I've got my few ideas but looking for more. Does anyone know anything about genesis bikes? I fancy a bike that's not a common make
  • The Rookie
    The Rookie Posts: 27,812
    Genesis make some nice bikes and are considered fairly good value for money, for £800 this is a good bet
    http://www.halfords.com/webapp/wcs/stor ... yId_165499

    My younger daughter first did Cannock on an old CBR, tourney rear mech, one piece crankset, promax cable disc brakes, horrid RST steel lower forks and cheap generic MTB tyres and loved it, that was 3 weekends back......of course it's costing me a fortune to upgrade the bike now before she goes again on Sunday!

    Simon
    Currently riding a Whyte T130C, X0 drivetrain, Magura Trail brakes converted to mixed wheel size (homebuilt wheels) with 140mm Fox 34 Rhythm and RP23 suspension. 12.2Kg.
  • jackthelad
    jackthelad Posts: 89
    pauls cycles the kona caldera 2009 £550
  • cooldad
    cooldad Posts: 32,599
    or this for £550 - looks like a good deal to me.
    viewtopic.php?f=40050&t=12838997
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  • Blind Danny Johnson
    Blind Danny Johnson Posts: 372
    My route into mountain biking was a cheap(ish, still cost £500 which is expensive to me but seems to mean nothing in mountain bike terms!) hardtail and then bit by bit upgrades to what I'm riding now (a full sus frame and new forks) which suits me and what I ride. I think it was a good way to do it because I wouldn't have had a clue what to get when I started out, I thought what I had in the first place was pretty amazing till I saw everyone else's bikes!

    Ps just seen Cooldad's post. Looks like a really good deal to me apart from the pedals!
  • bleasy
    bleasy Posts: 98
    Cheers guys, I've got a short list of bikes, all at the very top end of my budget they are

    Genesis core 26.3 or 26.4
    Khs alite 2000sl
    Whyte 901
    Ragley piglet x7
    Commencal ramones crmo
    Saracen mantra expert or elite
    Saracen Zen x
    Lapierre 700 raid
    Voodoo wanga

    So any help with choosing out of these would be very greatfull
  • fixiebob
    fixiebob Posts: 222
    Sorry but I have one more for your list, OnOne Whippet full carbon frame and full SLX groupset and Avid juicy 3 brakes it's hard to beat.
    I bought one last year and love it.
  • bleasy
    bleasy Posts: 98
    id love one of them but only looking to spend around £1000 so they are a little to dear but thanks anyway
  • bleasy
    bleasy Posts: 98
    think its between the saracen zen x, the ragley piglet x7, the khs alite 2000sl and the genesis core 26.4 but edging towards the saracen i think

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