[Closed] My new bike ? is it any good ?

Unfortunatly its probably failry poor.

But don't let that stop you, I started on a £150 Saracen and rode it for two years untill it was completely dead and beyond any repair (economical or otherwise).

Then I got a £300 Carrera in the January sales. Lasted another 3 years and got heaily upgraded with secondhand parts over time untill it was actualy quite good.

Then it got silly and I started doing things like sopending more on a frame than I had on the last 4 years cycling kit in total!

I've probably got £5k + of bikes, but despite that, ragging a £180 BMX arroung Swinely yesterday was my favourite ride since coming back from Spain!

ok, it cost me £500 though.

If that's the one that's £400+ at Argos it seems a bit expensive given the spec and compared to the likes of the Specialized Hardrock or even the Carrera Kraken.

and do have any good tips for mtb, and good tracks around west midlands. and would you buy that bike as you was getting into the sport ? and can you tell me what you think of cannock chase trails if you have ever been there ?

Just upgrade bits as they break (and they will!) The classified ads on here are a good place to pick up good quality second hand bits. Don't be afraid to post questions on here as well, expect to have a bit of pi$$ taking but generally we're a pretty helpful lot.

ok, the bits are shimano which i thought was good brand ?

My first bike cost £330 so don't worry about cost. If you start getting serious about it then look at what others have done and buy something from 'last years stock'. Barginorama.
In my opinion 'good bikes' start at about a grand.

Can be a bit of a shocker when you first get into the sport. Some of my mates have forks that cost more than my whole bike.

Just get out and enjoy it. Don't worry if you've not got the latest or best kit. I ride with friends who have paid £4000 for their bikes and some still can't keep up with me on my £600 second hand clunker. The most important bit of kit is you, so get as fit as you can and ride as much as you can to gain experience and improve your skills.

the bits are shimano which i thought was good brand ?

Yup, but Ford made the GT and the KA, they make pretty much every level of kit.

Like others have said, its a perfectly good bike for getting into the sport, but from here on its an expensive hobby if you let it go that way! As Twin said, ride it, bits will break and wear out, replace those with the same or slightly better bits, and keep going untill eventualy its not worth doing anything to it anymore and you can justify a new bike.

Good bikes start at about £500, but you'd have to know what your lookign for, read reviews carefully to pick the one thats best. Somewhere arround £1000 you stop getting bad bikes but theres still vast differences between the good ones and the best ones.

Through a combination of knowing exactly what I want, and not wanting the latest, most expensive, lightest, blingest bits and buying most of it 2nd hand my main bike is probably only 'worth' a couple of hundred more than yours (although new all the bits are probably £2k+).

Cannock is good fun, other areas worth exploring would be Llandegla(sp?) north wales for more of the same kind of trails, but more 'extream' (bigger hills, more jumps/rocks). Or the UK has miles of bridleways to explore, its not usualy as technicaly challenging, but you can cover a lot of miles on a bike and the views can make up for the lack of challange from the trails.

thanks, and have you ever rode cannock chase trails, or do u recomend any tracks in the west midlands ? and advice on what kind of gear to where and take with me on a ride ?

This sport/hobby can be ridiculously hard on the wallet - most of us on here have spent stupid amounts of money over the yrs.

It doesn't have to be that way though, simply ride what you have & enjoy the experience. If/when it breaks (& it will, it all does) sit down & think about where you want to go next. There will come a point where what you have is simply not worth the maintainance/upgrade costs. Until then enjoy! 🙂

Ohhhh, and get a subscription to somethign like MBUK or MBR magazines, they're full of stuff aimed at riders who've only been doing it for a couple of years at most. Whilst most people on here wont benifit form the how'to sections, they do often cover stuff as basic as how to fix a puncture properly.

After that stuff like DIRT and Singletrack magazine probably reprisent the two ends of the mainstream mountainbike media depending on whether you see yourself more as a recreational cross country rider (singletracks target audiance) or you find you prefer dirt jumps and raceing downhill (Dirt's readership).

thanks.

Stuff to take :-

Essentials

Spare tube (or two)
puncture repair kit
tyre levers
multi-tool
pump
water bottle

Good to have:-

Waterproof
food

thanks, i usually take that stuff anyway, just wanted to know im taking the right stuff.

Helmet - spend as much as you deem reasonble, and get it from a shop so you know it fits proerly, a good one will be borderline un-noticable on your head and cost £50 upwards.

Get some padded shorts (ebay "polaris freeride" for some cheep but good ones for £20)

For your top a football/other sport top is good if you already have one, they dont make you sweat like cotton.

Most people start off with trainers and plastic pedals which is a horrible combination. Look at something like Vans style skate shoes (nothing too bulky though) and get some proper 'flat' pedals. DMR V8 pedalsare a good starting point, or wellgo MG-1, both can be found cheep on ebay.

Gloves are a must, proper cycling ones dont chafe, keep your hands warm, arent bulky, and prevent injuries in a crash.

Most people have a 'camelback' style rucksack, these range form about £20 in decathlon to £150+! Best get a pump, puncture repair kit, spare innertubes, etc to go in it as well. Lezyne ones come with a fairly comprihensive kit inside them which is good considdering theey dont cost much more than other brands charge just for the bag!

thanks, i have got a boardman mountain bike helmet (with carbon fibre structure) witch cost me £60 and a bag, thanks for the tips on pads (didnt know what to get) and i have a nice tresspass back (which is comfy on my back) with came witha 2 litre bladder so i dont have to keep stopping.

Ohh, on the shoes thing, some people will tell you 'clipless' pedals are better, these are like ski boot bindings that you 'clip' into and help you put down more power.

As a beginner I'd advise against them, not only do they make you crash when you cant get in/out of them, they also teach bad habbits which can be hard to get out of.

Look into skills coaching as well, it's not super cheep, but a day with a coach will probably see you progress more than most people do in 2 years of trial and error. Maybe look into it again after youve been riding a couple of times a weeek for a couple of months and have some fitness built up.

http://www.singletrackworld.com/forum/topic/show-me-your-boutique-bikes

That's what happens when people who like bikes spend more money than they have taste!

i, have done some tracks and can do challenging ones without crashing, and i have got metal flatless pedals, with some good trainers, and thanks.

I wouldn't worry about the bike, just thrash it and then when you have the cash get something else. I ride with a few different people, some have super expensive bikes and others have cheaper one's.

The fastest rider I know mostly rides a second hand hardtail he put together for about 550 quid. He would fly past the vast majority on expensive full suspension bikes on anything other than a full on downhill course.

Enjoy the bike, it will do the job for a while 🙂

thanks.

i have took it over cannock chase and thrashed it [b](and it was good)[/b]

That's all you need to know about your bike, right there. (-:

Oh, also,

The keys with the little arrow on them next to the '\' and '/' keys will allow you to enter capital letters at the start of your sentences, which will help to prevent people thinking you're a gibbon.

(-:

i have got metal flatless pedals,

If you're describing the traditional 'bear trap' style pedals, I'd suggest that you look to upgrading these at some point. Good pedals can cost surprisingly little and will make a world of difference to your riding.

http://www.chainreactioncycles.com/Models.aspx?ModelID=563

Just mind your shins if you scar easily.

Some pretty good basic maintanence advice.
[url= http://www.bikemagic.com/maintenance/7.html ]Here[/url]

long mynd has some good natural riding and it has a waymarked track

Where you from in the Midlands?

Have a look here
http://wmmtbforum.co.uk/forum/index.php

Yh from the midlands, i have checked out that site its good thanks.

Mate, the best bike in the world is the one thats in your house/garage/shed, because its your bike and you can ride it whenever you want, you said you took it round cannock and it was good so dont worry what other people think of it, just upgrade bits as and when you see fit/things break, and get out and enjoy yourself

i have took it over cannock chase and thrashed it (and it was good)

If you are still riding come spring and are sure you want to continue and then want something better, upgrade. Don't do it now and then decide you want to stop biking and take up surfing, seen a lot of guys buy all the kit then pack it up (not just biking, all kinds of sports)

I bought a new bike last week, to replace my 13yr old rigid steel bike which had only just died. £150 well spent (although I have also got through several thousand pounds worth of carbon fibre in that time too...)

All you need to know is that Cannock Chase can provide endless fun for riders of all standards. All year round, night and day. Although when my tubeless valve core came out at 6:30 this morning - in the dark - I didn't think so. But my mate had some pliers, so it went back in and we continued our rather good ride.

Any bike will let you have fun. In fact more expensive bikes tend to take some of the fun out of riding (unless you go faster down the lumpier bits - which is what they're for - but then you just end up falling harder) and heavier bikes make you fitter.

So take your bike - start exploring the Chase, and if possible find some other riders to tag along with.

I tend to ride on the Chase 3 times a week - never get bored with it - always finding new bits - and hardly ever ride Folliow the Dog or The Monkey because there are brilliant natural trails all over the place.

When a bit of your bike breaks or stops working well, consider replacing it with a better quality component. But don't change stuff just for the sake of it. The bike you've got will be plenty capable of letting you have a great time.