full suspension or hardtail bike?

kingcharles82

hi guys, looking for a bit of advice, im looking to get a new bike for trails (ballyhoura,derroura etc) i have a budget of 1000 euro (mite use the cycle to work scheme) and am willing to buy second hand, what i need to know though is should i buy a good hardtail for 1000 or would i get a good full suspension for that price, i used a full suspension bike when i was biking in whistler canada and portugal this summer and loved them but a bit worried i wont get a good enough full suspension for that money, let me know ye're thoughs, any help will be appreciated!!

uberwolf

at that price hardtail is the only option IMO

kingcharles82

even for a second hand bike?

Hmmzis

Might be difficult to find a decent new full sus for that money. There could be some good used ones for that price, but it might be difficult.

Can't say much what the difference will be on the local trails, I just have a hardtail currently and loving every moment on the trails with it.

airscotty

I have the exact same question so interested to hear the pro's and con's

kingcharles82

i heard there is a downhill track being built in killarney this year (early next year) and i would hate to pay a thousand euro on a bike and then it might not be good enough to use on the new dh track down in kerry

uberwolf

the old mantra with road bikes is cheap, strong, light, pick two.

It's a little more convoluted with mountain bikes, but the essence of it is that with full suspension you have an additional layer of complexity and moving parts. That's your money spread thinner over the parts, and so cheaper, less reliable and heavier components.

If you buy a €1000 HT you will have more than enough bike to get you up and down the trails.

Tenzor07

Keep you eye on the adverts for used Full suss bikes for €1k or less, forget about trying to buy a new one for that price. If you only have €1k to spend then i assume you are using the BTW scheme so buy a HT for that money..

Icyseanfitz

a 1000 euro will get you a nice enough second hand DH bike (check irishdh.com) you just have to realize that buying a second hand full susser can give you problems as they have a lot more parts (shock, pivots, bearings, bushings) that can be worn down

adrianshanahan

kingcharles82 wrote: »

hi guys, looking for a bit of advice, im looking to get a new bike for trails (ballyhoura,derroura etc)

Don't by a Down Hill bike thats fir sure, for what you are looking to do there are great value in hard tails to be bough.

I prefer to ride a XC full sus bike myself but you wont get what I ride for the money you wnat to spend.

Call into you local shop see what they have on offer for your budget, mtb's rely lots on their components so you need to see what each model has for the money. I've have been impressed with the Cube Race ltd and they come in for around what your spending.

davey101

Hardtail.
Its unlikely you will get a full suss for the money your spending, and if you do it would be second hand in which case i would expect it to require a service of shock, fork and bearings in the near future. which will add up to another couple of hundred depending on where you get them done.

ravendude

Hardtail all the way, especially at that price. Much less maintenance, - less expensive replacements when pivot bearings/bushings etc. pack it in.
Don't worry about the downhill bike for the moment. The track they're building in Killarney will be a full on downhill track (you'd want body armour/spine protectors etc.) and you'd be better off building up the skills gradually if you're just starting. You'll probably need a proper downhill or freeride bike for this type of track.
My advice (and its only my opinion) is get a decent hardtail, - not an XC racey one like most people seem to get starting out. Most people make the mistake of getting very racey XC bikes as their first bike - Great for climbing hills but mediocre at almost everything else. Maybe consider a steel hardtail, - more comfortable, tougher and generally built for more "fun", - ie. jumps and some drops etc. A grand should pick you up a good hardtail, its unlikely it'll pick you up a good full susser.
You will have to do work on a second hand downhill bike. and they're not suitable really for more general mountain biking (ie. pedalling).
People who are well into mountain biking tend to buy and sell bikes fairly frequently, so worry about downhilling in a year or so if you like the sport.

kingcharles82

i was in a bike shop in today and saw a specialised rockhopper 2010 for 1200 euro, is it just me or does that seem very over priced for this model bike, are bike shops putting their prices up?would it therefore be cheaper to buy this bike over the net or a bike even better for similar money. also saw a ktm comp r 3.0 for 1000 euro, has anyone ever ridin this kind of bike, cant seem to find any review about it which is never a good sign

davey101

Depends on the model of rockhopper,
http://www.cycleways.com/store/category/22/98/Mountain-Bikes-Hardtail/

And the ktm comp r I think, is a new model thats probably why your not finding many reviews.

It would be cheaper to buy it on the web but then you dont have anyone to go too when/if you discover a problem, also miss out on that first free service and any advice on parts you may want to upgrade in future.

Tenzor07

kingcharles82 wrote: »

i was in a bike shop in today and saw a specialised rockhopper 2010 for 1200 euro, is it just me or does that seem very over priced for this model bike, are bike shops putting their prices up?

Specialized are expensive, you can get better value with the likes of Felt, Focus, Corratec and KTM which are a good make also... Spec at that price level will be fairly similar...

thehangtenguy

Keep it simple and go hardtail. More bang for your buck in terms of components and nice and simple to maintain. You will find that for the money you are spending, a FS bike will be fairly heavy when conpaired to a HT for the money.

c montgomery

Save up and get a good full sus, they are much more fun than a hardtail.

I have had both in the shed at the same time and i never went for the HT over the full sus.

I got a very good full sus second hand for 1300. I had to wait a while before i found the right one but it was worth waiting for.

kingcharles82

ive been looking for months now coz its a lot of money and hopefully il get something worth while, looking on a few uk sites and they have a giant anthem x5 for around 1,200 to 1300 euros for sale(does not include delivery), its 1800 or 1900 in any of the irish stores so i think this looks good, they have finance available in some of the stores also so i wont have to pay all the money uofront. have a look at the bike and let me know what you think

http://www.pedalon.co.uk/acatalog/giant_anthem_x5.html

triggermortis

I would go for a hardtail to begin with anyway - you'll learn more about bike handling on it than on a FS bike - if you've never ridden off road before you're in for a surprise as it's not quite what you expect (that's what I found anyway).
I had a hardtail for 6 - 8 months before I got a FS and I never rode the hardtail again once I got the new bike. I paid 1200 for a 2004 Giant VT2 (in Jan 2006) and although it was good from the start, I've upgraded a lot in the meantime - wheels, forks, brakes plus new bearings, 3 bottom brackets (soon the be 4), cassette, chainrings and chain that needed to be replaced due to wear, so I'd say my overall spend is way over 2K now

Icyseanfitz

triggermortis wrote: »

I would go for a hardtail to begin with anyway - you'll learn more about bike handling on it than on a FS bike - if you've never ridden off road before you're in for a surprise as it's not quite what you expect (that's what I found anyway).
I had a hardtail for 6 - 8 months before I got a FS and I never rode the hardtail again once I got the new bike. I paid 1200 for a 2004 Giant VT2 (in Jan 2006) and although it was good from the start, I've upgraded a lot in the meantime - wheels, forks, brakes plus new bearings, 3 bottom brackets (soon the be 4), cassette, chainrings and chain that needed to be replaced due to wear, so I'd say my overall spend is way over 2K now

just out of interest what where you expecting?

to op just get whatever bike you feel like, anything at the 1000 euro range of HT's are generally good, and id start with one tbh, i started with a FS and got a HT a month back and wow that FS made things too easy for me, im getting much better on the HT Just be prepared to snot yourself on a regular basis at the start....god ive had some dramatic events on my mtb haha

xxyyzz

kingcharles82 wrote: »

ive been looking for months now coz its a lot of money and hopefully il get something worth while, looking on a few uk sites and they have a giant anthem x5 for around 1,200 to 1300 euros for sale(does not include delivery), its 1800 or 1900 in any of the irish stores so i think this looks good, they have finance available in some of the stores also so i wont have to pay all the money uofront. have a look at the bike and let me know what you think

http://www.pedalon.co.uk/acatalog/giant_anthem_x5.html

IMHO, that's a pretty low spec bike for that price, particularly for the gears and brakes. A €1000 HT should get you an XT rear mech and SLX at the front. For the bike above they are cramming in an awful lot of cheap kit in order to compensate for the rear suspension.

A decent HT will get you up and down most things in this country. I got one and recently I've gotten down trails that last year I'd have thought you'd need climbing equipment to get down

C3PO

kingcharles82 wrote: »

ive been looking for months now coz its a lot of money and hopefully il get something worth while, looking on a few uk sites and they have a giant anthem x5 for around 1,200 to 1300 euros for sale(does not include delivery), its 1800 or 1900 in any of the irish stores so i think this looks good, they have finance available in some of the stores also so i wont have to pay all the money uofront. have a look at the bike and let me know what you think

http://www.pedalon.co.uk/acatalog/giant_anthem_x5.html

The Anthem X is a perfect compromise between a hardtail and full suspension bike (it won the What Mountain Bike "Bike of the Year" Award) and Pedal-On are a good company to do business with. However the spec of the X5 is very poor - I would really try and spend the extra couple of hundred euro and get the X4 - the difference in spec is worth far more than that!!

Tenzor07

RPL1 wrote: »

The Anthem X is a perfect compromise between a hardtail and full suspension bike (it won the What Mountain Bike "Bike of the Year" Award) and Pedal-On are a good company to do business with. However the spec of the X5 is very poor - I would really try and spend the extra couple of hundred euro and get the X4 - the difference in spec is worth far more than that!!

Anthem X4 is about €2k, better off to stick with the hardtail if your budget is limited....
Though the Anthem is one sweet machine!

kingcharles82

can anyone recommend any hardtail so? i did like the look of the anthem but if people think the spec isnt up to too much then im open to some suggestions

Tenzor07

kingcharles82 wrote: »

can anyone recommend any hardtail so? i did like the look of the anthem but if people think the spec isnt up to too much then im open to some suggestions

Why not take a trip into the likes of Cyclesuperstore, Eurocycles, Cycle Inn, Wheelworx.... see whats on offer, see what you like the look off... For around the €1k price point there is little if any difference in any make... And you won't go wrong with any of the above bike shops..

C3PO

kingcharles82 wrote: »

can anyone recommend any hardtail so? i did like the look of the anthem but if people think the spec isnt up to too much then im open to some suggestions

All of the big brands will be good in the €1000-€1200 bracket - Giant, Specialized, Lapierre, Cube etc!
I would be more concerned about the spec than the brand. I would suggest the following minimums - Fox 32 or Rockshox Reba forks, Shimano SLX or SRAM X7 drivetrain, Avid or Shimano Hydraulic brakes and preferably decent wheels that can be readily be made "tubeless"!

Rein-in

If you're relatively new to mtb, then you're better off getting a good hardtail first. You'll learn quicker on it as you have to do the work. On a full sus, the bike does a lot of the work for you, especially on the trickier descents.

Also, you mentioned that pedalon provide finance; I think that's only for UK residents, so you'll have to look into that (unless you are in the UK, of course!) The 2012 bikes will be released this month and next, so the shops will want to shift their 2011 stocks. Keep your eyes open and you'll see some bargains.

xxyyzz

You wouldn't go too far wrong with this. Pretty good spec on it for the price - of course I'm biased - I have one .

Change the pedals on it straight away though cos they are muck.