I need help in deciding what bike i need for my riding.

i want to do trail riding/single tracks, nothing too technical. I like riding for the scenery in dry weather conditions. Riding at a leisurely pace.

I haven’t owned a bike for 20 years so most of my riding has come from day excursions when on holiday. I did some riding in Northern Thailand on a Merida Matts 90 (with 100mm i think). Found it uncomfortable. Sore ass and sore fingers from using mechanical disc brakes. Was knackered aswell as i wasn’t very fit.

Budget is a big factor as am a beginner and cant justify large expense.

At first i was thinking of a Full suspension bike like Canyon Nerve XC/AM for £1500. But then thought it might be too much for my needs. So thinking a Hard Tail for £500-£700 Used/New. I know the Full Sus would probably weigh more on my budget but also thinking it might be more comfortable to ride ?

Also would like to take the bike to Swiss alps and Austria. not looking to climb/jump over big rocks but using single tracks there on the tourist trail.

For a Hard Tail, i was looking at Boardmans, Cube, Canyon HT. I ideally want the bike to be of black/grey colours and really like the canyon HT frames.
Only thing is that these HT’s seem to come only with 100mm travel so wondering if that would be enough or is 120mm more suitable. Not looking to do DH racing though.

I’ve got until next summer to get a bike. Under 12kg would be nice.

Your advice/opinions would be appreciated.

at the moment there are loads of second hand boardmans on ebay
and they are a great spec for the money, and ride well
think a lot of people bought them on bike to work scheme and didnt use them, so now selling?

You wouldn’t go far wrong getting one of the canyon HTs to suit your budget. Great bikes.

a hardtail with 100mm forks would be my suggestion; there are loads to choose from.

you want comfy? – try some bigger tyres, let a little air out.

still not comfy? – stand up for the tricky bits, try and relax.

Am just thinking if 100mm would be enough. i dont want it to bottom out.

boardman HT pro & Canyon AL6 has caught my eye.

If you set the fork up properly it won’t bottom out with the sort of riding you’re describing. A 120 fork might give you a bit more confidence on descents, and would probably be a touch slower handling, but 100 will be fine too.

You made three key comments:

I haven’t owned a bike for 20 years so most of my riding has come from day excursions when on holiday.
Was knackered aswell as i wasn’t very fit.
I’ve got until next summer to get a bike.

Go and try a HT at an LBS (or Halfords if its a decent one) – make sure you get the right size; buy it NOW. Get fit and (re)learn to ride.

Orange Pure 7 (the brand not the colour) may tick all your boxes

How tall are you and where are you? I have a friend in huddersfield who is selling a Genesis Core which has only been ridden about 5 times. I think he wants £300 for it but I’ll have to check. I wouldn’t spend too much on your first bike and definately start on a hardtail then after you’ve been riding for a while you’ll have a lot more idea what type of bike you want to progress on to. At that point you would be best demo-ing a few to find what suits you best.

Excellent first post. Welcome to the forum.

I have a hardtail and use it for all duties. Because I throw it around a lot (Cotic Soul) I like a 130 fork but I used to have a 100 and it was fine really.

A second hand bike will probably be of a higher overall quality.

In my opinion the fork is the most important defining factor (given that the quality of bits tends to increase more or less the same on new bikes) and if you can get one that doesn’t have a Suntour or RST or RS Tora (higher spec RS forks are superb) you will be doing fine. Otherwise a fork would be your first, and very expensive, upgrade,

But nobody needs to spend more than £300 to have fun – but if you spend £300 and enjoy it you’ll be starting to break stuff pretty soon.

you want a 29er.no,seriously.

Hey Troy, welcome!

The situation you’ve described seems to warrant some thought. I’m sure the more (and less come to think of it) knowledgeable amongst us will do all we can.

By the way, in the world that we are all part of, Grey or Black bikes are called ‘Stealth’. Give it a search and have a good look.

Show us your bike when you’ve chosen, cheers. 🙂

Been having some more thoughts.

some time in the future i’d like to do cycle touring with panniers etc.
A steel frame bike would be better for that. So thinking of getting a Steel framed MTB like the orange P7 or an On-One Inbred/456. Possibly buy the frame and build up from eBay parts, whichever works out cheaper used prices under £600 total build.

I can use HT as a beginner then eventually buy a full suspension later when needed and keeping the HT for light offroad and cycle touring. If i can make a steel frame bike under 13kg then its good.

A steel frame bike would be better for that.

I’m not so convinced I reckon steel bikes are more about strength nowadays, If I was touring a lot I’d like the lighter weight of Aluminium frames. I’m a big fan of Genesis bikes in terms of their sensible specification. I’d suggest trying to find something with a 120mmish air fork as they’re light and very adjustable.

A some of On-ones steel frames had rack mounts, they might have something to suit?