• This topic has 17 replies, 14 voices, and was last updated 11 years ago by br.
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  • Old bike V New Bike – Likely to stay on new bike easier?
  • bentandbroken
    Full Member

    So quick summary;

    I’m 45 and overweight. I Re-discovered riding a bike 12 months ago when I dusted down my 25 year old (but good condition) all steel, no suspension MTB and joined my neighbours on a bike ride. They introduced me to something called single track (near the New Forest so XC style) and I was hooked 🙂

    Then I fell off and broke several bones. 4 Months on and after several operations I am still only healing slowly, but have just tried a gentle ride on some firetrack and it was OK

    The Question;
    If I pool my pennies I can just about afford a budget bike (such as the Bikeradar budget test winner the Carerra Vulcan). Will having a more modern bike with front suspension make me less liable to fall off?

    The reason for the question;
    I may have lost my nerve a bit and I don’t want to spend the pennies to discover I am too cautious to ride offroad. However, I don’t want to increase my chances of another fall by sticking with a bike that is more likely to throw me off

    Any thoughts, guidance or anecdotes gratefully received!

    wwaswas
    Full Member

    you’re probably less likely to fall off on a modern bike with front suspension, disk brakes etc. Although you will still fall off occasionally.

    but before you go down the new bike route I’d look at getting some skills coaching to give you the right techniques and to regain some confidence.

    clubber
    Free Member

    Will having a more modern bike with front suspension make me less liable to fall off?

    In theory, yes – suspension will probably save you in a proportion of instances where you would otherwise have fallen off.

    The problem in reality is that you go faster and quite possibly end up with the same risk of falling off, just at higher speed. This obviously depends very much on you. IME, I have speeds for a given terrain that I don’t go over so having a more capable bike does make me less likely to fall off in those instances but below that, I’ll just go as fast as I can so am no less likely to crash.

    By the sounds of it though, a more capable bike will probably make you feel less nervous.

    Clear as mud (pun intended)?

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    TiRed
    Full Member

    Why not swap bikes with one of your mates on the next ride. Rigid steel will hone their skills, and something with some suspension may give you a little more confidence. Then look for something used on the classifieds here.

    I discovered mountain biking at 43. Broke a collarbone last year and ride a rigid singlespeed. I still fall off, but think that it’s not really the bike. Fun isn’t it?

    alexpalacefan
    Full Member

    +1 for some skills training.

    APF

    z1ppy
    Full Member

    You sound to have had an extremely unlucky initial experience but are still focused on ‘the singletrack’, I’d say go for it,

    Otherwise I can only echo the advice above, go for the bike & do some training. The Vulcan will have more modern relax angles up front than your old bike, which will help along with having a suspension fork. Any training, even basic introductory off-road stuff (usual available cheaply) will increase your confidence, this is half the battle.

    oliverd1981
    Free Member

    There will be some good bike deals coming up over the next couple of months as shops sell off their 2012 stock. If you can’t borrow a modern bike from a friend see if there’s anywhere local that hires decent bikes (I’m sure somebody here will advise you). This should give you a good idea if you like the benefits of a modern bike enough to part with some more cash

    The good news is if you have a 100% crash record – it’s hard to make it any worse. It might be a bit early for a skills course – you need a patient friend with reasonable riding abilities for now.

    bentandbroken
    Full Member

    Sorry, just to clarify, I did not fall on my first ride with them, but after about 7 months of approx 10-20 miles of combined firetrack and singletrack per week (still unlucky, but not quite a 100% crash record!)

    Many thanks for the suggestions/comments. A bike swap is probably not going to work well as I would be swapping with £800+ machines with combinations of 29″ wheels and FS so very different from the budget Carerra I am looking at. That said the Giant Revel I hired last week is a similar value so may be worth haggling for a weekend hire

    Skills training is also thought. I have read the many Jedi recommendations, but dismissed him as way too advanced for me. My riding buddies are very experienced and one has done some MTB leader courses so I get (hopefully) good advice from them, but perhaps paid for advice is worth looking in to

    I also like the comment on max comfortable speed. I think I will be applying that when I am finally allowed to get back on two wheels. Previously I just tried to keep up with the fastest person in the group

    Cheers all!

    Saccades
    Free Member

    25 year old

    I’d say that’s a chunk of your problem, back then bikes had much more road orientated geometry – steep headangles and buggerall standover height, plus the tyre technology was awful. I had a go on a v. retro rockhopper that felt nice enough until I went from a gentle pootle on the grass and onto damp mud and roots – the tyres were all over the show, the first time I was able to tell good from bad they were so bad.

    As a cheap option look for a 2nd hand on-one inbred frame – cheap and with a well loved geometry that’s xc orientated, that with a set of cheap forks will propel you into the 21st century. Not sure on exact sizing but hopefully most of your steel specific stuff (front mech, seatpost etc) will swop over along with wheels and gears keeping the cost down, depending on how much you have, you might be able to move over to discs which is the next big leap forward in performance.

    I’d say from about 10 years ago or so manufacturers had gotten their stuff together and it’s hard to get a really rubbish frame.

    bentandbroken
    Full Member

    I’d say from about 10 years ago or so manufacturers had gotten their stuff together and it’s hard to get a really rubbish frame.

    That’s an interesting comment. New would be lovely, but second hand looks to be a minefield. Based on your comment something less than 10 years old (say about 5 years old) in relatively good nick might allow me to get a higher spec

    vorlich
    Free Member

    Are your tyres as old as the bike? Decent tyres will help enormously.

    bentandbroken
    Full Member

    Are your tyres as old as the bike? Decent tyres till help enormously.

    Wants to answer no, but then realises that they were taken off a bike bought at exactly the same time 😳

    What tyres for…… 😉

    tonyd
    Full Member

    I’d say get something second hand as you’ll get a lot more for your money. If you have a while before you can get back on a bike then perhaps consider building something up? It seems daunting but bikes are pretty simple really and building your own is very satisfying and helps you gain valuable experience for future fettling 🙂

    Keep an eye on the classifieds here, as per recent (regular) threads there are some scoundrels to watch out for but you can get some good kit for a reasonable price. I built up a lovely hardtail from parts bought almost exclusively from the classifieds here. If it takes you a little while so what? All the more satisfying when it’s done and you can ride you’re current bike until then (albeit more carefully!).

    ddmonkey
    Full Member

    A MASSIVE +1 for new tyres, you would not believe the difference they make. Apart from anything your 20 yr old tyres will be perished and provide zero grip on anything like roots / rocks. Modern bikes have better geometry, wider bars, more tyre clearance, better brakes, all of which will make them easier to control but the tyres will be the thing change on our current bike.

    And don’t dismiss a good instructor as being too advanced for you, the basics are the basics and Jedi will be able to teach them to you. I recently spent three days on a training camp with Fabien Barel and all he focused on was body position on the bike, for three days. The basics are the most important thing.

    BigJohn
    Full Member

    Just put up with the crashes and ride.

    I’m 59 and overweight (although not as much as I was) and I reckon to be in A&E once every 3 years or so. In January I separated my shoulder which meant a few weeks off the bike. I just took it carefully(ish) which means not at all, really, for the first month or so until the surgeon said I was OK to start some gentle road cycling, then I got back to normal.

    Remember that riding with only 75% committment usually leads to more crashes.

    molgrips
    Free Member

    The biggest thing that makes you fall off is riding position and bike geometry/set up. I had a terrible time trying not to go over the bars on one bike, a new stem and bars sorted that right out. Even more likely that poor setup will make your front wheel wash out at the first sign of a corner, if you don’t know how to combat that tendency.

    To be honest, 25 year old bikes (even good ones) were set up with very different criteria in mind and as such handle like crap by today’s standards. They used to be all about getting the power down, but nowadays it’s all about the technical handling.

    23.5″ top tube and 150mm stem anyone? 22″ flat bar?

    Saccades
    Free Member

    quote]second hand looks to be a minefield[/quote]

    It can be – but patience is the key here. Look every week on ebay say for the type of bikes/price range you want. Set up ebay searches for Carrera Fury, these won best £500 hardtail for years and there are regular 2nd hand bikes with bugger all miles on coming up very cheap. Keep looking until you are happy what the current price of a bike for the age/spec, maybe go kick some tyres of local bikes having a look. Then if you see a bike that’s better than average go for it. I think WhatMTB do a list of best bikes for under grand etc, try and find that list for 2-4 years ago and look for them being sold cheap. STW classifieds can be good, but there is a lot more highend stuff and you might get sucked into just another £50-100 will get me this etc etc.

    It’s hard to get a bad frame, but frames are aimed at types of riding, a fury/inbred etc are aimed at general riding xc, whereas a inbred 456 is aimed at doing more silly stuff and then there are bikes that are pure race machines etc. There are plenty of perfectly capable budget bikes out there that are being sold for peanuts by people that never used them. Going 2nd hand and knowing the market you’ll be able to get a good budget bike and get a lot more bang for your buck.

    br
    Free Member

    If you can afford a bit more get a new Boardman, won’t go wrong by one.

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