Which first racing mountain bike please?

Hi lads, i competed in my first mtb race today and didnt do to bad considering lol.
I used my 2010 Giant Trance X2 and its was just way to heavy, to much susspension, crap pro pedal and very slow! lol

That got me thinking about a new weapon aswell. I have been offered a 2010 Voodoo Bokor and was wondering if that would be able to compete well against the competition? If not would you guys recomend just saving up and getting a carbon machine :-)?

I have been told that the Voodoo Bokor is light and would be a good bike for racing on.

Thanks guys

Well done fella!

I’ve no expert advice other than asking you to provide more info for your question: what type of race, what level did you enter (fun, veteran….), how old are you, do you already own a hardtail, that kind of thing…

But once again – well done!

Oh – and Halfords distributed bikes on here get their lovers and haters so take it with a pinch of salt either way.

Ah ok bud, thanks for the reply, it was the Thetford winter series 2hr enduro event… I came 78th out of 150. Not to bad considering my 1st race and my bike 🙂
I have no hard tail as of yet.
The race was a normal enduro i think?
Im 35yrs! 🙁

Depends on budget I guess but I would suggest its more important to get fitter than try to save weight on the bike it will have a larger affect on your results. New bike wont give you 70 position boost on a race 😉 Thetford is flat compared to say Wales or lakes. Road bike, turbo, gym, HRM and some MTB whixh you did as winter training yeah?

Giant Trance is a very good bike. Could be ightend with better wheels and tyres for a quick up grade. Maestro Suspension gets good reviews maybe check your set up if you feel its not working correctly or get it serviced. The Fox Float RP2 is a good shock.

I’d echo the above. I do all my racing on a Stumpjumper FSR with 5″ of travel. I put a bit more pressure in the shock and forks and racier tyres.

Hope hoops with crest rims replaced the standard heavier wheels. Other than that the only bit I changed were for personal comfrort rather than performance.

If you do want to buy a new bike then you should be looking at 100mm hardtails or full susses IMO. 29ers are rated but I’ve no experience.

On-one whippet looks like a good buy as does the scandal. Boardmans are ok too. For the full suss I’d look at an anthem.

It’s different strokes for different folks, but niners around Thetford are brilliant. I did the race yesterday too, really good course and loads of grip. Fair play on 75th on a trance, thats a good effort round there!

If you’ve already got a decent full sus, then I’d look at getting a hard tail. It does depend on where you’re planning to race and if you planning on racing a lot. If you do, I’d say a lightweight hard tail. If you’re over 5’11 then maybe go for a 29er. Thetford is a bit of a funny one though – you could do really well on a rigid singlespeed which would be useless for anywhere else.

New race bike for this season…

Shamelessly turning this into a show me your race bike thread!

In which case

Craig – are you on Torq or is that one of their old frames?

Bought the complete bike from one of last years team riders

Well, i think i may go for this Voodoo Bokor tbh. Its a bargain considering the spec and everything.
There supposed to be light and they are also well speced for the price!

I’ve looked at the spec on the Halfords site and the review on BikeRadar – the spec is now very different. Seems to have gained travel, a through fork and got a lot heavier.

Still – if that’s your budget – you could do a lot worse.

Well, its not my budget, i could save for a £1000 one or sell my giant which is in immaculate condition and buy an even better racing mtb… Only thing is, then im restricted to where i go with a good mtb.
A mate of mine has a Bokor in immaculate condition hardly used at all and wants £350 for it. so…. decissions decissons 😛

I have noticed that alot of the pros and people winning alot of the races are now on 29’rs… Does it make that much difference? Thats another option instead of the usual 26′.

So for £350 you could have 2 bikes? That’s hard to argue with. And I guess if you dont really get on with it or fancy something really racey later on you could probably sell the bokor with hardly any loss.

Ye the bike i can get cheap is last years model and its alot better speced and lighter than this years.

What ya reckon to this Coulda :-)? duno how much it weighs or anything tho?
http://www.paulscycles.co.uk/products.php?plid=m1b0s2p3227

Hmmm this one maybe alot better tbh but a bit more 🙁 How much would i gain from this one? http://paulscycles.co.uk/products.php?plid=m1b0s2p2293

I raced to 8th in the 4 hour on a Scale 26 hardtail so I’d say that’d be my idea. Makes you faster but achier!

My race bike…

First place in the Beginners race at the Gorrick yesterday (my first ever race). Then 73/120 in the Open race. I was pretty pleased to be honest. But am now looking at:

a) Front suspension
b) Rear gears
c) A carbon HT 29er if the bike to work scheme comes good. 😆

I lapped in 33-34 min. How much faster can I expect to be with each of the above? I’m 44, reasonably fit and commute on a fixed wheel about 80-100 miles a week.

The Scott or the Giant Coulda :P?

Sorry for the delay compkiler – I just noticed that Q for me.

I’m no expert but that Giant at 45% off looks good to me if they still have your size.

But that’s kind of gone off from your OP and budget a bit though!

Really the Q is now: What race hardtail for £1000 – which might get more of a response and some more knowledgeable folk. And work on the fitness etc etc.

I lapped in 33-34 min. How much faster can I expect to be with each of the above? I’m 44, reasonably fit and commute on a fixed wheel about 80-100 miles a week.

It’ll depend. Some courses more so than others, impossible to quantify. I know people who are as quick on rigid forks as suspension.

A couple of minutes a lap is reasonable.

Those Pauls Cycles bikes have strange spec. I susspect they are export models but having said that no reason not to buy if they are backed-up with a good warranty. For the money both your suggestions take some beating.
The Bokor is a great deal, its actually a very good frame. Slidey drop-outs if I remember correctly, so when Mechs are finally a thing of the past and we are all riding on hub gears your frame will still be usable.
If it where me, keep your Giant, buy the Bokor. If it has good equipment upgrade the frame if you feel you need to at a later date.

The Bokor is also a bloomin cheap way to find out if you want to race on a hardtail.

Ye the Bokor is a bargain thats for sure but my mind is telling me to spend more cash and get a decent weapon lol… The way i think of it is like this… if i have a decent bike, what i love, then im gona want to ride it alot more than an ‘ok’ one. 🙂

What size of bike are you looking for?

Well, im 5ft 7, so possibly between a small and medium depending on brand. I have a medium Trance but tbh, i think it maybe just slighty to big but its still fine.

Drop me an email – details in profile. May have suitably racey that could be of interest 17inch.