MTBs - what to look for

lennymc

so say someone who knows very little about mtbs was in the market to buy some sort of semi decent mtb, to do some trails like ballinastoe, ballyhoura etc and maybe some races with the aim of getting around rather than winning, with a budget of about 1000, what should they look for?

Idleater

Second hand? I haven't used my epic in two years and have another one too?:)

Raam

I wanna sell my Kona. 19" frame. It's a bit small for me. I give you good price.

This is not my actual one.

ford2600

If you know little as soon as you get a bike join and club and/or get lessons, you'll learn basic skills and learn where to go.

In terms of bike for that money, and if just for trails I'd look at a good hardtail. From new the Canyon Grand Canyon range are great value for example.

What to look for,
decent frame
Good fork, probably Rockshox or Fox as there probably easier to service in Ireland not sure you can get other good makes serviced here.
Air fork, learn how to set it up for you. Youtube is good for this
Decent wheels that will take a battering
From get go consider going tubeless, it's what everyone will tell you the minute you start

Do it, it's a great fun

lennymc

ford2600 wrote: »

If you know little as soon as you get a bike join and club and/or get lessons, you'll learn basic skills and learn where to go.

In terms of bike for that money, and if just for trails I'd look at a good hardtail. From new the Canyon Grand Canyon range are great value for example.

What to look for,
decent frame
Good fork, probably Rockshox or Fox as there probably easier to service in Ireland not sure you can get other good makes serviced here.
Air fork, learn how to set it up for you. Youtube is good for this
Decent wheels that will take a battering
From get go consider going tubeless, it's what everyone will tell you the minute you start

Do it, it's a great fun

Thanks for that. I normally do some mtb over the winter, and Ive ridden a lot of the trails quite a bit, but mostly on a low spec mtb, so I have a fair idea of what the trails are like, and how much fun it is. Im half thinking of upgrading to a semi decent bike for this winter but have no idea what are good components, what are bad, what to avoid etc.

ford2600

Ok. The Grand Canyon for 999 comes with a Rockshox reba which, depending where you look sells for between 330-450.
It's a very good air fork. The wheels are entry level mavic, I have them and haven't broken them yet!
Occasionally on epic or mad sites you see good 2nd hand bike for sale.

Full sus is all the rage, but for what I do and what you seem to want to do, I find hardtails fine.

For a decent full sus you need a good fork and good rear shock. These are expensive parts which need care.

I think suntour make some good fork now, but they were very much on the avoid list.

Also get tyres for where your ride. I have a mud set which are brilliant in mud but horrible on gravel and an all rounder which are horrible in mud!

studiorat

For trails look out for something with about 140mm travel, pretty slack geometry, and not too much wear on the bearings and suspension seals. Weight doesn't seem to matter too much for trail bikes, judging by the weight of most of them anyway! Anything else is the same as looking at any kind of bike, smooth gears, chain wear etc. One thing to look out for is that the brakes are in good condition. What feels like it's working on the road may not work for really steep hills and you'll need a fair bit of control out of them to stop the wheels from locking up etc. You can get most forks serviced in Ireland if you look around. Expert cycles seem to take care of most, you can get the parts online and they'll take care of the rest.

Racing can mean enduro which is on trails similar to B/stoe, B/Houra, 3/Rock etc. I suppose a bit like downhill but not as bonkers; fire road climbs and flat or downhill trials.

For XC racing, you're looking at lightweight bikes. Full suspension XC is probably outside the budget. But a good quality relatively light XC bike can be had for around the €750 mark. 120mm travel is big for an XC bike. Again you'd look out for the same kind of things you would for any bike.

If I had to choose just one I'd get a trail whale. A bit more effort required on the climbs but the descents are a lot more relaxed and fun.

lennymc

thanks for that ford2600 - exactly the kind of info im looking for. ANy recomendations on groupsets, brakes etc? Shimano v avid, shimano v sram etc?

easygoing39

Shimano brakes and gears work,end off! At the NPS's,most people have Shimano components.

ford2600

lennymc wrote: »

thanks for that ford2600 - exactly the kind of info im looking for. ANy recomendations on groupsets, brakes etc? Shimano v avid, shimano v sram etc?

I have shimano xt on my hardtail. Brakes are shimano, not sure of exact spec. For what you want anything mis range is fine. Brother has sram speced bike and it works fine.

I'm the opposite of a groupset snob, so take my advice with that in mind.

More than road biking mtb is all about maintenance more so than expensive gear. You will not get away for long without inspecting brakes and cleaning them and keeping drivetrain in top shape. I take it from other posts I've read of yours that won't be a problem.
Despite being anal on chain care I got 800km out of last chain on off road riding.

Biopace

Would you consider a wagon wheeler? for Ballinastoe, Ballyhouras etc they are perfect. Amazing spec on this for the price.
http://www.canyon.com/_en/mountainbikes/bike.html?b=3013

DKO

Defo look around the second hand market, there are some great deals to be had.... a good second hand full suss is a great deal... they make life a lot easier particularly if you are ever tempted into getting off the trail center type tracks. If you could borrow a few different bikes and try them out then that would help, also some of the bike shops will give you a bike to try out and they occasionally run try out days...

With regard to components, anything with shimano deore up is bomber, you just pay more for less weight, which is only an issue if you race, they all work and do a good job. A good fork makes a huge improvement.. anything fox and rockshox reba/revelation, in terms of travel 100-120 for xc racing, anything longer and they get heavier, plus the bikes they are fitted to have less of a race setup and goemetry. However, 120-140 for messing and crack is great, no need for anything longer travel.

Wheels and tyres make a big difference too. Most new bikes come with wheels requiring tubes and tyres. I am about 82kg and had regular pinch punctures with this setup when the air pressure dropped, flip side is too much air pressure and you lose grip and also a little suspension. Tubeless wheelsets or conversions are great, you can run lower pressures, avoiding punctures and getting way more grip. Often shop bikes come with these lovely rolling summer tyres which are not great for winter weather MTB'ing.

Anyways prob too much info and its just my experience/opinion of faffing for the last few years with MTBs and being useless.

at1withmyself

Second the Grand Canyon, excellent components for the price. XT / SLX gearing along with the Avid brakes and Mavic wheels is an excellent bike for getting into mountain biking at your budget. 100 mm travel is more then enough in my opinion unless you intend doing some big jumps.

http://www.canyon.com/_en/mountainbikes/bike.html?b=3008#tab-reiter2

ford2600 wrote: »

In terms of bike for that money, and if just for trails I'd look at a good hardtail. From new the Canyon Grand Canyon range are great value for example.

studiorat

Have to say I changed from Sram x7 to x0 on the derailleurs recently and the difference was hugely noticeable on the rear. Very smooth pedaling and shifting. That said I never had any complaints with the x7 in the first place.

lennymc

so whats the difference between a 29er and a 26(er?) apart from the wheel size. How differently do they ride?

at1withmyself

lennymc wrote: »

so whats the difference between a 29er and a 26(er?) apart from the wheel size. How differently do they ride?

Don't forget the 650B or 27er's!!!!

lennymc

at1withmyself wrote: »

Don't forget the 650B or 27er's!!!!

the wha?

ford2600

You really need 3 new bikes, one of each

studiorat

and a 36"er and fatty wheels.



http://www.on-one.co.uk/i/q/ZXOOFAT

kuro_man

discounted 29er: http://www.chainreactioncycles.com/ie/en/kona-kahuna-deluxe-29er-hardtail-bike-2012/rp-prod95383

ford2600

lennymc wrote: »

the wha?

http://www.bike198.com/26-vs-29-mountain-bike-debate/

MTB'ing gets very complicated very quickly. No matter what you get you'll get 100's of opinions why didn't you do x, y and z.

Not a problem for people who don't know what a bicycle fleet is.....

lennymc

ah jaysis. 26, 650b, 29, 36!! i was just thinking of something to spin around on like.

studiorat

Trail riding : 26"
XC : 29"

A 29er" will roll over roots better and be more useful on technical climbs and much faster on fire road climbs etc. However they will probably be heavier to get moving from standstill. On a tight and twisty trail with long travel suspension 26" is your man.

And most importantly you'll pick up a 26" bike cheaper.


meanwhile : http://http://www.mbcc.ie/viewtopic.php?f=5&t=6557 Looks like a really good deal.