Mountain Bike Recommendation

[Craig]

Hi Guys,

I am going to sell my laptop soon to fund a mountain bike.. as i am getting a bit flabby

I know *some* of you know quite alot about mountain bike's, can anyone recommend me a mountain bike for £400 and one for max £650!

Also, if someone could recommend some gloves and a decent lid, i would appriciate that too!


Thanks

Craig

[Flibb]

I would strongly advise going to a bike shop and trying a few different bikes, a badly firring bike will cripple you. Have a look for a mountainbike specialist near you, many hire bikes out so you can try various models, you might be able to pick up a bike in last years colours at a good discount. I get my lights, brake shoes, some clothing and upgrades from www.wiggle.co.uk, had some really good bargains from them. Look for a halfords cycle centre near you, go there to try stuff then look online to get it cheaper.

Some other hexites should be bale to recommend certain makes models, what type of rifding you going to be doing?? Would you prefer full suspension or front only? I have just invested in a bollock saver seat, so hopefully wont lose the ability to get a hardon

[Mblaster]

I used to do a lot of mountain biking but i don't have so much time for it anymore. Head off to a bike shop and try a few models.

What sort of mountain biking were you planning on doing? New to it or coming back to it after a few years?

[Flibb]

If you want to lose weight get one of those cheap full suspension models (£75), gteeeeeed to lose weight as they weigh so much, or break and you end up carrying them home.

[Craig]

Haha, when i said "Im getting flabby" i still weight 10 stone (6ft 2), i am just starting to develop a belly I am still fit(ish!)

I used to do trials biking a few years back, had a stumpjumper back then! Nowadays i am just going to be riding along the coast with my mates (on the sand and tarmac) and sometimes on a dirt track. I dont want to get a full suspension bike as i heard they weigh a tun! Also, i would rather spend that little bit extra and get a better hardtail

Cheers for the help so far guys, muchos appriciated

Craig

[Flibb]

10 stone, I hate youuuuuuu.


Specialised still good, my dad has one, he actually found it in a hedge, turned it over to the Police, they then gave it back after a month. I have a Scott, very happy with that. Many of the bikes are made in the same factory now, so you are paying for the geometry and the accesories in many cases as the contstruction techniques and materials will be the same. Worth budgeting for some good lights, good pump and some clothing. The new LED lights that are out are incredible, wouldnt be without them.

Good idea about a HT, thast what I did. Resisted the urge to have cheap disc breaks, went for high end V's.

[rox0r]

6ft2 and you only weigh 10 stone?? Christ on a bike you must be built like a runner bean lad.

[Flibb]

Feed him some lard, build him up a bit. ALso worth getting tyres that suit the riding you will be doing, drop the big knobblys.

[Rave]

6'2" and ten stone is a BMI of under 18 which is technically underweight. You don't need mountain biking, you need a gym to build yourself up. For comparison I'm 5'11" and weigh a smidge over 12 stone, and I still get accused of being thin (my BMI=23).

[iMc]

Whats 5'5" and 9 stone?

[noah]

go have a look at a shop that sell giant bikes, they make most other manufacturers bikes and are a little like the dell of the mtb world, only you buy it from a shop so get some service they are usually 10% or so cheaper than other brands, and their own brand disc are remarkably good! i've worked in a bike shop for 5 years and have not seen many bikes rival them for value. gt also look good this year tho and specialized are great, but at that price they are made by giant!

try and avoid halfords, they're a bit like pc world - in the respect that they have a few members of staff that know what their talking about, but many that dont! i have done countless rebuilds of brand new bikes sold by them oh and if you buy a bike from a shop, most should give you a free sevice and maybe chuck in 10% off some accessories?

good luck

noah

[shiato storm]

i've got a stumpjumper at its the dog's danglies (xtr etc )...but it was a bit more than your budget I know a fair bit about bikes (i have had a few in the past, as well as a few at teh same time!)
First, i'd go try out a load of differnt bikes and sizes to get the best fit and feel you can. no one's going to critisize you for trying out loads.
I'd recommend Kona at that price. avoid cable disk brakes as they're not worth the money. you should be looking at at least LX groupset for that money and be aware of where some makes skimp out, like hubs and rims etc. I would also recommend the Malt series of bikes made by Merlin. if you can try one out you must, for what you get its an amazing deal most of the time, if it fits!
avoid full suspension at that price.
Its been a while since I looked long and hard at bikes but make sure you check the spec.s and then take each one for a ride. read reviews in mags: singletrack world, What mountain bike, MBR (mbuk is for kids and not always that useful)...look on the internet: bikemagic.com is a good one, forums (like this one) are essential as they give first hand accounts from people like you and me that ...there's lots I could go on about but first off Id say go try out a few and then report back with your findings


edit: my bike

[shiato storm]

p.s. never get a bike mail order unless its merlin (who are very good) - if you're not sure buy from a shop, this is crucial.

[Rave]

Whats 5'5" and 9 stone?

Er....small.

Seriously though, your Body Mass Index (BMI) is your weight in Kilograms divided by the square of your height in metres. If you're exactly 5'5" and 9 stone then:

9 (stone) x 14 (pounds in 1 stone) x 0.454 (Kg in 1 Pound) = 57.2KG

5'5" = 65"; 65" x 2.54 (CM in 1") = 165.1 CM = 1.651 M.

57.2 / 1.651^2 = 20.98 = BMI

...which is a normal healthy weight. Apparently under 18.5 is underweight, over 25 is overweight, over 30 is obese:

http://www.cdc.gov/nccdphp/dnpa/bmi/calc-bmi.htm

I'll have to weigh my friend next time he's round, being able to classify him as technically obese would amuse me greatly

[noah]

thats a lovely stumpy shiato storm, ive always had a soft spot for them

read reviews in mags: singletrack world, What mountain bike, MBR (mbuk is for kids and not always that useful)

lol, good call! (he says remembering how proud he was to have graced the pages in the past )

its good advice to try loads, its only then you'll have a clue as to what you like. some of the really good shops around the country even have short test tracks and many can offer you demo bikes for a day if you ask nicely and give them warning (and biscuits), we certainly could get hold of demo kona's without any problems.

[Craig]

Cheers for the replys guys, i was looking at Merlin bikes last night as they seem a very good deal for what you get! The model i was looking at was the Malt 1-05 (Link: http://www.merlincycles.co.uk/acatal...lin_Bikes.html) with the XT F&R Mech & Shifters, XC717 Rims, and the riser bars. As i havent been around in a while.. is it worth upgrading those forks? If so, to which ones? I will probebly go down to merlin (its a loooong drive, but if its meaning me spending £600, then im driving there ) and try out a few bikes there Any comments on the above bike are welcome!

Also, im pretty sure they are hydraulic disks

Cheers,

Craig