mountain bikes

hi

i am looking to get involved in mountain biking, i had the opportunity to buy a SCOTT MC30 GENIUS bike yesterday off a mate.. went up there all ready to buy (for £300, bargain as it's a £1500 bike only 6 months old) and he comes back, bike wrecked, cuts all over!

needless to say i was gutted, i don't want to spend more than 300-400 quid and i doubt i'll get the chance to buy that model again

i know nothing about them, i want to ride on-road and some off road, anyone care to assist?

1500 squid for a pushbike? Do you get a life time supply of lolly ice sticks for "dead cool" rear wheel spoke noise? Mind you a shop down the road from me has one in the windoe for 3350 euros! FFS! I could sell you a great Quad for that money! :P


*Yes,totally shameless plug,but no good to yer as I am in sunshine land!*

1500 quid is about mid-range for a pushbike, the top of the range models sell for more than SVs

I paid £200 for mine - havent a clue what make it is - goes off and on road, bought a piano with the rest of the money from selling my car - The SV will be me only transport when I get back on the road as the piano doesnt go very fast and the pushbike is even slower

[northwind]

I could spend £10,000 on a bike, I'd still be slow and useless. My downhilling days seem to be over My ancient unsprung Carrera is more or less a match for its rider...

generally the bargains are to be had by buying a two year old new bike from a shop that couldnt flog it, or a display model.
Scratches are fine, dings less so.
I got most of my bikes cheap since I was in the trade, or lucky. thing is, you dont want to spend more on a bike than a grand. (Expecially a grand sterling!) You can just bin it down some rocks and knacker it. But, then you dont want something cheap and cheerful, cause it will probably suck. If you really like it, you can always buy anothe bike next season.

If you are looking at disk brakes, chose hyraulics. Mechanical disks arent the best.
You will probably want a full suspension jobby. Mine has only forks, but its old now.
You more or less pay for what you get. I am not going to slag off any bike. In fact some of the less well known bikes i have seen around here are very impressive. Read online reviews and things.

Make sure you get a deal where if you brake a frame (I've done it) or do something catastrophic like that, you can just return the bike to the manufacturers.
Also, if you are serious, you might want to put some money away over the summer, and pick up a crappy road bike, and train with the touring secti0on of your local club over the winter.
When the next summer rolls around you will be an animal.
The only thing I would say (as a roady) is that its basically all about the wheels, and the frame. Stiff frame, and strong wheels maketh the bike. Worry less about XTR chainsets etc. The cheaper components work, they work well if you maintain them, and really all you are buying is less weight with the really highend group sets.

edit: as I was saying, you can ride roads over the winter. Ignore the roadies, they will kill you, go with the tourers. Thats where the girls are anyway. But, what I wanted to say was, you can pick up pulse monitors cheap, and you can really calibrate your training.
I would train and train, and not get anywhere, but, when I got a pulse monitor, and I could see what was happening, I could train more efficiently, and get fitness fast.
That, and races... races will get you fit fast.
And, you might want to steer clear of second hand bikes. MTBs can take an unmreciful beating, and look fine, untill you see the state of the bike inside. If you know the bike has been babied, cool, otherwise be careful

[mattSV]

£300-400 for an MC30 would have been a bargain!

i want to ride on-road and some off road

Personally, if you are only looking to spend around £300 - £400, then don't bother with rear suspension (unless you can find another bargain like the MC30). On cheaper bikes, the rear shock is not usually that effective and the rear suspension will adds weight. If you will be mainly doing road work then you won't get much benefit at all from rear suspension anyway. Going uphill with cheaper susoension can be hard work as the suspension compresses as you press on the pedals.

Consider getting toeclips, or ideally clipless pedals and shoes - once you get used to it, it makes cycling much easier as you can 'pull' as well as 'push on the pedals.

Also, think about getting some semi-slicks for road work - they will have more grip than knobblies on the road, and will be easier and less noisy.

i got mine off good ol' ebay ,its a Giant xtc all the gizmo's on £250 notes

[Red ones]

you guys are making me feel old. My MTB is totally rigid! It is great on climbs and downhills, but clearly vibrates like an Ann Summers party.

I chose to go to 2 bikes - a "decent" quality MTB (this was about 12 years ago!) and a top notch race bike that scares the sh*t out of me. Thay way I can keep up easilty for under £1,500 and have 2 bikes

The gadget show did a feature on Mountain bike a while back. Check the link, you may find it useful.
http://gadgetshow.five.tv/jsp/5gsmai...ction=Consumer