okay, so its just more rear gearing means its unnecessary. cool.

Part trend, part practicality... 2x or 3x front and whatever rear gives 21, 24, 27 but cross chaining means not all the range can be used. 

ie large front usually won't reach largest rear(s) and vice versa so you essentially lose them. Then when you're killing yourself up hill and need to change gears it's a juggling act to remember which side triggers go which way 😃

1x is less to think about and all can be used

Less weight is a bonus, every gram counts, just remember at the end of a ride to put gear into lowest gear to prevent cable stretch, good practice anyway

@mac11irl HT or FS depends on intended riding but also budget IMO. What is your Ideal budget??? if you don't mind us asking.?

 

Always best to buy at least a fairly decent quality bike especially if you are riding places where an accident is possible.

So if buying new and you have up to circa a grand, then Hard Tail would likely be the best bet. Better option than a cheaper end FS IMO.

 

When I purchased mine I was wondering FS or HT and decided on a full suspension, and very glad I did. I have done some very technical riding though, places where if you come off you will be on your way to hospital, if you are lucky. Very exciting though.......... Dalby Forest for instance.

Luckily I found a nearly 2K bike on offer for less than 1.5k, in online bike shop, and Evans kindly price-matched it to £1350. Scott Spark 40 2009.

 

You have to think of servicing too but the only thing on the bike that I have had to take to the shop was the Rockshox Ario 2 rear suspension.

Everything else including the forks and the hydraulic brakes I have been able to service myself.  

thats kinda where im looking tbh, under a grand... and after reading some reviews im liking the look of -

https://www.mbr.co.uk/reviews/hardtail/voodoo-bizango

 

i figure anything that scores a 10 and only loses marks for not having wider handle bars... well, im a  slight 5'6 so and on a quick measure 720mm feels fine for me.

 

getting the cost down on the main bike then give a bit freedom to upgrade a few bits later if i want. 

Hardtail everytime if budget's 'tight' as any extra component to add sus' is usually decidedly "sus" unless you spend a wedge of money. Best (roadie) advice I had was allow roughly £300-500 on each part, so you want wheels, running gear, frame, fork which is 4 items so £1200 as starting price and that doesn't get best gear for each bit listed, for upgrades spend at least that suggested and so £300 wheels are probably OK, road (so hardtail) frame £300 (much less really unless special) but add £100's for shock. £300 front gearing and £300 rear gearing might work (if you spend £300 on the other gear bits!) as groupsets are silly money. Forks are probably dearer on a boingy - and easily £300 for the shock on both ends. Good kit costs a lot, cheap stuff makes for a 'shed' bike, shed is not a euphemism rather the dumping ground because they are so carp. Decathlon have semi decent stuff vaguely cheap to buy (and some proper good stuff too). Boardman used to be the canine sphericals, well it was before Chris sold out - it still might be as he sold out fully to Halfords, and Mike Ashley doesn't own them yet... (Currently screwing the Evans name).

what do people think of Kona?

 

reviews semm decent?

 

https://konaworld.com/mahuna.cfm

 

not too bad, fairly standard kit for the price range, FSA cranks, WTB rims, Maxxis tyres and Shimano drive and brakes, 29 wheels roll really well.

Front shock is probably lower end spec now but it is solo air so a bonus,100mm a touch skinny but again in this price bracket fairly normal, a lot are just coils.

Bottom Bracket i think is threaded?, square taper, again old but perfectly capable, got it on my Felt and no issues

Gearing is super low, 28t front, 52 t  'dinner plate' rear.....mine is 28 / 46

 

https://www.bikecalc.com/gear_ratios

 

i think at 28/52 the 0.54 figure  relates to 1x crank revolution =  0.54 revolution of rear wheel?

 

as you'll find out, you may need to have alist of 3-4 bikes and it could be a case of which one you can find?

 

second hand 'can' be a good way to stretch your budget but potentially spend money to replace parts that are nearing the end of their life

not sure what Eire is like for bike prices/stock but UK has definitely gone C-19 'tax' crazy...my Whyte 801 has gone up by 20% in less than 2yrs

Edited 12 May, 20215 yr by olduns

just looked up the 801 v3 little over a grand sterling.. so probably 1200 here plus the "eire mark up" and tax to make about €1500 😂

 

We are starting to open nonessential retail again so ill be trying to get to the 2 local bike shops, see what the crack is. must also look into the "cycle to work" tax relief scheme, i could cycle to my nearest depot if i wanted...

15 hours ago, mac11irl said:

what do people think of Kona?

 

reviews semm decent?

 

https://konaworld.com/mahuna.cfm

 

 My mate rides a Kona HT and he's really pleased with it - his is a 130mm 29er with a dropper so not that exact model.

 

 

 

 

On 08/05/2021 at 20:31, mac11irl said:

okay, i have to ask... why are all the bikes gone single chain ring on the front?

now you've got the 11-12 speed rears for MTB'ing there's not really a need for x3 up front saves weight, makes the setup and maintenance simpler and keep the bike quieter IMO it's a very positive change. 

 

ive just been having a look through this, didn't see this thread was active again yeah the voodoo's are ok and good bang for your money however for best i would go direct to consumer somewhere like chain reaction/wiggle etc. most bikes come pretty much set up and in pretty much ridable out of the box. 

 

100% agree £1K and under stick to a hardtail, you'll get better components, 27.5+ is a cross between 27.5&29 as the rolling rad are pretty similar but you get some squish from the volume of air in the tyres. i lilke mine and its bombproof going down on the I4o rims ( i'm 17st and ride it like it stole it) and even at lower pressures and dodgy landing the rims are still bang on. 

 

personally vector in costs like pedals, saddle, grips as you'll probably want to change these are normally the stock items are passable at best. 

 

honestly right now sub 1K HT there's nothing close to Vitus: 

if you can stretch to 1200 this is a great buy 

Vitus Sentier 27 VR Mountain Bike 2021 | Chain Reaction Cycles

 

check these out too

Ragley Marley 2.0 Hardtail Bike 2021 | Chain Reaction Cycles

Vitus Rapide 29 Mountain Bike 2021 | Chain Reaction Cycles

 

@Gissin thanks for the links. 

shame they are all all sold out in all sizes  but gives a good idea on price range.

 

id seen ragley on a couple of site alright, so may be worth more of a look.

3 minutes ago, mac11irl said:

@Gissin thanks for the links. 

shame they are all all sold out in all sizes  but gives a good idea on price range.

 

id seen ragley on a couple of site alright, so may be worth more of a look.

yeah i know! my friend was constantly refreshing the pages for days when buying his new bike, stuff was coming in a being sold literally the same hour. he got lucky i guess it's crazy people were reselling on ebay for £600 more than new 

 

calibre bikes were good for their money too but not sure what's happening with them since go outdoors went into restructure/administration 

@mac11irl

I'd defo check out that the gearing suits your needs...... What's your height???

As olduns mentions the super low gearing on the Kona you linked, but this is a 29er and I am not so familiar with these so it could be ok. It will need to be lower to make up for the larger tyre / wheel size. Mine has 22/32/44 with 11/32 cassette on 26".

If you will be riding on the flat you may want a bigger ring but this should be easily changeable without costing too much.

And if not riding the hills then lower rear gearing at the higher end may be better suited. 51 on the rear is MASSIVE, Bigger than the larger front on my road bike, Lol. (currently 39/50).

Edited 13 May, 20215 yr by Tilt

@Tilt i aint on the flat anymore 

todays gradients

 

Listed recently on gumtree. 

used may well be the way to go... 

even if it means replacing a couple of bits, i might get a better deal getting (basically) a really good frame...

 

i have a lot of thinking to do..

 

https://www.donedeal.ie/bicycles-for-sale/mountain-bike/27989634

 

what do we think on the spec? 

had a look earlier and a new Talon is around €1100.

it also comes with a higher spec Raidon fork. most of the new ones are on xct/xcr forks.

 

the tektro brakes i havnt looked into, and sram gearing seems to be equal ish to shimano, but both could be upgrades..

 

its a size small, but by all the size guides, that or a medium should be fine for my little 5'6 10stone(wet) body.

 

could be worth a message at least..

i think its one of these...2020 Talon 1

 

https://www.giant-bicycles.com/gb/talon-1-2020

 

Tektro are decent enough, the only weak point on it is the SRAM SX drivetrain....common issues are constantly needing tweaking to run right, general concensus is upgrade to NX

 

f'k you google getting my hopes up....

 

a)its sold

b) the ad is 5 yrs old

 

wouldve been a reasonable bargain!

browsing DoneDeal last night...plenty of Road bikes, a distinct lack of MTB's?

i'd have said the other way round TBH?

there was a Commencal on there that looked OK, good upgrades, possibly too small?

I do think there will be a load of bikes go up for sale once people start getting settled back into full time work. They find they don't have the time to ride...... or the energy, Lol.

 

It may take them time to advertise them but I think likely an influx of (barely) used bikes in the next year or two.

1 hour ago, olduns said:

browsing DoneDeal last night...plenty of Road bikes, a distinct lack of MTB's?

i'd have said the other way round TBH?

there was a Commencal on there that looked OK, good upgrades, possibly too small?

 

thats down to the number of mamils one sees on the roads here, esp of a weekend. pods of lads in full TdF/Giro gear, who seem to think they are the tour peleton, even though not one of them would win a childrens bike race

they tend to upgrade their equipment alot and want to be seen in their top end gear by everyone else, coz dey iz da cool guyz...

they dont realise most people think theyre just muppets needlessly clogging up the road refusing to make space for traffic 

 

On 13/05/2021 at 20:39, mac11irl said:

@Tilt i aint on the flat anymore 

todays gradients

 

good work!
if you're doing rides like this often and go full sus get one with a rear lockout will help loads, obviously disregard for a hard tail 

59 minutes ago, Gissin said:

good work!
if you're doing rides like this often and go full sus get one with a rear lockout will help loads, obviously disregard for a hard tail 

 

thanks, that big ass climb is now my normal starter. the first 2k is a fairly poor tarmac road, then onto a washed out rock fest trail to the top. followed by a mix of rocky field track and mossy grass until i get across to woodland - gravel access, stony  track and rooty firebreaks.. i do a bit of everything now! flat road biking just seems dull now!

@mac11irl

I started off road riding in my teens, anything from regular 40 mile round trips to Matlock Bath almost every Saturday with a mate, and riding to the Duke of Devonshire (iirc) in Belper (around 10 miles)  where you would be served a pint by the scantily clad Sunday Sport girls, to touring Devon's northern coastline and riding Ilkeston to Skegness for Cancer Research, 91 miles in just over 4 hours.

Then onto MTBing with some of the most exhilarating and quite scary at times, for a number of years....

 

Sort of come full circle now as I'm loving the speed on the road bike at the moment. Could do with suspension on it though what with all the pot holes, Lol.