New Bike wanted...

Trox

Trox

Trox

Soldato
Joined
18 Oct 2002
Posts
3,165
Location
Fife, Scotland
Looking at spending around £500 mark on a bike, itll be used for offroad and tarmac. http://www.evanscycles.com/product.jsp?style=60154 this bike kinda cought my eye but not actually knowing much about bikes im not too sure.

How do you find out what size of frame you need? Some frame sizes are small to Extra Large others 14 to 23".
Would i be best to buy from the highstreet or online? I just want a good bike for the money really :)

Cheers for info
Trox
 
Sorry, Bike is gonna be used for trail riding, dirt track and some tarmac ussage.

Going to a shop tomorrow to try out the some bikes, ive been told around 21" might suit me best due to my hieght, 6ft2", but ill try it out before i part with my cash...

Ive seen the bike pic thread and someone has the one i mentioned above, wouldnt mind knowing if its good or not for the cash :D
 
Nice, im going along in a few mins to try it out. Dont think ill get it today ill test out a couple of bikes before i part with my cash.

But then if i really like it ill just got for it :)
 
OK went to the shop tried out both 19" and 21", and... Im still not sure what to go for 19" feels as though the handle bars sit too low due to the seat being so high and the 21" just feels big.

Guy said if yir planing to do a lot of offraod stuff then the 19" will be perfect for throwing around, and on road with trails/paths then the 21" will be fine for that.

gonna have to decide, dont want to end up getting a bike then thinking i made the wrong size choice :/

thought getting a bike would be easy, or am i over complicating it :/
 
try and find some of last years models as well because u can get some really good discounts on them so will get a better bike for the money. Id go for the smaller frame because a large frame offroad will limit you a lot.
 
You can always get a higher rise stem and bars for the 19" to bring the riding position a little more upright.

Specialized top tubes tend to be quite short though, I found this when looking at them.

I ended up getting a Marin and it fits like a glove, might be worth checking them out perhaps?
 
Yea im thinking about that, wondering if i could raise the handle bars slightly...

Been checking out loads of sites about getting the frame size right 89cm inside leg, 185cm tall puts me around 19.5" to 20.5" frame...
rofl just my luck :/
 
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*thread hijack*

I am after a bike myself, only want to spend 200 quid on it and it will mostly be used for tarmac riding, with some trail riding up and down the hills in our local pine tree forest. There is a possibility, if I get into it, that I may head over to the Yorkshire dales with a pal and do a bit of offroad stuff. I have been looking at second hand Specialized hardrocks on the 'bay- these seem to be going for about 200 quid.

So 19" is ideal for a 6ft person? Any other bikes I should be considering in that price range?

Cheers
 
Youstolemyname

I tried out both frame sizes, 19 and 21. The 19" as i said felt as thought the handle bars were sitting too low which made me lean forward onto my wrists, the 21" felt a little better since the bars were more inline with my seat hieght but the bike felt huge to me...

Not sure what im going to do, my hieght and inside leg measurements are above. Going by some site 21" is the size to get..
 
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trox- have a look at the trek 6500 it may not have disk brakes but the ret of the kit is a lot better. the bike will also be a great deal lighter. the 19.5 inch frame would be a perfect fit for your height. im really not a fan of the hardrock pro i find the top tube way to short and some of the parts have been downgraded to add disks eg the forks which are absolutely terribe imo. the disks on the hardrock arnt very good they are heavy, lack modulation due to being single sided piston as opposed to double piston and the levers are huge and uncomfortable. if you look in this months MBR mag they have a grouptest of £500 bikes so if you could buy that it would be brilliant. heres a list of there pick of the best bikes out the 10

-mongoose amasa comp £499 10/10
-giant xtc se £500 10/10
-specialized rockhopper £550 9/10
-gt avalanche 1.0 disk £569 10/10
-claud butler cape wrath £499 9/10

the giant is definately worth a try as is the mongoose as these have been doing very well in all reviews recently
 
Breamy

cheers for the heads up m8y, when i went along to the shop i actually changed my mind about getting the Hardrock, instead i was thinking more on the lines of the Specialized Rockhopper Disc 2006 Bike.
Its using the Rox Shocks and the Avid Juicy 5 breaks, i dunno how good they are really http://www.evanscycles.com/product.jsp?style=60160

Its going to set me back £650 though and im still stuck on frame sizing...

Ill check out that mag, ill grab a copy tomorrow.

Cheers m8
 
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the rockhopper is a really lovely bike light and a much better ride than the hardrock. you could always buy the v brake version and upgrade to disks when money allows. it has disk hubs so it would be an easy upgrade
 
good idea. try as many as you can. and sorry for putting you off the hardrock so much a have a hatred for them ever scince i rode one
 
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