Question for Mountain Bikers.....

[NikB]

I am looking to buy an entry level bike and have seen a few around the £300 mark. Question is, should I buy new at this price or can I get a lot more second hand?

Where are the good tracks in the south?

Cheers

Nik

[Clong]

£300 will get you started nicely, particulary if you buy last years model (will post a few links to some sites later). Yuo should be able to get a £500-£600 bike if you are not fussed about getting this years model. Second hand is always a good buy but there are some dog's out there (as always) and you don't get any warranty on the bike with second hand buy's. May not sound a big deal, but having broken a couple of frames in the past it is something you might want to bear in mind. Mountain bikes, by their very nature, tend to get abused.

Avoid a full suspension at that price, they will have comprimised components and weigh a 5hit load (although personelly i don't worry about the weight of a bike too much). Suspension bikes at this price are little more than pogo sticks, but they can be fun and get more people onto bikes, which is a good thing, however for your money look at a hardtail (front shocks only). The forks won't be top marque but they will give a feel for mountain biking. You could also opt for a fully rigid bike, although i would go for a steel frame to give some shock absorbsion. No front shocker means more money to spend on the frame/components, but they do give a harsh ride. Personnel choice, but i would go for a hardtail since you will be able to ride faster over technical stuff, with more control.

As for riding in the south where about are you based? There is a lot of places to go, just depends where you are based.

[NikB]

Thanks for the info! I think I will try and get hold of this years model and see what sort of bargin I can get. I also have an old GT in the garage and if I could convert it to front suspension forks I could save a bit of many, is this an easy thing to do?

I hired a Trek at the weekend and had a go round the track at the lookout in Bracknell forest. It was a fookin great larf, only had one dicey moment - some of the rocks are quick big there!!!

I would be interested in travelling anywhere in the south for a good route.

Cheers

Nik

[Leon]

My dad keeps going on abut bikes (its his latest fad...)
I've got a Claude Butler and would swear by it. Bought a a present a few years back, but it is stunning.
The old gits got a Specialised, cost an arm I think, very good apparently, but I couldn't see the difference between that and my Butler.

A good trick is to decide if you are going for suspension (personally, I like to rough ride as I find I get more of a feel for what is happening under wheel) or not and then go to somewhere like the bike specialist in Brighton's North Lane. Look at which bikes you like, the test ride a load until you get 2 that you can't find the difference between. Then buy the cheaper of the two...
worked well for me in the past...

[Clong]

You can convert some bikes to run suspension forks, depends how old it is. Most old frames can handle 60-80mm of travel without knocking the handling into a cocked hat, the more travel you have the slacker the head angle, making it a pig to steer. Most frames these days come with teh phrase "suspension corrected for 100mm" ie they can handle a 100 travel fork. Finding a 60mm travel fork these days will be hard though. The other limiting factor maybe the headset size, some while ago the diameter went from 1" to 1 1/8", if your old frame is a 1" dia then you will strugle to get a set of forks to fit. Pace is one manufacturer that would be able to do this, the steerer tube is separate from the crown (bolted in, not bonded in). Be warned they are costly forks though.

The overall swap is easy to do, might need new brakes depending on whether they are V's or not.

In the South you have the North and South downs, very good riding, with a special mention to Queen Elizibeth Country park who run dedicated trails for bikers. There is also the Purbecks, similar to the Downs but very exposed. Bath has some very good riding, Quantooks is also excellent (considered as a mecca for biking). Penthurst Off-road Club (PORC) is also down south. Any of those any good? There is loads more

[Wak]

Originally posted by Clong
You can convert some bikes to run suspension forks, depends how old it is. Most old frames can handle 60-80mm of travel without knocking the handling into a cocked hat, the more travel you have the slacker the head angle, making it a pig to steer. Most frames these days come with teh phrase "suspension corrected for 100mm" ie they can handle a 100 travel fork. Finding a 60mm travel fork these days will be hard though. The other limiting factor maybe the headset size, some while ago the diameter went from 1" to 1 1/8", if your old frame is a 1" dia then you will strugle to get a set of forks to fit. Pace is one manufacturer that would be able to do this, the steerer tube is separate from the crown (bolted in, not bonded in). Be warned they are costly forks though.

The overall swap is easy to do, might need new brakes depending on whether they are V's or not.

In the South you have the North and South downs, very good riding, with a special mention to Queen Elizibeth Country park who run dedicated trails for bikers. There is also the Purbecks, similar to the Downs but very exposed. Bath has some very good riding, Quantooks is also excellent (considered as a mecca for biking). Penthurst Off-road Club (PORC) is also down south. Any of those any good? There is loads more

The other thing to bear in ind is the type of headset, older and cheaper bikes from GT had quill stems which are nigh on impossible to get suspension forks for. If it's an a-head then no problem.

As far as buying a new bike goes, I would avoid second hand unless you know what you are looking at or know and trust the seller. Last years models and mail order ads in the mountain bike magazines represent excellent value, but if there's anything wrong with the bike it's more difficult to get it sorted with mail order.

If you are spending £300 I would go for a hardtail, full sus looks good, but at that price look good is all it does! Specialized Hardrock has had good reviews, so have the Dawes range as long as you're not a badge snob. If it was my £300 I'd have the Specialized

This months MBUK magazine reviews 'entry level' bikes, also look at What Mountain Bike

[Clong]

Originally posted by Wak


The other thing to bear in ind is the type of headset, older and cheaper bikes from GT had quill stems which are nigh on impossible to get suspension forks for. If it's an a-head then no problem.



True, but converting a quill to an A-head is a straight forward job. Another manufacture to consider are Giant, who have massive buying power, meaning cheap bikes with good spec.

[Wak]

Yeah new headset only about a tenner, and I suppose the bike shop would probably throw in a tenners worth of headset if you are buying a decent pair of forks.