Mountain Bike Questions/Advice

1ofaKind

1ofaKind

1ofaKind

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Joined
10 Apr 2004
Posts
839
Hi All,

I haven't riden a bike for a good 10 years or so now (but I used to be a keen biker - 16m hilly round trip commute back then on a racing bike). However my daily commute (3 miles each way) is really annoying me now. The time it takes is quite frankly ridiculous and I'm seriously considering biking to work (certainly in the better weather anyway). I'm looking at a mountain bike rather than a hybrid or road bike mainly because the roads are crap tbh, I want to be (naughty I know) hop the kerbs etc to skip traffic and also I'd like to extend it outside the realms of commuting to do some trail riding (I would have to travel out for this but thats not a problem) - my friend & his missus have just bought 2 hard tails (semi decent ones) and will most likely be riding regularly so it means I won't have to ride solo :)

My questions are as follows :-

1 - Am I better of getting a good/top groupset hard tail?
2 - Can full suspension bikes be setup so if your doing more road riding you can firm the rear suspension up?
3 - Commuters - do you keep a 2nd set of wheels or tyres (slick style) for the road?
4 - Anyone recommend places on the internet or in the midlands area (I'm near coventry) to either visit or get a bike from.

I don't want to get into a situation where I get something cheap and then find I'm enjoying it so much that I have to sell etc to get something decent so I'd rather go big aka expensive now and at worst flog it so I guess my budget would be up to probably £1500 (more if it was special).

Many thanks
 
i wouldnt pay that much for a bike if you have been out that long. something like a trek 6500 disk for around £700 is a very good bike. it has some good things and the frame is very upgradable if you would wish to do so. then if you find yourself really getting into biking buy something more expensive. i spent 3 years on a 6500 and im glad i did. i managed to hone my skills on it so noiw i can make the most of my new bike
 
1) It depends how seriously you are thinking about getting into mountain biking but as a general rule you will get more/better equipment with a hard tail compared to a similarly priced full suspension bike. I'd be looking at getting disk brakes whatever you go for as they make a huge difference, maybe Hope Minis or similar. For £1500 you ought to be able to get a fairly decent example of either, however I'd personally choose a hard tail if it was mainly for commuting as there is also less to go wrong.

2) Yes there are quite a few bikes that offer remote lock-out so will only move on a big hit, as an alternative some of them utilise what is known as a pedal platform which basically means they aren't supposed to 'bob' while pedalling. The shocks for them are quite pricey though if I remember rightly(6th Element make some I think).

3) When I used to cycle into work I bought a road bike for two reasons, I had nowhere all that secure to lock up what was quite an expensive mountain bike and the roads were good enough that it made sense in Edinburgh. A spare set of wheels is quite a good idea though if you can't justify another bike.

4) Edinburgh Bicycle Co-Op has a website and they are pretty good but I don't believe they have any stores near the midlands and I would definitely recommend trying out any bike for size before considering buying.
 
Get yourself a Specialised Hardrock. It's a good all rounder and wont put a huge dent in your wallet :)
 
Nix said:
Get yourself a Specialised Hardrock. It's a good all rounder and wont put a huge dent in your wallet :)
Click to expand...

Why spend £500 (or less) if the OP has £1500 (or more) to play with? :D

The "bob" on my Trance 2 full susser is noticable compared to my hardtail but it's certainly not like pedaling a blancmange. I did an adventure race in/around the New Forest in April and covered 30 to 40km. I took my hardtail for that, as despite being slightly heavier than my Trance, I like to get out the saddle and crank hard on tarmac.

A £1500 hardtail is going be heading towards race ready, which to me suggests it would be pretty light but probably have short(er) travel forks and race geometry which wouldn't be my cup of tea for trail riding.

SPW makes a good point - do you have decent secure storage at work?
 
Id rather spend less and have the exact same ammount of fun, when I goto delamere on my XTC, the hydrauic discs are great, its light, the 100mm forks are okay and are the only area I would upgrade. It has proven to be a bit of a jack of all trades. No point in wasting money, just buy a good bike and upgrade when you feel it neccesary.
 
Hiya's

Thanks for replies so far. Security is not a problem as I work in a business unit and can just cycle straight in and have the bike next to my desk.

I think what I'll do is maybe have a drive out to one of the big stores and see what the score is. I know I could save loads on the internet but I'd just be worried about buying blind especially for the frame size. I might be able to pick up a last years model of bike for a good price (my m8 did this with a Giant he just bought saved about 300-400).

I know that full suspension bike is overkill for the road and for the price paid I could get a wicked hard tail with good groupset but as I've never really looked into full suspension wanted to see if you could in effect get the same effects as a hardtail if required.

Cheers :cool:
 
1ofaKind said:
1 - Am I better of getting a good/top groupset hard tail?
2 - Can full suspension bikes be setup so if your doing more road riding you can firm the rear suspension up?
3 - Commuters - do you keep a 2nd set of wheels or tyres (slick style) for the road?
4 - Anyone recommend places on the internet or in the midlands area (I'm near coventry) to either visit or get a bike from.
Click to expand...
1.Maybe, would you really need a full susser? Whyte 19 tbh, you knows it makes sense ;).
2.Yes, just lockout both the front and rear suspension.
3. Cheaper for just tyres, but easier to swap over with wheels.
4. Nope.
 
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