Just for trail centre blasting, should be cheap but easy and fun in Wales when I feel too lazy to do more than drink beer and have a laugh, won't get maintained much, and I have a pair of 26" wheels. Whole bike or frame, what's e cheapest way of doing this?
It's an Orange 5 frame isn't it?
Trail centres... slack angled hardtail with about 130 fork from the classifieds.
Edit... there's a Dialled Prince Albert in the classifieds, something like that. Or a 456... or an old Soul if you want something a bit more refined.
Hire it.
No brake pads, no chain worries, no suspension servicing, no hubs, rims, tyres... etc.
I think people forget when they add up how much a bike costs per year in Maint.
Cheapest way - use what you've got.
Haven't you recently got a full sus?
That's what I built my 456 for - it's been once in 7 years!
I don't really get this - what's a "trail centre bike"? How does it differ from a "not trail centre bike"? Unless you're racing and/or crossing maps in a ride on your other bike, I can't see what you would want your trail centre bike to do that a normal all round MTB wouldn't....
Ebay for pretty much anything serviceable?
Given that just about anything from a CX bike to a Fat bike to a DH bike will do laps of a trail center quite happily you've got quite a wide choice!
Last 3 laps of trail centers I've done were on
A fat bike
A rigid 29er SS
A 32lb #ENDURO bike.
Having said that if you're a short arse then there's the whole load of "4X" bikes from 5-10 years ago; Blur, Balfa minuteman, DMR Bolt, Specialized SX which would be ace, and cheap.
Trail Centres are real "run what yah brung" places - Afan pre-dates most people having suspension forks, let alone FS - different styles of bikes DO change the way you ride though - personally I think the 'sweet spot' is a 5" FS bike, but I've rode around on a big 6" travel FS for years now and what I lose on the straights I gain over the rocks..
Haven't you recently got a full sus?
Yes an Anthem 29er, which was great but harder work on the Down's than a [i]really [/i]lazy weekend in Wales warrants, and is now covered in expensive race-orientated carbon which I wouldn't want to break, although I do have the OEM wheels for "toughness".
Its all being wheel being up the climbs faster than anyone else, but these weekends include chatting on the climbs and enjoying the downs.
Hire it.
Good idea, Marin Mount vision £180 for three days is cheaper than purchase & maintenance.
There's nothing super fast or super rough at any trail centre.Trail centres... [s]slack angled hardtail with about 130 fork[/s][b] Any half decent hardtail from the late 90s/early 00s[/b] from the [s]classifieds.[/s][b]charity shop[/b].
Seriously. an old Marin, Trek or GT etc. for <£40 and add a new set of cables to your budget.
I ride something similar myself locally and it's fine for trail centre use.
I know this is probably not what a lot of folk want to hear but it is actually true
HAve a word with yourself you complete fruitcake.
Steal one - costs nothing...
Fruitcake maybe. Certainly no Cupcake though. 😉
It's not that old is it? First rode the 9-feet.com trail there on a bike that had Bomber forks on it, 2001 maybe. Jerry Gore was the guy behind the sponsor website and a local rider so we went over to try it out.Afan pre-dates most people having suspension forks, let alone FS
(S/h 456 or similar with Rockshox 120mm and Deore 1x9, Deore hydros and good tyres. £300?)
😯 double that and you have a great fun hack bike.Good idea, Marin Mount vision £180 for three days is cheaper than purchase & maintenance.
Seriously. an old Marin, Trek or GT etc. for <£40 and add a new set of cables to your budget.
I ride something similar myself locally and it's fine for trail centre use.
Yes, it's fine for trail centre action, it's what we rode at the time. You can ride trail centres on anything from an old shopping bike to a new fancy carbon DH bike. For me the fun sweetspot is a HT with fairly modern geometry and a decent fork. YMMV.
Jameso, P-J probably means the forest rather than the purpose built trail centre. Folk rode mountain bikes in Glentress in the 80s well before suspension became commonplace but GT didn't get purpose built mountainbiking trails until 20 years later. a lot of the natural trails back then were more challenging than todays waymarked ones too.
It's an Orange 5 frame isn't it?
Not really. I love 'em but if you're looking cheap then there's plenty of other options as the 5 still holds it's value better then most.
Wait outside the cafe for 5 minutes, take your pick.
Really cheap.
Hmmm, I was about to say an Anthem. My fastest times down Spooky Wood at Glentress were always on my Anthem because it was lighter, more efficient and the trails are basically smooth. If you were talking about Laggan Black then maybe a big fun hardtail like a 456.
Cannondale Prophet.
Far cheaper than an Orange 5, 140mm travel, slack head angle, 1.5" headtube so will take anything, only negative is 27.2mm seatpost
what size frame do you need? we have a small 120mm canyon nerve xc frame and fox fork sitting in the cupboard losing value