Beginner bike

El Guapo!

This forum doesn't seem all that active but I'm hoping I can get some advice on what bike to go for.

I'm just developing an interest in mountain biking and looking to get my first bike. Getting one through the cycle to work scheme so I'll have around 1250 ish to spend.

I've no idea what I'm looking for really as I'm brand new to this but I'll be interested in biking on trails and eventually building up to some faster runs and very small jumps hopefully. Nothing too crazy. I'm 38 yrs old and 6 foot tall if that matters.

Any advice is appreciated.

fatbhoy

You'll get nothing for that money. Entry point is about 3K. Get a full suss trail bike. Better still, forget cycle-to-work and get secondhand: you'll get something good for 2 - 2.5K. Look on the Facebook buy&sell groups (Dublin MTB Buy & Sell, e.g.).

El Guapo!

https://www.boards.ie/discussion/comment/123763372#Comment_123763372

Entry point for what exactly? Im not looking for anything fancy. Just something for a first bike to get me started. I'm sure there's something in my budget range that would work.

That's my budget. If I had 2.5k lying around I would use that but I don't.

Lemming

Have you got any particular types of riding in mind that you want to try that might give a nudge in any particular direction?

fatbhoy

https://www.boards.ie/discussion/comment/123764051#Comment_123764051

Who cares. I told you what the story is, so I'm out.

steve-o

You should be able to find an entry-level hard-tail for your budget. Make sure it has a dropper post or you'll soon be spending more money to get that sorted. If you are in the Dublin area, you might be able to get an ex-rental from biking.ie or GAP. Biking have an email sign-up on their website to let you know when they are selling off rental stock

El Guapo!

https://www.boards.ie/discussion/comment/123764496#Comment_123764496

😂😂 Clown

El Guapo!

Mainly trail riding and some stuff in bike parks. Im not looking to break any records red bull jumping or anything like that but if the bike was capable of handling very small jumps and drops then that would be enough for me.

From a bit of research I think a trail or enduro bike might suit?

oinkely

Ignore the 'you have to spend 2.5k to get a decent bike' fella. That's utter rubbish.

At the budget you have it's going to be a hardtail. As above - get one with a dropper seatpost and a 1x drivetrain of some description.

I have an orbea laufey hard tail and its brilliant for what i do - can ride anything on it in ballinastoe and ticknock. The bike definitely does not hold me back, my skills and desire to see my kids grow up do that! Mine was about 1700 on the BTW a few years ago but there were lower spec ones that would come in at your budget.

A friend bought a similar yolk but trek branded around covid as it was the only bike he could get his hands on through the BTW and again, no problems with any trail in Ballinastoe and Ticknock.

I had an older full suspension high end 26" wheel bike for a while that cost me 1/3rd of your budget and was also perfectly capable of handling everything in the above centres. Sold it recently on adverts as I wasn't riding it enough to justify two MTBs in the shed.

Plenty of options at your budget that will put a smile on your face and handle any trails and a few jumps.

https://www.theedge-sports.com/bikes/mountain-bikes/cube-reaction-tm-mountain-bike-in-brown__6174

https://www.theedge-sports.com/bikes/mountain-bikes/orbea-laufey-h30-2023-hardtail-trail-mountain-bike--sand__4667

Wanderer78

https://www.boards.ie/discussion/comment/123764869#Comment_123764869

fcuking arsehole more like, yes spending more, tends to get you more, but a couple of grand is a hell of a lot to get started in a hobby you re only just jumping into, i started on a hardtail worth a grand, bet lumps out of it, nearly killed myself in the process, but damn, it was fun, you ll be grand with spending this amount, you will hit its limits quickly enough though, you ll have a lot of fun in the process, hope you dont mind experiencing near death experiences, cause tis good fun!

El Guapo!

https://www.boards.ie/discussion/comment/123764958#Comment_123764958

Thanks for that. Very helpful. That's the kind of reply I was hoping for. As I mentioned, I'm completely new to this and in over my head so a bit of guidance is what I needed rather than that other poster spouting crap. 😂

oinkely

Don't forget to budget for a decent helmet, and the lads I MTB with recently also swear by knee and elbow pads, i haven't gone that far myself yet though. They weren't needed in the 90's so not convinced i need them now!

El Guapo!

https://www.boards.ie/discussion/comment/123765064#Comment_123765064

100% getting a decent helmet. The older I get, the longer it takes me to recover from injury. Nowadays I feel like I'm one good sneeze away from a hospital stay!

Im looking forward to getting into it. Heading to The Gap next week with a couple of friends who are also new to it so it should be good fun and I'll get a taste for what I like

oinkely

Enjoy. It's a great way to spend time outside.

Wanderer78

https://www.boards.ie/discussion/comment/123765064#Comment_123765064

definitely knee pads, elbows are probably a good call also, especially starting out

El Guapo!

On the helmet discussion.... is full face recommended or not? I don't really fancy losing my teeth so the extra protection of full face would appeal to me but is it really needed for what I'll be doing?

Lemming

You might be able to get a passable full-sus on your budget albeit 2nd hand, and with that in mind, definitely check with the likes of the Gap and Biking.ie about their fleet clearances as @steve-o has suggested as you can get a lot of bang-for-buck. If you want a new bike, not really going to get a look in without increasing your budget closer to 2k or above for the most part with a couple of notable outliers, so as the lads have said, a hardtail it is and you should be able to find some that are quite capable without too much difficulty with your budget. Even more so if you are ok going 2nd hand.

That being said (regards new bikes), the Calibre bossnut is a fairly competent beginners full-sus bike for its price point (at GBP£1550) which isn't a million miles away from your current budget if you can find a way to stretch that and assuming you can get to Go Outdoors shop in Belfast (they own calibre and that's their only location in Ireland).

Lemming

https://www.boards.ie/discussion/comment/123766625#Comment_123766625

The decision to go full-face or not is a very personal one that will vary from person to person with quite a few things to factor in; how light/comfortable/ventilated is the helmet as this is going to be wrapped around your sweating head for quite some length of time. Some people will find their head shape doesn't suite a particular helmet model, or don't like the look/colour/price/etc.

I don't think you'll need to go straight to full-face for trail riding for the most part. If you don't feel confident without having that extra protection, and/or you want the option to be able to chop & change, there are also a couple of helmet offerings that have removable chin-bars.

I will also mention - for sake of brevity - that such helmets may fall foul of national race series regulations should you decide that you want to enter a race or two after a couple of months riding. Not sure about Cycling Ireland but for example, British Cycling regulations do (or did last time I checked) have an explicit ban on helmets with removable chin bars. Never seen anyone pulled up for it but the fine print was/is there.

Top Dog

Diving in at the deep end hitting the Gap! Hope you enjoyed it.

you could rent a Trek hardtail in Ticknock to get a feel for things too and help decide if a hardtail is enough for your needs.

as for helmets, Lemming has hit the nail on the head. The only thing I'd add is that I've done a few enduro races here, wearing full-full-face with removable chin guard, and it's never been an issue.