MTB Advice

monseiur

Hi all,
I'm a novice about to but my first MTB for mostly back road and some smooth trail and gravel trail use and just looking for opinions/advice on the following
2021 Giant Talon 4 and a 2021 Orbea MX50. Both are in the €500 to €600 price range, which one is the best buy.
Are there other similar priced brands/makes I should check out, my budget is €700 max. Should I avoid Halford bikes ? Brand, make or colour is not important to me, just good quality within budget.
Thanks. M.

ec18

I had an orbea mx10 and it was great loved it

Wanderer78

Try before you buy, if possible, no harm in checking out Halfords, they do sell some nice ones, and some god awful stuff too

maddness

I’d have the Giant but the Orbea is a good option too.
Don’t bother with a Halfords bike, terrible rubbish and pathetic service from them.
Buy from a local bike shop if you can, they tend to be run by cyclists who know their stuff.

Flinty997

I've generally had good experiences from Halfords and their higher end bikes are solid. It's only the cheap stuff you should stay away from. Personally for normal servicing and repairs Halfords book in system is (for me) much better than my LBS (plural) who are like russian roulette for repairs.

That's said Halfords recently outsourced their phone system and that was a disaster when I tried it.

monseiur

Flinty997 wrote: »

I've generally had good experiences from Halfords and their higher end bikes are solid. It's only the cheap stuff you should stay away from. Personally for normal servicing and repairs Halfords book in system is (for me) much better than my LBS (plural) who are like russian roulette for repairs.

That's said Halfords recently outsourced their phone system and that was a disaster when I tried it.

Thanks all for your replies.
You're right about Halfords phone system, I tried calling them numerous times and ended up talking to someone in South Africa who sounded Indian and whose command of the english language was very limited.
The bike I was enquiring about was their 2021 Carrera Vengence, I may as well been looking for a remote controlled propulsion unit for a space ship !

Unacbruce

Hi folks, I'm new to mountain biking and bought my first bike a few weeks ago on chain reaction. Vitus Nucleus VR 29. I've had two spins on it. Yesterday I went for a spin and when I got home the tube exploded and tyre completely ripped. I had only replaced the tube earlier that day after tube exploded when I pumped tyre before my spin (tyre was intact at this point and I thought I must have over inflated the tube in error). I had approx 35psi in the tube. Max on tyre wall states 65psi.

I checked the rim of both wheels tonight and there is no protective tape on either rim and bumps where spokes attach are protruding. Should the wheels have come with tape, I'm guessing they should and I was probably lucky it didn't happen while I was on the bike. Any advice would be appreciated.

mad turnip

Unacbruce wrote: »

Hi folks, I'm new to mountain biking and bought my first bike a few weeks ago on chain reaction. Vitus Nucleus VR 29. I've had two spins on it. Yesterday I went for a spin and when I got home the tube exploded and tyre completely ripped. I had only replaced the tube earlier that day after tube exploded when I pumped tyre before my spin (tyre was intact at this point and I thought I must have over inflated the tube in error). I had approx 35psi in the tube. Max on tyre wall states 65psi.

I checked the rim of both wheels tonight and there is no protective tape on either rim and bumps where spokes attach are protruding. Should the wheels have come with tape, I'm guessing they should and I was probably lucky it didn't happen while I was on the bike. Any advice would be appreciated.

Tubes rely on the tire not having a major hole in it, if the tire carcass is compromised, tubes will keep exploding and its not safe to ride.
That said Vitus MTB's generally have tubeless tape fitted to the wheels but its not required as thats for a tubless setup.
If the tire itself is comprised attach some pictures and we can let you know if the tire is done for.
The spokes will possibly have some depth into the well of the rim but not by much I'd have thought. Are any of the spokes loose?

Unacbruce

mad turnip wrote: »

Tubes rely on the tire not having a major hole in it, if the tire carcass is compromised, tubes will keep exploding and its not safe to ride.
That said Vitus MTB's generally have tubeless tape fitted to the wheels but its not required as thats for a tubless setup.
If the tire itself is comprised attach some pictures and we can let you know if the tire is done for.
The spokes will possibly have some depth into the well of the rim but not by much I'd have thought. Are any of the spokes loose?

Thanks MT. No spokes loose and tyre is completely torn. I'm worried if I just replace the tyre it will blow again and probably mid spin. I've a couple of pics that I've sent to Chain reaction asking if tape should have been included on the rims.

mad turnip

Unacbruce wrote: »

Thanks MT. No spokes loose and tyre is completely torn. I'm worried if I just replace the tyre it will blow again and probably mid spin. I've a couple of pics that I've sent to Chain reaction asking if tape should have been included on the rims.

Where is the tire torn, depending on how the tear is you can probably infer what kind of failure occurred. WTB aren't the biggest tire manufacturer but I would have rated them quite decently. I use a vigilante up front on my trail bike.

If the tear is at the bead (where the tire meets the rim) this is likely a manufacturing defect.
If its in the sidewall a jagged rock may have cut the tire.
And if its in the thread its more than likely a bad puncture.

https://www.chainreactioncycles.com/ie/en/vitus-nucleus-29-vr-mountain-bike-grey-2021/rp-prod195582
"WTB ST I30 TCS 2.0, 29”, 32h TCS Tubeless Tape Fitted"
I'd assume all models have the same.

When you initially inflated the tire to 35 psi, what kind of pump did you use, how long did you spend pumping it up to this value? It shouldn't take more than a minute of pumping to reach this with a floor pump.

Unacbruce

mad turnip wrote: »

Where is the tire torn, depending on how the tear is you can probably infer what kind of failure occurred. WTB aren't the biggest tire manufacturer but I would have rated them quite decently. I use a vigilante up front on my trail bike.

If the tear is at the bead (where the tire meets the rim) this is likely a manufacturing defect.
If its in the sidewall a jagged rock may have cut the tire.
And if its in the thread its more than likely a bad puncture.


"WTB ST I30 TCS 2.0, 29”, 32h TCS Tubeless Tape Fitted"
I'd assume all models have the same.

When you initially inflated the tire to 35 psi, what kind of pump did you use, how long did you spend pumping it up to this value? It shouldn't take more than a minute of pumping to reach this with a floor pump.

Now that you mention it, when I inflated the tyre before the spin it took a good 3 mins of constant pumping to get it to 35psi, I was using an aldi floor pump with gauge. The tear is a huge tear on tyre. I only noticed later that night as it blew up/exploded while I was out of the house. I suspected that the tube bursting caused the tear but maybe the tear was there from the spin and I was just lucky to get home. Apologies I'm new to this, and I should probably know basics 🙈

Unacbruce

Will try an post a pic once I hit 5 posts(and apologies to mods if I'm clogging thread)

Unacbruce

Rim



Tear

Unacbruce

Got this resolved with CR for those interested. They forgot to include rim tape on the wheels that came installed on the bike. This caused the damage to the tubes. They have given me vochures to cover the cost of a new tyre, tube and rim tape. Happy with their response and they replied to each email within a few hours. I would hope that they contact anybody else that bought the same model as I was just lucky that they burst when I was off the bike and not on it.

mad turnip

Unacbruce wrote: »

Now that you mention it, when I inflated the tyre before the spin it took a good 3 mins of constant pumping to get it to 35psi, I was using an aldi floor pump with gauge. The tear is a huge tear on tyre. I only noticed later that night as it blew up/exploded while I was out of the house. I suspected that the tube bursting caused the tear but maybe the tear was there from the spin and I was just lucky to get home. Apologies I'm new to this, and I should probably know basics 🙈

It sounds as if you exploded the tube. For a tire like that vigilante you probably want closer to 20 psi if you are 65kg trending towards 30 psi if you are 90kg.
The tire should deform slightly when you are sitting on the bike.
Some pumps like that aldi one may have a useless gauge that is way off.
One thing to keep in mind is that pressure gauges could have bar or psi (imperial) 3 bar is 43 psi so make sure your not getting these confused.

In your picture it looks as if the tire does have rim tape fitted (its yellowish).
I'd just take the money CRC are offering and get a similar front tire on and fitted by the bike shop ask them there opinion on the rim tape and get them to inflate the tires to whatever psi for your weight.

This probably goes without saying now, but don't put another tube in that tire it will explode.
As for inflating the tires I'm not sure what advise to give for 20 psi I can barley press the tire in with my thumb (I'd consider my thumb strength low for a guy). If your a bigger guy you can probably barley push in at 30 psi with a thumb. If the tire is rock solid can't push it in with your hand at all its got to much air in it. It may be best to buy a proper floor pump you can get some budget options.

steamsey

I agree with Mad Turnip, I think you over inflated it. Slight chance of faulty tyre, it can happen, but I'd say either your pump gauge is goosed or you didn't read the pressure properly.

I got a Park Tools track pump maybe 6 years ago for 40 or 50 quid and its gauge is accurate (compared to a digital pressure tester) and it still gets plenty of use. It would really help you to get used to tyre pressures and how the tyres feel at certain pressures if you have an accurate gauge on your pump. Also defo look into tubeless when you can. Game changer in terms of no punctures.

OR maybe buy a digital tyre gauge like one of these and keep the track pump you have https://www.bikeradar.com/advice/buyers-guides/best-tyre-pressure-gauges/

Unacbruce

Thanks folks, top advice there. I'm taking it to a bike mechanic once the new tyre and rim tape arrives. Have been meaning to buy a new floor pump and will get onto that too ��