Buying a Bike

[Yosh]

Recommendations please

6'8", 22 (ish) stone, tall, dark and reasonably handsome.

I have considered Mountain Bikes so i can go trail riding when i get fit again, i bought one about 2 years ago but i was a bit premature as most of my mates are starting to have life crisis's now and start buying them for fitness again.

26 or 29er? I would prefer Rigid forks, shocking i know but there was a time when MTB's didn't have Suspension!

Budget: I'll put a cap of £800 on it for the time being, so anywhere upto that mark, obviously everyone loves a bargain though.

PS. Are there any bikes with long top tubes like the Trek range?

Thanks

[Tumble]

Deffo go for a 29er - you'd look silly on a 26" wheel bike if you're that tall. Budget wise - have a look at On-One, they do some very reasonable steel frame bikes, with rigid forks, and they all have the same length top tube throughout the size range - ie quite long. My mate is 6'4", runs a 19" Scandal (v. light frame by On-One) and he's runnign an 80mm stem, so I think you'll be plenty satisfied with the length of the top tube.

[prem4mcfc]

Take a look at these
http://www.boardmanbikes.com

Mines a road bike but I love it and will defo be getting another soon.

[KowShak]

I'd disgree on going for a 29er... a lot of hybrids are 29er amd they tend to be more fragile than 26" wheels! You're a big guy and you need a bike that's built for somebody of your size and weight. If you're planning on riding on the road, it probably won't make a lot of difference, but if you're thinking about doing any sort of serious off roading, you'll need something that's nice and solid!

[Will404]

If you want a long travel HT:
http://www.chainreactioncycles.com/M...?ModelID=58200 Could do with better breaks and a 10 speed shifter though...

Have a look at this too:
http://www.bikeradar.com/gear/articl...der-500-29451/

[ristac]

Those links take you to some nice bikes but seriously, I had no idea that they now cost so much, last one I brought around 4 years ago was just under £200

[TheAnimus]

Those links take you to some nice bikes but seriously, I had no idea that they now cost so much, last one I brought around 4 years ago was just under £200

You can easily spend a few thousand pounds on bicycles! The difference between a £200 and a £600 is massive, the speed, the weight, it will be really a rather different experience.

[scaryjim]

Have you considered a cyclocross? Essentially they're ruggedised road bikes. They'd be towards the top end of the budget (they start about £500, I think) but would be better for commuting/road biking if your main aim is getting fit before taking it off road - I guess the only real question is how off-road you're planning on going If you're sticking to beaten paths and bridleways I reckon it'd do the job tbh (I'd have one myself but I tend to budget myself out of a 'cross unfortunately!).

[gambleroni]

You can easily spend a few thousand pounds on bicycles! The difference between a £200 and a £600 is massive, the speed, the weight, it will be really a rather different experience.

Definately agree with this, buy cheap buy twice.

You can get a good quality road bike for less than £600, not sure about mtbs.

Buying a quality bike second hand which is only a few years old is the way to go imho.

[darknoiz]

I have just bought a cube acid which I can highly recommend, which also comes as a 29er , but I am only 5"10 so went for the standard size, pretty well specced for the money , got mine from halfords on cycle to work scheme, paid £769 which is full retail but you can get it cheaper!

[JamieH]

I hear a lot of good things for Canyon and this bike http://www.canyon.com/_uk/mountainbi...ke.html?b=2539 seems to fit your budget nicely. A lot of spec for the money too.

EDIT: Just seen this thread is prehistoric hmmmm.