Mountain Bike advice

Mickeroo

I want to buy a mountain bike,i'm just not sure whether to go with a hard tail or a full suspension. Cross country and downhill is what appeals to me and i'm willing to spend about 1000 euro, i'm pretty much a beginner at off road. Advice? cheers

copacetic

downhill would require full suspension. XC wouldn't unless you could afford it. They aren't overly compatible as downhill bikes are generally a lot heavier and much longer travel that XC bikes. XC bikes are generally set up for climbing and are efficient, but their shorter travel makes them limited for big jumps.

However either way your budget is going to limit you to a XC hardtail if buying new.

Ciaran500

When you say downhill do you mean going down trails like this:


Or something like this at 20mph+?

copacetic

good point, ciaran, when I said downhill I meant the second one as in 'downhill racing' style, presumed the OP knew that but possibly not. Incidently the guy in the second pic looks like he is about to hit too hard on the front wheel and go over the bars?

Scrivo

Second hand, hardcore hardtail would be the only way to go. Should never start out on a full sus. They make you lazy and if you don't have a bit of experience you'll find yourself having some high speed crashes fairly quickly. You can only go as quick as you are good on a hardtail. You can also race DH on a hardcore hardtail as well as jacking up the saddle and getting to the top again. Something like a Trailstar or a Santa Cruz chamelon. Something small and very strong.