I have a new job so am forced to buy a new bike 😉

I have decided that as I am campaigning to get a pump/gravity track built (Please complete the surveys at http://southamptoncycle.wordpress.com/) I ought to have a suitable bike to ride it.

I reckon a budget of £550 – £650 should cover most options and still leave me enough to book a day with Jedi to learn to ride it.

This bike is purely for pump tracks, twisty trails like the Workmans*, small jumps and other such silliness. It doesn’t need to be a good compromise between that and an XC bike of a full on DH bike.

a) What bikes/brands?
b) What kit to look for / avoid?
c) Where is selling off cheap?
d) Is 2nd hand likely to have been over abused?
e) General advise please

You might want to post this on the forums on Southern Downhill, Dirt, Gravity Slaves, etc, basically anywhere where there is a higher chance that the audience will have experience of riding pump and jump tracks than on STW.

On that basis you could even post this on Mum’s Net 😀

yeah – just being lazy

20″ bmx with a big gear and single brake. Or if you’re quite tall, consider a cruiser.

NS Bikes completes look decent. Need to decide between 24/26″.

I’d definitely look at something with front squish but singlespeed and fast rolling tyres. Something from NS, DMR etc will be good.

Second hand will throw up some bargains. Scan SDH or eBay. Might be worth looking for a more 4X orientated bike. Something from Kona etc.

WCA – it was more a joke/dig at STW than you, but I am sure you got that. 😉

I’m no expert on these kind of bikes, but it’s pretty easy to spot that jump/pump bikes, like those made by NS, DMR et al are built strong and cheap, but not light. I don’t think there is much to be gained by making them light and the typical market for these bikes is usually quite price sensitive.

That means there are loads on eBay and most likely, because they are built so strong, they are likely to be quite reliable as well as really cheap.

if it’s just for a pump track it doesn’t really have to be strong, a race BMX or any little rigid hardtail with a short stem would do.

geetee – I have been here long enough to know this isn’t the forum to be down with the kid 😉 I am a bit old for that so just looking for pointers before I go out and buy.

There doesn’t seem to be much in it when you look at the main names. The decision is Hard Tail or Suss. I guess for5 what I will be riding a HT makes most sense or a short travel 4x

I would go for a hardtail, small frame, like a DMR Trailster. Short travel forks, ideally bolt through like an RS Argylle or a Marz DJ. Singlespeed, fast tyres, light but strong wheels, flat pedals and in an ideal work some Profile cranks.

There doesn’t seem to be much in it when you look at the main names. The decision is Hard Tail or Suss. I guess for5 what I will be riding a HT makes most sense or a short travel 4x

HT surely?
For one, it is best suited for the described usage
For two, budget is too low to get an appropriate FS

one of these brand spanking new going cheap??

How about this Identiti Mr Hyde it is a really tough alu frame, originally designd as a 4x frame but has adjustable dropouts so can be run single speed. Identiti just stopped manufacturing it in favour of a bike more all mountain orientated. there Dr Jekyll frame was a popular dirt jump bike the mr hyde is based on that with a slightly longer top tube.

Charge blender – have mine set up 1×10 with chain guide and ride bmx tracks, downhill and short but technical xc/trail rides. High rollers for normal use, larsens for bmx track. Very good bike, have mine built up with u turn pikes which help tailor to intended use, only snag is that its one size only so if your tall it might not be for you.

Here’s mine, few changes since pic was taken such as slx 10spd but you get the idea:

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Why on earth is linking an image here so frickin difficult.

You can borrow my tweaked DMR sidekick for a ride round LW if you want to see if you like that type of bike?

I may sell it if you talk nicely to me, as I’ve been riding the mmmbop most of the time now.

Not been used a great deal as I have too many bikes and not enough time.

As a serial fettler, it currently has different a wheelset, stem, bar & brakes at the moment… the DMR deevee rims weigh in at 800g! Ran the bike with a pike for a year or so before swapping them onto the mmmbop. It rides surprisingly well at 140…

Damn, that Blender is a fine looking bike.

Does the Blender’s seatpost go up enough to be able to sit and pedal?

twisty trails like the Workmans*

DMR sidekick was amazing down there.

buzz-lightyear – sorry for late reply, i’m 5’10 and with a 410mm post i can achieve pedaling height no problems, due to the slack seat tube angle it isn’t the best climbing position but i can still manage fine.
It’s by no means the perfect do it all bike – i have a Soul which fits that bill better but i’ve found myself doing far more on the Blender than i planned to when i built it. Grin factor is definately there every ride on the Blender. Quite good value for money too imo.

A kona hoss… Actually you could even try it before you buy it 😉

i would suggest this or something similar. sold this for £600 last year.
don’t know if ridestreet.co.uk is still going? if it is check their classifieds

http://www.ride-bikes.com/products.php?plid=m1b91s181p2691&rs=gb

Charge Blender for £620

I am the proud owner of a Kone Cowan.

Thanks for the inputs. Photos when I can get my phone to connect to my laptop.

Juan – I sold your Hoss last year 😉