What Mountain Bike?

nok2008

Sorry for another what bike thread but do need some help here. Looking at buying first mountain bike and to be honest not too sure what to look for. Have been into a few bike shops but would like a non sales pitch view. Even though must say that LBS were not pushing the dearest models at me!!!
Have Bike to work so will be looking for in or around the 1000 mark if required.
Do some road biking but looking to mix it up with some mtb trails in forests etc. Therefore does not need to be top spec but something that will hold up to some punishment and not something that i will have to change parts in a few months.
Probably going to stick to a 27.5 but my options at the moment are;
Giant Talon 2 €979
http://www.giant-cork.ie/en-ie/bikes/model/talon.27.5.2/25063/90747/#specifications
Cube Acid €1049
http://www.cube.eu/uk/products/mtb-hardtail/acid/cube-acid-blacknflashyellow-2016/
Cube Attention €960
http://www.theedge-sports.com/product/109056/Cube-Attention-SL-2016-Kiwi-Black/


any other suggestions / comments greatly appreciated!

thanks

C3PO

nok2008 wrote: »

Sorry for another what bike thread but do need some help here. Looking at buying first mountain bike and to be honest not too sure what to look for. Have been into a few bike shops but would like a non sales pitch view. Even though must say that LBS were not pushing the dearest models at me!!!
Have Bike to work so will be looking for in or around the 1000 mark if required.
Do some road biking but looking to mix it up with some mtb trails in forests etc. Therefore does not need to be top spec but something that will hold up to some punishment and not something that i will have to change parts in a few months.
Probably going to stick to a 27.5 but my options at the moment are;
Giant Talon 2 €979
http://www.giant-cork.ie/en-ie/bikes/model/talon.27.5.2/25063/90747/#specifications
Cube Acid €1049
http://www.cube.eu/uk/products/mtb-hardtail/acid/cube-acid-blacknflashyellow-2016/
Cube Attention €960
http://www.theedge-sports.com/product/109056/Cube-Attention-SL-2016-Kiwi-Black/


any other suggestions / comments greatly appreciated!

thanks

I would pay the extra few €'s and buy the Acid - the specification is better. I would avoid the Suntour forks on the Giant either way!

killalanerr

I fancy a MTB myself came across this it seems to get good reviews http://m.gooutdoors.co.uk/calibre-bossnut-full-sus-mountain-bike-p347143

Any thoughts guys ?

C3PO

killalanerr wrote: »

I fancy a MTB myself came across this it seems to get good reviews http://m.gooutdoors.co.uk/calibre-bossnut-full-sus-mountain-bike-p347143

Any thoughts guys ?

I was sure that I'd be telling you not to bother but in fairness the specification is very good for the price!
The only thing is that it's a pretty heavy bike at over 13kgs! That's fine if you really think that you will have need of the dual suspension and 130mm travel? But if you're just going to use it around the Coillte trails and other non technical terrain then a 100/120mm hardtail might be a better option!

saccades

Bossnut is getting rave reviews in the UK, 13kg for a full suss (28.5lb) is about right and doesn't feel heavy (my FS is 28lb and my hardtail is 34lb).

I know 1 lad that bought it and likes it loads - but it's his first "proper" mtb so hard to judge (and I've not had a go on it yet).

Magazines are impressed though.

Eamonnator

killalanerr wrote: »

I fancy a MTB myself came across this it seems to get good reviews http://m.gooutdoors.co.uk/calibre-bossnut-full-sus-mountain-bike-p347143

Any thoughts guys ?

A lot of bike for the money. Sounds great value, lovely spec. on that.

C3PO

saccades wrote: »

.... 13kg for a full suss (28.5lb) is about right and doesn't feel heavy (my FS is 28lb and my hardtail is 34lb).

I agree 13.5kgs is not particularly heavy for a full suspension bike but it's still a good deal heavier than an 11.5kgs hardtail if you don't need the the rear suspension!
What type of a hardtail do you have that weighs nearly 15.5kgs?

killalanerr

Eamonnator wrote: »

A lot of bike for the money. Sounds great value, lovely spec. on that.

Thanks lads ,Thats what I was hoping you guys would say. Im thinking that if my road bike fitness and bike handling transfer to mtb it would not be long before i would be looking for some challenging stuff . At the mo I have it down to a Boardman 29er http://www.halfords.ie/cycling/bikes/mountain-bikes/boardman-mountain-bike-pro-29er on sale @800 or the boss thing it can be had for €1200 ish with the budget not been my main concern for once Im drawn to the full suss .

maxamillius

Good spec on that boss alright, im surprised! Board man bikes are good also for starting off, my personal preference would be to steer clear of 29er and stick to 26 or 27.5!

Canyon do some good spec bikes for decent money. Take a look at there site!

iwillhtfu

killalanerr wrote: »

Thanks lads ,Thats what I was hoping you guys would say. Im thinking that if my road bike fitness and bike handling transfer to mtb .

As far as bike handling goes I'd say handling skills don't transfer from road to mtb but mtb handling skills will definitely improve road handling skills if that makes sense.

Btw that boss looks to be a savage deal. Check out canyons outlet store you might see something in your size budget.

I only recently took up mtb and got a spectral it's some craic. Although I took a tumble recently and smashed my leg off a rock resulting in a large haematoma and no cycling the last couple of weeks. Can't wait to get back at it.

C3PO

maxamillius wrote: »

..... my personal preference would be to steer clear of 29er and stick to 26 or 27.5!

Any reason for that advice? Personally I would strongly recommend a 29er - particularly in preference to a 26er!

jmrc

if its just for fitness and some "offroad" fire roads, a hard tail is the way to go. 29er is great for that too.
on the other hand if you think you will take to the sport, then full suss and 27.5 is the best option in the long run.
try renting a hard tail and a full suss and take it to a trail center, before you part with a chunk of your hard earned cash.

Tenzor07

As above, go to Ticknock or Ballinastoe if you're in Dublin and try out a hardtail and a full suss..
I wouldn't go for a full suss for much under €2k, stick with a nice 275 or 29er hardtail, there's very little difference at that price range, so pick the easiest option for you...

ShadyAcres

I've been using the Lapierre raid 527 hardtail in Ballyhoura all year. Nice bike and i'd Recommend it.

Can't post link because i'm under the 25 posts.

ShadyAcres

I've been using the Lapierre raid 527 hardtail in Ballyhoura all year. Nice bike and i'd Recommend it. 899euro.

Can't post link because i'm under the 25 posts.

kirk buttercup

I bought a Boardman Full sus 1,250 ( has a fairly decent spec for the price)for heading up to Ballinastoe . its perfect , I love it. im not going to win any enduros any time soon and just want to head up the mountain and have some fun, so for someone like me and for the price I have nothing but praise for the bike.

ec18

C3PO wrote: »

Any reason for that advice? Personally I would strongly recommend a 29er - particularly in preference to a 26er!

I find 29ers much more clunky that the 27.5/26. The smaller wheel size makes the bike feel a lot more nimble than the 29er

Tenzor07

ec18 wrote: »

I find 29ers much more clunky that the 27.5/26. The smaller wheel size makes the bike feel a lot more nimble than the 29er

Horses for Courses!

Once you go 29er you'll never go near a 26er again..

Though my personal preference is 275, there are plenty of great 29ers out there and they dominate XC racing, where almost everyone races a 29er hardtail... there's also some great trail hardtail 29ers out there too..

maxamillius

C3PO wrote: »

Any reason for that advice? Personally I would strongly recommend a 29er - particularly in preference to a 26er!

Just personal preference as said, not really advice as such I just think 26 and 27.5 will stand the test of time as opposed to 29. I suppose if your looking at XC then 29 is a good choice!

kirk buttercup

I went from to 27.5 from 26 and initially thought there was a huge difference, after a week or two of bedding in feels perfect . I would imagine the leap up to 29 is similiar. Maybe try see if you can rent one or couple of different types to see what feels good for you.

rizzodun

Tenzor07 wrote: »

As above, go to Ticknock or Ballinastoe if you're in Dublin and try out a hardtail and a full suss..
I wouldn't go for a full suss for much under €2k, stick with a nice 275 or 29er hardtail, there's very little difference at that price range, so pick the easiest option for you...

I would take Canyon as the exception, the Nerve Al 6.0 has 120mm of front and back travel and the same frame as the more expensive variants, it's only €1500. I bought one this year and suitably impressed, coming from a 29er Trek HT.

However, I'd agree on trying out a few bikes first, no point on a mid or long travel full sus if the plan is to rip a few XC trails.

C3PO

maxamillius wrote: »

C3PO wrote: »

Any reason for that advice? Personally I would strongly recommend a 29er - particularly in preference to a 26er!

Just personal preference as said, not really advice as such I just think 26 and 27.5 will stand the test of time as opposed to 29. I suppose if your looking at XC then 29 is a good choice!

Funny but Greg Callaghan is using a 29er as his weapon of choice a lot of the time these days ... !! Anyway, as you say, a matter of personal preference but I can't myself ever buying anything other than a 29er again! I absolutely love mine (all 3 of them!)

maxamillius

C3PO wrote: »

Funny but Greg Callaghan is using a 29er as his weapon of choice a lot of the time these days ... !! Anyway, as you say, a matter of personal preference but I can't myself ever buying anything other than a 29er again! I absolutely love mine (all 3 of them!)

Ye I see Greg is using his 29 alright, I suppose I'm just used to 26 and 27.5 that's all! OP I think whatever you get will be fine as you will know no different.

As stated earlier ticknock and ballinastoe both have bike rentals which you should try out!

Where do you frequent usually C3PO?

saccades

C3PO wrote: »

What type of a hardtail do you have that weighs nearly 15.5kgs?

Prototype EBB with IGH, it's built for zero maintainence and it's taken 6-7 years of neglect.

I'm not getting into the wheel size debate, but it's not 27.5 - it's 650b.

I'd be more worried about getting a frame that uses forks with a tapered steerer as straight 1 1/8th good quality forks are very hard to get, 26"/650b are virtually interchangeable.

rizzodun

That's hard to look at, don't you wash it?

Tenzor07

I've seen cleaner bikes taken from the Liffey! :eek:

magicbastarder

i think it's misleading to say the bike weighs 15.5KG. it's probably 13KG and 2.5KG of mud.

jmrc

Prototype EBB with IGH, it's built for zero maintainence and it's taken 6-7 years of neglect.

Zero maintainence but obviously not self cleaning...!:)

Wanderer78

I'd stick with a hardtail op, if you're gonna be doing some road miles as well. Have a cube stereo(full Suss), but at 3k, it's ott for your needs. Delighted with it though, serious machine, not particularly nice on the road though. As others have said, rent some bikes on some trails, only you 'll know what you like. Some great bikes out there in your range. Have a giant xtc hardtail. Has served me well but is well battered at this stage, great bike though. Throw your leg over a few bikes. Mountain biking is addictive. Best of luck with it

saccades

rizzodun wrote: »

That's hard to look at, don't you wash it?

Tenzor07 wrote: »

I've seen cleaner bikes taken from the Liffey! :eek:

magicbastarder wrote: »

i think it's misleading to say the bike weighs 15.5KG. it's probably 13KG and 2.5KG of mud.

jmrc wrote: »

Prototype EBB with IGH, it's built for zero maintainence and it's taken 6-7 years of neglect.

Zero maintainence but obviously not self cleaning...!:)

It's a point of pride that I've only washed it 5-6 times (when I've had to store it at a mates house/going through customs), the chain gets a lube a coupla times a year, fork has not been serviced, nor the wheels (The cup & cones are pitted on the alfine hub but it still turns - the CK front hub appears fine). The shifting has started to act up so I'm planning to give it an overhaul for this winter - maybe even a respray.

kirk buttercup

saccades wrote: »

It's a point of pride that I've only washed it 5-6 times (when I've had to store it at a mates house/going through customs), the chain gets a lube a coupla times a year, fork has not been serviced, nor the wheels (The cup & cones are pitted on the alfine hub but it still turns - the CK front hub appears fine). The shifting has started to act up so I'm planning to give it an overhaul for this winter - maybe even a respray.

I feel like a clean freak now , I clean my one after every Ride. going today and I didnt get a chance since last week to clean it and it feels wrong.... so wrong

C3PO

maxamillius wrote: »

Where do you frequent usually C3PO?

My "go to" bike these days is a 29er Cotic Solaris with 120mm travel. I deliberately built it very light and managed to get it in at 11kgs. I almost never put the bike in the car and ride from home in Shankill to wherever I fancy - training for a marathon in October so doing regular 5 hour spins with 1500-2000mts climbing! The Cotic is perfect for a combination of not too technical trails, climbing and a fair bit of road mileage!

maxamillius

C3PO wrote: »

My "go to" bike these days is a 29er Cotic Solaris with 120mm travel. I deliberately built it very light and managed to get it in at 11kgs. I almost never put the bike in the car and ride from home in Shankill to wherever I fancy - training for a marathon in October so doing regular 5 hour spins with 1500-2000mts climbing! The Cotic is perfect for a combination of not too technical trails, climbing and a fair bit of road mileage!

I do like the look of the Solaris I must say. I'm spending most of my time on my BFE now. Like yourself I generally cycle to wherever I'm going, it's easy enough on the road and great on the trails! Spend a fair bit of time in ticknock!

Tenzor07

C3PO wrote: »

My "go to" bike these days is a 29er Cotic Solaris with 120mm travel. I deliberately built it very light and managed to get it in at 11kgs. I almost never put the bike in the car and ride from home in Shankill to wherever I fancy - training for a marathon in October so doing regular 5 hour spins with 1500-2000mts climbing! The Cotic is perfect for a combination of not too technical trails, climbing and a fair bit of road mileage!

Not great for those rocky steep slippy muddy trails though C3PO?

C3PO

Tenzor07 wrote: »

C3PO wrote: »

My "go to" bike these days is a 29er Cotic Solaris with 120mm travel. I deliberately built it very light and managed to get it in at 11kgs. I almost never put the bike in the car and ride from home in Shankill to wherever I fancy - training for a marathon in October so doing regular 5 hour spins with 1500-2000mts climbing! The Cotic is perfect for a combination of not too technical trails, climbing and a fair bit of road mileage!

Not great for those rocky steep slippy muddy trails though C3PO? [/quote

It's actually brilliant on technical climbs and any issues on the descents are more to do with "user error" than anything else!!

wanderer 22

Starting the hunt for a mountain bike...I've seen a few references to a Facebook page for buying and selling mountain bikes in Ireland, anyone got a link? Not sure if I need a Facebook page to view it?

iwillhtfu

Search buy & sell MTB Ireland. It's a closed group so you will need to have a facebook page and ask to join the group. It's worth the hassle though as some bargains do pop up.


Alternatively biking.ie are selling off the last of their old stock vitus sentier hardtails for €400 theyre a bit of a bargain at that. All size medium apparently

Mr. Grieves

colm18 wrote: »

Starting the hunt for a mountain bike...I've seen a few references to a Facebook page for buying and selling mountain bikes in Ireland, anyone got a link? Not sure if I need a Facebook page to view it?

It's a closed group, you'd need to be on Facebook

https://www.facebook.com/groups/490954040982138/

wanderer 22

Cheers lads. Will use the OH's account. Will take a look at the Vitus bikes too, thanks for that.

Cee-Jay-Cee

I have a Cube LTD Race 29er. It's a brilliant bike. I only have it 3 weeks but used it 3 or 4 times every week since, both on and off road. The 29er is ideal if your doing any sort of distance on the road, it's not a whole lot slower than a road bike but much more comfortable. Mine is 13.5kg (21" frame inc pedals and bottle cages) I don't think the weight makes much difference, gearing, wheels and tyres will determine how fast slow or easy it is to ride.

wanderer 22

Cheers - I'll be cycling to and from trails so will be on the road a fair bit alright. Only thing putting me off the 29er is the fact that I'm 5'9, opinion seems to be divided on whether the more vertically challenged such as myself should go for one.

nak

colm18 wrote: »

Cheers - I'll be cycling to and from trails so will be on the road a fair bit alright. Only thing putting me off the 29er is the fact that I'm 5'9, opinion seems to be divided on whether the more vertically challenged such as myself should go for one.

I'm 5'4 and get on fine with a 29er.

iwillhtfu

29er if you plan on a lot of climbing and open trails seem to be the way to go.

650b if you're planning on getting a bit more technical and throwing the bike around.

At least that's been my experience and on some trails I often wonder how lads manage with the bigger wheel through the tight stuff.

Cee-Jay-Cee

colm18 wrote: »

Cheers - I'll be cycling to and from trails so will be on the road a fair bit alright. Only thing putting me off the 29er is the fact that I'm 5'9, opinion seems to be divided on whether the more vertically challenged such as myself should go for one.

You are more than tall enough for a 29er. I'm 181cm (5'11.75") so less than 3" taller than you. I'm riding a 21" bike, - 17 or 19" bike (depending on your leg length) would be more than suitable st your height.

I do the odd spin with a friend of mine who has a 27.5" MTB and he constantly remarks that he has to pedal to keep up with me while I'm freewheeling especially on the road.

I have never intention of doing any technical stuff so the 29er is more than suitable for my needs and is a real flyer on gravel/fire roads.

wanderer 22

Cool - looks like 29 is the way to go so. Now the question is whether to wait for my bike to work to come up again in Jan or just go secondhand..decisions.

Tenzor07

The geometry on new 29ers is quite good these days so the old "29ers are no good on tight technical singletrack" doesn't apply anymore..

27.5" will soon only exist on Small or XSmall bikes soon enough i'd say

Cee-Jay-Cee

colm18 wrote: »

Cool - looks like 29 is the way to go so. Now the question is whether to wait for my bike to work to come up again in Jan or just go secondhand..decisions.

Similar position to what I was in a few weeks ago. BTW isn't due till January but wanted a MTB now for winter use so bought second hand. Got a terrific bargain, 2015 Cube LTD which had very little use (still on original tyres and very little sign of wear on chain rings) Bought it from MTB buy and sell Facebook page. Price new is roughly €1000 to €1100, I got it for €430. A bike with similar spec would have cost €1200 minimum in the New Year.

https://www.facebook.com/groups/632491330120036/

iwillhtfu

Tenzor07 wrote: »

The geometry on new 29ers is quite good these days so the old "29ers are no good on tight technical singletrack" doesn't apply anymore..

27.5" will soon only exist on Small or XSmall bikes soon enough i'd say

You've got to be kidding I think there was only a handful of riders if even that riding 29er at the EWS I'd have said the opposite and 29er is a dead duck

C3PO

iwillhtfu wrote: »

You've got to be kidding I think there was only a handful of riders if even that riding 29er at the EWS I'd have said the opposite and 29er is a dead duck

Strongly disagree with you! 29er's are still very much the bike of choice for any form of XC riding. And with regard to Enduro's, Greg Callaghan has been riding a 29er for most of this year in the World rounds but what would he know ....!
In my opinion, for most riders, in most situations, a 29er is a much easier bike to ride fast!

ec18

iwillhtfu wrote: »

You've got to be kidding I think there was only a handful of riders if even that riding 29er at the EWS I'd have said the opposite and 29er is a dead duck

C3PO wrote: »

Strongly disagree with you! 29er's are still very much the bike of choice for any form of XC riding. And with regard to Enduro's, Greg Callaghan has been riding a 29er for most of this year in the World rounds but what would he know ....!
In my opinion, for most riders, in most situations, a 29er is a much easier bike to ride fast!

It's really going to be a preference for people, aside from the pro's there looks to be a market for both atm among buyers. With trail/enduro being 27.5 and those looking to cover more distance or being a bit tall going 29.

May as well be talking clips vs flats all personal perference

iwillhtfu

ec18 wrote: »

It's really going to be a preference for people, aside from the pro's there looks to be a market for both atm among buyers. With trail/enduro being 27.5 and those looking to cover more distance or being a bit tall going 29.

May as well be talking clips vs flats all personal perference

We all know flat pedals win medals