First bike in a long time...oppinions

Rich · 3 Aug 2009 at 18:38

Hi guys,

Have not ridden a bike for about 15 years but am looking to pick one up. Obviously I intend to go to a bike shop and check them out , but am trying to educate myself as much as possible before dealing with a sales guy.

Want to be able to go anywhere on it within reason so am looking at a hard tail, front suspension with hydraulic discs.

This one is the one I like the look of overall and seems to have well rated components:

http://www.evanscycles.com/products/pinnacle/peak-40-2009-mountain-bike-ec018104

Aesthetically it suits what I am after, i.e understated. I also like the fact that it is British made.

Can I do better than that? They all look fairly similar at this price range.

Thanks in advance for any help!

Cheers,

Gilly · 3 Aug 2009 at 18:42

Just out of interest, why hydraulic discs?

The Boardman bikes get good reviews, though they are pretty much a Halfords own brand (not a bad thing, I'm happy with my Carrera).

Rich · 3 Aug 2009 at 18:57

I had heard from several sources that the Hydraulic disks would need less tweaking. I realise they would probably need more maintenance in the long run however.
I also heard that they are generally better performance-wise.

One of my pet hates with older V-break style bikes was when they went wrong and you spent ages trying to line the sods up

If you feel that the mechanical discs are good then let me know, they are much cheaper bikes overall.

Cheers,

SDK^ · 3 Aug 2009 at 18:58

Rich said:
I also like the fact that it is British made.

Designed in the UK and made in Asia.

Don't bother with mechanical discs - too much maintenance and not enough power

lvad48 · 3 Aug 2009 at 20:21

SDK^ said:
Designed in the UK and made in Asia.

Don't bother with mechanical discs - too much maintenance and not enough power

+1

uk_unbeliever · 3 Aug 2009 at 20:58

+2 Rim brakes are bette than mechanical disc unless you get very good ones (which cost as much as some hydraulics!) and look after them faultlessly.

Jonny ///M · 4 Aug 2009 at 01:22

Very rarely is a bike made in the uk. Most are made in the same factories I would imagine. That bike frame actually looks like an older carrera fury. http://www.pinkbike.com/photo/2382868/ Shocking how similar they are!

Gilly · 4 Aug 2009 at 09:27

From all the choices I had I went with V brakes. Yes, they can be a bit of a pain, but you don't have to have them serviced or buy expensive kit just to get them working, and as it is all there in front of you emergency roadside fixes shouldn't be too stressful

I don't know what it was, but I didn't see any noticeable difference between hydraulic and mechanical discs, and very small differences between those and V brakes.

LordSplodge · 4 Aug 2009 at 15:44

SDK^ said:
Don't bother with mechanical discs - too much maintenance and not enough power

+1

Also Orange are British!

LordSplodge · 4 Aug 2009 at 15:46

Gilly said:
From all the choices I had I went with V brakes. Yes, they can be a bit of a pain, but you don't have to have them serviced or buy expensive kit just to get them working, and as it is all there in front of you emergency roadside fixes shouldn't be too stressful

Good V-Breaks are great. Bad disc breaks are bad! Given the choice you go for V-Breaks.

However, good hydraulic disk breaks are in a different league.

I take your point Gilly but it all depends on the riding you do.

Gilly · 4 Aug 2009 at 15:53

Absolutely, I'm just a commuter/canal path rider. Don't need extreme performance or anything like that.