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What sort of bike would be suitable for a nervous descender? I'm more of a road cyclist, but I'd like to do some long local off-road rides (Scottish Highlands) and maybe some bikepacking. I've had a couple of lessons, but can't say I'm much better off in terms of confidence when the going gets (slightly) steep and rough. I have an early 90's rigid MTB with low, straight bars, steep head angle, and long stem. From what I can tell, a more modern bike with slacker angles might help. Not sure if a long travel hard tail might be the way to go. Or a fat bike. Presumably the rider makes the biggest difference, but are there any 'safe' confidence-boosting bikes?
As I'm still not sure if I'm going to take to it, I might try and see if I can buy something cheap for now. I'd consider used if I could find something, or a "last year's model" deal. It seems that Charge Dusters, Genesis, etc are often available at a discount. Or maybe one of the German direct manufacturers. Would anything decent be available for around £500?
Giant do a bike called the Talon which was the most popular bike with new riders when I rode in a club in Scotland with a lot of newbies. Ignore the specs, because they won't compare to anything reduced, but the riding position and geometry are perfect for someone getting used to mountain biking- really confidence inspiring.
The frame is good and worth upgrading over time too. They do a few models- the Talon 5 is a bit basic, but the Talon 4 is a great place to start. If you really get into it then upgrading the fork with something second hand wouldn't be a bad idea, but everything else on it is fine.
Thanks for the info. I'll look into those. I see one of the online shops is selling the Talon 1 2011 model for £560, and the 2013 model for £760. From what I can tell the Talon 1 has better components, but would probably still benefit from a fork upgrade. I've also seen some Cube bikes available for a similar price, but not sure how suitable they would be.
Just got the wife a Cube Analog for £540 from Leisure Lakes in Nottingham. She is a total beginner, scared of everything but has found her confidence very quickly on the bike.
Can't say it has the best wheels (alexrims ZX24 rims on Shimano hubs) or fork (Rockshox XC28), but the rest is very good value kit for a bike in this price range. It is absolutely horrific to look at though, blue and fluorescent orange, but I think it's available in black and grey too.
[url= http://www.cube.eu/uk/bikes/mtb-hardtail/analog/analog-29-blue-flashred/ ]Full spec[/url]
Thanks, I'll look at that. Does your wife's bike have 26" wheels?
Some of bike hire shops sell off their hire stock after around 35 rides. The likes of alpine bikes at glentress offers genesis core HT at pretty decent prices. Not been on one myself but had to hire them for family members at times and they're ok for the money. Tend to have quite a bit of cosmetic damage though.
I'd definitely recommend a slackish head angle. I've been MTBing for a year now and started out on my old Scott Navajo HT, Followed by a full susser (giant trwnce x1 at 69deg head angle). I was scared of anything steep on it. Got a bronson 2 months ago and doing stuff on it I'd never have attempted before. Did innerleithen at weekend and few months ago I'd have been walking lots of it, Sunday I rode it all, drops offs and all.
Wee bit of coaching also helps.
If you can stetch your budget a bit then a Ragley Marley or an On One 456 would be an awesome bike. The 456 is £900 but they normally have some offers on for a bit less but you get a hardcore steel hardtail that you'll struggle to break a nice slack head angle for confident descending and an excellent value spec with Those excellent deore discs. All bikes for £500 you will very quickly be looking to upgrade, in particular the forks which wont be a cheap upgrade where as the on one has mainly deore stuff and a quality set of forks. Nothing will need upgrading. Should take a few knocks from the inevitable accidents that are part of learning as well.
John
The wife's Cube is a 29er. Have to agree with johnnyboy666, if you could find an on-one 456 cheap, it's definitely a good option. If you're on a strict budget around £500 though and don't want to buy second hand, I think the Cube is pretty good.
Also make sure you get a bike the right size for you. From my experience a lot of bike shops put people on bikes that are too big for them. Make sure you have some clearence over that top tube so you can easily move the bike around and get over the back on steep bits, this will help with confidence too. You can always put your seat up but you can't put your frame down.
Can you or someone you know get the cycle to work scheme, easily brings the on ones down by a few hundred notes.
John
Teen2 has a 2013 XS Talon 1W and it is an excellent bike. He's ridden in down red runs in Wales and he's a nervous rider. You might find a discounted one now they've switched wheel sizes. The frame is very good and the groupset is specced to a price point. They are all good.
Thanks - I've just seen the more recent replies.
I was able to have a ride on a Genesis Mantle 10 for a few miles on an off-road gravel track. The bike shop is able to sell a new one at around £550. They also said they'd trade it back in if/when I want to upgrade. The gears and brakes felt good. It's probably me, but I found it a little vague at the front end when riding around corners. It felt like it was cornering from the front, and I was making small corrections in the steering. However, I'm not used to front suspension, and the bars were also very wide. I think the Rockshox forks have springs rather than air.
I've seen mention of the Voodoo Bizango on this forum. Not sure how that compares at that price.
I also had another ride on a Jones, and it just seems to be an ideal bike for me - if it weren't four times the cost of the Genesis! I don't know if I should hold out for one of those, or buy something like the Genesis in the meantime. I love the riding position, and it's very confidence-inspiring. I was able to ride some steeper and rougher tracks without feeling particularly worried - I just let it roll! I can't recall ever riding anything with two wheels which has such natural handling.
I also rode a couple of 20mile rides on my old MTB. It's not as bad as I feared on the gentler trails, although the hand position isn't great for me, and the canti brakes don't have the stopping power of discs. I still find it a bit scary. However, I could ride it for a few months and see how I get on, although it might limit the terrain I ride.