Tbh I suspect it may have already been weakened around that area, but if not then not a good advert for GT
Mountain Biking
- Thread starter Zefan
- Start date
Depends how they handle the situation I guess. Be interesting to find out what happens next.
Can't be worse than Orange can it.
I think GT bikes have shut up shop, so might be no dice.
I'm in a quandary that involves me having to show insane restraint to not unbox and take a bike out for a ride as it's entirely unsuitable for me, as much as I'd like to open it and ride it.
Bit of background, I ride an approx £1K Bergamont Revox 9 I got in 2019, still fine, but I ride a lot and had to replace the chainset and a couple of other bits likely costing about £600 for maintenance over that time, with insurance being just a couple of quid monthly on top of my home insurance. Was perfectly happy to keep riding that.
A beloved family member has done well for themselves and very generously bought me a bike for a recent birthday as a complete surprise, but without asking me anything about it in advance or any hints, etc. As you all know a bike is a very personal choice much like a car and almost impossible to buy what a user would want without asking a few questions.
If I'd been asked I would have kept my existing bike or maybe gratefully accepted a £1k to £2k hardtail at the very most.
So I was shocked, flattered and also perturbed to be greeted with a new bike box delivery that thankfully I was able to investigate fully without opening it as I immediately realised I likely couldn't keep it.
I've been very generously gifted a bike that I won't be able to afford to keep or maintain. I'm a £1k hardtail guy but now with an £8k full suspension Specialized MTB ebike in my hallway that I can't accept.
For one, I likely won't even use the ebike functions as I ride for fitness - it's also a full suspension when I mostly all ride hardtail trails and am too old and injured for any downhill. The insurance will be £70 a month, due to my riding style I'll need to replace the chainset in 2 years which will cost over a grand. Also it being electric means I can't keep it on my balcony, I don't have a garage so will have to keep it indoors which I don't have space for. Whereas any non electric bike is fine on a balcony.
I'm in South London where an 8K ebike is a mugger's paradise, I also can't leave it anywhere in London, even with its own weight in locks being used to secure it.
So I had to ask if they'd mind if I return it and choose an bike for a quarter of the price or less, even the very best hardtail on the Specialized website is only £3k.
I feel bad as they clearly wanted to spend a lot and get me what they thought would be best, but it's just one of those things you can't get right without asking first. They don't know anything about bikes but tried to be so kind to me and I feel bad for refusing it, but not being able to open it and take it for a ride is also very hard to resist.
I've already contacted Specialised and can return it unopened for a full refund to them which I what I'll have to do. A £2k bike is viable for me to repair and buy parts for, a bike costing as much as a car also costs damn near as much as a car to maintain. I can't help feeling ungrateful and wish I could just keep it, but it's just not going to be practical to do so. Any thoughts?
Bit of background, I ride an approx £1K Bergamont Revox 9 I got in 2019, still fine, but I ride a lot and had to replace the chainset and a couple of other bits likely costing about £600 for maintenance over that time, with insurance being just a couple of quid monthly on top of my home insurance. Was perfectly happy to keep riding that.
A beloved family member has done well for themselves and very generously bought me a bike for a recent birthday as a complete surprise, but without asking me anything about it in advance or any hints, etc. As you all know a bike is a very personal choice much like a car and almost impossible to buy what a user would want without asking a few questions.
If I'd been asked I would have kept my existing bike or maybe gratefully accepted a £1k to £2k hardtail at the very most.
So I was shocked, flattered and also perturbed to be greeted with a new bike box delivery that thankfully I was able to investigate fully without opening it as I immediately realised I likely couldn't keep it.
I've been very generously gifted a bike that I won't be able to afford to keep or maintain. I'm a £1k hardtail guy but now with an £8k full suspension Specialized MTB ebike in my hallway that I can't accept.
For one, I likely won't even use the ebike functions as I ride for fitness - it's also a full suspension when I mostly all ride hardtail trails and am too old and injured for any downhill. The insurance will be £70 a month, due to my riding style I'll need to replace the chainset in 2 years which will cost over a grand. Also it being electric means I can't keep it on my balcony, I don't have a garage so will have to keep it indoors which I don't have space for. Whereas any non electric bike is fine on a balcony.
I'm in South London where an 8K ebike is a mugger's paradise, I also can't leave it anywhere in London, even with its own weight in locks being used to secure it.
So I had to ask if they'd mind if I return it and choose an bike for a quarter of the price or less, even the very best hardtail on the Specialized website is only £3k.
I feel bad as they clearly wanted to spend a lot and get me what they thought would be best, but it's just one of those things you can't get right without asking first. They don't know anything about bikes but tried to be so kind to me and I feel bad for refusing it, but not being able to open it and take it for a ride is also very hard to resist.
I've already contacted Specialised and can return it unopened for a full refund to them which I what I'll have to do. A £2k bike is viable for me to repair and buy parts for, a bike costing as much as a car also costs damn near as much as a car to maintain. I can't help feeling ungrateful and wish I could just keep it, but it's just not going to be practical to do so. Any thoughts?
Soldato
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- 18 Oct 2002
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- 9,379
Sounds like you’re doing the right thing to be honest.
Sounds like you’re over biked. Given your circumstances I’d be strugggling the justify it too.
Thanks for feedback, over biked is a nice way of putting it. I feel very bad to return a such a kindly given gift, but I think needing to keep it indoors that I don't have space for is the final factor for me. I'm pretty sure even a £3k traditional hardtail could be left out on a balcony year round with a decent cover on it with little degradation, definitely can't say that about a high end ebike due to heat fluctuation damaging the battery.
Soldato
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- 9 Nov 2005
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- 9,497
- Location
- Southampton, hopefully not too hot, or too cold
I don't know what weight limits they have, but you can storage devices that fit to the ceiling and you suspend the bike via rope/cable. You also have those vertical bike storage gadgets, that hold the bike via the wheels.
I can't comment on annual full sus maintenance costs, never had one to date.
Last time I looked, Sram consumable parts (chain, brake pads, cassette) seemed far more expensive than Shimano. I also found the "double tap" system so alien after decades of Shimano brifters, when I test rode a Boardman CX in '17 on a turbo for an hour in my local Halfords.
I've had an ebike for a month (GT eGrade Bolt from PaulsCycles for a crazy £1249) and it makes it very possible to do z1/2 rides even on fairly hilly rides. My abilities, stamina and weight are very different in a negative way to what they were this time three years ago... Hiring ebikes at Center Parcs in March and last September plus now owning one has been a complete game changer for me.
Soldato
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- 18 Oct 2002
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I mean, if you were concerned about the battery health you could always look to get an e-bike with a removable battery and keep the battery indoors?
Good points, thanks, I'm still deciding overall, but very much leaning towards having to return it. I'd actually never intended to get an ebike of any kind as I think they're very vulnerable on the roads round here, also a borderline moped when I prefer to pedal for fitness.
So it's the ebike factor that's stopping me mostly, if they'd got me an £8k full sus non electric instead I likely would have kept that, even with that being too much bike for me as well as I really didn't want to have return a gift and seem ungrateful.
Other thing is I came off my bike at only about 15mph 2 years back and suffered a crushed wrist, I have a metal plate and screws in it now, so am very cautious of ebike power assist getting me well over that speed habitually, ebike causing complacency overall and any downhill beyond tiny jumps being off limits for me.
Still been very hard not to test this bike out and having to keep it boxed up, but it would literally lose £3k of its value after one ride, much like driving a car off a dealership.
Other thing is I don't really have need for full sus either, assuming a rear suspension in lockout is still nowhere near as good as a hardtail would be for hardtail purposes. If I rode this 8K ebike it would almost always be in rear lockout mode anyway.
Anyone here used or using a full sus in lockout mode as an everyday bike? My local rides are quite hilly too, so another reason I'd prefer to return it for a hardtail for uphill climbs.
Many forums I've read with those that have full sus and hardtails is that hardtails get used a lot more for daily use, with full sus mostly for downhill. Don't know if that's the case for all.
Edit: Also thanks for storage suggestions, possibly I could have a vertical bike holder but within a dedicated wardrobe or large cupboard, otherwise any exposed bike would dominate a not that large living room area. Would likely need to rotate the handlebars to be parallel with bike frame every time as well to store it.
So it's the ebike factor that's stopping me mostly, if they'd got me an £8k full sus non electric instead I likely would have kept that, even with that being too much bike for me as well as I really didn't want to have return a gift and seem ungrateful.
Other thing is I came off my bike at only about 15mph 2 years back and suffered a crushed wrist, I have a metal plate and screws in it now, so am very cautious of ebike power assist getting me well over that speed habitually, ebike causing complacency overall and any downhill beyond tiny jumps being off limits for me.
Still been very hard not to test this bike out and having to keep it boxed up, but it would literally lose £3k of its value after one ride, much like driving a car off a dealership.
Other thing is I don't really have need for full sus either, assuming a rear suspension in lockout is still nowhere near as good as a hardtail would be for hardtail purposes. If I rode this 8K ebike it would almost always be in rear lockout mode anyway.
Anyone here used or using a full sus in lockout mode as an everyday bike? My local rides are quite hilly too, so another reason I'd prefer to return it for a hardtail for uphill climbs.
Many forums I've read with those that have full sus and hardtails is that hardtails get used a lot more for daily use, with full sus mostly for downhill. Don't know if that's the case for all.
Edit: Also thanks for storage suggestions, possibly I could have a vertical bike holder but within a dedicated wardrobe or large cupboard, otherwise any exposed bike would dominate a not that large living room area. Would likely need to rotate the handlebars to be parallel with bike frame every time as well to store it.
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Very few full-suspension bikes have an actual lockout on the rear - in almost every case, it firms up the compression so it feels more supportive but will still go through its travel when pushed.
Setting aside your concerns about value, storage and your location, you are overthinking eMTBs. You can use the ease of riding to get you to trails that are further away than you would ordinarily be able to manage, then ride the trails on the lowest assistance mode if you want to get a workout. Just because an eMTB can assist your pedalling, it doesn't mean it has to.
If you are so worried about value, why are you planning on returning it when you could just sell the thing off instead? Specialized aren't going to refund you for returning a bike you didn't buy.
Setting aside your concerns about value, storage and your location, you are overthinking eMTBs. You can use the ease of riding to get you to trails that are further away than you would ordinarily be able to manage, then ride the trails on the lowest assistance mode if you want to get a workout. Just because an eMTB can assist your pedalling, it doesn't mean it has to.
An £8k muggers paradise only applies to an eMTB? Do they not like normal bikes?
No you won't and no it won't. Chain and cassette would cost you less than £250, everything else would stand up to a good deal of abuse unless you ride it like an idiot.
It would only lose value from the RRP based on the fact that the second owner only gets 2-years warranty from the date of purchase. I'm not going to buy your Levo at full RRP without the lifetime warranty.
If you are so worried about value, why are you planning on returning it when you could just sell the thing off instead? Specialized aren't going to refund you for returning a bike you didn't buy.
Soldato
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- 9,497
- Location
- Southampton, hopefully not too hot, or too cold
A UK legal ebike will cut assistance at 25kph, just under 16mph. When using lots of assistance, that cutoff makes it suddenly feel like you are riding in treacle, the gearing will feel so much harder.
I got back into biking a couple years ago after a large break and I'm still rocking my old 2011 Pitch Pro. Apart from the frame, everything has been replaced now, but it's starting to creak and parts are getting harder to come by. I'm also getting the itch for something newer. The trouble is, I've been out of the loop for so long I'm not sure what to look at. I've been looking at bikes like the Stumpy, Jeffsy/Izzo, Aether 9 and Sonder Cortex but any advice or recommendations to check out are appreciated.
I'm not as young as I was and I've got a gimpy knee, so I don't hit anything hard or do jumps. Natural trails are my favourite as trail centres tend to bore me and most of my riding is classic loops in the Peak, North Wales/Clwyds, Lake District etc. I'm happy doing a decent amount of miles and ascent, but I also like blasting down things. I'm not sure if the bikes I've looked at are going to leave me over biked and regretting my life choices up hills, but equally I'd quite like to be able to cruise down rocky descents. My Pitch is 140mm so just started looking around that point, budget is probably up to a few k.
I'm not as young as I was and I've got a gimpy knee, so I don't hit anything hard or do jumps. Natural trails are my favourite as trail centres tend to bore me and most of my riding is classic loops in the Peak, North Wales/Clwyds, Lake District etc. I'm happy doing a decent amount of miles and ascent, but I also like blasting down things. I'm not sure if the bikes I've looked at are going to leave me over biked and regretting my life choices up hills, but equally I'd quite like to be able to cruise down rocky descents. My Pitch is 140mm so just started looking around that point, budget is probably up to a few k.
I'm liking the look of a the new Boardman MTR Full Suspension Mountain Bike Range. Has anyone tried/seen one?
www.boardmanbikes.com
Is it worth considering as I'm after a new full suspension Mountain Bike in the £1500-2000 range?
MTB Full Suspension
www.boardmanbikes.com
Is it worth considering as I'm after a new full suspension Mountain Bike in the £1500-2000 range?
I'm liking the look of a the new Boardman MTR Full Suspension Mountain Bike Range. Has anyone tried/seen one?
MTB Full Suspension
Is it worth considering as I'm after a new full suspension Mountain Bike in the £1500-2000 range?
Absolutely nothing wrong with it. Considered 2nd hand? Market is crazy for it now. I sold my £3500 bike for £950! All top end components pretty much too.
I'll consider it but I'm not very savvy when it comes to mechanicals so would feel more comfortable with something new under warranty.
I was actually contemplating the entry level £1300 model as it seems to come with everything I'd need and I can pick it up from my local Halfords? Is it worth spending £300/£600 more to get the higher spec versions? I ha
Boardman MTR 8.6
As lively and capable as its higher-spec counterparts, the MTR 8.6 is an excellent choice for those seeking a high-value, modern, short-travel trail bike.
www.boardmanbikes.com
Boardman’s new MTR 8.9 is a fast and light hustler of a down-country bike, for less than £2,000 - MBR
Boardman’s MTR range has been one of our top bargain trail bike recommendations for years. The older model had 150/140mm travel but this latest version drops that to 130mm both ends with an all new, lighter frame. And the 8.9 model here looks like the sweet spot of a 4 model range, with a 12...
www.mbr.co.uk
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I'll consider it but I'm not very savvy when it comes to mechanicals so would feel more comfortable with something new under warranty.
I was actually contemplating the entry level £1300 model as it seems to come with everything I'd need and I can pick it up from my local Halfords? Is it worth spending £300/£600 more to get the higher spec versions? I ha
Boardman MTR 8.6
As lively and capable as its higher-spec counterparts, the MTR 8.6 is an excellent choice for those seeking a high-value, modern, short-travel trail bike.
Boardman’s new MTR 8.9 is a fast and light hustler of a down-country bike, for less than £2,000 - MBR
Boardman’s MTR range has been one of our top bargain trail bike recommendations for years. The older model had 150/140mm travel but this latest version drops that to 130mm both ends with an all new, lighter frame. And the 8.9 model here looks like the sweet spot of a 4 model range, with a 12...
Probably not, if your new to it then it'll be absolutely fine. Plus you'll get hooked and want something completely new in a year or two anyway
Most bikes these days are great! Obviously depends on your talent/what you plan to ride. But that will go down most things, especially trail centres in the UK.
The 8.9 is easily the best value of the bunch.
- 12sp Shimano, so really easy to upgrade with better parts as time goes on. 8.6 has an older rear hub which limits your options and Microshift can be horrible to live with.
- Brakes are better, bottom bracket is more reliable, generally has a superior drivertrain.
- Brakes are far better than the 8.6 has.
- Comes with a dropper post, which is essential for modern mountain biking and possibly the greatest advancement since disk brakes.
Calibre Bossnut is the better value bike though.
Calibre 2025 Bossnut Full Suspension Mountain Bike | GO Outdoors
£1,700.00 | The name Bossnut needs no introduction in the mountain bike...
www.gooutdoors.co.uk
Soldato
- Joined
- 18 Oct 2002
- Posts
- 9,379
What’s with the Shimano Cues group set? Where does it sit against the Deore group set for example?
I’m seeing it specced on quite a lot of bikes now where you might expect to see Deore.
If the group set is cheaper but gives the same level of performance but allows the bike manufacturer to spend the saving on better components elsewhere then that’s all groovy.
I’m seeing it specced on quite a lot of bikes now where you might expect to see Deore.
If the group set is cheaper but gives the same level of performance but allows the bike manufacturer to spend the saving on better components elsewhere then that’s all groovy.