Mountain Bike Advice...

[Dominic]

Vx forum say no more

[ClarkyBoy]

LOL scotty,

As for the bike - go and try a few, see what you like,

Trek are doing a few lovely hard tails at the moment - 650B and 29er -

http://www.alpinebikes.com/shop/trek/bi ... caliber-9/

http://www.alpinebikes.com/shop/trek/bi ... liber-9-1/

also - Whyte have a couple of nice 650b's right now too,

http://www.alpinebikes.com/shop/bikes/m ... yte/805-1/

http://www.alpinebikes.com/shop/bikes/m ... yte/801-1/

All under your price limit

if it was me, i'd probably end up with the Whyte 805, or if you push your budget up to 1200 their 901 is bang on.

http://www.alpinebikes.com/shop/bikes/m ... yte/901-3/

Whta i will say though is im not a fan of the Avid brakes. but if you are not hammering DH stuff, its not likely to be a concern!

[meatball]

If it were me I'd prob go for a 29er hard tail.
Dunno what would tempt me though...

[DDtB]

So many options... so many pretty bikes!!!

Enjoying the research tbh and appreciate the advice folks.

Got an email back from the editor of What Mountain Bike amusingly after my 'rant' to them about the pointlessness of their magazine. Apparently their research shows the average man in the street will spend at least £3k on a mountain bike or something. £1k bikes are "budget" models. What a load of ****.

[meatball]

Second hand options out there too....people are rushing to 650b and 29" bikes.

My next bike may be made by orange.

[istoo]

dammit missed the topic!
i resisted going 29 last year after giant announced they were dropping the size to focus on 650b/27.5. I am quite tall and do prefer down to up so stuck with my little wheels, but the clown wheeled bikes do behave well coming down on some trails. its not better or worse, just different. Depends a lot on local trials etc. also to a degree on your physical build, specifically your height. bigger wheels suit a taller rider and certain terrain. But as stated already go demo two back to back if you can. depending where you live there are demo days in the trail centres a few times a year.

Another canyon fan here as well, they cracking bits of kit for the money, also consider YT industries if you want to go down that route.
We also have the scottish Nicolai dealer on this forum... I bought a frame of him a few years ago, thing of beauty. I love my bike bling...

MBR did their bike of the year review recently, the spectral was in the mix.
http://www.mbr.co.uk/news/bike_news/bes ... -the-year/
and the Canyon Nerve i think in the full sue bracket, this is a lot of bike for not very much;
http://www.mbr.co.uk/reviews/full-suspe ... -0-review/

And if you want a laugh, i am trying my best not to buy a fat bike...
http://www.on-one.co.uk/i/q/CBOOFATX52/ ... y-fat-bike
had a shot on one in the summer, oddest feeling to ride but amazing over soft ground, mud, sand etc. would be great in snow. and oddly cushioned, huge amount of tyre movement... just different!

I have six bikes in various guises all 26in and one 700c, my next bike... is going to be bamboo off to build it start of Dec, finally settled on building a 650b SS hard tail.

back in the room, sorry, i like speaking bike slightly more than i like speak car... 0130, gin finished, bed...

[DDtB]

Great post!

There's a Surly fat bike in Dales just now, impossible to look at without chuckling. It's bonkers. Jason on here is a big fan of the fatties... thoroughly enjoy following his exploits on them.

Sounds like I should really get out and try a couple. Probably do that in the New Year and see what happens then. I've a horrible feeling I might end up spending more than I should though...

[Lazydonkey]

Surly ftw! (although Jase cracked his frame a few times iirc)

[thesurfbus]

You can have a shot of my 29er Spectral, its not so easy to see a Canyon in the flesh, but they are becoming more popular.
I believe Canyon have a showroom in London.

[anthonyyule]

dammit missed the topic!
i resisted going 29 last year after giant announced they were dropping the size to focus on 650b/27.5. I am quite tall and do prefer down to up so stuck with my little wheels, but the clown wheeled bikes do behave well coming down on some trails. its not better or worse, just different. Depends a lot on local trials etc. also to a degree on your physical build, specifically your height. bigger wheels suit a taller rider and certain terrain. But as stated already go demo two back to back if you can. depending where you live there are demo days in the trail centres a few times a year.

Not necssarily true. My race bike is a Santa Cruz Tallby LTc (29er) and I wouldnt race anything else. Im only 5' 5" - and it could be argued that I look a little comical on it (like a young loon riding his new birthday bike thats going to last him for the next 10 years), but I love it. As I am smaller I have less physical bulk to carry around and so the slight weight penalty of the large bike is negated. Having said that as it is running carbon hoops/ carbon frame/ carbon cranks and carbon bars there really isnt much weight left in the bike anyway

I ride with guys (and girls) with all sorts of permutation of bike nowadays. hardtail/ full-suss and in all wheel sizes. We are all just as quick up and downhill and we all have great fun. No such thing as bike envy either as we all made our own bike decisions based on a myriad of different factors (mine was quality/ weight and colour!). What I would say is that I get less tired on the 29er thsan i do on either my Cannondale Trigger Black (27.5) or Specialized Epic Marathon (26"). I can ride longer on it without fatique. I have friends who always use their 29ers for long distance trekking. I also have a friend who swears by his hardtail - and only swaps onto his full-suss during endurance races and wants a break from the punishment during the overnight stints.

horses for courses - have fun!

[istoo]

dammit missed the topic!
i resisted going 29 last year after giant announced they were dropping the size to focus on 650b/27.5. I am quite tall and do prefer down to up so stuck with my little wheels, but the clown wheeled bikes do behave well coming down on some trails. its not better or worse, just different. Depends a lot on local trials etc. also to a degree on your physical build, specifically your height. bigger wheels suit a taller rider and certain terrain. But as stated already go demo two back to back if you can. depending where you live there are demo days in the trail centres a few times a year.

Not necssarily true. My race bike is a Santa Cruz Tallby LTc (29er) and I wouldnt race anything else. Im only 5' 5" - and it could be argued that I look a little comical on it (like a young loon riding his new birthday bike thats going to last him for the next 10 years), but I love it. As I am smaller I have less physical bulk to carry around and so the slight weight penalty of the large bike is negated. Having said that as it is running carbon hoops/ carbon frame/ carbon cranks and carbon bars there really isnt much weight left in the bike anyway

I ride with guys (and girls) with all sorts of permutation of bike nowadays. hardtail/ full-suss and in all wheel sizes. We are all just as quick up and downhill and we all have great fun. No such thing as bike envy either as we all made our own bike decisions based on a myriad of different factors (mine was quality/ weight and colour!). What I would say is that I get less tired on the 29er thsan i do on either my Cannondale Trigger Black (27.5) or Specialized Epic Marathon (26"). I can ride longer on it without fatique. I have friends who always use their 29ers for long distance trekking. I also have a friend who swears by his hardtail - and only swaps onto his full-suss during endurance races and wants a break from the punishment during the overnight stints.

horses for courses - have fun!

I should have put the no better no worse bit at the start, half a bottle of tanquery later... I have had this discussion for years, no resolve, its just different. It has been had before though Gary Fisher tried to introduce it in the 90s at the same time cannondale tried to go with 24 in rear wheels. Tried them all, its just different. I guess my frustration is mountain bikes have hit a sweet spot, every 3 years or so i would replace bikes and the next one would be an evolutionary step forward, but that has really slowed in the last 3-4 years. i.e. the technology and designs are pretty much there, the improvements slightly lesser, but the sport is now massive. market helps too... Wheel sizes, i don't disagree, but nobody was really complaining they weren't good enough. The level of technological advancement has allowed the industry to try different configurations, its just different, horses for courses call it what you will. arguable subjective. Can see it in the endure series as well, podium filled with different wheel sizes.

Let me put it another way, there isn't a wrong choice in the wheel sizes, its predominantly a personal decision but there are some small nuances between the wheels sizes. try both and see what you prefer! The compromises are minor, but they have slight biases towards different types of riding. 26 suits me, but i am the other end of the scale, 6ft 3 and 95 kgs, so we are both on wrong bikes

I will say that giant are the biggest manufacturer by a mile, they are focused on 27.5 aka 650b, http://www.bikemag.com/gear/news-giant- ... with-27-5/

Does it matter for the OP, probably not just another set of choices, opinions etc.

Spending more than you planned... of course, what happens when you say i am not spending anything on the elise... hmmm?

Just getting out to ride is the first bit, if you get a bike that suits your riding and builds confidence i have seen some pals get back into biking again in a big way. Don't worry so much about buying the most expensive one you can, some genuinely magic bikes for your budget. if you grow to enjoy it weekends away with pals, good kit, dirt school, or mtb abroad are good uses of budget in my eyes Welcome to money put land

[istoo]

OP, where do you live?
i saw carron valley mentioned, you missed a demo day in sept.
http://bikeeventsscotland.com/event/mou ... -demo-day/

I don't stop by Glentress as much these days but i think they will hire out some good bits of kit.

[jason]

There's a Surly fat bike in Dales just now, impossible to look at without chuckling. It's bonkers. Jason on here is a big fan of the fatties... thoroughly enjoy following his exploits on them.

Loved my fat bikes in the past 4 years, but TBF I put it to a very specific use, ie. soft sand and rock crawling on the local coast. Many are now getting excited about them for 'normal' biking but there are other bikes more suited to that IMHO. Each to their own of course.

Surly ftw! (although Jase cracked his frame a few times iirc)

Well remembered, Martin! Was a huge warranty issue for them that demanded a subtle re-design. I miss that bike.

There are some better VFM, yet still 'decent', fat bikes for sale now vs Surly's premium pricing IMHO. Trek Farley, Specialized Fat Boy, Genesis Caribou, Charge Cooker, the OnOne Fatty (under a grand, with just a few troublesome components), and so on. But I'd not suggest one for what you suggest you want to ride.

You're not a dwarf, so 29er hardtail FTW!

[DDtB]

Based just outside Glasgow.

Cheers for the offers of trying out some bikes... much appreciated and may take you guys up on that. Planning a glentress trip in the new year for some hire bike trials sounds sensible too.

Won't be buying a fat bike though, as Jason says... they're great on the beach etc, but not for my needs just now. I just like chuckling when I see them... love the look of them.

Got a horrible feeling I'll end up with a 29er and never hear the end of it from Donkey.

[istoo]

keep everyone happy and get a 650b!

there are a fair few bikes around the £1200 mark at the moment which are very good all rounders. Canyon Nerve 6 is a very good all rounder. Although i do like to buy local if i can.

drop dipper a pm...