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mountain bike?
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I'm thinking of getting a mountain bike - any ideas?
I have no idea of what I can get for my money, and therefore don't really know what my budget is. I'd rather wait and save for a decent bike than spend hundreds now on something that is just not good enough. I guess ideally I'd look at around £300-£500 if that sounds reasonable?
I want it for going as fast as possible downhill on mountain tracks, and for off-road triathlons/adventure racing. I'm 5'4", so it needs to be available as a women's fit/small size frame.
Any advice?
Thanks!
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Comments
That's not the same as the bike you'd want for off road triathlons.
I'm thinking a happy medium would be a hardtail bike with front suspension - you wouldn't get any decent full sus bikes for £500. (prepares to be proved wrong)
Where's Jon when you need him ?
Giant Xtc 4
specialized and gt are also good.
have a look at:
www.wiggle.co.uk
www.evanscycles.co.uk
www.leisurelakes.co.uk (i think)
www.bonthronebikes.co.uk
I hope this helps, but i would defo go for a hardtail jst makes more sense.
I had come to the conclusion that hardtail was the way forward, but then wondered whether I should wait till I could afford full sus - basically, what the cut-off point is...
Cougie, I guess you have a point on the different uses! I suppose what I meant was that I don't want to piddle around some country lanes on it - I'm not looking to get a 'tarmac-with-potholes' bike (which is what half the women's bikes on the market seem to be), I want a mud&hills one. I've got an ancient (16 yrs) mtb which is really more of a hybrid that I can use on crap roads.
So what do I need for an off-road tri? Given that I haven't done any... I think the 'fast as possible downhill' bit is the first requirement to go, as the tri/AR is more of a practical priority. The other issue about heaviness is that too heavy a bike and I can't lift it onto the bike rack on the car. Being not v tall, I have to lift the bike above shoulder height to get it onto a rear-mounted rack.
Also - how important are disc-brakes on a mtb? What should the priorities be when I choose the bike?
cheers, keep the comments coming!
I don't think adventure races have extremely technical descents ? So a hardtail would be enough. I raced on a rigid MTB and that wasn't too bad at all.
Disc brakes - are good for wet conditions, and lets you use wheels without braking surfaces on - but I got on fine with my v brakes most of the time, so I wouldn't rule either of the options out.
Fit and weight seem to be the key factors for you - you'd need to try the bike for size. Where are you in the country ?
with full sus - a lot of energy is used up overcoming the rear end bounce and unless you have a lock-out on the rear shock to stiffen it, makes climbing much harder work than a hardtail...........difference is however on downhills when you do have rear suspension which is much easier on the body.....
good full sus bikes tend to be over £1000 (forget cheap ones - they will break easily if used for real MTB'ing).........
disc brakes - spot on for braking but not essential and work better in mud than V-brakes - my Marin still has V-brakes which work fine if well maintained........
priorities as in all bikes - a good frame first, and quality components second.........if you use MTB's to the fullest, they take a heavy pounding so quality doesn't break as easily as cheap......
and again - try different makes - different makes suit different people and what they want to do - so go and talk to a good MTB shop and get them to advise based on what you want and tray a few makes.........personally I like Marin and Specialized of the big brands - hate Cannondale as I have never felt right on them..........
If you are going to ride off-road and you have about £800 to spend then full-suss is the best way to go. MBR did some tests on bikes in this price region recently and you are starting to see full-susser at the 800 mark that are worth considering. For £1K you really start to see some decent bikes, but like FB says, go for the decent frame first (ie the cheapest bike in the range).
Whilst I'd agree with FB on the climbing issue re. full-suss on-road I would disagree off-road. I have noticed with full-suss, the traction is a lot better going up hills especially over roots and rocks, you just have to learn to climb sitting down.
If you are going to ride trails, like the superb stuff in Wales, you want to look at 100mm travel minimum (120mm is better).
Dics vs V's no contest unless you are bothered about weight. Discs work better, are better in the mud, are less hassle to maintain.
If you get yourself a copy of this month's MBR they have a bike buyers guide and a review on the ultimate trail bikes.
I have a full-suspension now and it was the best bike buying choice I made.
I used to do all my climbing out of the saddle - it was one of the Saab Salamon team members on an AR training weekend that suggested I try climbing in the saddle more (off-road of course).
My wife got a Trek Liquid fairly recently and that just eats everything on the way down though. Cool bike.
wales
again - thanks for comments, will print out and have a proper look later (bit difficult using up 1/4 screen at work!) Saw there was a review of 12 entry-level bikes in MBR this month - but they're all v bloke-orientated. Does anyone know what 'S' in sizing terms means? There's a huge difference between a bike that would fit a small bloke, and one that would fit me... Also, why do some manufacturers do sizing in 14, 16, etc, and others 13, 15...? I'm confused. I have absolutely no idea what size I should be looking at - I was ridiculously lucky with my road bike as I bought it second-hand from a friend who is exactly the same size as me - height, dress, weight, shoes...
Disc brakes pros:
*great stopping power
*weather cond dont affect them
*not affected by an untrue wheel (disc is at the hub so the displacement is minimal)
Disc brakes cons:
*Can need lots of maintance once something happens to them
*if something does happen to them on a ride you can left without any brakes for a long distance (its happened to me!)
*Weight (heavy)
V Brakes Pros:
*Very low mantance
*if something happens to them out you can normal do something to them so they work in some way!
*Weight (floaty light)
V brakes cons:
*Braking power not as good as a disc
*Affected by conditions
*Affected by a damaged wheel (an untruewheel)
I personally have gone for a disc system, however you then ask yourself hydralic or cable?
and i've got hydralic brakes due to the brking power, but they do need more looking after.
Does this all make any sense? :-)
Hydraulic brakes are also better for maintenance, no mud cr@pping up the cables.
The only benefit is the weight but then we're talking grammes.
your old saddle's v comfy on my road bike, btw!
Yeah, the Rockhopper was one of the ones I was looking at... I saw the Giant XTC 4 for £399 which seemed a pretty good price too.
I think £1000 is probably too much. As I'm new to mountain-biking, I'd be better off spending half that and the rest on upgrades for my road bike, if I can get a decent bike for £500 - and if I ever have £1000 to spend! If I had to spend that much, I'd be waiting another 6 months before buying a bike, I reckon. Sounds like I should be able to get something for around the £500 mark that will do the job and not fall apart though?
Great bike for birds although for sure the 500squid hardtail will do the job.
Hey, if you get this months mbr they have a free DVD with some great mountain biking. It has the clip where that guy jumped over the Tour De France. Great shot of him stacking, running after his bike with his pants hanging down, and a gerndamme (spelling) chasing him.
I don't actually know what any of this means, by the way, I'm just repeating what the assistant said.
Basically, what I really need to know is - what are the courses like for off-road triathlon/adventure racing? Are they mainly flat tracks, or hilly/muddy? If the former, I guess V-brakes would be fine, but the ability to alter the compression would be really useful - whereas if the latter, disc brakes would be better and I'll want the full suspension.
Decisions, decisions - c'mon guys, I need your help here!
What kind of road though? Because if tarmac, I'll use my road bike which I'm so in love with I'd take it to bed with me if Mr Snail didn't object so much... If you're saying that off-road triathlons are on near-road surfaces, that would be a serious consideration. Thanks!
I've never adventure raced, but I've seen it on the telly, and a lot of the MTB seemed to be on fire roads and stuff where you don't really need suspension.
All depends on the events though I guess ?
If the mens one fits you better, but you prefer the other one - the shop should be able to swap stems over and stuff to suit you for no extra cost. It only takes a minute.
Hmmm, brings a new angle to 'bike porn'! Sadly, I have to leave my bike downstairs :-( But it is lovingly suspended in its stand in the study - the other bikes are banished to the shed... Mr Snail caught me stroking it the other day - how sad is that?! I was just checking the paintwork wasn't scratched, honest!
The new Spec Rockhoppers look quite good and the frame seems to be adopting some of the same styles as the higher priced Stumpjumpers.
I think you cant go too wrong with a bike around that price because if you get seriously hooked you will sort of know what your next purchase will be, based on your riding experiences. I've had one adventure race experience and any bike at that sort of price from a reputable make is going to do the business. As for the course in an AR, well that will depend on the route you take, some peeps go the long way round on the roads as its a lot faster.
If you go for the trails, which you have seen in Bets-Y-Coed, you will again have a good idea of the sort of bike you'll want.
Personally I'd go with a disc specific bike but that's just because I dont think there is a comparison. Good discs are streaks ahead, unless you are really concerned about weight. Brakes are no trouble to change over, but then if you buy a bike with V's, you have unwanted 'V' boss's on the frame and fork when you make the upgrade.
A good fork is a bonus as is a good frame essential.
I still think you cannot beat full-suss but looks like I'm outnumbered here. Just a good job the roadies havent started pitching in.
I don't think Lockout is really such a necessary now. Some manufacturers offer stable platform suspension on their forks. Manitou do this, but there are a few downers. their cheaper end forks aren't that great and the disc brake mount isn't international standard. If you want to up-grade to discs, then you're limited to either getting an adapter or buying Hayes discs (which aren't bad, apparently!)
Another thing - you could get a bike with disc ready hubs and up grade gradually rather than fork out for everything at the same time?