Saying hi and first question….its rather long

As the title says i was just gonna say Hi to everyone because i just joined the forum and want to get into downhill/ dirt jump biking.
but to be honest i have no idea where to start when it comes to bikes as ive always just had road bikes and not really paid attention to what the bikes where like.

But i dont want to get really into it, just for a bit of fun going around the woods near me and at the local dirt BMX track…..
so would you say it would be ok to go for something around £200 for a first bike and then if i decide to go proper get a decent quality bike later down the line?
plus the bike price is at the wrath of my parents so probably wont be able to go over £200.
To start i was thinking of this bike i found in a local shop which was a Piranha Radical Twenty Six….no idea how long it would last or how much punishment it could take.
the website states:

TIG WELDED HI-TENSILE STEEL FRAME AND FORK
SAMOX CHROMOLLY TUBULAR CRANKS
44 TOOTH CHAINWHEEL AND 18 TOOTH FREEWHEEL
48 SPOKE 26″ ALLOY WHEELS
14mm AXLES FRONT AND REAR
REAR TEKTRO ALLOY V BRAKE WITH ALLOY FRONT CALIPER
SIZE : 26″ WHEEL WITH 14″ FRAME

and all of that goes in one side and out the other when it comes to quality for a bike
would that bike be worth it or not even bother?

(sorry about the uber longness of this first post)

maybe try a different forum for downhill and dirt jumping.

southerndownhill.com

decentworld,?

ridemonkey.com

would that bike be worth it or not even bother?

no.

ok sorry ill ty one of those….thought downhill. dirt jumping was sort of considered mountain biking….my bad

Hi new guy.

http://www.bikes2udirect.com/B3480.html

Like that? Its somewhere in between a bike shaped object and a proper bike. Hard to say how much abuse it will take, and things like the bb and headset will almost certainly die quickly.

Descent world died years ago.

Hi

2nd hand would be a good option but if it’s a jumpy type bike you’d maybe need to be able to spot and avoid one that’s been ragged within an inch of it’s life

ride what you can afford, and ride more. whatever bike you have, just get out on it and ride it. It’s not about the bike, enjoy.

ok sorry ill ty one of those….thought downhill. dirt jumping was sort of considered mountain biking….my bad

it is but this forum is more xc/trail riding…

Don’t be put off. There’s a few of us that enjoy ‘all’ aspects of moutain biking – to be fair a few also like road riding but we don’t speak of them.

Having recently been embarressed at a local jump spot by someone on a Boardman XC bike I’d say don’t worry too much about getting a boutique name.

Search eBay for a Specilaized P1 or P2 and I think you’ll do fine.

With your initial budget, I’d say try for secondhand myself.

The bike you’ve found does look quite butch actually and will probably be a lot of fun but if you’re going for a singlespeed jumpy bike like that, there will be some much better bargains to be had in classifieds/ebay.

Or look for a s/h commencal Maxmax / Absolut

http://www.evanscycles.com/products/commencal/maxmax-atherton-2011-jump-bike-ec025972?utm_source=froogle&utm_medium=froogle&utm_campaign=froogle

it is but this forum is more xc/trail riding…

And trailquesting. Don’t forget trailquesting.

Check out the offerings from DMR too and then see if you can pick one of their full bikes up second hand.

Dirt jumping can be done on any little and solidly made bike. Some are almost big wheeled BMXs – one gear, no suspension. You can get a dirt jump bike pretty cheaply. The bike you mention in your post fits into that sort of category. The head angle (the angle of the forks) is can be pretty steep to give quick steering, particularly on street bikes.

Downhill bikes tend to be far more expensive and complicated – long travel forks which will set you back > £200 on their own, ideally a full suspension frame. Probably looking at a grand easily. You’re looking at very shallow head angles on DH bikes, giving nasty steering on the flat, but sorted for DH.

A 4X style bike is somewhere between the two in terms of design and price, and will do a bit of both. They’re normally a little frame like a dirt jump bike, a head angle somewhere between the two extremes, but with a rear derailleur giving you 8/9/10 gears, and a short travel suspension fork.

someing like this would be good if you can stretch?

http://cgi.ebay.co.uk/Custom-Jump-bike-/270769539173?pt=UK_Bikes_GL&hash=item3f0b1f4865

it is but this forum is more xc/trail riding…

well done mate.

what a stroker.

this forum is more xc/trail riding.

and trolling, don’t forget trolling.

(Why would you call yourself bikingnoob? Are you intending to be a noob forever?)

it is but this forum is more xc/trail riding…

And trailquesting. Don’t forget trailquesting.

Also running, and IT, and the NHS. You better like these things, punk.

(Oh, and Hellooo!)

Yeah, cos this place is well known for it’s downhillers and dirt jumpers?

Thought I was sending him/her to somewhere he/she would get a more useful advice…

Now if he/she had asked what road bike…

Brother in law picked up one of those comencals linked to above. He loves it the pump track and jumps

How does the forum feel about this for £200. Although you’d want some grippier tyres. Surley that would jumps and a not to gnarr 4x course. Better then spreading the money over disc brakes and suspension

http://www.cycles2u.com/index.php?route=product/product&product_id=71

The problem with used is you do need to know what you looking at

Or maybe sign an agreement with your parents that you won’t drink until your 18 and ask for £70 extra

http://www.chainreactioncycles.com/Models.aspx?ModelID=33042