Advice on new Mountain Bike

Hi all. Hope this is in the proper section. Basically, i'm looking for info on bikes. Am looking into buying a mountain bike, and any info on what I should be looking for, or websites and shops, would be appreciated. Also what makes/brands are good? I'd hope to use it 3 times a week on and off road, and budget would be around €500. Thanks in advance.

dev100

slookie wrote: »

Hi all. Hope this is in the proper section. Basically, i'm looking for info on bikes. Am looking into buying a mountain bike, and any info on what I should be looking for, or websites and shops, would be appreciated. Also what makes/brands are good? I'd hope to use it 3 times a week on and off road, and budget would be around €500. Thanks in advance.

Hi there slookie . Is 500 the top end of your budget ? Are you looking for second hand or brand new bike? If so you are at the entry level hard tail bikes. Mostly the components at that price rAnge are budget components. Depending on your riding style ie if you are rough . You will be replacing bits sooner rather than later. Give you an example front fox shocks range from 400 upwards. You could go second hand but take someone who knows bikes . Chainreactioncycles.com check them out for bikes . Where in the country are you.

Hi Dev. Im in Tipperary. I could possibly stretch to €700 - am looking into the cycle to work scheme. Must find out more about how that works too. Would definitely be looking at getting a new bike. Sorry for my ignorance, but what is hard tail! Are Giant a good brand?

Tonyandthewhale

A hardtail is a bike with no rear suspension but (usually) a suspension fork. The other option would be a full suspension bike but there's no way you'd be able to afford a decent full suspension bike for 500e, or 700e either for that matter.
Giant are a good brand but not all giant bikes are created equal as they produce bikes ranging from 200e or thereabouts up to several thousand euro. Nice frames for the money though.

dev100

slookie wrote: »

Hi Dev. Im in Tipperary. I could possibly stretch to €700 - am looking into the cycle to work scheme. Must find out more about how that works too. Would definitely be looking at getting a new bike. Sorry for my ignorance, but what is hard tail! Are Giant a good brand?

Don't worry about the ignorance bit we all have to start somewhere.

I'm from Wicklow so can't help you with bike shops a hard tail is a bike with just a front suspension. A full suspension bike has front and back suspension is a lot more comfortable can take more abuse etc but you'd need to pay a lot more.
A hardtail is a good all rounder . Great for climbing hills speed etc . The bike to work scheme is cool . If you on high rate of tax you can buy a bike for 1k with a cost to you of only 500 or 600. A 1k hardtail will be a nice bike

I have a giant trance x full Susser myself so I'm biased:) you can't go wrong with most makes trek , giant ,specialized, kona.


http://www.cycleways.com/store/product/49991/11-Rockhopper-Comp-17/

http://www.cyclesuperstore.ie/shop/pc/viewPrd.asp?idcategory=0&idproduct=49064

Cheers for the replies. Ok hard tail it is so! Any other spec I should be looking for? What kind of frame...aluminium? Gears? Disc brakes or normal?

I know someone that bought a bike from the cycle superstore...very happy with them. Doesnt say whether they do the bike to work scheme though.

dev100

slookie wrote: »

I know someone that bought a bike from the cycle superstore...very happy with them. Doesnt say whether they do the bike to work scheme though.

Yes they do the cycle to work scheme. Most frames at that price range are Ali. Anything from the shimano xt line is good Gears wise shimano xt shifters dreaileurs etc may be just above your price range but anything from scram shimano is good. Disc breaks will come as standard look for hydraulic disc breaks not cable Disc breaks It's the components that ends up making the bike dearer.

Sky's the limit on what you can pay out on a bike:)

Ok and last question. The fact Im in Tipp and working in Tipp, how would I go about getting it through cycle superstore on the scheme....thanks!

http://www.cyclesuperstore.ie/shop/pc/viewPrd.asp?idcategory=232&idproduct=45445

How does this one look?

dev100

slookie wrote: »

Ok and last question. The fact Im in Tipp and working in Tipp, how would I go about getting it through cycle superstore on the scheme....thanks!

All you need is go look and pick a bike that suits you. And ask for a docket / invoice for whatever the amount is . You can only use this every 5 year so get the most out of it. Give this to your boss and he/she may give you the cheque to go purchase the bike .

I'm not a fan of lappieerres. I do like cubes though. But that's my personal opinion. Best bet is go look at the bikes. Just remember cheaper budget bikes, their parts are not always the best. The shock won't be the best either. As long as you know this when your blasting down the tracks . You will end up replacing bits

http://www.cyclesuperstore.ie/shop/pc/viewPrd.asp?idcategory=232&idproduct=47964

silvo

If you weren't going to go Bike to Work, MBW Tullamore have some second hand mountain bikes for sale: http://mbikeworks.com/tullamore/2nd-hand/ and also do bike to work. Bit closer to you than Dublin.

Ok Im back, since I was last on, Ive decided I may aswell go all out with this bike and avail of this scheme - it really is a great offer. So my budget is stretched to €1000 including accessories, which will only work out at about €13 a week for a year. I've been looking at Cube models, purely as someone mentioned tham here, and also my brother in law has one. So there are a few on cyclesuperstore website, all look the same to me, but obviously are not, as the price varies.

There's this one for €573.50
https://www.cyclesuperstore.ie/shop/pc/viewPrd.asp?idcategory=232&idproduct=47964

This one is €767
https://www.cyclesuperstore.ie/shop/pc/viewPrd.asp?idcategory=232&idproduct=47497

Or this one for €869
https://www.cyclesuperstore.ie/shop/pc/viewPrd.asp?idcategory=232&idproduct=47486

They all are aluminium, Shimano gears and hydraulic disc breaks..

Can anyone advise me on these 3, or indeed on another bike with better bang for my buck. Need to leave €100 for accessories, helmet, pump etc.so €900 would really be max for the bike.
Other brands on that site are Lapierre, Scott and Giant - Lapierre being the only one I've heard of! I know everyone differs, but which would be the better brand oout of the 4? Or put it another way - if you had €900 to spend on your dream bike, what would it be!!

Many thanks in advance!

rab!dmonkey

Frame brands don't really matter at this price range.

Out of the three you've linked to, I'd avoid the cheapest one. 8 speed drivetrains are definitely on the way out and the fork is very poor. I'd recommend getting the most expensive one: the fork is a big step up.

Cheers for that - wouldn't have a clue about forks! Another thing I was told to make sure of is that the gear shifts aren't the twisty ones on the hand grips, if that makes sense. The ones you flick with your thumbs are the way to go I'm told, just below the hand grips.

C3PO

Buy the best you can afford! I would go with your 3rd choice! Just about all MTBs will have "thumb shifters" rather than "twist" but as a matter of interest grip shifters would be the choice for many racers!

steamsey

That last one in your links, the Cube Acid is a good bike. The forks on it (Recons) are the minimum quality for decent mountain biking. Front forks with weekly usage will need an annual service to keep them working well so no point in having bad forks and then also having to service them. I would not go for the first two in your links. I would avoid twist shifters myself as in my opinion they don't perform as well.

dev100

Slookie . The " twist " is called grip shift went out with the Indians seemingly its coming back. Only place you'll see that type of system is if your local co op is selling bikes as a previous poster commented buy the best you can afford. Have you ever went mtbing before? Head to ballyhoura for the day . You can hire bikes down there and it ll give you a taste of mtbing.

For the sake of 200 euros if you can afford go the extra mile. You are getting better shock, group sets etc and they are a lot dearer to upgrade yourself.

As for bits and pieces .

1 A good helmet Needed
2 track pump
3 mini pump
4 bottle cages and bottles
5 few spare tubes
6 tire levers
7 a chamois shorts Needed:)
8 bike specific rain jacket

Bring your credit card you might slip over 1k

Any other bits that you will need buy online much cheaper

As a previous poster commented buy the best that you can afford.

Cheers for the replies. I actually rang Ballyhoura yesterday - they have a shop there. I only asked about the Cube Attention which is €767 online, and €819 there. They also do ex-hire bikes which would have a minimum of 40 runs done in Ballyhoura and between 3-6 months old, for around the €400 mark. But I'm definitely buying new.
I suppose for the extra €50 I might be better off buying it locally, as I plan to go to Ballyhoura once a month anyway. Having never bought a good bike before, is it a "given" that haggling is to be expected. For example, I could get the bike, a helmet and a pump for €830 online. If I produced that invoice, would it be ok to ask to have it matched or throw in a free helmet with the bike? I was going to to ask for a trial ride on the Cube this weekend. Says on their website they do it. They would hardly charge me anything for a trial ride, if I was seriously considering buying from them??

Oaksy

Hi folks. I'm in the same position as Slookie as regards buying a bike. I stumbled upon this thread while doing my research.

This is the bike i was thinking of buying. It fits my budget and seems to get good reviews.

http://www.halfords.ie/webapp/wcs/stores/servlet/product_storeId_11101_catalogId_15551_productId_786865_langId_-1_categoryId_212589


http://www.bikeradar.com/mtb/gear/category/bikes/mountain/product/review-voodoo-hoodoo-12-46194

I'd be interested to hear what you guys think of this bike, any cons, or comments, much appreciated. Thanks.

C3PO

I would avoid Suntour forks like the plague!

rab!dmonkey

In fairness it's only their low-end stuff (XCR, XCM) that is thoroughly undesirable. The Epicon and Raidon forks wouldn't put me off a cheap trail hardtail.

Oaksy

Oaksy wrote: »

Hi folks. I'm in the same position as Slookie as regards buying a bike. I stumbled upon this thread while doing my research.

This is the bike i was thinking of buying. It fits my budget and seems to get good reviews.

http://www.halfords.ie/webapp/wcs/stores/servlet/product_storeId_11101_catalogId_15551_productId_786865_langId_-1_categoryId_212589


http://www.bikeradar.com/mtb/gear/category/bikes/mountain/product/review-voodoo-hoodoo-12-46194

I'd be interested to hear what you guys think of this bike, any cons, or comments, much appreciated. Thanks.

If your looking to spend that amount of money, I'd imagine this bike would be alot better. It's €620, but register with them and its €573. Personally, I wouldn't buy from Halfords...ever!
https://www.cyclesuperstore.ie/shop/pc/viewPrd.asp?idcategory=232&idproduct=47964

Oaksy

Thanks for the feedback guys.
Slookie, i was basing my choice on the back of these two recent bike review articles.

Best mountain bikes under £1,000
http://www.bikeradar.com/mtb/gear/article/best-mountain-bikes-under-1000-29222/

Best mountain bikes under £500
http://www.bikeradar.com/mtb/gear/article/best-mountain-bikes-under-500-29451/

They have the VooDoo Hoodoo top of their sub £1000 list. Maybe halfords have a vested interest in the bikeradar website, i don't know!

That Cube Aim Disc Bike 2012 is one of the bikes also tested is the sub £500 article.

http://www.bikeradar.com/mtb/gear/category/bikes/mountain/product/review-cube-bikes-aim-disc-12-46200

Not a bad review, bar the Suntour XCM fork, which takes an absolute hammering. This seems consistent with what c3po and rab have said.

Might be worth looking at the Cube and upgrading the fork. The voodoo hoodoo was €570 with Halfords online last week. Was considering Halfords as they are the closest dedicated bike retailer near me. Handy for parts etc. Hmm decisions decisions.

Satori75

silvo wrote: »

If you weren't going to go Bike to Work, MBW Tullamore have some second hand mountain bikes for sale: http://mbikeworks.com/tullamore/2nd-hand/ and also do bike to work. Bit closer to you than Dublin.

Mbw are doing the bike to work.They have giant cube Kona and lapierre.

3 second hand bikes for sale, doesn't look like they are up to mush to me!

dev100

In all honesty you can read reviews till the cows come home. Some peple go on design frame shape components color As long as you buy reputable brand everything And a bike is fit for purpose has reasonably good components just dont buy a 500 to 1k bike and expecting to turn it into a down hill bike doing nasty big jumps:)

Know your price limit. Buy your bike from an Lbs if he is anyway decent he ll advise what best to get from your price range with sizes etc

It's all the more fun when you haggle . Components bits and bobs are cheaper online. But always willing to look after your Lbs if they are decent