Forum menu
Hi Guys and girls,
I have been able to ride a bike for the last 30 odd years but have never really had a hankering for actually riding it!
I have recently been out a couple of times on my old Dawes basic mountain bike and really enjoyed it and im looking to do more and whilst i have only been on road to date I like the idea of doing some trails once my fittness has increased to allow me to cycle uphill on some offroad trails which will make the outing all the more exciting.
I am 6ft2 and am 17stone so im not one of these wirey nimble riders that you see spending more time in the air than on the ground but im game for giving stuff a go and would like the right kind of bike to allow me to explore my own limitations.
My current bike has no suspension, it has pretty crappy gears ( i have no confidence in peadaling hard uphill with outh them slipping and causing me great damage!) it has normal style brakes. I also have no margin for raising the handle bars on it to make it a more comfortable ride and getting a more natural riding position as opposed to how it is now with my ass in the air and my hands too low making me feel too top heavy and nervous about going head first over the bars!
Im after som advice on what kind of mike i should look for, i dont mind second hand and my budget is 200-300.
What do you know of thats about for sale or available to me?
Many thanks
Colin
What Dawes have you got? I used to have a Dawes One Track back in the early nineties, loved it in all it's purple glory!
Colin/Locoboy - welcome.
It's a bit of a how long is a piece of string question. Bikes have changed loads since you bought your Dawes and, while you could spend some money to get the gears sorted, now would bea good time to spend on something new.
Second hand would definitely get you more bike for your budget. Alternatively, if you have the cycle to work scheme available to you, that would also be an option to get lots of bike for minimal cashflow implications.
New, you'll struggle at that price to get decent suspension performance (and you'll deffo be in hardtail, not fuill suspension, territory), which is the big factor for MTBs.
Have a look through the classifieds on here, and you may well find a bargain that someone is offloading.
Good luck and welcome to the4 obsessive world of riding bikes and talking s***e..! 😀
Thanks for the advice so far.
My current bike is a 21 inch dawes Kokomo so you can see why I need to upgrade!
Colin
You need a rigid SS 29er.
Just thought I'd say it first.
And one of those is what exactly? Lol
Locoboy, these bikes tend to get a hard life, 2nd hand does indeed bag you a bargain, but in your price bracket its still full of uncertainty.
I rekon if it was my cash, this is where you should be looking. And I did in fact, I bought my wife a little tiny one, and its about as good as you can get in this price bracket, and full of silky smooth brandnewness, worthy of a few upgrades as you get more confidense too.
Also its worth noting these bikes have previously been on a sale price, so you might well get a discount on the sticker price..
I'd agree with Tinsy, 2nd is great if your happy/aware that you might get a great piece of kit but with well worn gears, you could be looking at the best part of another £100 not long after. Again I have happily recommended the Carrera Vulcan as a good 'start', no it not the greatest of kit or a majorly light weight but everything will just work & last you for a good while -until you get the bug and start handing you pay check straight to CRC/Merlin/Wiggle. Though I'd recommend the 18" model over the 20" - having a slightly smaller bike (but not too small) is more of an advantage off-road.