What not to do when buying first MTB...

Paddigol · 29-11-2019 10:25am #1

I'm dipping my toe out into the MTB market. Coming from road, but with Carrick Mtn on my doorstep thought it would be shameful not to branch out a bit.

I know these are the sort of threads that pop up regularly and once you've read one you've likely read them all, so apologies if this seems repetitive.

Really just looking for a steer as to what not to get sucked in by, and what to prioritise when choosing bike. The MTB scene is a whole other world from the Road scene, so my experience to date counts for zero really.

Other than not trying out a few options before purchasing, what are the classic mistakes people buying their first bike? And what are the key components to look for higher quality on? Wheels/ forks/ chainset/ crankset/ brakes/ triple/ double/ single etc...

I'm almost certain I'm going hardtail as won't be looking to kill any crazy trail descents. Really just a good blast on the hills.

I'm also keen to keep budget low as 1) Road will still be my main focus and 2) if that changes I don't want to feel too guilty about upgrading the MTB.

The four I'm looking at right now are;

https://www.rosebikes.com/rose-count-solo-1-bike-now-2671442?product_shape=Matt+Black%2FShiny+Black
https://www.merlincycles.com/felt-surplus-70-plus-mountain-bike-2018-146265.html
https://www.merlincycles.com/merlin-malt-mountain-bike-2018-114994.html
https://www.merlincycles.com/bianchi-grizzly-93-deore-mountain-bike-2019-164169.html

Biggest differences to my untrained eye are fork, suspension travel, brakes and wheelsets. Will do a bit more research on these, but welcome any thoughts...

covey123 · 29-11-2019 11:49am

Paddigol wrote: »

so apologies if this seems repetitive.

Don't worry, everyone wants to share their opinion, whether you like it or not ;-)

Hardtail definitely the way to go for first bike,also will be plenty for most trails.
After that,go with the best fork you can afford,its very easy and much cheaper to upgrade wheels/drivetrain etc afterwards if you feel the need to

covey123 · 29-11-2019 12:00pm

Paddigol wrote: »

Biggest differences to my untrained eye are fork, suspension travel, brakes and wheelsets. Will do a bit more research on these, but welcome any thoughts...

At just a quick glance, the geometry on the first and last links above look to be more xc orientated,so steeper head and seat tube angles on these,the middle two a little slacker so a little better when pointed downwards

bogmanfan · 29-11-2019 12:20pm

Conventional wisdom says go with a hardtail for your first bike, but most people I know started on full suss. I would be going for this:

https://www.gooutdoors.co.uk/15903687/calibre-bossnut-evo-mountain-bike-15903687

Gets great reviews, has fantastic spec, and well under €1k. If Carrick is your local riding spot you'll be glad of the rear suspension - they're fantastic trails, but I wouldn't enjoy them on an XC hardtail.

Lemming · 29-11-2019 2:09pm

covey123 wrote: »

At just a quick glance, the geometry on the first and last links above look to be more xc orientated,so steeper head and seat tube angles on these,the middle two a little slacker so a little better when pointed downwards

Not to mention fork travel isn't particularly big (100mm in the case of the Rose bike and not much more for the Bianchi and Felt). Of all three, only the Felt frame accommodates Boost rear hub dimensions surprisingly. The Merlin appears the best in terms of everything else about it.

Which brings me onto 1xN vs Y+1xN drive trains; unless you particularly want that additional ring up front, it's all gone 1xN; simpler set-up, less weight because less parts (no front derailleur or shifter), less mental arithmetic on the bike regards what gear you want to be in, and less to break.

And I'll second bogmanfan's link to the Callibre bossnut (there are a couple of variants to choose from) as I know of a few folk around these parts (being Sheffield) that own and like them, and I've not heard anyone else say a bad thing about them.

Paddigol · 29-11-2019 3:13pm

Thanks for feedback - appreciated.

Alkers · 29-11-2019 3:47pm

bogmanfan wrote: »

Conventional wisdom says go with a hardtail for your first bike, but most people I know started on full suss. I would be going for this:

https://www.gooutdoors.co.uk/15903687/calibre-bossnut-evo-mountain-bike-15903687

Gets great reviews, has fantastic spec, and well under €1k. If Carrick is your local riding spot you'll be glad of the rear suspension - they're fantastic trails, but I wouldn't enjoy them on an XC hardtail.

I had it in my head that a decent dull suss couldn't be had for less than 2k euro. I am upgrading from a 15+ year old rig so seriously tempted by that

prunudo · 29-11-2019 8:05pm

bogmanfan wrote: »

Conventional wisdom says go with a hardtail for your first bike, but most people I know started on full suss. I would be going for this:

https://www.gooutdoors.co.uk/15903687/calibre-bossnut-evo-mountain-bike-15903687

Gets great reviews, has fantastic spec, and well under €1k. If Carrick is your local riding spot you'll be glad of the rear suspension - they're fantastic trails, but I wouldn't enjoy them on an XC hardtail.

Second what bogmanfan says, you'll be wishing for a full sus in no time if you start out on a hardtail in Carrick. Unless you plan on sticking to fire roads and some of the lower trails. Not saying you couldn't do it on a hardtail but it may be a waste of money.
One option though could be to buy a second hand hardtail to get used to it for a few months then buy the full sus. Best of luck with it and hopefully the change of scenery and terrain will bring a new love of two wheels.

Wanderer78 · 30-11-2019 6:25am

prunudo wrote: »

Second what bogmanfan says, you'll be wishing for a full sus in no time if you start out on a hardtail in Carrick. Unless you plan on sticking to fire roads and some of the lower trails. Not saying you couldn't do it on a hardtail but it may be a waste of money.
One option though could be to buy a second hand hardtail to get used to it for a few months then buy the full sus. Best of luck with it and hopefully the change of scenery and terrain will bring a new love of two wheels.

Yea I'd second the second hand hardtail, you ll probably regret buying a brand new one fairly quickly

Feidhlim Dignan · 01-12-2019 10:32am

Bike24 have a specialized chisel on black Friday sale a real good xc bike you could dip the toe in racing. Looks like it's in your budget too.

When I say racing I mean the pedalling kind, XC biking blitz runs from the end of Jan and is a good blast for all abilities.

xxyyzz · 02-12-2019 1:20pm

bogmanfan wrote: »

Conventional wisdom says go with a hardtail for your first bike, but most people I know started on full suss. I would be going for this:

https://www.gooutdoors.co.uk/15903687/calibre-bossnut-evo-mountain-bike-15903687

Gets great reviews, has fantastic spec, and well under €1k. If Carrick is your local riding spot you'll be glad of the rear suspension - they're fantastic trails, but I wouldn't enjoy them on an XC hardtail.

What he says, the Calibre bikes are getting absolute rave reviews in the full suss budget category. I'd definitely steer clear of XC bikes, they are optimised for climbing and you need to be a very skillful descender to knock any craic out of them on the descents and descending is where it's at in MTB

(IMHO).

The number one thing to get right is the size though, the best designed bike will still be like riding a gate if it's too big and it will be way too twitchy if it's too small.

nutjobb · 02-12-2019 1:29pm

My advice is get a bike with a dropper post, nothing worse than having to dis mount your bike to change your seat height. For ascending seat up and for descending have seat dropped down. The amount of times I use my dropper post on any trail is staggering.. No way would I go back to not having one. Rockshox reverb is probably most common one, please check them out.

xxyyzz · 02-12-2019 1:59pm

Also, if you are going down the hardtail route I'd be looking at a Vitus Sentier. Lovely bikes with a great spec and a geometry optimisied for trail riding. I think biking.ie rent them.

https://www.chainreactioncycles.com/ie/en/vitus/mountain-bikes/hardtail

QueenMTBee · 02-12-2019 3:14pm

My tuppence worth - go second hand for your first MTB. You'll get much better bang for your buck and you won't care as much when it inevitably gets a few dings and scratches. Once you know what kind of trail riding you like, you can sell it on and upgrade to a bike specifically suited to your likes/needs.

There is a great FB group where you'll have good choice on second hand MTBs. Most people on it are a sound bunch.

Edited to say that Carrick Mountain is absolutely great for mountain biking but you'll definitely want a bike capable of handling steepish stuff. 100mm travel on a XC bike wouldn't really cut it.

covey123 · 02-12-2019 4:40pm

QueenMTBee wrote: »

My tuppence worth - go second hand for your first MTB. You'll get much better bang for your buck and you won't care as much when it inevitably gets a few dings and scratches.

I'll second that, great deals to be had in second hand

Alkers · 02-12-2019 4:54pm

covey123 wrote: »

I'll second that, great deals to be had in second hand

Where do you browse for them? Dondeal is a bit of a pain without a MTB category

prunudo · 02-12-2019 5:06pm

Afaik biking.ie, The Gap and the rental place in Rostrevor have been selling their rental bikes recently, have seen fb posts in the last while bit didn't really pay attention to the details.

covey123 · 02-12-2019 5:38pm

Alkers wrote: »

Where do you browse for them? Dondeal is a bit of a pain without a MTB category

https://m.facebook.com/groups/1513958272192671/?ref=group_header&view=group

Lemming · 02-12-2019 5:52pm

The Gap are selling off their current Nukeproof Megas for - as I recall from the instagram/facebook posts - €1700 with €100 of that as a deposit.

bogmanfan · 02-12-2019 6:20pm

There are positives and negatives to buying second hand. Was only having a conversation about this on a spin yesterday. Mate of mine bought a second hand xc hardtail, and it needed a fair bit of work. Ended up costing him more than a new one!

Unless a seller has receipts for recent servicing then you need to factor in the possible cost of fork and shock servicing along with bearings and any drivetrain bits and pieces.

You could get a bargain if buying from someone who has maintained their bike, but you could also get a lemon. At least a new bike should be maintenance-free for a year or so.

Lemming · 02-12-2019 10:14pm

bogmanfan wrote: »

There are positives and negatives to buying second hand. Was only having a conversation about this on a spin yesterday. Mate of mine bought a second hand xc hardtail, and it needed a fair bit of work. Ended up costing him more than a new one!

Unless a seller has receipts for recent servicing then you need to factor in the possible cost of fork and shock servicing along with bearings and any drivetrain bits and pieces.

You could get a bargain if buying from someone who has maintained their bike, but you could also get a lemon. At least a new bike should be maintenance-free for a year or so.

TBH, any fork, shock, or bike with either of those, bought 2nd hand should be sent for a full fork/shock/linkage service asap - if for nothing else - to ensure that any potential for damage gets flagged and remedied before it becomes more than potential. I say that like it's an absolute, and as a rule of thumb you could do worse, but there's always educated exceptions like a shop, who should have no bother talking you through what they did before selling on, or your best mates mate who works for Fox and services Aaron Gwin's bike every weekend.

covey123 · 02-12-2019 11:23pm

Lemming wrote: »

your best mates mate who works for Fox and services Aaron Gwin's bike every weekend.

You wouldn't have his number would ya?have a few bits that need a complete overhaul....

Peter T · 03-12-2019 12:34pm

xxyyzz wrote: »

Also, if you are going down the hardtail route I'd be looking at a Vitus Sentier. Lovely bikes with a great spec and a geometry optimisied for trail riding. I think biking.ie rent them.

https://www.chainreactioncycles.com/ie/en/vitus/mountain-bikes/hardtail

Have a 2017 model sentier. Bought it second hand a year ago, had been converted to 1x10 by the previous owner and was genuinely spotless. Cost me half of what they are new. Added a dropper myself and have been using it every weekend over the past year. A brilliant bike, I've covered all aspects of mountain biking trails on it xc, enduro and even some dh trails. Soon to be picking up a full suss this week but the vitus will stay in the fleet. The mtb fb group mentioned or adverts are ones I find best for buying/ browsing. Good deals to be had if you're patient

straighttohell · 09-12-2019 4:55pm

Recently upgraded MTB, went for a KELLYS Madman50 27.5 wheel compared to the 26 wheel. Feels like a huge difference.

What not to do when buying first MTB...

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