Mountain Bike buying advice

pegdrums

Hi all how are we doing?

I have been cycling for the last many years now......commuting and road cycling. But when I was a teenager 20 odd years ago I had a mountain bike and used to try go of road as much as possible.

Yesterday I went to Ballyhoura!!!!!!!!!!!!!! OMFG I haven't had as much craic in ages!

I currently commute in and out of work everyday....around 3/4 km.

Plan 1) Save a while and get an entry level MTB as a second bike.

Plan2) Save a while, sell my commuter and get a slightly better bike and use it for the commute also.

We were using their Cube analog bikes (Grey n black).
A second hand one of those would be peach.

Any thoughts on the Halfords Carrera stuff?

I just need something to buzz off at the weekend and potentially the commute.
Lockable front suspension would be good mon-fri.

Im aware that cycling can be a black hole of 'gear fetishing' and MTBing looks no different:D so just a good solid bike.

I would aim to make good use of it at the weekend. Im in Cork, 25 min drive from Tracton.


Any thoughts or advice would be greatly appreciated.

pegdrums

Oh yeah.......

Mechanical vs Hydraulic discs.........is there any difference really?

pegdrums

pegdrums wrote: »

Oh yeah.......

Mechanical vs Hydraulic discs.........is there any difference really?

Any hints or tips........dos and don't of buying a mountain bike?

topcat77

http://www.halfords.ie/cycling/bikes/mountain-bikes/voodoo-bizango-29er-mountain-bike

Winner of best entry level hardtail bike for the last number of years. If you know someone with a discount card you'll get a further 10% off or more.

I got this bike second hand and love it.

xxyyzz

Give the lads in Ballyhoura a shout, they sell off the rental bikes fairly regularly very cheap. They are well used but to be fair they are very well maintained also. (Hydraulic by the way).

If possible I'd keep the commuting bike and the mtb seperate otherwise you'll have to start making compromises regarding tyres etc.

iwillhtfu

topcat77 wrote: »

http://www.halfords.ie/cycling/bikes/mountain-bikes/voodoo-bizango-29er-mountain-bike

Winner of best entry level hardtail bike for the last number of years. If you know someone with a discount card you'll get a further 10% off or more.

I got this bike second hand and love it.

I'm not quite sure who gave this hardtail of the year award but I'd be inclined to look at second hand over that one to be honest.

Plenty of great bikes out there for less money.

http://touch.adverts.ie/mountain-bikes/cube-ltd-race-mountain-bike/11867104


http://touch.adverts.ie/mountain-bikes/cube-analog-29-mtb/12102085

If you're in FB look at the MTB buy & sell group some bargains pop up there from time to time if you're willing to travel.

Lemming

xxyyzz wrote: »

Give the lads in Ballyhoura a shout, they sell off the rental bikes fairly regularly very cheap. They are well used but to be fair they are very well maintained also. (Hydraulic by the way).

What xxyyzz has said; the bikes will be better spec'd for the money (even second hand), not to mention set-up, than anything you can buy from Halfords, Decathalon, GoOutdoors, etc.

mr spuckler

yes second hand from the rental crowd is the business. i bought a hardtail from the biking.ie lads in ballinastoe previously. certainly looked like it had been used (scuff marks on cranks etc) but was in great nick for the money i paid.

pegdrums

Thanks for the advice.

A decent second hand bike sounds like a winner. Made that mistake with a road bike before.......It was shiny, I was giddy and that was that!!

In terms of owning two bikes that could be a hard sell to my better half!

I was thinking of swapping out the tyres for the weekend (along with removing mudguards and rack).
One decent bike VS a "I couldn't afford a decent second bike" situation.

Has anyone done this?

pegdrums

Does ballyhoura have its own website or is it just through the coillte site?

iwillhtfu

pegdrums wrote: »

Does ballyhoura have its own website or is it just through the coillte site?

The shop

http://www.trailriders.ie/

pegdrums

iwillhtfu wrote: »

The shop

http://www.trailriders.ie/

Cheers

xxyyzz

pegdrums wrote: »

Thanks for the advice.

A decent second hand bike sounds like a winner. Made that mistake with a road bike before.......It was shiny, I was giddy and that was that!!

In terms of owning two bikes that could be a hard sell to my better half!

I was thinking of swapping out the tyres for the weekend (along with removing mudguards and rack).
One decent bike VS a "I couldn't afford a decent second bike" situation.

Has anyone done this?

Just buy them gradually, I'm up to 4 and they are all needed :P

The main thing is to get a frame that fits you, if it's too big it will be like riding a gate. If you get it second hand check that there is a bit of life left in the brake pads, also bring along a chain wear tool if you can. If the drivetrain has had a hard life and wasn't looked after you'll need to replace the chain and cassette. They are just extra expenses to look out for.

nordicb

Buying a used mountain bike is not same as buying a 2nd hand road bike. These bikes see so much abuse in harsh conditions, that even with a trained eye it may be hard to estimate the condition of it. Best would be to take a friend who rides or knows common wear places on these bikes to get a good look at it. Things like bottom brackets, wheel bearings, brake system, suspension, rear derailleur they may be shot, but look impressive and clean. Don't fall for clean.

HT bike defo if on budget.

Lemming

nordicb wrote: »

Buying a used mountain bike is not same as buying a 2nd hand road bike. These bikes see so much abuse in harsh conditions, that even with a trained eye it may be hard to estimate the condition of it. Best would be to take a friend who rides or knows common wear places on these bikes to get a good look at it. Things like bottom brackets, wheel bearings, brake system, suspension, rear derailleur they may be shot, but look impressive and clean. Don't fall for clean.

HT bike defo if on budget.

For anything second hand, be it a pencil or a bike: "caveat emptor". Everything you've listed as a concern for mountain bikes is a concern for road bikes - with the exception of suspension of course.

Mr. Grieves

Lemming wrote: »

For anything second hand, be it a pencil or a bike: "caveat emptor". Everything you've listed as a concern for mountain bikes is a concern for road bikes - with the exception of suspension of course.

Budgeting for a new cassette and chain at a minimum is a good idea when buying any second hand bike.

I'd be inclined to look for a bike less than a year old, that should minimise the amount of abuse it's suffered.

pegdrums

nordicb wrote: »

HT bike defo if on budget.

What do you mean HT? HP Im guessing would be hire purchase. But yea, sound advice thanks.

All the previously mentioned concerns about damage have made me think about going NEW at the sacrifice of not getting as high-spec or flashy a bike. I know a gurantee wont cover pedals, tyres etc but it will cover frame and fork. €€€€€

I was in a bike shop here in Cork today and saw a diamondback sync 4.0
I could get it for 420 on BTW.

I cant find any reviews or feedback online.
It's easy to see where the money was saved but thought maybe you guys might have heard of them.

https://goo.gl/47XBr0

Any thoughts would be much appreciated.

At this price new Im doing well to get hydraulic disks but wave bye bye to air suspension

iwillhtfu

HT = Hard tail

pegdrums

:rolleyes:

Of course.....!

pegdrums

Any thoughts on the diamondback?

topcat77

What type of MTB you thinking of doing? Start with HT and then decide between 29" of 27.5" wheels ( forget 26") and the look at reviews (closer to your location the better) as in not USA or Continental reviews.

Wanderer78

if you think ballyhoura is good, wait till you get to bike park ireland!

http://www.bikeparkireland.ie/

https://www.facebook.com/bikeparkireland/

this will all come down to budget, how much do you have to spend? id ignore the diamond back

pegdrums

topcat77 wrote: »

What type of MTB you thinking of doing? Start with HT and then decide between 29" of 27.5" wheels ( forget 26") and the look at reviews (closer to your location the better) as in not USA or Continental reviews.

I've decided on 27.5 as it'll only be for mountain biking and not commuting.

As for the kind of mountain biking..... not downhill or anything super extreme. I'm looking for something to take me around ballyhoura or trackton....so something general enough I guess.
( xc or trail riding?....still getting my head around the terminology!)

pegdrums

Wanderer78 wrote: »

this will all come down to budget, how much do you have to spend? id ignore the diamond back

I've a MAX budget of 600. I'll check out bike park ireland...cheers.

Wanderer78

pegdrums wrote: »

I've a MAX budget of 600. I'll check out bike park ireland...cheers.

you wont get an amazing hard tail for that but you will get something to start you off. i think id recommend you look at the second hand markets, a very good website for such:

https://www.pinkbike.com/

topcat77

29" perfect for ballyhouras. Don't ignore the Voodoo bikes in Halfords if buying new. The main bike designer for voodoo bikes is ex kona bikes.

Lemming

Mr. Grieves wrote: »

Budgeting for a new cassette and chain at a minimum is a good idea when buying any second hand bike.

I'd be inclined to look for a bike less than a year old, that should minimise the amount of abuse it's suffered.

You'd think .... as a general rule of thumb, at a minimum I would be budgetting to have the front-suspension* stripped, inspected & serviced above anything else, unless the gears are hanging together. No need to defacto swap out a chain & cassette if gears aren't slipping & the chain isn't worn, but you have no idea with a visual inspection of what conditions the suspension (and/or linkage for a full-suspension frame) have been through. Any grime & dirt that's managed to get past the seals will be acting like sand-paper against the inner fork stanchions.


* times three, if it's a full suspension beastie

pegdrums

topcat77 wrote: »

29" perfect for ballyhouras. Don't ignore the Voodoo bikes in Halfords if buying new. The main bike designer for voodoo bikes is ex kona bikes.

The bizango looks great. (Feature wise) and it's light too. Bit out of my reach though. Didn't look at the lesser voodoos but I will.

pegdrums

Lemming wrote: »

You'd think .... as a general rule of thumb, at a minimum I would be budgetting to have the front-suspension* stripped, inspected & serviced above anything else, unless the gears are hanging together. No need to defacto swap out a chain & cassette if gears aren't slipping & the chain isn't worn, but you have no idea with a visual inspection of what conditions the suspension (and/or linkage for a full-suspension frame) have been through. Any grime & dirt that's managed to get past the seals will be acting like sand-paper against the inner fork stanchions.


* times three, if it's a full suspension beastie

This would be partly my worry going second hand. The othe would be hairline cracks or fractures in the frame. I'd say there's a few out there who thought they could be Danny macaskill until they heard a strange noise as they landed a big jump.....then decide to sell!

I buy everything second hand...I'm an adverts maniac. But a lemon of a mtb could get expensive quickly.

nordicb

Can you use BTW scheme to get a bike? This would double your budget pretty much and it would be a new bike too.

If at your work they don't do it, perhaps you know someone who could do this for you?

I have 26" bike, but when I tried 29 it felt like a freaking road bike on trails, haha. It did roll over obstacles nicer though. Think I would prefer 27.5...

26 can be quite harsh on hardtail.

Cee-Jay-Cee

nordicb wrote: »

Buying a used mountain bike is not same as buying a 2nd hand road bike. These bikes see so much abuse in harsh conditions, that even with a trained eye it may be hard to estimate the condition of it. Best would be to take a friend who rides or knows common wear places on these bikes to get a good look at it. Things like bottom brackets, wheel bearings, brake system, suspension, rear derailleur they may be shot, but look impressive and clean. Don't fall for clean.

HT bike defo if on budget.

Not always, many people buy bikes thinking they'll use them and never do and then decide to sell them a year or so later. I got my 29er last year for 1/3 of the new price and I doubt if the bike had 20 miles from new, the owner claimed he rode it maybe 5 or 6 times, I'd say 2 or 3 would have been more accurate. I had been looking for a few months and was prepared to wait till the right bike turned up. I effectively got a new €1200 bike for €400.

iwillhtfu

+1 to the above I picked up a HT boardman comp a few years ago that would have done about 60km from new. I got it for €300 original price was €1200 or so.

The owner had even fittedo road tyres to it and included the knobbys in the sale.

Plenty of bargains to be had second hand and yes with a full suss you have to watch for worn bushings etc but it should be fairly easy to tell a well used mtb from one that was bought with the best of intentions on the BTW.

pegdrums

iwillhtfu wrote: »

+1 to the above I picked up a HT boardman comp a few years ago that would have done about 60km from new. I got it for €300 original price was €1200 or so.

This is probably what I'll do. I'm a drummer and 99% of my gear was bought on adverts. Same thing, waited for the right bargain....had the cash and picked up a bargain.

What do you think of this boardman: http://www.halfords.ie/cycling/bikes/mountain-bikes/boardman-mountain-bike-comp-27-5-2016

killalanerr

Probably a bit more than you want to spend , but you can't beat a bit of bike porn

https://www.canyon.com/en-ie/factory-outlet/#category=mtb-bikes&id=21594

I got mine form here (not this one) , good value and I love it

iwillhtfu

pegdrums wrote: »

What do you think of this boardman: http://www.halfords.ie/cycling/bikes/mountain-bikes/boardman-mountain-bike-comp-27-5-2016

It's a decent spec probably a bit more than I'd be willing to spend considering what a bit more might get you.

Good tyres
Good brakes
decent groupset
good entry level fork with lock out and damp adjust (big plus there)
120mm travel aswell more than enough for a HT
The smoothed welds give a nice look to the frame also.

I'd be curious to the weight but all in all it's a decent mtb

maddness

Have a look in your local bike shop and see what you can get. I'd stay away from a Halfords mountain bike tbh and buy secondhand as suggested. Don't discount a good second hand 26" wheel bike. The only mountain bikes everyone had were 26ers until a few years ago when marketing took over and convinced us all that we needed a 29er and then 27.5/650b. There is still plenty of fun to be had in a 26er. Buy a good value second hand 26er and if you get hooked as many do worry about wheel size when you are buying your next mtb.

pegdrums

killalanerr wrote: »

Probably a bit more than you want to spend , but you can't beat a bit of bike porn

https://www.canyon.com/en-ie/factory-outlet/#category=mtb-bikes&id=21594

I got mine form here (not this one) , good value and I love it

:p:p:p:p:p:p:p

pegdrums

maddness wrote: »

Have a look in your local bike shop and see what you can get. I'd stay away from a Halfords mountain bike tbh and buy secondhand as suggested. Don't discount a good second hand 26" wheel bike. The only mountain bikes everyone had were 26ers until a few years ago when marketing took over and convinced us all that we needed a 29er and then 27.5/650b. There is still plenty of fun to be had in a 26er. Buy a good value second hand 26er and if you get hooked as many do worry about wheel size when you are buying your next mtb.

LBS had that diamondback sync 4.0 €420 on BTW. Decent bike, nice frame and light. Cheap brakes and pedals but other than that it looked decent enough to me.
http://www.diamondback.co.uk/MTB/Product/?pc=1&pt=10&pg=18179

Very tempting

iwillhtfu

killalanerr wrote: »

Probably a bit more than you want to spend , but you can't beat a bit of bike porn

https://www.canyon.com/en-ie/factory-outlet/#category=mtb-bikes&id=21594

I got mine form here (not this one) , good value and I love it

I've a spectral they're a cracking bike and big bang for your buck.

C3PO

pegdrums wrote: »

LBS had that diamondback sync 4.0 €420 on BTW. Decent bike, nice frame and light. Cheap brakes and pedals but other than that it looked decent enough to me.
http://www.diamondback.co.uk/MTB/Product/?pc=1&pt=10&pg=18179

Very tempting

Rubbish forks!

pegdrums

Even if I sold my much beloved Transalp I still couldn't afford it!:eek::p

pegdrums

C3PO wrote: »

Rubbish forks!

Rubbish suntour model or rubbish because they're suntour?

C3PO

pegdrums wrote: »

Rubbish suntour model or rubbish because they're suntour?

I would really set myself a minimum of Rockshox/Fox forks.

pegdrums

C3PO wrote: »

I would really set myself a minimum of Rockshox/Fox forks.

But they be expensive no? I'm a beginner don't forget so would the difference in quality not be lost on me?
Im willing to save a bit more and wait (sold two drum bits today ) but also really keen to get going!

iwillhtfu

C3PO wrote: »

I would really set myself a minimum of Rockshox/Fox forks.

To be fair the newer suntour forks aren't to bad. The ones on that ridgeback would be poor though.

Lemming

C3PO wrote: »

I would really set myself a minimum of Rockshox/Fox forks.

X-Fusion are alright too, and some of the higher-spec manitou ones.

But, put in perspective, that bike isn't exactly a big-budget item so the spec is going to be relative to that. You can probably find a slightly better spec elsewhere for the same money, but in and around the same ballpark.

xxyyzz

Being honest, a reasonable new entry level hardtail starts at around €800 and even that is a low end model if you want something to stand up to riding natural mtb trails. Anything less is false economy as you'll end up replacing broken parts. With your budget a second hand hardtail is your best option.

ford2600

xxyyzz wrote: »

With your budget a second hand hardtail is your best option.

If you are Cork based (you mentioned Tracton) try the bike shop in Carriagline.

Shop is located here I promise!
https://goo.gl/aJFpoC

Owner is sound, it's not the highest end shop in the world but owner races mtb's and knows his stuff always has frames/2nd mtbs built up. Give him a shout and he should be able to put a decent bike together for you for budget.

Send me pm if you want his mobile. o21 four9I963six is landline

topcat77

This is the bike i picked up second hand on Adverts last year.

http://www.adverts.ie/mountain-bikes/voodoo-bizango-18inch/11637573

I've bought loads of stuff on Adverts but i think this best buy i've had from a point of use, enjoyment and bargain. I think second hand is your best option with the budget you have, just be patient for the correct advert.

pegdrums

topcat77 wrote: »

This is the bike i picked up second hand on Adverts last year.

http://www.adverts.ie/mountain-bikes/voodoo-bizango-18inch/11637573

I've bought loads of stuff on Adverts but i think this best buy i've had from a point of use, enjoyment and bargain. I think second hand is your best option with the budget you have, just be patient for the correct advert.

Think it's the way to go alright!

Nice bike....ya did well

pegdrums

ford2600 wrote: »

If you are Cork based (you mentioned Tracton) try the bike shop in Carriagline.

Shop is located here I promise!
https://goo.gl/aJFpoC

Owner is sound, it's not the highest end shop in the world but owner races mtb's and knows his stuff always has frames/2nd mtbs built up. Give him a shout and he should be able to put a decent bike together for you for budget.

Send me pm if you want his mobile. o21 four9I963six is landline

Yea saw him on Facebook. Gonna try and head out to him in a week or two. Wife's parents are over next weekend.

I'll pm you for his number. Cheers.