Hi im looking at getting a mountain bike, for a downhilling and cross country, I have been out mountain biking a few times in the past but never taken it up as a hobby, which I am hoping to do now. I was hoping somebody could give me some advice on what the best bike would be to buy,something that is not too sophisticated and pretty easy to maintain. I was looking at this cannondale jekyll f800
http://cgi.ebay.co.uk/Cannondale-Jekyll-F800-Medium-frame-mountain-bike_W0QQitemZ140362320194QQcmdZViewItemQQptZUK_Bikes_GL?hash=item20ae3f0942

would this be a reliable bike suitable for my liking?

Thanks

No wouldn't suggest that. I would point you in the direction of a hardtail with around 100mm -120mm forks. Aim to have discs and learn to ride with flat pedals (better riders use these:lol:) The Dale is a good bike but with a lefty on which can be a bugger to fix as well as a rear shock and all the looking after that they need, you will be better on a hardtail. Learning to ride a hardtail with flats off road gives you the core skills needed to be smoother downhill and faster overall. If you go for flat pedals get a decent pair of shoes to match, such as five tens.

Hope that helps.

hello bud, good advice from 2hottie, get a hardtail defo mate! They will sharpen your skills, and keep running no matter what you throw at them! Full sus bikes are great but you need to know how to ride well in the first place to get the best out of one and they are obviously much more complicated to fix and maintain. No matter what the marketing bumf says!!! Plus a hardtail keeps going long after full suss bikes have become unfashionable! My dmr sidekick has done me proud and keeps going after four years! Sure ive changed every bit on it bar the frame and stem but you get the point!!!

I would also agree that you need to ride flat pedals to learn your skills but if you decide to lean toward xc then spd's are a definite advantage. Shop around, and keep asking questions, try before you buy and once you have narrowed your choice down to a few see what other people have said about them?

On another note, if your new to riding, once you have got your arse wet a few times and you seem to be grasping the basics, why not consider a skills day? I did a couple when I was younger (one from the editors of dirt magazine in france and one from Nigel Page at Nannerch DH course [RIP!]) they really stood me in good stead and showed me that riding is as much about technique, as it is about balls! Failing that the dvd's dirt school or fundamentals are a worthwhile investment and show you how to work those techniques out on the trail!

My choice for a hardtail that can be thrashed DH and ridden xc/ trail centre as well as taken for a hack around the woods before a few pints on the way home ? plus is good value? (the frame will last forever and the geo is perfect!)

http://www.chargebikes.com/products/bikes/detail.php?id=2

Hope it goes well and safe trails!!

Ps – Make sure you buy a decent trail tool etc and learn how to use it!!!! You will need it and I guarantee that when you do it will be raining, going dark, you will have no food left and you will be frickin miles from home/the car!!!

I agree with the above,the Cannondale has had a lot of parts replaced,so it's probably had a fairly hard life too.You won't get a bike that combines full on downhill and crosscountry,so either pick one or the other,or get an allrounder.Your choice will come down to budget eventually,if you want to buy secondhand ,the sellers on here are generally much more reliable than ebay.I'd recommend you go to Wheelbase at Staveley,and have a good look at what your money will get you new,it will also let you work out what size frame you need.If you need any more advice,just ask,there's always lots available here,some of it worth having.
Ian

That Jekyll is a lovely bike actually – great allrounder for its time. You'd do well with that if you were certain of the fit.

Only thing to note is that the lefty is an unusual fork which has its pros and cons – it'll probably be miles better than anything else you'll find on a secondhand entry level bike, and they're also extremely durable if looked after. They're hard to service yourself though, and the areas they excel in (extremely stiff) are not that important when you're just getting into the sport.

That Cannondale in your link, is that roughly your budget? £400ish?

The most important thing is a decent local bike shop that will advise you on a bike suitable for your requirements in terms of where you ride, your size etc etc. Stuff gets broken on mountain bikes all the time, due to where and how they're ridden… The shop'll be maintaining the bike (and you'll pay for this) until you learn how to do it for yourself. And even better, if they run rides you'll have a ready source of new riding buddies who can show you local trails etc.

Type of bike is not really that important in the bigger scheme of things so long as the above is sorted, although a hardtail (no rear suspension) and hydraulic disc brakes are 2 things to definitely insist on. You'll get the idea of what bike best suits you in the longer term after you've been doing it for a while.

You've not mentioned a budget, but as a very loose general yardstick, expect to be spending at least £500 on a new hardtail from a decent shop. Anything by Trek, Marin, Specialized from that price up will probably be ok.

Have fun

sounds like a used Orange P7 is the bike for you. Fun on the downs and a nice all day xc bike. Funnily enough i'll be selling one next week 🙂

Seriously though, a P7 or similar long travel HT sounds like it fits your criteria, great at trail centres, short blast thro local woods and easy to maintain.

I wouldn't say that flats are necessary, but it's worth learning how to do it right before you hit the spd's and cheat!

Can I also suggest to buy a copy of a mag like whatmtb to get impartial reviews on budget mtbs. Boardman get good write ups and great for the price.

I suspect you're not after a full-on DH bike but a bike that can be ridden down-hill. Which is most half-decent MTBs. For a budget of around the £500 mark – I would be looking for a HT.

But make sure the bike fits. Nothing worse than buying the wrong size bike. Also DO budget for some decent kit (camelbaks, trail tools, pumps, clothing, helmet, eye-wear, gloves). I can see you'll be making good friends with Mr. Wiggle and Mr. Chainreactioncyles in the near future.

You will not discover what type of riding you like and therefore what type of bike you need until you've been doing it for 6 months or more.

For £500 avoid a full suss like the plague. You won't be able to set it up properly, parts will be knackered but you won't know what or how to fix them.

Buy a s/h hardtail from a localish LBS who you can then lean on for advice, setup and problem solving. By buying s/h you will take minimal hit when you sell it to get the bike you really want

Thanks for all the great advice, I cant believe how helpful everyone is lol, I was expecting one post. I have always wanted a full suss but as said on here i would have no idea how to fix one although i have a mate who could help, but Il take the expert advice given and go for a hardtail. I cant get to the local mountain bike shop at the moment as I live in Cumbria where all the floods are and its 26 miles away, I live in the middle of nowhere so the internet is my only option at the moment really. I can pay £550 max wish I could spend more. I looked at what would best fit me im 5"9 and this internet measurement thing said an 18" would be ideal, would a 19" be too high for a guy of my height? To nickyB i looked at a skills day they looked really good but would have to wait for a while to go on one.

Hey Peter. Ideally you need to try a bike before buying it as frame sizes can vary from manufacturer to manufacturer, even for the 'same size'. I'm 5'8 and ride a 16" On One hardtail and a 17" Trek full suss so I'd say 17" or 18" would be ok, 19" would almost definately be too big IMHO. 🙂

Framesize between 16inch to 18inch at the extremes are a possibility.
But you'll need to factor in the length of the top tube.
Checkout the geometries of different bikes online. A 16inch frame may well have the same length or longer top tube as larger frames by other manufacturers (especially the inbred).

For your budget – as a quick suggestion of usual suspects checkout merlincycles, paulscycles and halfords Boardman range.

You're about to blow £400-£500 on something you don't know anything about, and don't know what's good or bad?

FFS wait a couple of days and go to a shop otherwise you could waste a lot of money. Ring them and get their comments

There are some famously good bike shops in Cumbria if you want people to make recommendations? 🙂

Ahem 😉

120-130mm forked hardtail.

+1 🙂

though i would go with clipless pedals myself, i guess as a beginner, flats would be more suitable.

when you say Downhill, do you mean "bits of bike trail that are facing in the downward direction"
or
"DOWNHILL DUDE, RAD TO THE GNAR" and all that full face helmet, body armour and ass slapping

Peter88, do you or have you done any other sports similar to mountain biking? i.e. bmx etc… if so you might progress a bit quicker than the average joe..

I'm gonna buck the trend here and say get a short travel full suss. A giant trance medium would be ideal. With short travel full suss you still learn in a similar way you would do on a hardtail but it just just the sting out and lets you flow a bit more as a beginner. I think you just get to have more fun from the get go. It is written everywhere that you should start on a hardtail to hone skills.. this is cool if you are 14 and wanna become a pro, but if you want to start off having fun a half decent full suss is the way to go. A bike shop can easily fix stuff for you. Why start off finding it hard. To me its like learning to wind surf on a short board. Doesn't make sense. Have fun first and get more serious after.

Wait for the avalanche of comments…

If it's a general type mtb,this is quite a good starting point http://www.merlincycles.co.uk/custom-mountain-bikes/discount-mountain-bikes/merlin-malt-1-2010-ltd-edition.html ,though you'd need to ring them to ask about sizes.
Ian

While I don't think you necessarily have to start on a hardtail to have fun, or gain skills, you will certainly get a better bike for the kind of money you're talking about spending. If you buy a used full suspension bike you might soon have to service the shock, which might cost £100, or replace bearings, bushings, pivots, all of which costs money and time off your bike. With a hardtail not only are you avoiding this, but you're also spending your money on fewer components, so you'll probably get a better fork, brakes etc.

i have had 2 bikes from this shop and they have lots of bargains http://www.paulscycles.co.uk/
agree that 19 would be to big probably for you

agree with davey clayton about the potential to need to service a shock if you buy second hand, which is the only way you could get a good full suss for £550. If you know someone that knows anything about bikes they might be able to help you buy a good full suss second hand. Brand new hardtail would be easier of the bat, but a good full suss will be more fun mark my words 😉 im just trying to make this as hard as possible my apologies…

not that the only way would be with a busted shock, the only way would be second hand

Full Sus more fun???!!?!?! err no. I sold mine due to being too BORING!! The shops in the lakes are top. Buy from there not online for a first bike.

Go to a lakes shop. They know the stuff you're likely to ride on, and which bikes are suitable. They will know of riders who you might tag along with. They won't bullshit you, because they'll want you to come back. You could even ask for an ex hire bike as a starter. They won't be the best spec, but they will put you on for a few months and will be cheap. You can trash them while you learn to ride/fall off properly.

Avoid the internet.

if your new to riding and don't know how to take root sections etc… then I think a full suss is much more fun.. i've ridden for a while short travel, long travel, dh… think i am pretty good at smoothing out trails but id still rather do the down hill sections of the wall on a short travel full suss… I know its not the cool thing to say but its true…

having said that if £550 is the absolute max (£750 could squeeze a new full suss)and with no experience of what is a good or bad second hand bike I would go for a hardtail…