MTB beginner gear and bike recommendations.

The Noble Nudge

Bike to work is alive again and seeing the lads on MTB'S in Ticknock has me thinking for Jan and Feb might do some trails.
Any tips for a bike about 1.5ish to spend....
I can add the necessities later I have the basics from road cycling to start me off.
Gloves, helmet....
Any enlightment to the dark side would be great.;)

JJJJNR

I'd buy a 100 - 200 euro 26inch hard tail and get used to it before spending that type of cash, something like this :

http://www.adverts.ie/mountain-bikes/giant-talon-3/9318770

Very capable bike for the likes of Ticknock, build up the skills and figure out if you prefer Downhill, XC (cross country), trail or enduro style riding as they are all very different, that bike will cover almost everything except downhill and the very gnarly enduro type trails, also get good body armor and pads.

Tenzor07

Something like the Giant Trance is always a good option, cheap and upgradable, good for going up and down hills

Don't bike a cheap old yoke that's probably only good for going to the shops on as it may put you off!

The Biking.ie hut at Ticknock also has some Vitus bikes for hire, so maybe try one out and see if you like them.

The Noble Nudge

Thanks lads.
I'm heading over the weekend to rent a yoke I'm not a complete beginner but I am fairly rusty. (Used to scramble a bit back in the day)
I have a dirt box hardtail here but wouldn't trust the brakes on it. I'll probably to stick to the main trails to get to grips for a while so it's an all rounder I'm after.

Looking at the giant seems very reasonable for a front and rear shock...
Might drop down to long mile road take a look at it on the flesh.

Tomred13

The Noble Nudge wrote: »

Thanks lads.
I'm heading over the weekend to rent a yoke I'm not a complete beginner but I am fairly rusty. (Used to scramble a bit back in the day)
I have a dirt box hardtail here but wouldn't trust the brakes on it. I'll probably to stick to the main trails to get to grips for a while so it's an all rounder I'm after.

Looking at the giant seems very reasonable for a front and rear shock...
Might drop down to long mile road take a look at it on the flesh.

Hi Noble Nudge
welcome back to the world of mud, roots n rocks..
When your down in the longmile rd store ask for Richie ( the god father of irish mountainbiking) looks like chuck norris and theres nothing he doesnt know about mtbing. no better buchaill for advice on gear n bikes.

D

iwillhtfu

If your bike to work doesn't have to be bricks and mortar.

https://www.canyon.com/en-ie/mtb/nerve/nerve-al-6-0.html

The Noble Nudge

Tomred13 wrote: »

Hi Noble Nudge
welcome back to the world of mud, roots n rocks..
When your down in the longmile rd store ask for Richie ( the god father of irish mountainbiking) looks like chuck norris and theres nothing he doesnt know about mtbing. no better buchaill for advice on gear n bikes.

D

sound...even if I don't buy the bike I've to go see the Chuck Norris of Mtbing.

The Noble Nudge

iwillhtfu wrote: »

If your bike to work doesn't have to be bricks and mortar.

https://www.canyon.com/en-ie/mtb/nerve/nerve-al-6-0.html

Very very nice...mate has a canyon road bike lovely finish to their product.

When you say bricks and mortar? I presume Canyon don't participate in BTW??

ford2600

The Noble Nudge wrote: »

Very nice...mate has a canyon road bike..
When you say bricks and mortar? I presume Canyon don't participate in BTW??

Buy a hardtail second hand 26/27.5. Get something with a Reba fork or basic Fox. For 400/500 you'll get something decent.

Join a club, try different stuff, borrow different bikes. Experience the pro/cons of various fork travel/full sus/wheel sizes/tubeless and low pressure etc.

See what difference thru axles make.

When you know what ground you like to ride buy an appropriate bike then.

Learn how to maintain your first bike, mtb need way more care, the mud takes it's toll. Maintain drivetrain, keep fork tubes clean, discs clean and keep an eye on bb, headset and wheel bearings.

MTB is the best fun you can have on a bike. When I get over this long distance addiction I'll be doing more.

The Noble Nudge

True Ford..
Ah the thoughts of getting a new bike has me like a kid on Christmas Eve...
I want it now type feeling

ford2600

The Noble Nudge wrote: »

True Ford..
Ah the thoughts of getting a new bike has me like a kid on Christmas Eve...
I want it now type feeling

Understood.
My main point is there is stuff you can learn by reading bit it doesn't compare to knowledge gained from experience.

Given the choice of mtb s buying from little experience will probably mean buying twice anyway.

Shiny new bike is always nice though and everyone else will tell you spend!

The Noble Nudge

ford2600 wrote: »

Understood.
My main point is there is stuff you can learn by reading bit it doesn't compare to knowledge gained from experience.

Given the choice of mtb s buying from little experience will probably mean buying twice anyway.

Shiny new bike is always nice though and everyone else will tell you spend!

I'm renting this weekend might even have a loan of a hard tail for a few weekends...meeting a few mtb lads too so hope to get some speed classes/lessons in.
No doubt I'll be waiting on anything I order so I'll try a few different places see how I get on.
Mind you that's limited to Ticknock, Ballinastoe, Slade valley...

The Noble Nudge

Paying for it over the year makes it a much more attractive package than buying 2nd hand with hard cash.
I'm also first to ride the shiny brand new one and know it's history rather than buying another mans preloved.
I'll know it's out of a shop too and will have a receipt rather than some poor unfortunate loosing his pride and joy.

iwillhtfu

The Noble Nudge wrote: »

Very very nice...mate has a canyon road bike lovely finish to their product.

When you say bricks and mortar? I presume Canyon don't participate in BTW??

They do the bike to work but if your company uses one of these voucher/middle man companies then you can't buy from canyon AFAIK.

If your company can arrange a bank transfer or similar then you're good to go.

I'm lusting after this one.

iwillhtfu

The Noble Nudge wrote: »

I'm renting this weekend might even have a loan of a hard tail for a few weekends...meeting a few mtb lads too so hope to get some speed classes/lessons in.
No doubt I'll be waiting on anything I order so I'll try a few different places see how I get on.
Mind you that's limited to Ticknock, Ballinastoe, Slade valley...

Don't forget Bike Park Ireland in Roscrea they have a quality set up and the folks running it are sound.

It's about an hour from Newlands cross.

http://www.bikeparkireland.ie/

The Noble Nudge

iwillhtfu wrote: »

They do the bike to work but if your company uses one of these voucher/middle man companies then you can't buy from canyon AFAIK.

If your company can arrange a bank transfer or similar then you're good to go.

I'm lusting after this one.

I'm good to go that route so...
Hope they don't mind exploring the canyon website on company time..:D
Oh the wine job looks fine and dandy too.

iwillhtfu

The Noble Nudge wrote: »

I'm good to go that route so...
Hope they don't mind exploring the canyon website on company time..:D
Oh the wine job looks fine and dandy too.

The dropper seat post sold it for me. The email has been sent to get bank details and application forms.

I may be moving into the shed.

The Noble Nudge

iwillhtfu wrote: »

The dropper seat post sold it for me. The email has been sent to get bank details and application forms.

I may be moving into the shed.

I hear you..;)

How would I investigate sizing a bike from abroad...
Do they have an agent here or is there a very close brand to guide me?
I'm a 5'11 short arse.
I'll talk to the lads the weekend and try a few yokes out.

iwillhtfu

The Noble Nudge wrote: »

I hear you..;)

How would I investigate sizing a bike from abroad...
Do they have an agent here or is there a very close brand to guide me?
I'm a 5'11 short arse.

To be fair that's the tricky part and something a store you can walk into will provide very well. They give very exact measurements on each frame and size.

I 5'10 short legs long torso shape and was between a small and medium and I think I'll go with the medium and probably put a very short stem on it.

I've tried out a few rental bikes at the parks and decided on 27.5 as a 29er felt huge.

That giant linked above is a beautiful bike but the front fork isn't the best. My buddy has one and he got new forks at Christmas. It's actually the one on the bike I'm looking at.

Definitely try the rental places first at least to see which wheel size you prefer.

They're very helpful and reply to emails almost straight away.

They're having a few issues with ordering delays at the minute but I think theyre almost back on track.

The Noble Nudge

iwillhtfu wrote: »

To be fair that's the tricky part and something a store you can walk into will provide very well. They give very exact measurements on each frame and size.

I 5'10 short legs long torso shape and was between a small and medium and I think I'll go with the medium and probably put a very short stem on it.

I've tried out a few rental bikes at the parks and decided on 27.5 as a 29er felt huge.

That giant linked above is a beautiful bike but the front fork isn't the best. My buddy has one and he got new forks at Christmas. It's actually the one on the bike I'm looking at.

Definitely try the rental places first at least to see which wheel size you prefer.

They're very helpful and reply to emails almost straight away.

They're having a few issues with ordering delays at the minute but I think theyre almost back on track.

Sound I'll try a few yokes out.
Not so noble as in my name I dislike the tyre kicking aspect of the online purchasing. I wont hold you to a guess also said I'm meeting a few knowledgable lads the weekend.
I prefer a really high riding position weird but hard to break old habits.
Send me a link to your wine machine just to see the spec of course....

iwillhtfu

The Noble Nudge wrote: »

Send me a link to your wine machine just to see the spec of course....

Available in stealth mode also

https://www.canyon.com/en-ie/mtb/spectral/spectral-al-5-0.html

The Noble Nudge

iwillhtfu wrote: »

Available in stealth mode also

https://www.canyon.com/en-ie/mtb/spectral/spectral-al-5-0.html

Has to be stealth the scrotes can't read the decals.
The lead times......great to be busy!!

c montgomery

iwillhtfu wrote: »

If your bike to work doesn't have to be bricks and mortar.

https://www.canyon.com/en-ie/mtb/nerve/nerve-al-6-0.html

Cool looking bike

The Noble Nudge

Tenzor07 wrote: »

Something like the Giant Trance is always a good option, cheap and upgradable, good for going up and down hills

Don't bike a cheap old yoke that's probably only good for going to the shops on as it may put you off!

The Biking.ie hut at Ticknock also has some Vitus bikes for hire, so maybe try one out and see if you like them.

Called in to have a look they no longer sell that model they have a fresher one different colour so worth a visit... its on the shortlist...:)

The Noble Nudge

Tomred13 wrote: »

Hi Noble Nudge
welcome back to the world of mud, roots n rocks..
When your down in the longmile rd store ask for Richie ( the god father of irish mountainbiking) looks like chuck norris and theres nothing he doesnt know about mtbing. no better buchaill for advice on gear n bikes.

D

Called in Richie wasnt in but I knew the other lad...
Decisions decisions..

The Noble Nudge

On the canyon I was frowned at when I mentioned it was on the shortlist excluding all the sales talk...
I know they are based in Germany but surely an LBS can do all the day to day stuff.
I presume the "wait till something goes wrong" is literally me packing and paying for it to go back worst case scenario??

Yogi81

Not a lot can go wrong to be honest.
Worst case scenario is that the frame will break, which will more than likely be covered under warranty.
All the rest of the components are serviceable by a good bike shop.

Canyons & YT's are pretty hard to beat for value for money at the moment

The Noble Nudge

Yogi81 wrote: »

Not a lot can go wrong to be honest.
Worst case scenario is that the frame will break, which will more than likely be covered under warranty.
All the rest of the components are serviceable by a good bike shop.

Canyons & YT's are pretty hard to beat for value for money at the moment

Im new to MTBs when you say YT's??

Yogi81

The Noble Nudge wrote: »

Im new to MTBs when you say YT's??

check out ytindustries(dot)com
A similar business model to Canyon

2 Wheels Good

iwillhtfu wrote: »

Available in stealth mode also

https://www.canyon.com/en-ie/mtb/spectral/spectral-al-5-0.html

Have been lusting over those two, does anyone have either?

Bored cycling on the road so thinking about doing the 4 Cube Enduro series races this year. Have a hardtail so will start on that and see how I go.

Yogi81

2 Wheels Good wrote: »

Have been lusting over those two, does anyone have either?

Bored cycling on the road so thinking about doing the 4 Cube Enduro series races this year. Have a hardtail so will start on that and see how I go.

They should be good fun alright. I might be at a few also
You should also look into the biking blitz round in Ballyhoura.

Tenzor07

2 Wheels Good wrote: »

Bored cycling on the road so thinking about doing the 4 Cube Enduro series races this year. Have a hardtail so will start on that and see how I go.

Enduro racing.. On a hardtail? :rolleyes:

Yogi81

Tenzor07 wrote: »

Enduro racing.. On a hardtail? :rolleyes:

Absolutely.
There are quite a few that do the Biking.ie Gravity Enduros on them.
The Cube Munster rounds will be a fair bit more sedate with an emphasis on fun.
The Tracton round would be no bother. We were only riding the sections last week.

2 Wheels Good

Yogi81 wrote: »

Absolutely.
There are quite a few that do the Biking.ie Gravity Enduros on them.
The Cube Munster rounds will be a fair bit more sedate with an emphasis on fun.
The Tracton round would be no bother. We were only riding the sections last week.

LOL, when you learnt to cycle offroad/on west Cork backroads on bikes with no suspension having any semblance of suspension makes you feel like you're floating.

(It also teaches you how to pass mtbs on a road bike on the offroad sections in adventure races like Gaelforce )

BTW is available in May for me so may go full sus if I enjoy the Biking.ie races, not really enjoying sportives here with the weather.

Tenzor07

Yogi81 wrote: »

Absolutely.There are quite a few that do the Biking.ie Gravity Enduros on them.The Cube Munster rounds will be a fair bit more sedate with an emphasis on fun.The Tracton round would be no bother. We were only riding the sections last week.

I believe some of the Enduro races up north have a separate "Hardtail" category, but.. these are generally done on hardtails with slacker geometry and 140mm+ suspension forks up front...

I can imagine doing one of the biking.ie enduro races on a hardtail would be like doing a road race time trial on a hybrid!

The Noble Nudge

2 Wheels Good wrote: »

LOL, when you learnt to cycle offroad/on west Cork backroads on bikes with no suspension having any semblance of suspension makes you feel like you're floating.

(It also teaches you how to pass mtbs on a road bike on the offroad sections in adventure races like Gaelforce )

BTW is available in May for me so may go full sus if I enjoy the Biking.ie races, not really enjoying sportives here with the weather.

I hear you I've been out on the road on my own and in the dark the past 3 months.
Summited the tarmac path in Ticknock afew times and came across a few groups MTB'ing so looked the crack...
Brings back the memories of cycling the Wicklow way on a 5 speed Raleigh Maverick in the 80's with no suspension....
Not as much natural shock absorption in the body now but looking forward to the transition.

2 Wheels Good

Tenzor07 wrote: »

I believe some of the Enduro races up north have a separate "Hardtail" category, but.. these are generally done on hardtails with slacker geometry and 140mm+ suspension forks up front...

I can imagine doing one of the biking.ie enduro races on a hardtail would be like doing a road race time trial on a hybrid!

You're probably right, but will do it for the craic anyway. 6 months time I'll be on here looking for an enduro bike

The Noble Nudge

Right narrowing down to the last few...
Full sus or hardtail bearing in mind I am trying both before I buy.....
I just dont want to buy a hardtail and find in 3 months I should have bought a full sus for the sake of the few extra quid for the ones I've shortlisted Im thinking full sus....
A few people saying hone my skills on hardtail and "core work" but I'm pretty confidant Ive over 20,000 metres climbed on a 53/39 the last two months(100,000m + last year) albeit on a road bike and not twisting and turning but it has to count for something extra...
I'd be over 90kg too would this have a bearing on 27.5 or 29 as I'm reading about travel lenght...???


Anyone feedback on one of these? and do chain reaction BTW?
http://www.chainreactioncycles.com/ie/en/cube-ltd-sl-29-2x10-hardtail-bike-2015/rp-prod140120

thanks for the help so far....

Tenzor07

That Cube 29er is setup to be an XC racer, so the geometry would be quite sharp with a steep headangle, and wouldn't be too forgiving of mistakes when going downhill...

Full suss is good, but you'll pay the penalty in weight, and bearing replacements over time, as well as ensuring the suspension is adjusted correctly for your weight...

A good alrounder is something like this: www.cotic.co.uk/product/new_solaris

You can have 27.5+ tyres or 29er, it's slacker and more forgiving, you can have 120mm forks, and it's a nice steel frame, around €500 or so I think for the frame, build it up however you like...

Yogi81

The Noble Nudge wrote: »

Right narrowing down to the last few...
Full sus or hardtail bearing in mind I am trying both before I buy.....
I just dont want to buy a hardtail and find in 3 months I should have bought a full sus for the sake of the few extra quid for the ones I've shortlisted Im thinking full sus....
A few people saying hone my skills on hardtail and "core work" but I'm pretty confidant Ive over 20,000 metres climbed on a 53/39 the last two months(100,000m + last year) albeit on a road bike and not twisting and turning but it has to count for something extra...
I'd be over 90kg too would this have a bearing on 27.5 or 29 as I'm reading about travel lenght...???


thanks for the help so far....

You would get a very good hardtail for the price of a good full suss.
If you are new to mountain biking, I would suggest the hardtail to teach you to pick lines better. Full suss bikes allow people to just blaze over stuff and not concentrate on getting smooth lines.

As for your weight, that is just suspension setup really. Maybe a stronger set of wheels if you find yourself breaking a few.
For enduro, I would go with 27.5" wheels (also known as 650b). They roll better than 26" wheels (which are old hat now). 29" wheels are more suited to cross country bikes, but are used by a few of the top pro people also. 27.5" would be the one to go for.

A Nukeproof Scout would be a great aggressive hardtail

Tenzor07

Yogi81 wrote: »

If you are new to mountain biking, I would suggest the hardtail to teach you to pick lines better. Full suss bikes allow people to just blaze over stuff and not concentrate on getting smooth lines.
A Nukeproof Scout would be a great aggressive hardtail

In that case i'd either buy a really cheap hardtail, or just rent a HT from biking.ie for a few sundays


No point in paying twice, unless you buy a good/popular HT that will hold it's resale value, e.g the Cotic Solaris(which I will buy off you in a few months!)

Yogi81

You would always use a hardtail if you buy one.
I regret selling my Cotic BFe. Handy for the rollers in the winter, and general hacking around, if/when you upgrade to a full suss bike in a few years.

Since selling that bike, I have to use my wifes bike on the turbo trainer as I don't want to put up mileage on my new groupset on the enduro bike

Tenzor07

Yogi81 wrote: »

You would always use a hardtail if you buy one.
I regret selling my Cotic BFe. Handy for the rollers in the winter, and general hacking around, if/when you upgrade to a full suss bike in a few years

Yeap true, the winter is very hard on a full suss, all that dirt and grit getting into the shocks and bearings, esp. if you use a pressure washer to clean the bike out afterwards too.. HT, nice and simple!

levitronix

2 Wheels Good wrote: »

Have been lusting over those two, does anyone have either?

Bored cycling on the road so thinking about doing the 4 Cube Enduro series races this year. Have a hardtail so will start on that and see how I go.

what is this series do you have a website link ?

Yogi81

levitronix wrote: »

what is this series do you have a website link ?

Not able to post up links etc yet, but check out Cube Munster Enduro Series

Tenzor07

levitronix wrote: »

what is this series do you have a website link ?

Sounds like fun!

https://www.facebook.com/Munsterenduroseries/posts/1523101238005781

JBokeh

Tenzor07 wrote: »

Enduro racing.. On a hardtail? :rolleyes:

I'm lusting after either an on-one 456, blue pig or nukeproof scout for doing the enduro on, I won't be winning anything, but it will be a bit of fun. The big travel hard tails are great fun to ride, but your ankles pay for it dearly

2 Wheels Good

Noble, from reading the other posts, for both of us between the Biking blitz series and the Cube Enduro it might be worth going hardtail for the start and see how it goes.

It's easy enough to compare times on Strava and how the body feels after a couple of runs to help decide what's the best direction to go in

The Noble Nudge

Ill catch up on reading later on lads thanks very much.....Ive secured a loan of a full sus for tomorrow so all systems go.
I'll go with the body feeling afterwards rather than Strava for now....
I want to try make it past first base without too much pain...

Oh just in case I hone my skills in time for the senior citizen section of the biking blitz and enduro races when do they start?

Yogi81

Biking blitz starts in Ballinastoe on 7th February.
Gravity Enduro starts in Ticknock on 9th/10th April

The Noble Nudge

Yogi81 wrote: »

Biking blitz starts in Ballinastoe on 7th February.
Gravity Enduro starts in Ticknock on 9th/10th April

Plenty of time so.......:D:D