mountainbiking scene ?

Gavin

I like cycling and would be interested in getting into mountain biking. Not necessarily downhill biking, but cross country stuff.

Best bikes to get for a beginner with a low budget ? Best place to go ? General advice ? Do people just go and do this individually or are there competitions and such ?

Cheers,
Gav

uberwolf

indivdually? prob not a great idea (unless you're taking it really really easy) and even then its not as much fun!!

best place to go? - where are you at?

meet up with a club or a group who are into it, you'll learn much quicker and be astonished at some of the things that mtbers do as 2nd nature.

there are competitions and they have diff levels of entry to suit all sorts.
www.irishcycling.com would have a list of clubs and 'www.cyclingireland.I'm not sure' would have fixtures for races and such like.

bikes - I've been out of mtbing for too long to advice tbh, I'm sure one of the lads here can tell you

good luck its a really great n fun sport

Interceptor

The best internet resource for Irish mountainbiking is this
MTBIreland There is a forum and you can meet up with groups/clubs. Mountain biking can be great fun on your own if the terrain is easy going but it is massive fun with a group regardless of terrain. I used ride out with a club in Galway and despite some 'my-bike-is-better-than-yours' nonsense it was good fun - plenty of cross country and back road stuff with a bit of downhill/forest thrown in for kicks. Most groups/clubs require you to wear a helmet (common sense) and you should get a bike that suits your riding style and wallet - ie don't just buy a full suspension bike because you like the look of them!! Hardtails are perfectly suited to most XC stuff and will climb better on loose surfaces - try and get something with an aluminium frame for lightness/stiffness otherwise keep the setup as simple as possible.

Happy trails!

'ceptr

Gavin

THanks for the replies. Will be on hold for a bit, until I get some mula !

Gav

Bunny

As a sport it will get you very fit quite quickly even if you just go out once a week.

Never seek advice about what bike to get, get a normal cheap mountain bike and go out on it, if the brakes are crap, fix them yourself, and once you know what you want then go and buy it. Most mountain bikers soon become affected by the status of having a good bike and if you get into it, it will soon bleed alot of money out of you. Being in a big peer cycling 'club' will just speed up this process, so make sure you just go and have fun and don't get into the bike posing bit.

Don't bother reading MTB magazines, they are just ridiculous, google is all you need to find out how to fix punctures or whatever.

The best advice about choosing a bike, is get something small, an 18 inch bike is perfect, maybe even a 16 or 17 inch, the small the better, easier to throw around. Don't get sucked into any jargon, Vbrakes are perfect brakes, and any old suspension will do, the cheaper the better, so a small steel bike is fine (aluminium is much stiffer, but usually bad quality in cheap bikes, so chromoly/steel is good)

Just remember never invest alot of money into a hobby that you havent tried.

uberwolf

I think it does merit a new thread