I want to get into mountain biking (so know nothing about it yet) and fancy one of these.

Can anyone help me choose?

Boredman

Where will you ride.

How much money do you have?

How do you know you’ll enjoy it before dropping a bag on cash on a whim?

What do you like about those bikes?

Cotic soul. Slackline is great, but not for beginners and the other one I ain’t heard of, so it can’t be all that.

HTH

The Shan looks awesome.
I don’t see why people new to the sport can’t start on something top end. I think the days of beginners having to learn on cheap bikes is over. If you’ve got the money get something nice.
Saying that though, the Boardman is a rather good bike

Tom kp

Shan. End of!

Eyerideit has the most salient question, where are you riding? I’d add what terrain are you riding? The soul has been developed over several years and has a massive following, the Shan looks cool and the slackline looks old school skinny with modern geometry.
What was the last bike you rode?
Have you ever ridden motocross?
See if there are any demo days near where you are? I think eighteen bikes still have a soul demo, dont know if the peaks are anywhere near you.

Shan had a ressfit BB. It’s a no from me.

Whats Shan?? Edit oh no thanks.

a hardtail with about 120mm travel is the place to start IMO. Any more and it’s too easy to just to smash through stuff, and your skills won’t develop as well. Once you’ve got some technique then you can progress to either a full susser or a burlier hardtail, if you’re still into it that is.

Of the three, the Soul is the obvious choice, just because it works with less travel.

But I’d say get something cheap first so you can jump and crash it a lot – best way to learn….

Thanks for the responses guys, I’ll be riding it on any sites I can get to for a weekend from London, with a trip to the alps next summer. My budget is flexible (up to a point, say the Shan), but I want to get something good that will stay with me as my riding hopefully improves.

nickhart, will look into whether there are any demo days near London, I’ve never ridden motocross and the last bike I rode was a zaskar a long time ago, which I liked.

Kudos why is the slackline not for beginners?

i think it’s essential that beginners start out on a shonky old heap of crap.

it’s only way to learn to appreciate that even ‘cheap’ modern bikes are brilliant.

simple things, like just how awesome and clever threadless steerers are will be lost on someone who’s never had to live with a sh!* old bike with a threaded steerer that just won’t sit properly.

you’ll never fully appreciate a new bike, without being able to compare it with an old bike.

The Shan and the Slackline are both much more heavily built than the Soul and unless you’re an incredibly brave and skilled beginner you’ll be hauling round a heavier bike than you need for a long long time. Building up a Soul to a sensible spec won’t be cheap and will be extremely confusing though… Probably better off getting a 120mm fork hardtail complete, like a Boardman, On-One, etc, to see if you actually enjoy it!

I have a Soul, and absolutely love it. Pretty much all my riding mates have had a blast on it at this stage, and they’ve all loved it too. It’ll be more than capable of handling whatever you throw at it to start with.

It’s a fun bike. As above, the Shan/Slackline are a bit more hardcore, but heavier with it. Another thing to nots is that the largest Slackline is 18″ – if you’re 6ft plus, it’ll be a small bike for xc stuff – the 19″ Soul I have is already fairly compact (personal taste here too, of course)

Not being one to out anyone off getting a Soul, do you really want to build a high end bike and then go fall off it learning how to ride it? All your choices seem to be frame only so how do you know how to build it up to suit (and that’s not going to be cheap anyways).

I’d have thought it would make more sense to get something like the boardman mentioned above.

And then once you know what you are doing you could always get a frame upgrade. Because by then it’ll be trashed with all that falling off 🙂

Get a second hand Ragley Piglet or On One 456, ride the hell out of it, crash it, scratch it, enjoy upgrading it and learning how to maintain it, deep joy!!

Most important thing is get the CORRECT SIZE[/u] of frame/bike… easiest spot the noob ever is seeing the guy struggling with the frame thats too big.

Building up a bike from a frame is a lot of fun, and it’s possible to build something amazing or a right-old-dog.

PS – of the three you mention I would Soul. 160mm forks on a hardtail are not for many riders – IMHO/IMHE etc… It’ll be a long time until (if ever) you need the extra ability offered by the Shan. The 27.2 seatpost on the Stanton limits the dropper post and for that reason I would be out.

I’ll be selling my MK1 blue pig frame soon if it’s of interest.

Humpy: where abouts in London are you?

MBR035 might be of interest.

Organised rides in Epping forest every Saturday.

With groups to suit your fitness skill level.

Building up a bike from a frame is a lot of fun, and it’s possible to build something amazing or a right-old-dog.

This is very true. However, if it’s your first bike it’s probably more likely to be the latter, no? Half the fun of building for me is putting what I want on it but that stems from years of messing with bikes.

My first self-build was an Orange Aluminium O with a 150mm stem… Man that bike was shit!

OP start with something neutral as you will upgrade/change and the bike will evolve as your riding develops.

The Soul is very popular and is more toward the trail (XC and a bit of chucking about) end. The Slackline and Shan are both built for longer forks and harder riding. I think a Cotic BFe is more comparable if you really want a walloper.

For someone who has not yet learned to be able to ride more technical things at speed the heft, slackness and extra travel may feel unwieldy. Also as the suspension is only up front your body has to match the travel which requires technique. However, if you take to things quickly, are fit and strong then these issues are minor. Be honest, we often are drawn to having the burliest bike at one point or another but it’s often beyond our needs.

At a stab I’d say 120-140mm travel. Or if you must get 150mm, get an adjustable fork so You can wind it in a bit. It’s worth considering that a dropper post is an excellent addition to the build. A frame with a larger seat tube offers more options (30.9 or 31.6, 27.2 is limited but common).

Harder hitting bikes need more material in the frame not to break, therefore are less compliant to ride and weigh more than their shorter counterparts. A good steel (853, true temper OX etc) longer travel bike should be both comfy and strong. If you don’t like chucking yourself off things then stay nearer the 120mm travel end; less to lug around and more comfy. If you like a bit of airtime and see yourself doing jumps, drops and riding down hill at a fair pace get a longer travel bike.

I ride a Blue Pig X with a 140mm U-Turn Pike. TBH I never wind it down, although I would for a long fire road or similar necessary slog. It’s a higher end steel which compensates the weight a little and is lovely and twangy in all the right places. The seat tube is 30.9 and it has guides for my dropper post, the headtube is 44 which can be adapted to take whichever fork I fancy and there’s lots of room for mud. The dropouts are also swappable so I have a Maxle rear wheel too. There have been some iffy batches which has hurt their reputation unfortunately but they are great frames.

I think it’s worth widening the net, geek out and read up on some more frames.

A new Soul may be suited to you as they have updated the tubing sizes however, but there may be something more suited to you. I recall Cy saying not to do too many 2′ drops on to flat on a Soul as they’re not really built for that sort of thing. Hence Cotic makes the BFe, the newer generation has larger diameter tubes for the above issues.

On an entirely useless note I can’t stand the Cotic headbadge. It looks like something scribbled on a school desk and lowers the tone of the bike.

You could just go for a 456 complete build, ride it like beast and get something fancier when you’ve started gravitating towards a specific type of riding? LINK HERE

There are so many variables and tangents, the 456 is solid, capable and pretty good value. The Slackline and Shan may be overkill, the Soul may not allow you to grow into rougher riding. The 456 doesn’t care and will happily take abuse. They’re not glamorous but also ain’t too bad either.

Don’t put yourself in an expensive pigeonhole before you’ve decided what you like.

I’d get one of those 456 evo builds from on-one. About 800 all in, should be able to ride anything in this country on it, bar proper DH…? Plenty of spare cash for riding clobber, lights, food, petrol and all the elements to go riding on big days out?

Edit- what he said! ^^^

I think most stw starter bike recommendations come in the form of these:

Boardman HT. Just upgrade to more substantial tyres and ride it until you are fed up with it.

I went about things the wrong way and bought a chunky, heavy Mongoose HT which I was not strong or capable enough to properly exploit – it was a lump and I tired of it. So starting out, I reckon you want an inexpensive investment on a very decently capable and easy to live with XC bike, while you make the big investment in your riding ability. A couple of years down the track you’ll be ready for the Slackline 😉

I really liked my original Boardman HT which I got after the Mongoose (I’m hanging onto the Boardman frame BTW) for it’s light and easy manners, right up to the point I got fast enough to want something that was stiffer when thrashing corners and under hard braking.

Not ridden a Shan, looks lovely.

Slackline is very good, but a bit more of a “tool for a job”. And a little over a pound heavier than a Soul, as it’s built for BFe-work.

Soul is spectacularily good, and a true allrounder. (which is why I sold mine, I wanted something less allroundy, but for a while it couldn’t have done better)

So of the 3, I’d go Soul for you, and probably Slackline Ti for me 😉

I just had a similar debate with myself, albeit more looking at the BFe than the Soul. Opted for the Shan, can’t wait! So I’d choose anything but that, I like to have bikes that aren’t all over the place 😉

Also as a starter I think I agree you might be better buying a Boardman or B’Twin or something for now – get into it on a bike that doesn’t break the bank but is still capable, and you’ll have learned a lot more about what you like and dislike plus how to build and maintain it by this time next year.

If you just want a bike to go mountain biking on, a full sus might be better since it’ll let you get away with mistakes and will be more comfortable and probably give you more confidence.

If you want to learn how to ride a bike properly, maybe start on a bmx 😈

Kudos why is the slackline not for beginners?

The geometry is a bit similar to the evil sovereign, great for people with good bike handling skills, but can bite you in the arse if you don’t know how to ride it.

The geometry is a bit similar to the evil sovereign, great for people with good bike handling skills, but can bite you in the arse if you don’t know how to ride it.

smirk – I’m sure you’ll learn how to ride your new bike, providing you can ride a bike. 😉

IMO – buy what you can afford to buy. Aim to fit quality components, in the vain hope it lasts long enough for you to learn good bike handling skills

Well, thanks everyone for all your responses, this is really helpful. I’m leaning towards a Soul now, maybe 2nd hand if I find a decent one, with a view to learning how to ride it and then upgrading once I know what I like. Keen on doing a build myself otherwise I’d seriously look at the 456 or the boardman. Or that mean machine suggested by patriotpro.

Worth keeping an eye out for a Santa Cruz chameleon too. Nice happy medium IMHO.

Keen on doing a build myself otherwise I’d seriously look at the 456

You do realise the vast majority of 456’s are built by their owners from a frame up?

I think soul is probably the best way forward on the basis that there are only 2 types of soul owners: 1 those who will never sell it no matter which other bikes come and go, 2 those who regret selling theirs and who want another. It’ll be a long time before you need anything more and even then you’d probably be adding a bike not replacing it!

humpy – Member
Well, thanks everyone for all your responses, this is really helpful. I’m leaning towards a Soul now, maybe 2nd hand if I find a decent one, with a view to learning how to ride it and then upgrading once I know what I like. Keen on doing a build myself otherwise I’d seriously look at the 456 or the boardman. Or that mean machine suggested by patriotpro.

Pick up a Soul frame, second hand maybe, get yourself a set of revelation/sektor forks from MerlinCycles.com, an SLX groupset from Merlin or one of the German sites (bike-components.de, hibike.de), a set of wheels (superstarcomponents or a set of Hope Hoopss) and you’ll have a lovely bike in the 1500 ballpark that won’t need much upgrading.

The mountain bike world is full of fancy bikes owned by people who can’t ride them. There’s room for one more.

Or a Carrera Fury complete bike can be had for under £600. Not as cool looking as the bikes you mention, but it’ll do what every other bike can do.

Disclaimer: I haven’t ridden any of the 3 bikes that the OP mentioned.

However, of those 3 I’d go for the Soul (which seems to be the consensus) because it has more neutral (less slack, longer TT) geometry, and for a given build will be less weight to lug around. I expect that you’ll find it easier to learn on the Soul, but no doubt you’d learn to ride the other two as well. I don’t believe in this “slack head angle bikes are for experienced riders only” waffle, especially if you think you might end up riding down more than up.

I also don’t see why beginners can’t have relatively expensive bikes? If you like a particular bike and you can afford it – go for it. You’re the best judge of how likely you are to get really into riding, and therefore whether you think you can justify the cost.

I also don’t see why beginners can’t have relatively expensive bikes? If you like a particular bike and you can afford it – go for it. You’re the best judge of how likely you are to get really into riding, and therefore whether you think you can justify the cost.

Nothing wrong with beginners buying expensive bikes, but in a lot of cases people think that the more expensive the bike, the better it will help them to ride.

Starting off with a midrange bike and going on a few trips to wales and scotland + getting some coaching will do more for a persons riding ability than the latest shiny bit of kit.

*Awaits the usual moronic response about ‘who the hell are you to tell people what the spend their money’ on from the keyboard warriors of STW………..

Theres a soul rolling chassis on the classifieds now which may be of interest to the o.p

I think a few comments on this one are valid regards angles and travel etc. But having had a few hardtail frames in the last few years felt,ibis ,cotic and a couple of ragleys.
i have to agree with the masses the soul is probably the way forward for most riding, if you feel the need for a more travel style frame get a bfe and ajustable fork fox talas/uturn rockshox etc 150/120 this worked well for me on the bfe for all trail riding and weighed in at a good compromise of climbing/downhill at around 27lb dependant on tyres.
Comments on your other choices slackline, only had a quick go on a buddys at 6.3 tall it felt small to me! and his thoughs are its like a bmx quick handling on but very quick o the downhills great play bike.
The shan only seen the write up but it doeas look a nice frame something a tart like me would be interested in trying, my be next year 😀
Good luck.