Hey Guys

I’ve been given £1300 by my wife/kids to get a proper mountain bike as I’ve joined a club (crazy as not got bike yet!)

I would sure appreciate advice on what would be suitable for a beginner and to allow me to get into the sport and most of all have fun 🙂 I’m a short cyclist 5ft 5

I have been looking at the following:

1. Giant Trance x2 27.5
2. Nukeproof Scout Race
3. Orange Crush AM
4. Whyte 901
5. NS Eccentric (can get for £1k)

Any feedback on what would be the best bike to start out with would be super. Don’t understand all the terminology so in simple terms for a simple guy 🙂

Thanks a ton

The bikes you list are a mix of hardtail (front suspension only) and full suspension. I’d probably suggest going for a hardtail first. Any of those are great first time bikes so I’d suggest getting the cheapest and then buy a decent helmet (spend at least £60-£80 imo), gloves, some proper wicking riding clothing, a camelbak and some decent pedals.

what club and what sort of riding do they do ?

I don’t really know anything useful about those bikes, but I can pretty much guarantee you’d have a ball on each and every one of them.

A lot of people start out as kids on heavy, crappy bikes and never give it a second’s thought. It’s about the freedom, the exploration, learning and improving. And the sh1ts and giggles.

There’s not a bad bike in there, so pick the one that makes you go “phwoar!” the most and get stuck in!

As a beginner you are unlikely to be able to distinguish between an £800 bike and a £1300 bike. At this time of year especially, decent gear will make all the difference between enjoying and hating the experience so you need to budget for clothing and accessories.

And a big lock.

Bikes are a magnet to thieves

In addition there’s a few bikes in the classifieds that might interest you as well

Pick the one you like the colour of and ride it.You’ll get into all the waffle as you go along. For waht it’s worth the giant’s what I’d pick.Someone will be along ion a minute to tell you get a hardtail as you’ll learn to ride ‘properly’, some truth in it but not enough to avoid getting the bike you like the best if it’s the full sus. Bit like modern cars it’s hard to find a truly bad one.

I’d ask those in the club to recommend a local bike shop where you can build up a rapport with, as you have no experience of biking i take it you also have no knowledge of bike maintenance or correct set-up so the after-sales care will hopefully ease you into the sport without the worry of you having to do your own maintenance.

Most bike shops will have access to last years or even the odd 2013 model so you’ll get a good deal (if the bike shop values your custom)

I’d be tempted to go second hand too. More bike for your money, and easy to chop it in for little loss if you decide there’s a better choice out there.

Maybe ask around at the club to see if there’s someone selling something? Gives you a chance to try it out? If it’;s a decent bunch, you might be able to casdge a borrow for a club ride on it and swap around with other’s bikes to see if anything grabs you?

Don’t rush into buying a bike. Try riding a few, even if it’s just round a car park to get an idea of how different they feel – mainly in terms of body position.

As above, make sure you budget for some decent cycling kit as already hinted at; helmet, lights(?), lock and clothing.

Better to find a bike that you are comfortable on, than look for a particular brand or whether a certain bike has better components than another one.

IMO id get a dual sus bike from the start.
You might outgrow(in skill set) a hardtail in a few months and decide to upgrade to a full sus which will cost you more in the long run buying two bikes.

What town / county are you in?

Better bet would be recommendations of decent MTB local bike shops to offer advice face to face.

Better bet would be recommendations of decent MTB local bike shops to offer advice face to face.

Nah, you’d end up with a cube. On reflection I’d go with ned rapier on asking about in the club to try a few different ones out to find the type of thing you like but would still probably buy new as you’d be likely to buy a second hand bike that would need more new bits sooner. Also good sshorts/baselayers/waterproofs are a great shout

You might outgrow(in skill set) a hardtail in a few months

What?

A hardtail limiting someone’s skill-set earlier:

Hello all

Thanks much for your input.

I live in Glasgow so joined the local mountain bike club that has a forum and ties to Dales Cycles. Just looking at the bikes I like the Orange Crush but now know need to consider so.much more.

I also like the Giant but don’t know if that’s because it has £400 off list and they have in small. The NS also has £500 off it too 🙂

I’m like a kid in a sweetie shop and feel like I. Being too impulsive. On the flip side I don’t want to lose a good deal for the bikes.

Some good advice above. Proper kit will give you more benefit than bike selection. Personally, i’d suggest a full suspension bike which will allow you to get going to a good standard. Then you can decide once you have experience, whether to change to something to hone your skills (a hardtail) or something to challenge your riding (more bounce).

It’s probably not easy for you to test bikes, and they do ride differently, but I’d second the Giant Trance as a very capable bike for general riding. My teen1 rides one on everything from XC to downhill. I think you would need to try for fit as you are a Small to Medium (he’s 5’9″ and rides a Medium).

I’d be tempted to go second hand too.

You may be, but that doesn’t make it good advice for a newbie with the knowledge the OP is displaying. No offense intended OP, we all start where you are.

If you’re up in Scotlandshire, I’d probably go full suss if it were me – Comfort is being alluded to with the advice given here already. I’d agree with that, but also point out if you’re blowing your arse out pedalling up a Scottish “hill”, you might find the extra comfort of a full suss bike an advantage as you’ll be able to comfortably sit down whilst plodding along.
Plus the fact full suss bikes flatter riding skills and are generally more forgiving, I “caught the MTB bug” mostly when I found I could throw myself down a welsh hill at serious speed with the bike soaking up a lot of the knocks, something that’s harder to achieve on a hardtail (not impossible, just requires more skill is all).

Anyway, it’s probably all moot because if you do get the bug and you frequent STW you’ll end up with 5 bikes soon enough.

*N+1

Get into a decent local bike shop. More important than anything else is buying the right size. Lots of people start off on the wrong size, and any good bike will be hopeless if it’s the wrong size.

You’ll probably end up on a 16″ frame if you’re normal proportions, but you need to see a few and get some advice on size regardless.

A few of us on here from GMBC 😀 suggest you pop a post up on our WordPress or Facebook page and Dales will likely sort you out with some demos and advice. You’ll also get some members advice. Our local rides are Mugdock based where a decent hardtail will be better for you than a heavier full suss.

Dales have some staff who ride with the club too, so they would be first port of call

I started on and still love Hardtails. You are more likely to get a better bike at your price point if you go for the hardtail but you are just starting out and fun and comfort should be the priority rather than esoteric bling. I would suggest that ridding in Scotland aim for functioning suspension for rough downs low weight and reasonable brakes.
I was going to suggest full suspension but then recalled all the fun my wife has had on her orange p7 (which is also due to build quiet heavy)
Mountain Biking is fun try them all pick the one that is comfortable and looks good.

Personally, I can’t see beyond these for general ‘trail’ riding (light enough for XC mincing, setup/geometry for mucking about) http://www.on-one.co.uk/i/q/CBOO456CEVOX5/on-one-456-evo-carbon-sram-x5-mountain-bike. Also, a good base frame for future upgrading and £300 change for helmet/shoes/gloves/backpack/clothing.

Thanks iainc for your reply. I will look at Dales but I see that they don’t have any frames in small so price more expensive! Inhale seen the Orange Crush AM that I can get for £1.2k with a set of shimano saint pedals included

The guys at Alpine Bikes also suggested Whyte or Genesis as they are British brands and designed for our climate..rain and lots of it lol. They also said Nukeproof too.

also see that Dales seem to do a lot of 29 wheel which look massive and don’t know if will be suitable for me

Will stick with a hard tail and look forward to

Meeting up

I’m the same height as you and would suggest that weight of bike could be an important consideration for you. Some bikes are extremely heavy so reckon a hardtail would be your best bet. Worth looking at top tube measurements as some can be pretty long.

Glasuni – also bear in mind that as a paid up club member you’ll get a sizeable discount on bike and kit from Dales as our sponsor. A Genesis Latitude 20 is a well sorted comfy hardtail ideal for what we ride much of the time and would come in well below budget with club discount

this one

Thanks Hardtail definitely it is.

Thanks Iainc. Will look at genesis too.

On the flip side I don’t want to lose a good deal for the bikes.

As certain as death and taxes, there will always be deals.

The Genesis is steel so is very comfy as hardtails go. If you’re after alloy, Dales do Cube, which are very well priced. I just got one of these from them in a 16 inch frame for my son and its a tidy spec for the price, even before club discount

sod spending £500 on a hardtail and £800 on ‘wicking clothes’ and all that crap.

blow the lot on the bike that gives you the biggest grin, rock up on a full suss if it makes you feel good!
when you are grinning who gives a shit about the weather?

worry about that other crap later, coz you can buy it bit by bit.. when you don’t have a large lump of cash in your pocket.

heart>head

Just had a really good price for the NS Eccentric bike 2014..£950 and in small. Will this be a better buy than the genesis/cube. Think I will go for this as steel too and £650 from list. Super excited 🙂

When starting out I would definitely go for a hardtail. Riding with no rear sus will force you to learn how to weight/unweight and handle the bike properly, something that can’t really be learnt as well on a full sus initially.

Mike – have a look at your emails, you should now have the GMBC link to the members page and some more info etc (I am one of the club FB admins)

I have just looked at the NS 2014 – looks good, but the Genesis has a better spec for similar price with club deal