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Thread: Which Mountain Bike (and accessories)?

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    HEXUS.social member Allen's Avatar
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    Which Mountain Bike (and accessories)?

    I posted a while back about getting a bike but the thread didn't really gain any traction. I'm going to ask again as my circumstances have changed slightly and try and explain what I need.

    Since my last post, I have lost just short of 2 stone in the past 6 weeks. I still have a long way to go, but I am much happier and have been walking a lot lately, something which I hated doing just 6 weeks ago.

    I am now serious about getting a bike, and I am going to get one through the cycle to work scheme. I have to buy one through Evans, but they have some pretty good bikes, so I need some assistance in choosing one. I have done a lot of reading, and will soon visit the store and speak to someone, but I would like some non-biased opinions before I speak to someone who may earn commission trying to sell me the wrong bike.

    I would like a mountain bike, I know they aren't the best for roads, but living in Brighton there's lots of nice off road areas around I will be riding on. I am thinking a hardtail is the best choice for me, but mainly due to cost. I have a budget of around £500 and full suspension bikes in this price range are likely to be rubbish. I think the most important factor I want to consider for the bike is weight, I would prefer a light bike, but with less weight I don't want lower strength. I am still very overweight, despite losing 2 stone, so I need a bike that can handle that!

    Next, I would like some advise on clothing/accessories. Clothing, I only need advise on some knee length shorts (I'm guessing anything will do) but maybe something padded underneath for comfort whilst riding. A helmet, lights, a lock, mudguards, repair kit and a water bottle? I'm guessing the differences with these are minimal so I can pick what I want? But any preference for manufacturers?

    Lastly, I want something to see my speed, distance, route etc. I was looking at bike computers and to get everything I would like, I need to spend like £400 on a GPS computer! Might as well use my phone... but what app? Is there anything that will measure my wheel speed and relay that to an app on my Android phone? Or should I just rely on GPS on my phone to track speed, distance and route?

    Thanks for any input you can give!

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    Senior Member Stringent's Avatar
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    Re: Which Mountain Bike (and accessories)?

    Thought of a hybrid? I recently got one (Cannondale CX3 Quick) it has front shocks which also lock out. Its the best of both worlds, so its fast for commuting, but if you want to take it for a ride in a park or woods you can. Evans currently have a trade in, depending on how much you spend on your new bike they will pay you a trade in price. So for a £500 bike they will give you £40 I think for any old thing. I was sad to see my old school bike go though.

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    Re: Which Mountain Bike (and accessories)?

    For the bike computer the cheap ones on EBay from China are only £3 or so. These work well (magnetic sensor) and are reliable. Not sure how waterproof they are assume you will cover the unit and park inside. For GPS a cheap andriod phone with a GPS app is fine. On Google maps enter "OK GOOGLE" and then select the area to save. This will save the map and you will not need mobile data.

    Well done on the active lifestyle. What are you doing other than walking to get the weight loss?

    If you can stretch to a carbon / part carbon frame that is worth looking at

    The most important part of the bike will be the helmet and safety gear do not skimp on this. Check the brand has an CE approval most do.
    Last edited by peterb; 21-04-2015 at 12:44 PM. Reason: Consecutive posts merged

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    mush-mushroom b0redom's Avatar
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    Re: Which Mountain Bike (and accessories)?

    Quote Originally Posted by frownbreaker View Post
    If you can stretch to a carbon / part carbon frame that is worth looking at
    I wholeheartedly disagree with this. The difference between carbon and alloy isn't great enough to warrant it for what OP wants, and the chances are that if you do manage to find one, the groupset will be rubbish.

    My advice would be to look for an alloy bike 2nd hand. I picked up a practically brand new Specialized Rockhopper Pro Evo for £500 from cash converters.

    You don't need anything too light if you're just starting off. I went for a bike fit at the triathlon show a couple of years ago, and the guy doing it said to me, "The easiest way to lose weight off the bike is to start with the rider."
    "So what you're saying basically is lose some weight fatty?"
    "Yes."

    True story.

    Bike wise, you really need to go and try sitting on a few as it's pretty important that it fits right. It probably doesn't help too much, but initially I had a Trek 7.1FX (entry level hybrid commuter) then a Specialized Tricross (sort of a cross between a mountain bike and road bike) and have ended up with a Giant Defy Advanced road bike.

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    Laird Of The Glen jimborae's Avatar
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    Re: Which Mountain Bike (and accessories)?

    Quote Originally Posted by b0redom View Post
    I wholeheartedly disagree with this. The difference between carbon and alloy isn't great enough to warrant it for what OP wants, and the chances are that if you do manage to find one, the groupset will be rubbish.

    My advice would be to look for an alloy bike 2nd hand. I picked up a practically brand new Specialized Rockhopper Pro Evo for £500 from cash converters.
    Completely agree with above statement, A carbon frame would be a mistake if the rider is still on the heavy side, and the compromises required to get this in the budget available are just not worth. I'm 6'2 and 15 stone, I have 3 mountain bikes as I used to ride a lot before I had kids. I'm too heavy now for my full susser which is a Whyte E5 Team. I now mainly ride my hard tails which are steel frames, as a good quality steel frame is much better & forgiving than an alloy frame imho...but then I'm old skool!

    Last edited by jimborae; 21-04-2015 at 01:16 PM.

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    HEXUS.social member Allen's Avatar
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    Re: Which Mountain Bike (and accessories)?

    Thanks for all the replies so far. I don't think I will buy second hand, using the cycle to work scheme will be the best option for me right now financially. Plus it saves me money as the payments come off my salary before tax!

    I really do have my mind set on a mountain bike, there's loads of off road trails here which I think may be a bit punishing on a hybrid's wheels. I know I'm not gonna go straight in to hardcore off-roading, but as I live a 15 minute walk from work, I will do more evening and weekend riding than commuting.

    I can use my current HTC One for GPS, just don't know which app to use. Had a look earlier and Strava seems popular, but no idea if it connects with anything on the bike to measure speed. Maybe I could get a cheapy cycle computer for speed and use GPS on my phone for everything else.

    Quote Originally Posted by frownbreaker View Post
    Well done on the active lifestyle. What are you doing other than walking to get the weight loss?
    Using SlimFast shakes for breakfast and lunch, sticking to a <600 calorie dinner (well balanced) and snacking on fruit and SlimFast snacks, rather than all the other crap I used to eat. It's working extremely well, however I expect it's due to my size, and give it another few weeks and I won't be losing so much so fast, hence wanting to get the bike and push myself harder.

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    HEXUS.social member Allen's Avatar
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    Re: Which Mountain Bike (and accessories)?

    Ooh, one other thing, wheel size. I understand the differences, and from what I am reading, 650B is becoming the better choice due to being a mix of the benefits of 26" vs 29". Do people agree?

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    Re: Which Mountain Bike (and accessories)?

    Have you seen anything on the Evans site you like the look of? 650B is the norm these days for a do everything bike.

    Strava is very popular with people, you don't need anything on the bike just the app on your phone. I've not used it myself but think you can see other peoples routes on the strava site so you can easily find new routes to try.

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    HEXUS.social member Allen's Avatar
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    Re: Which Mountain Bike (and accessories)?

    Yeah, I had a good look earlier, I like the look of the Specialized Pitch Sport 2015 650b in white and black. Going down to Evans now to see what they suggest.

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    Re: Which Mountain Bike (and accessories)?

    Its quite a while since I kept up with bikes (mine is actually getting dusted off this weekend) and I'm concious that you don't seem to want to do lots of offroad stuff, but at that price its always been a bit hard to buy stuff. The particular one you linked I'd run a mile from, the groupset looks naff, and a suntour fork (unless they've come on amazingly in the last 2/3 years) isn't going to cut it off road.

    If it were me in that position I'd suggest spending either less on a hybrid (in the £200 range), which will be ample for commuting or up the budget to 750/800 where at least you can get something with deore & rock shox fork. If you get seriously into offroad stuff you'll want to replace a £500 bike in about 2 weeks time.

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    Laird Of The Glen jimborae's Avatar
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    Re: Which Mountain Bike (and accessories)?

    Quote Originally Posted by Allen View Post
    Yeah, I had a good look earlier, I like the look of the Specialized Pitch Sport 2015 650b in white and black. Going down to Evans now to see what they suggest.
    This is also a good bike and worth the money. Specialized Rockhopper Comp 2015 29er

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    HEXUS.social member Allen's Avatar
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    Re: Which Mountain Bike (and accessories)?

    Went in to Evans, had a good chat with one of the guys there. He said the same as some of you above, the "budget" MTB's aren't spectacular and to really get something good I would need to spend at least £7-800. However, he did point out one bike (on their website, they didn't have it in stock in the shop at the time) that is £550 and has good parts for the price. The Norco Charger 7.3 2015. I'll be honest, I have never heard of Norco before, but he said they have been around a long time but mostly in BMX's which I never rode when I was younger.

    Having checked out the reviews for this bike, it seems that it's pretty well set up. It has decent RockShox rather than cheaper Suntour and although the Shimano kit isn't top of the line, it isn't the worst (plus he said even the low end Shimano kit is a lot better these days).

    Now, I have just checked out a calculator for the ride to work scheme, my initial budget of £600 for everything (£500 bike, £100 accessories) would cost me ~£34 a month, but for ~£56 a month I could push that budget to £1k. I think that seems doable, if it's going to get me a bike that will better handle off roading, as that is what I will be aiming for over the coming months as my fitness levels rise.

    Now I need to check out what a budget of £850-900 for the bike can get me. Ideas now?

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    Re: Which Mountain Bike (and accessories)?

    Your choice just got quite amazing really. There's a lot of good bikes coming in under the £1k mark (a lot of donkeys too mind)... Try and get a test ride on a lot of different bikes - it's all wel and good looking at them in the shop, but its how they feel that's important really. Just a bonus if they look pretty as well!

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    Re: Which Mountain Bike (and accessories)?

    Quote Originally Posted by Tumble View Post
    Your choice just got quite amazing really. There's a lot of good bikes coming in under the £1k mark (a lot of donkeys too mind)... Try and get a test ride on a lot of different bikes - it's all wel and good looking at them in the shop, but its how they feel that's important really. Just a bonus if they look pretty as well!
    Agreed, make sure you try before buy, and a grand will get you something very capable. But make sure you get something with stable neutral handling. Not something with twitchy fast steering that dives into corners as it won't inspire confidence unless you're a really good rider.

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    Re: Which Mountain Bike (and accessories)?

    Considered a Cyclocross? I think people massively underestimate just how rugged hybrid/race bikes are: you're simply not going to break a proper hybrid or cyclocross by riding off-road trails. I'm biased because I'm a huge fan of road bikes, but to me they feel like the perfect balance if you want a fast commute bike that'll also do off-roading.

    £500 will get you an entry level cyclo-cross (Jamis Nova Sport 2015), while £800 - £900 opens the way to really nice bikes like the Cannondale CAADX Sora Disc...

    If you're set on an out-and-out mountain, how about a Saracen Mantra Trail 2015? Largest chainring is 44T - it'll be much more pleasant/efficient for the on-road commute than a bike that tops out at 38 or 40...

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    Re: Which Mountain Bike (and accessories)?

    Quote Originally Posted by scaryjim View Post
    £500 will get you an entry level cyclo-cross (Jamis Nova Sport 2015), while £800 - £900 opens the way to really nice bikes like the Cannondale CAADX Sora Disc...
    Oh man, I'm just lurking and wasn't even thinking of getting a bike, but now I'm seriously tempted.

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