Hi all,
Well, it's been a fair few years since I was last on here!
Injuries have basically had me off the bike for years and it's been a tough time. I've ended up selling one bike and am now down to my circa - 10 year old Marin Attack Trail.
To sum up, I want to ease myself back into biking. We're hoping the latest knee op will be a success and I'll be able to start some gentle riding within 2-3 weeks. It's going to be 5 months more recoup before I can start looking at 'proper' riding...and then circa 9-12 months to get back to where I was before the op.
The big problem is.....the bike I have needs a fair bit of work. F&R sus services, a wheel, brakes sorting out, bearings replacing....a full overhaul! Having looked into prices, I'm seriously considering selling it off in bits and putting in a bit of cash and buying something new.
This is where I fall down. I've been out of things for so long, I haven't got a clue what's hot and what's not these days!
So, to cut the long intro to its point...
1) - would you service and keep a 10 year old bike or go for a new one?
2) If you went for a new one - what FS would you go for (thinking £1500-1800 budget)
3) Canyon bikes were being raved about when I ducked out.....are they still all that?
4) What's good brand wise these days? Are we still loving Shimano / Hope / Fox or have they taken a Marzocchi-in-the-early-00s-fall-from-grace?
TIA all,
Cheers
Morgs
It's all about 650b these days!
Unless you want a 29er
Nothing much wrong with 26" but manufacturers stopping doing them.
Oh and tapered steerer forks as straight ones are bloody hard to find now.
Added a bit more:
RS Pikes are very much in favour. X-Fusion new on the scene and good reviews. Marz back on form. Fox still expensive and wear out.
Canyon still doing well. On One Codeine 29er might be worth a look in that price range.
Cheers! Tapered had just about come on the scene when I was last about and 29ers were the new thing...
650b....are they the half-way house that marketing peeps have decided we all NEED now? 😉
added a bit more above.
Whyte T-130 might be an option I guess. I'm not very good with full sussers though.
Oh and Orange brought out a new bike. It looks just like the others.
1x10 gears or 1x11 if you can stomach spending £200 on a cassette.
Narrow-wide chainrings and clutch mechs so no chainguide needed.
Carbon rims have become affordable and wide thanks to Taiwan.
Hope still not released their cranks but they are coming...honest...Thomson have some too which are ugly.
Basically throw out all your old stuff as everything has changed. Or fix it up with lots of cheap unfashionable 9 speed, 26" wheel stuff (new and used).
Haha - great, so I'm now a one-man retro supplier!
One other thing....after not being able to do much of anything exercise related, my weight has ballooned. Any bikes you can think of suitable for a giffer?
Fat bike? (sorry, couldnt resist)
YT industries seem popular too. Good value.
For weight - recent forks have got a lot stiffer. As have new wider wheels. I wouldn't worry too much.
Get a fatbike! 😀
I'd go for something like a Whyte T129 or a Specialized camber. Decent bikes for the moment and will be great for easier longer distances but still handle a bit of techy stuff when you get back into it more.
A Stooge.
Forget all this multi link pollava.
Stooge is where it's at.
Fatbike? Well.....I do a good enough job at the mo for me and the bike, so may have to avoid that one for now!
The stooge looks nice but would really prefer to go FS. I'll try and head down somewhere to check out the Whyte - is there any way of getting my mits on a Canyon or is it still like finding rocking horse excrement?
I still have a 10yr old Mount Vision, it still does its job and as you know, that suspension system is a very good design.
Rear shock services are ridiculously was & you can buy the kit from Mojo for around £20. I'd get the Marin working for winter and then take your time deciding whether you actually need/want a new bike.
We're hoping the latest knee op will be a success and I'll be able to start some gentle riding within 2-3 weeks. It's going to be 5 months more recoup before I can start looking at 'proper' riding...and then circa 9-12 months to get back to where I was before the op.
I'd be trying to get the old bike sorted first, perhaps with some nice secondhand bits (wheels etc) that won't break the bank and can be sold on again if necessary. New decent brakes can be had very cheap as well, and the whole lot can potentially be shifted onto a new frame eventually.
Unless the N+1 monster needs to be satisfied, of course. 🙂
Muddydwarf & MartinH +1, shirely bearings should be under warranty (assuming owner from new) and 26er stuff like wheels are going cheap, especially if you only need QR version. I'd only get a full service on the rear shock if isn't working properly (rebound/lockout), otherwise just give it a seal service (£20) as above. The fork is probably a different mater but again is it really broke, or just old? You hardly sounds like your going to be pushing the limits for a while. So with winter on the horizon, I'd go with fixing it up without going silly and as you recover, look at/demo what you fancy new(er) bike wise - use it as an incentive to get better as soon as you can.
As for brakes, when Merlin are doing a brand new set of [url= http://www.merlincycles.com/shimano-deore-m615-disc-brakes-front-rear-set-62194.html ]deores for £70[/url] I'd either go for those or expect to be able to pickup a very good set of 2nd hand brakes for less in the classifieds