Mountain Bike advice

Gary the Enfield · Post by **Gary the Enfield** » Mon Jul 12, 2010 11:47 am

Hobinho wrote:£800 for a push Iron!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!

The worlds gone bonkers!! Asda are knocking out bikes cheap, they got wheels and will get you from A - B without being every hoodies wet dream and target.
More Moats about than Castles me thinks!

One less since Friday.

CAPSLOCK · Post by **CAPSLOCK** » Mon Jul 12, 2010 12:42 pm

boltonboris wrote:Mate of mine who lives in the Big Smoke shares a flat with a lad who works for the UK arm of 'Dirt' (a Mountain Bike Mag). So spoke to him yesterday and asked him for some advice... He's pointed me in the way of Decathlon and told me go for the Rockrider 8.1 for £500.

It has Rock Shox Tora forks (Rock shox were a must) and has the frame and spec of a bike that would normally set you back £800 - £900. Went down to Stockport and little go on it outside.. Like it. A lot. Think I've made up my mind..

Now any routes??

Meant to mention that Rockrider

Lots of good reviews

Also, Boardmans at Halfords

Top, top value

Still get a Trek though

Hoboh · Post by **Hoboh** » Mon Jul 12, 2010 12:49 pm

CAPSLOCK wrote:
boltonboris wrote:Mate of mine who lives in the Big Smoke shares a flat with a lad who works for the UK arm of 'Dirt' (a Mountain Bike Mag). So spoke to him yesterday and asked him for some advice... He's pointed me in the way of Decathlon and told me go for the Rockrider 8.1 for £500.

It has Rock Shox Tora forks (Rock shox were a must) and has the frame and spec of a bike that would normally set you back £800 - £900. Went down to Stockport and little go on it outside.. Like it. A lot. Think I've made up my mind..

Now any routes??
Meant to mention that Rockrider

Lots of good reviews

Also, Boardmans at Halfords

Reckon that suspension better than Olins or Hagon shoxs? might get some if cheaper for Suzy or the Kwaker then!
Top, top value

Still get a Trek though

boltonboris · Post by **boltonboris** » Mon Jul 12, 2010 12:53 pm

For the money I want to spend, a Trek wouldn't be good enough.. If I were to get a decent one, it'd be too expensive.

As I mentioned, need to keep some money aside for these for some decent gear

Hoboh · Post by **Hoboh** » Mon Jul 12, 2010 12:57 pm

boltonboris wrote:For the money I want to spend, a Trek wouldn't be good enough.. If I were to get a decent one, it'd be too expensive.

As I mentioned, need to keep some money aside for these for some decent gear

Drugs!!!

General Mannerheim · Post by **General Mannerheim** » Mon Jul 12, 2010 1:55 pm

I wouldn’t waste money on decent gear if I was riding round on a Rockrider!

Sorry, I don’t mean to sound pretentious, but I reckon if you buy one of them you will end up resenting it before long, I see it happen all the time, especially if you get quite keen. Same with a Cheese Boardman, decent spec for the money but holds no cred on the trail! Bit like buying them Donnay golf clubs from SoccerSports, probably half decent to be fair but you wouldn’t be taken very seriously at St Andrews, Bolton open maybe? Or maybe im just being a total snob! It’s what you do with them that counts I suppose.

Anyway, as for trails, I don’t know where you live – but if you feel like getting out and about in the car then Llandegla forrest near Wrexham is a must visit trail centre! You should also check out Lee Quarry in Bacup, amazing fun! Then there is Whinlatter & Grizdale in the Lakes, The best I ghave been to though is Coed-Y-Brenin near Dolgellau, North Wales, unbelievable! But you really want a full suss for that place. Saying all that though, the best thing about MTB for me is getting out there and discovering stuff on your own doorstep, incredible sometimes the places you find minutes from where you live that you never knew were there!

Incidently Enfield, my bike is a Giant too, and its a belter! Anthem X2, had to beef up the rims and tyres to cope with more downhill stuff because I kept buckleing my wheels, but apart from that the only things ive had to replace are bits ive broken myself when falling off or crashing. Quality.

boltonboris · Post by **boltonboris** » Mon Jul 12, 2010 2:19 pm

General Mannerheim wrote:I wouldn’t waste money on decent gear if I was riding round on a Rockrider!

Sorry, I don’t mean to sound pretentious, but I reckon if you buy one of them you will end up resenting it before long, I see it happen all the time, especially if you get quite keen. Same with a Cheese Boardman, decent spec for the money but holds no cred on the trail! Bit like buying them Donnay golf clubs from SoccerSports, probably half decent to be fair but you wouldn’t be taken very seriously at St Andrews, Bolton open maybe? Or maybe im just being a total snob! It’s what you do with them that counts I suppose.

Not overly arsed on impressing others, I just want something that I can well and truly batter. One in which when I feck it up royally, I'm not going to get upset about having to fork out a shit load on a replacement. Obviously the performance matters, but I've been assured by an expert that it'll do the job and last as long as a bike of twice the price.. I'm happy with that. I'm getting married next year and it's costing me (us) shitloads... Once that's over with and paid for, I'll be looking to spend about £1500 - £2000 on one..

TANGODANCER · Post by **TANGODANCER** » Mon Jul 12, 2010 2:20 pm

General Mannerheim wrote: Bit like buying them Donnay golf clubs from SoccerSports, probably half decent to be fair but you wouldn’t be taken very seriously at St Andrews, Bolton open maybe? Or maybe im just being a total snob! It’s what you do with them that counts I suppose.

Ah, you spoiled your pitch a bit there general. If all it took to be a good golfer was expensive clubs, we'd all be saving up and entering The Open. You got the last bit right though.

ebby · Post by **ebby** » Mon Jul 12, 2010 2:51 pm

spend about £500 and you'll be getting good quality, imo the frame is probably the most important thing...the rest can be swapped out over the bikes life if you want to upgrade but if you get a cheap bike the frame will most likely be of lower quality

boltonboris · Post by **boltonboris** » Mon Jul 12, 2010 2:53 pm

ebby wrote:spend about £500 and you'll be getting good quality, imo the frame is probably the most important thing...the rest can be swapped out over the bikes life if you want to upgrade but if you get a cheap bike the frame will most likely be of lower quality

So you reckon (And General, you can give your advice on this..) that should I buy this Rockrider, it'd parts are more than adequate enough to stick on a decent frame? Lets say a Trek, GT, Kona, Cannondale? How much are frames to buy on their own?

Hoboh · Post by **Hoboh** » Mon Jul 12, 2010 2:56 pm

boltonboris wrote:
General Mannerheim wrote:I wouldn’t waste money on decent gear if I was riding round on a Rockrider!

Sorry, I don’t mean to sound pretentious, but I reckon if you buy one of them you will end up resenting it before long, I see it happen all the time, especially if you get quite keen. Same with a Cheese Boardman, decent spec for the money but holds no cred on the trail! Bit like buying them Donnay golf clubs from SoccerSports, probably half decent to be fair but you wouldn’t be taken very seriously at St Andrews, Bolton open maybe? Or maybe im just being a total snob! It’s what you do with them that counts I suppose.
Not overly arsed on impressing others, I just want something that I can well and truly batter. One in which when I feck it up royally, I'm not going to get upset about having to fork out a shit load on a replacement. Obviously the performance matters, but I've been assured by an expert that it'll do the job and last as long as a bike of twice the price.. I'm happy with that. I'm getting married next year and it's costing me (us) shitloads... Once that's over with and paid for, I'll be looking to spend about £1500 - £2000 on one..

Buy a landrover then or a trails bike, you have the added bonus of battering the mountin too!

General Mannerheim · Post by **General Mannerheim** » Mon Jul 12, 2010 4:01 pm

I think ebby made the point that if you go for a expensive frame with cheap kit you can over time replace/upgrade the bits and bobs until you eventually have a nice good spec bike. The flip side is buying cheaper frame but with decent parts, then rather than gradually, one day you just swap all the kit onto a shiny new frame. Both methods have their pro’s & cons – individually the parts are expensive and probably amount to more than a new frame, but at least your only spending bit by bit. id probably go for the former as the latter means you could be sticking knackered old parts on a new frame, which would bug me and end up buying a load of new stuff anyway.

What weight is the Rockrider? (I hate questions like that, like I know what im on about? I don’t really, just love riding the things) but you really really want to make sure you get the lightest available for the money! That’s one thing you definitely do notice when you switch to much lighter bike, is how much further & faster you can go, and easier it is, and even just lobbing it over gates and styles when your out and about, they can get friggin heavy during a long ride.

Its a stupidly expensive hobby though, some of the parts and accessories are ridiculous. like I would hate spending a few hundred quid on a new set of hubs for example, that would make absolutely no difference to me. Unless your some kind of mega obsessive or proffessional your never gonna tell the difference. That’s why I always like to go for the best bike I can afford then just replace the whole thing when needs be. Couldn’t really say how much you’d be looking at for a new frame on its own, just look here http://www.wiggle.co.uk/c/cycle/7/Hard_Tail_MTB_Frames/ the difference in prices between two apparent identical frames is unreal.

Would recommend you get a pair of SPD pedals and cleated shoes tho. Take a little getting used to, but couldn’t do without em now. Shimano do decent ones for £20/£30 quid (but like everything else ive seen em for hundreds!?)

The best shop for service and repairs by the way is DJ Cycles in Holcombe Brook. Always get great service, no bullshit, and decent price. And all other stuff I get from Chain Reaction Cycles website, best prices, discount codes, free delivery, cant fault em!

boltonboris · Post by **boltonboris** » Mon Jul 12, 2010 4:39 pm

Total weight is 12.6 KG (27.8lbs) Pedals are the clip ones, so I have to buy some proper shoes for 'em (can't remember the brand - Not shimano though, I know that much)

Edit:

I think these are them. http://www.wiggle.co.uk/p/cycle/7/Wellg ... 360006646/

Just checked that website for the Forks.. £230.00 on there. Just read some info on them, seems the bike is so cheap because a) they want to swallow the market, Tesco style and B) they make next to no profit on the bike itself, it's the people going in and buying all the gear to go with it that makes up the cash

General Mannerheim · Post by **General Mannerheim** » Mon Jul 12, 2010 4:59 pm

boltonboris wrote:Total weight is 12.6 KG (27.8lbs) Pedals are the clip ones, so I have to buy some proper shoes for 'em (can't remember the brand - Not shimano though, I know that much)

Edit:

I think these are them. http://www.wiggle.co.uk/p/cycle/7/Wellg ... 360006646/

or you could just buy some flat pedals and swap them, but you might aswell give em a go. i imagine Decathlon will provide you with a pair of spd shoes too. Decathlon also good for cycling shorts, not a great deal of choice for owt else, especialy mountain biking gear, all seems too roady. but get a few pairs of the padded lycras! and please wear them under some normal shorts and not just on their own!

Cant fault that weight tho tbf!

yeah forks are another thing i cant understand. they cost a bastard fortune! them of yours are worth half the value of the whole bike! a replacement set for mine would cost me about £700 quid! crackers. which i why i stressed buying a bike that comes with decent ones as standard.

boltonboris · Post by **boltonboris** » Mon Jul 12, 2010 5:04 pm

General Mannerheim wrote:
boltonboris wrote:Total weight is 12.6 KG (27.8lbs) Pedals are the clip ones, so I have to buy some proper shoes for 'em (can't remember the brand - Not shimano though, I know that much)

Edit:

I think these are them. http://www.wiggle.co.uk/p/cycle/7/Wellg ... 360006646/
or you could just buy some flat pedals and swap them, but you might aswell give em a go. i imagine Decathlon will provide you with a pair of spd shoes too. Decathlon also good for cycling shorts, not a great deal of choice for owt else, especialy mountain biking gear, all seems too roady. but get a few pairs of the padded lycras! and please wear them under some normal shorts and not just on their own!

Cant fault that weight tho tbf!

Already have a couple of pairs.. Padded shorts and padded pants. Wear the pants for footy in Winter.. I get stick, but at least I'm warm!!

Saw some cracking Shimano SPD shoes in there.. £65, Can't argue

General Mannerheim · Post by **General Mannerheim** » Mon Jul 12, 2010 5:14 pm

They'll probably be the dogs for that much, you can find em much cheaper but those will probably be waterproof etc too, and those that feel completely normal to walk in.

boltonboris · Post by **boltonboris** » Mon Jul 12, 2010 5:27 pm

General Mannerheim wrote:They'll probably be the dogs for that much, you can find em much cheaper but those will probably be waterproof etc too, and those that feel completely normal to walk in.

They are waterproof, runnable too... So I can happily spring over fences etc. and just lob the bike over my shoulder. They have pair in there for £25, but as I'm not personally outlaying all the cash myself initially, I can afford to get some proper accessories.

Aldridge Pryor · Post by **Aldridge Pryor** » Tue Jul 13, 2010 9:14 am

i like to cycle down to the shops for my paper in the morning now and again. got one of them Rocky Mountain Altitude 90 RSL's.

not bad. you should get one.

General Mannerheim · Post by **General Mannerheim** » Tue Jul 13, 2010 1:06 pm

Forgot to mention Gisburn forest as a brilliant place to take the old iron horse for a spin! got really unenjoyably muddy in the winter and parts of it were closed to let the ground heal up, but i imagine it will be belting at the minute! im going at weekend, just decided.

Dont miss the 'Rollercoaster' section, great fun!

http://www.forestry.gov.uk/website/recr ... estGisburn

http://www.singletrackworld.com/trailgu ... -forest-2/

there are also some new rollercoaster sections at Lee Quarry. another gem, although its more of a fun park than a trail, you need to go round it 3 or 4 times to cover the sort of distance you would round Gisburn or LLandegla. would recommend knee pads also!

Dujon · Post by **Dujon** » Wed Jul 14, 2010 2:30 am

General M, that track looks incredibly manicured.

Are there no real 'mountain bush tracks' in your neck of the woods?

For comparison, check out some of these:

http://users.on.net/~fathers/

My son used to be a keen mountain biker and spent far too much money on his chargers. He has ridden most of the tracks shown on the referenced site. He is now old enough to have more sense and has effectively retired from the hobby.

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