Re: People with push bikes, help please?
 

a yellow hat?

Re: People with push bikes, help please?
 

Nah! Husky's right.
Fit 12" wheels to it - sorted!
( anyway, wouldn't like to buy yours complete with plum-shaped dents in the top tube )

Re: People with push bikes, help please?
 

Be very careful with the Carerra Banshee. They are lovely bikes, but due to the nature of them being bashed out cheap in Thailand, the design gets changed and makes things hard when spares are needed. A second hand full suspension bike is likely to need a new set of bearings or bushes and if it is an older model Banshee, they could be hard to get hold of.

Your best bet, wander down to your local bike shop and try a few out for size, you may well find that full sus bikes still bash your nadgers due to the high bottom bracket and funny seat angle that gives ground clearance even when bottomed out. :smt093

I have worked for several high end bikes shops over the years and most recently had to try to get enthused about Halfords stuff. In all of that time I do not think I have ridden a nicer bike than my Giant, but it did cost me £2K. :pale:

Re: People with push bikes, help please?
 

yea sorry 2k on a push iron, no thanks.

ive got a 17" and a 19" in the cellar and it does appear that i need 17" or 16", bugger.

oh well. it was just to knock arround on and maybe get to work. i also fancied the look of those org mtb weekendds :) but not for a while yet. if anyone can offer some advice it would be greatly recieved. i dont want to spend more than 200 notes really. and would like somethig with front suspension if possible? they seem to have these dart1 forks on the cheep ones, any good?

Re: People with push bikes, help please?
 

No ;)

I would forget about buying new, and look for a fleabay bargain. If you want to do do some 'proper' off roading, then front suspension is a must unless you want to get thrown off the bike, however a new £200 bike is going to be heavy and the forks & brakes will be a bit crap - UNLESS you manage to find an end of line (eg 2010/2009 bike) going for a bargain.

Have you looked in to whether you can do a Cycle to Work scheme through work?

Re: People with push bikes, help please?
 

i would do the cycle to work but the problem is they wont. also it seems as though you dont get such a good deal as you have to pay what the bikes worth when your done.

theres a kona fire thingy on ebay at the moment but its got the above forks. they all seem to have been around the 450 quid mark when new so they cant be that bad can they?

Re: People with push bikes, help please?
 

Dart forks are cheap, have steel stanchions and magnesium sliders. Internally they are basic, but and this is a big but, compared to similar priced forks available ten years ago, they are great. If you buy second hand, it is worth sending them off to TFTuning for a service. Tim Flooks used to be the Rockshox importer and he now spends his time servicing forks full time.

The Fire Mountain is the introductory level Kona, not bad bike, but at full price was a little expensive. I had a Kona Cindercone a few years ago and selling it was one of the biggest mistakes I ever made. It was a wonderful frame and fitted me nearly as well as my custom frame. Did I mention that I have a custom made Touring bike too that also cost me £1.5K? Yes, I know... I spent more on push bikes than I spent on motorbikes!

It is possible to buy a Merlin Metal Works Titanium frame and then build it up and not have change from £6K. It just depends on how seriously you take your push bike riding.

My Giant XtC Team Edition Racing hardtail was up for sale a while ago when I lost my job, I asked for £800. Luckily I found another job and did not have to sell it, it would have broken my heart to see her go. She has Carbon fibre handle bars, Hope twin pot hydraulic disks front and rear and Marzocchi forks. The icing on the cake though is a set of old School Deore Thumb shifters, they are nearly as old as some Orgers!

http://vintage-mtb-parts.erkan.se/wp...s-picture1.JPG

Re: People with push bikes, help please?
 

yea this is for knocking about on a few trails (north face run etc) and getting to work.

so what can you recomend?

Re: People with push bikes, help please?
 

Have a look at one of these.

Giant make loads of frames for other companies (Trek, Kona etc), they are cheaper than other makes because of this and they offer a multitude of frame materials. Have a good look on E-Bay or go and see your local dealer. Try a few sizes. It has been a hard Christmas for bike shops, so they are likely to have a few last year models laying around taking up room, while trying to clear space for the 2012 launches that will be coming in the next six months! :pale:

Avoid Halfords, they are so big, they don't need to haggle prices and over price anyway. I would not ride a bike built by them, especially since I worked for them and saw the barely trained young lads fresh from school trying to build customer bikes! [-X

Re: People with push bikes, help please?
 

Ok folks i managed to get a GT zum for a good price. Im really happy with it and have been to work on it a couple of times already. Overall its pretty good although still a little big at 18” but its got a lower stand over so not all bad.

now the thing is (keeping up with the jonses here) coming down home the other day i thought the brakes were not as good as i expected. The previous bike had v brakes and this has cable discs (alivio levers and quad qmd-5 calipers) yes they are better when its wet and i am going faster thanks to the tyres but there not as good as i was hoping for. Im now looking at hydraulics on ebay ! anyhow a bloke at work has some for sale but there seized. He recons there like 150 quid a set so do you know if you can get replacement seals for these things? And if so where from?