Bike Options for someone looking to get into mountain biking.

ofthelord

Hi All,

I am thinking of purchasing a mountain bike - this will be my first mountain bike so hoping to get a few ideas here as to the best options I should be looking at.
I live in Wicklow and do a lot of running(trails/road) and cycling(road).

Over the last few months I've seen a lot of people mountain biking around Carrick mountain while I've been out running and I've decided to get an entry level bike so I can try it out for myself to see if it is as much fun as it looks.
I've been checking out different sites for bikes and there are just so many it is hard to know what are best options to be looking at.
I'd consider anything from 5-700euro.

Even if I don't stick to the mountain biking the bike will be used for day to day spins into town etc.
All suggestions/advice will be most welcome!
Thanks.

Wanderer78

the advice i generally give in these situations is, dont buy anything, try it first by renting bikes at official trails such as ticknock, ballinastoe and ballyhoura. do this for a while, starting on standard hard tails, checking out as many brands as you can, until you come across a brand you really like, as i do believe purchasing a bike is a very personal decision. all major brands are making exceptional bikes now as competition is fierce, and you ll get a good bike in your price range. just be careful though, its highly addictive, and before you know it, you ll be spending a couple of grand on an enduro. best of luck

Lemming

Wanderer78 wrote: »

the advice i generally give in these situations is, dont buy anything, try it first by renting bikes at official trails such as ticknock, ballinastoe and ballyhoura. do this for a while, starting on standard hard tails, checking out as many brands as you can, until you come across a brand you really like, as i do believe purchasing a bike is a very personal decision. all major brands are making exceptional bikes now as competition is fierce, and you ll get a good bike in your price range. just be careful though, its highly addictive, and before you know it, you ll be spending a couple of grand on an enduro. best of luck

To add to that, some companies, shops, and bike parks will occasionally put on 'demo' days. I know that the Gap in Dublin did one a couple of months ago, and they're [demo days] a fairly regular occurrence - at least anecdotally - on my twitter feed over here in the UK from shops, and some of the "local" manufacturers will accommodate small groups on request.

Wanderer78

Lemming wrote: »

To add to that, some companies, shops, and bike parks will occasionally put on 'demo' days. I know that the Gap in Dublin did one a couple of months ago, and they're [demo days] a fairly regular occurrence - at least anecdotally - on my twitter feed over here in the UK from shops, and some of the "local" manufacturers will accommodate small groups on request.

unfortunately demo days dont seem to be as popular here as the uk, there was a whyte demo day in ticknock a couple of years ago, the lads were telling me the awful hassle they had at trying to organise it, whyte were very reluctant to send over the bikes, and didnt exactly go out of their way to make it happen. one of my local shops was trying to organise a demo day in ballyhoura with giant, they just couldnt get the numbers to justify it, so it didnt happen, its a pity because its a perfect way to try out bikes, hopefully its changing here though.

Top Dog

Main piece of advice I got when I was looking a few months ago was to get a hard-tail so you get the basics down first. A full suspension can be too forgiving and create bad habits that are hard to change later. Dunno how valid that advice was, but after reading more I think there was some good reasoning behind it.

ofthelord

Thanks for the responses.
I think I will try a few days out on rentals to try get a feel for some bikes.
There are a few places in Dublin where i know you can get rentals(ticknock/glencullen).

I head away west to the family home in Galway every few weekends and there are a few places close by - I've heard Derroura is a good place and that they have bike rental available, so will look to try there too.

Hopefully I will enjoy the mountain biking - and I reckon I will. Some of the drops on the trails that I see look very crazy/dangerous, but equally looks like super fun!
I'll try different rentals for a few weeks and try get an idea for the best suiting bike for me. and hope to get a bike in a month or so to allow me get out for a few spins on the nice hills/tracks close to the house.
thanks again for all your replies.

bogmanfan

Just as an aside, Carrick is awesome, but definitely not an easy place for dipping your toe into the sport! Those trails have been used to host the EWS tour on 3 occasions. Up the road in Ballinastoe would be a better option to get your bike handling skills going before hitting Carrick.

xxyyzz

Trek are having a demo day in ballyhoura in October, not too sure of the date but give the guys at trailriders a ring and they'll have the details. http://www.trailriders.ie

ofthelord

Thanks bogmanfan - I'll definitely be trying out a few of the easier spots first before any of the difficult routes.

I will try and do a few rental days at various locations over the coming weeks to get a feel for some different bikes.
I mentioned Carrick as it is only a couple a couple of km from me here and it is where I go a few times a week. I've been up the top of Carrick for runs a good bit and as amazing as it looks from up there I am not sure how people cycle down parts of it - it is crazy steep in parts! I seen a bit of the motor bikes up their yesterday and they are equally as mad!



@xxyzz - thanks for the info I'll look into it. Think Ballyhoura may be a bit out of the way for me, but will check it out anyway.

emeraldmtb

I think Biking Dirty are planning a demo day or days soon at the GAP and/or Bike Park Ireland, october i think.

And Bespoke are doing a Santa Cruz mini demo day sometime in november

steamsey

Top Dog wrote: »

Main piece of advice I got when I was looking a few months ago was to get a hard-tail so you get the basics down first. A full suspension can be too forgiving and create bad habits that are hard to change later. Dunno how valid that advice was, but after reading more I think there was some good reasoning behind it.

Was brought up with this advice too but have begun to question it of late.

Just one opinion here - https://www.pinkbike.com/news/you-dont-need-to-learn-on-a-hardtail-opinion-2016.html

However, going hardtail first makes more sense to me from a value perspective than anything else - i.e. if I was buying my first bike with say €1,000 to spend, I'd be much better off getting a hard tail because a full suss at that price would be very basic. I don't necessarily believe it will make a huge difference to riding ability but it's obviously very subjective and nearly impossible to prove either way.

And if it is valid, then logic follows that all beginners should scrap the disc brakes, dropper post etc etc and learn on the most basic bike possible - which is probably not the case.

Wanderer78

steamsey wrote:

Was brought up with this advice too but have begun to question it of late.

I question it to, I started on a hardtail, this wasn't intentional, as that's the bike I had to hand, I completed wrecked it as I was using it on trails that weren't suitable but I'm sure I learned a lot by doing so. Ive met lads that purchased enduros straight away, and they seemed fine doing so, so it's a difficult one to truly answer, but if the op does want to venture down the enduro route, I'd recommend a second hand one in their price range, some decent bikes out there for that money.

Macy0161

I did start on an ex (biking.ie) rental hard tail. I ended up giving up on the mtb side as I just wasn't enjoying it and coming off too much. That was maybe 4 or 5 years ago. I got a full suss last winter, and while I appreciate it's overkill and too forgiving for the built trails I do, I don't have the commitment to spend too much time on the skills*. I've used it far more just because I can hop on it when I want to go off road to my local trails (ballinastoe) without feeling out of my depth and get a quick lap in and home again. Obviously, the geometry has also changed in the intervening years so most likely a modern hardtail would also be more forgiving than my old trek 4500!

*I do plan to work on my skills, do a few coached sessions with biking.ie

Wanderer78

Macy0161 wrote:

I did start on an ex (biking.ie) rental hard tail. I ended up giving up on the mtb side as I just wasn't enjoying it and coming off too much. That was maybe 4 or 5 years ago. I got a full suss last winter, and while I appreciate it's overkill and too forgiving for the built trails I do, I don't have the commitment to spend too much time on the skills*. I've used it far more just because I can hop on it when I want to go off road to my local trails (ballinastoe) without feeling out of my depth and get a quick lap in and home again. Obviously, the geometry has also changed in the intervening years so most likely a modern hardtail would also be more forgiving than my old trek 4500!

I know a chap that regularly rides trails truly designed for enduros on a hardtail, but he competes at a fairly high level, so has the skill level to back it up, it is doable but I wouldn't recommend it, it's impressive to watch him though, great skill

xxyyzz

I think that a lot of people who started out on hardtails did so on second hand xc oriented bikes with 100mm travel and steep short geometry with no dropper post. Bloody awful for mtb in other words. The modern trail hardtails are much more forgiving and suitable for beginners. A lot of of them come with wider plus tyres which takes a lot of the harshness out of the ride.

nak

Ask around and see if the shops have test bikes.

I started on a HT with 80mm travel, didn't enjoy it much due to type of trails I was riding and upgraded to a full sus trail bike within a year. Skill level is easier to work on if you're comfortable on the bike and not trying to ride down enduro stages on something that isn't fit for purpose.

Macy0161

xxyyzz wrote: »

I think that a lot of people who started out on hardtails did so on second hand xc oriented bikes with 100mm travel and steep short geometry with no dropper post. Bloody awful for mtb in other words.

Pretty much what I was trying to say, only said better! In fairness, it was fine for the built trails which is what biking.ie were renting it for, but it destroyed my confidence/ really showed my lack of skills when I tried natural trails.