UKC

My bike is 10 years old, a hardtail. I love it! But would like to add a fsr to the mix.

I'm an occasional rider, averaging once a fortnight atm on mostly xc stuff in the Lake District, with the occasional trail blue route with my son. Obviously I'd like something decent, but not break the bank. I'm no good at the mechanics and I'm relying on buying a bike already built.

But even the mid range I'm looking at atleast £2k. Even my old hardtail now retails at nearly twice as much as what I bought it for. Do most people buy on a finance deal nowadays?

My heardtail is a Specialized, so naturally I've been looking at them, but does anyone have any recommendations for other brands to look at that have good components and a lower price? (I'm female, if that helps).

In reply to DragonsDoExist:

I buy second hand. Keep an eye on Gumtree etc.

Also, don't limit yourself to female specific bikes, they are all different shapes anyway. If you keep your mind open to all bikes, you might find a bargain blokes one which fits well. (Female ones almost never fit me, I have short limbs and long body. I tend to ride men's XS for mtbs. My current road bike is female though).

In reply to girlymonkey:

Cool, thanks! I've never really considered riding a men's bike. I had a terrible mens bike when I was a kid. My folks would just buy me the cheapest bike in the shop, which I'd 'grow in to'.

In reply to DragonsDoExist:

Don't buy on Gumtree - I looked at that when first getting a decent bike and every one I looked at was quite obviously nicked.

In reply to Grey area:

TBH I'd rather buy new, I hope to keep it for a good 10 years.

In reply to DragonsDoExist:

If you compare it to the cost of gym membership it sweetens the pill somewhat.

In reply to DragonsDoExist:

Best value if you're buying new is probably Canyon or Radon online from Germany. You'll pay maybe £1000 less for the same components. The disadvantage is of course that you can't test ride it before you buy it, but if you're satisfied with you're current bike I'd go with the same one.

In reply to DragonsDoExist:

Any chance of your employers taking part in the cycle to work scheme?

I got a road bike through this a couple of years ago and would be able to apply for a mtb now.

In reply to DragonsDoExist:

I've always bough secondhand, or ex demo or last years clearance stuff. 2k does seem to be the starting point for a decent full sus bike, but at around £1000 you can get a decent newish bike for the money. My dad recent bought a trek 29er thingy with fox suspension and mainly xt everything else for £1200 off eBay and it looked nearly unused. Rrp that was £2000ish. My current bike is an oldish Nicolai (frames rrp at £2000-3000) built up with brand new top end everything a year or two ago, also paid £1200 for that.

In reply to DragonsDoExist:

I sold my car 4 years ago and bikes suddenly seemed good value.

In reply to DamonRoberts:

Makes me glad that I don't need an mtb! You can get a decent budget road bike for around £500 and £1000 will buy you a good non budget bike.

In reply to Yanis Nayu:

Haha, Yanis. I've never been to a gym so wouldn't know. I prefer the natural gym

In reply to Niblet:

Thanks. I'll take a look at them. It would be handy to test them 1st, but I know my size and I'm not hugely fussy so know I would get used to it.

In reply to coinneach:

That's a good point! I'm self employed though, but will look in to it. Thanks

In reply to DamonRoberts:

I've been looking on ebay, but I can't find much in my area. I'll keep looking as I'd like to go look at it 1st before buying, if I do go 2nd hand. I do know what you mean though, you can get some good 2nd hand bikes. I particularly find often on ebay it's a husband selling their wife's bike as he'd bought it as an attempt to get her in to biking but failed.

It's amazing what people with very little biking experience buy, and how much they spend!

I can't really find any last season's stock online, is there any websites you'd recommend?

In reply to Phil1919:

How so? Because you now bike everywhere instead of using a car? Or have cars gone up in price too? I almost do the same with my car as I do with my bike. Buy nearly new and then keep it until it dies.

In reply to wilkesley:

I've been putting slicks on my hardtail when riding to work, but tbh that's more out of neccessity. I'm not one to choose to go road biking. Although, living in the Lakes maybe I should, eveyone else seems to be!

In reply to DragonsDoExist:

I don't think you're looking hard enough, or your bar for 'decent' is way above what you actually need for your use case. My MTB is a 'Voodoo Hoodoo' from Halfords. I got it 2nd hand for £200.

Ask yourself if you *really* need a bike specced at over £1000.

In reply to DragonsDoExist:

Collect clearance frame and components over a few months and have them made by your local bike person or LBS, far more interesting and get more bang for your buck than buying off the peg. Normally 1/3rd to 1/2 the price of a non sale bike.

D

In reply to DragonsDoExist:

I can't really find any last season's stock online, is there any websites you'd recommend?

From around end of July prior to 2018 stock coming through

https://www.tritoncycles.co.uk/

Also Evans have a clearance section on their website for shop soiled and test ridden bikes.

D

In reply to DragonsDoExist:

You get an interest-free credit card, buy the bike then cut up the card and set up a standing order to pay it off before the interest charges kick in. Just bought a rather naughty Bianchi that way and I'm loving it.

In reply to DragonsDoExist:

Keep in touch with local shops, be proactive and speak to them rather than just checking the website - such things often don't make it online before they're snapped up. I got very lucky with a Giant ex-demo full susser for £1200, £2k normally (Giant shop near me in Guildford).

Also keep watch on places like Wheelbase in Staveley, and Biketreks in Ambleside/Ings.


For full suspension, its often said the decent ones start at £1500, but recently things like the Calibre Bossnut have been getting excellent reviews at £1k. These are only available through GoOutdoors.
http://www.gooutdoors.co.uk/calibre-bossnut-ladies-mountain-bike-p383862


If you ride regularly, you would be worth learning how to do at least the basic servicing yourself, components wear out so quickly off road, especially at the cheaper end of the market. Just keeping the drivetrain clean will make a big difference to how long it lasts.

In reply to DragonsDoExist:

Interestingly, I have never got on well with women's mtb, but women's road bikes seem OK. Good luck finding the right one

In reply to DragonsDoExist:

To answer you original question: You should differentiate between "need" and "want". For the sort of riding you seem to do, an entry level hardtail is perfectly adequate (<£1000). Bear in mind and entry level bike today is probably better than a mid-level bit from 10 years ago. You might "want" a £2k+ bike, and that's perfectly fine, but don't assume that it's going to make your rides any 'better' (whatever that means to you) than an entry level bike or for that matter, your existing bike (once the novelty value has worn off). And don't get suckered in by the magazines which seem to uplift the definition of 'entry level' every year to mean what the advertisers would most like to sell.

You can afford a bike you need. You might not be able to afford a bike you want.

In reply to Dauphin:



Better still, put it together yourself... there's not too many specialist tools required, and youtube will tell you how to do any bits you're not sure of. Once you've built the bike, home maintenance and servicing will be a doddle, further reducing the cost of ownership

In reply to Dauphin:

Does that depend on how much you are willing to spend? Or maybe the type of bike? My CX bike which is my commuter/do most things bike is about 5 years old. I would like to upgrade the brakes to TRP HY/RD and the drivetrain will probably need replacing soon (front mech, back mech, cassette have all been replaced once). The brakes are at least 170 for the set from eBay, and a Sora groupset is 250. I could probably get a new 1000 pound CX with hydraulic brakes and 1x gearing for 800 in the sales (Planet X, Evans-Pinnacle or another Boardman from Halfords), and I'm left wondering whether it's worth upgrading my old one (presumably the wheels we need replacing sooner or later too, as they've done great service). Interesting what price of bikes and types of bike you are thinking about when saying building your own is cheap. It seems at a grand or less, the frame isn't a significant part of a bikes cost.

In reply to DragonsDoExist:

Best places to source old stock bikes is online, Paul's Cycles tends to have some quite good deals (bought from them before), Winstanelys bikes sometimes too, alongside Chain Reaction and all the mainstream online bike shops. Never heard of them until recently, but UK Cycle Centre seems to have some good deals too.

Otherwise ex-demo at a local bike shop will generally yield big savings, but demo bikes tend to the higher end models so will still be £1500+, at least in my local shops they seem to be.

Finally, there's Bird, they're a reasonably new bike brand started up by a friend a few years back that have become massively popular and are extremely well regarded.

In reply to planetmarshall:

At the moment I'm not riding a bike specced over £1000, so the answer is no. However I can feel that the components on my bike are cheap, because they are.

I can't imagine finding a decent fsr for £200 with decent components tbh. My 7yr old son's bike cost more than that.

In reply to Dauphin:

Thanks, that makes a lot of sense! I'll have a search

In reply to DragonsDoExist:

Now that cycling is the new golf manufacturers charge what they like for high end bikes Example a top spec. Bianchi costs more than a Ducati 1200cc Monster. Both Italian relatively low volume sales. The Lightweight wheels I bought for my Pinarello cost more than the Moto gp spec carbon wheels I bought for my Ducati Totally bonkers!!!

In reply to Marek:

I'd have thought that cycling the mountains in the Lakes would require more than an entry level bike? No? Or is it about how much you use it rather than what you use it for?

Interesting that you say that entry level are better nowadays, than they were 10 years ago. I'll keep that in mind.

I certainly don't get sucked in to advertising, or even buy mnt bike mags (they're too tailored towards men imo)

In reply to DragonsDoExist:

https://www.canyon.com/en-gb/mtb/neuron/neuron-al-7-0-wmn.html

I was looking for a second hand bike for my son, difficult even if you know what you were looking for, in the end I found a bike for myself and gave my son my old full sus (I paid £1000) I had a fair idea what I was looking for and will have to spend a little extra on the bike to make it what I want.
Pinkbike is also a good place to look for bikes, most people are the real deal on there.

https://www.pinkbike.com/buysell/list/?category=75

In reply to DragonsDoExist:

if you shop at Tesco you can use the clubcard vouchers at evans cycles and you get double the money . got over £200 off both of my last 2 purchases.

In reply to DragonsDoExist:

I bike/walk/train everywhere.

In reply to Phil1919:

That's impossible where I live, esp with 2 kids in tow!

In reply to jethro kiernan:

Cool, will take a look. I like the canyon bikes.

In reply to DragonsDoExist:


Not really for XC (as per your original post). I've been on some of the gnarrier trails with my son riding my old hard tail (£300 Cannondale F6 upgraded with Reba fork) and he was quite happy (99%of the time). Yes, £2k+ bike will be a bit lighter, but apart from that, unless you are racing or pushing the performance envelope some way, then you are unlikely to see much difference.

Rather than a new bike which may not be that much better, why not consider just upgrading the most critical bits: (a) tyres, (b) fork and (c) dropper seatpost. You may get much more value that way.

In reply to DragonsDoExist:

I accidentally deleted a message. Can't remember who it was from but they were quoting my reply about entry level bikes. Commenting on the engine.

I have ridden a few mountains and rocky terrain in the lakes, peak and wales on my ht. (specialized myka) and found it fun and doable. The uphills I have no issue with. But I'm afraid of too much loose steep rocky stuff dh, which is one of the reason why I'd like a full sus.
So I don't need a high end one, but I'd have thought I wouldn't need an entry level one either. But maybe that's what I do need as, as you say, they're better nowadays

In reply to DragonsDoExist:

Fair enough. Hopefully there will come a time.

In reply to DragonsDoExist:

Depends what you want from a mid range bike, but from your description of the type of riding you do sounds like you are overspeccing what you think you need. At the range you are looking at, you are getting a lot of bike that would be capable of virtually anything in the UK. I think you can get a reasonable hardtail for £600 and full sus from £1000. Go outdoors and Halfords both have decent, good value bikes at these prices that are worth a look. Main brands will be a bit more for similar spec. There are so many options these days it's amazing.

In reply to DragonsDoExist:

I think bikes have never been better value. In my shed I have a 1988 Saracen Tufftrax which cost me £330. It's heavy, fully rigid with really basic thumshifter 6 x 3 gears and cantilever/u brakes. In today's money it would cost over £800. You could get a far superior bike than that for £800. In fact, for under a grand you can get an awesome hardtail with quality forks,great geo and a decent set of wheels. In fact, you can even get a Calibre Bossnut for under a thousand. £2k is definitely not mid range for a hard tail I'd say.

In reply to DragonsDoExist:

I cycled some mega trails in the late eighties early nineties on fully rigid bikes and had a great time - more fun on my full sus Santa Cruz though.

In reply to blackmountainbiker:

I've always bought cheap bikes, new or second-hand, that are strong - even if heavy. I've always cycled partly for exercise and have consoled myself that my heavy bikes are better exercise than more expensive lighter bikes!

In reply to John Stainforth:

The best bike is the one you ride as they say.

In reply to DragonsDoExist:

When you say "FSR" are you looking just at Specialized bikes (FSR is a name they apply to their bikes - it used to mean "Future Shock Rear") or are you looking at full suspension in general? Rear suspension isn't necessarily going to help with loose, steep rock stuff but it can be forgiving of errors. Something I would recommend is a bit of practise/coaching (this may not apply to you), but again we've got mates who do similar stuff and think a new bike will make the difference, when skills are the biggest point that needs addressing (this is definitely true for me).
A real 'game-changer' for steep stuff if you haven't got one already is a dropper seatpost; so much better than stopping to change saddle height or not being bothered to.

I tend to evangelise about hardtails - I've tried full suspension and yes its alright, but I much prefer my steel HT- full sus can be quicker downhill but are heavier and less efficient on climbs. I'm also not very keen on Specialized as a brand, whilst they seem to fit reasonably well, I think you get much more for your money elsewhere. They are well marketed and available everywhere but seem very much 'built to a price' with some compromises in componentry. My wife had a Safire FSR Comp, the spokes were all just a bit shorter than they should be, with cheap alloy spoke nipples that repeatedly failed and the Specialized HiLo hubs were pretty poor and didn't last - fine once I rebuilt the wheels. (similar problem on a friend's Safire too).
Another friend recently got a new full sus bike, had her old one serviced and passed it to her son. When she re-borrowed it for a day she was surprised how nice it felt - so don't underestimate the benefits of good maintenance and replacing worn out parts.
I agree it can be a pig to find the right one though - I tend to build up ours so can pick and choose a bit.

In reply to DragonsDoExist:



I'm not sure an FS will necessarily help you there. It just means you'll be going faster when it all goes wrong
To follow on from my 'what might be worth upgrading' post, the other almost always worth upgrading thing is not on the bike at all. It's your bike handling skills. It might be worth considering a skills course. That may be more relevant to helping you go down steep loose stuff than any rear suspension. Cheaper too.

In reply to DragonsDoExist:
The Calibre Bossnut from Go Outdoors gets uniformly good reviews, and can be had for a little bit less than £1000. They sell a women's version too. They generally seem to say it'd still be a good bike for £500 more.

Hope to help.

In reply to DragonsDoExist:

Here you go.

http://www.gooutdoors.co.uk/calibre-bossnut-ladies-mountain-bike-p383862

MBR think it's the best thing since sliced bread.

In reply to TobyA:

Depends mate....as with everything.

Merlin and the other big retailers do ridiculously low prices on in particular Shimano groupsets and factory wheels ( which i'm sure put the LBS's into apoplexy), Im not that crazy about spending a grand on a pusher, but will happily spend a couple of hundred here and there on a growing bag of bits and then have it put together - haven't the time nor the space to do the work myself. I think in terms of spec if you are patient you will have a much 'better' specked steed for the same money as something with a set of Sora shifters etc you buy for a grand from Evans. (Nothing against Sora shifters - Kinda shit though when you had 105 on the first bike you bought at the age of 21 from Ribble on check spread. I have them on a ten year old Specialized.)

Its often mainly overkill though ain't it.

D

In reply to DragonsDoExist:

my tuppence worth - rocky descents on a full sus require a well dialed in shock (or speed to 'float' over obstacles) a cheap or badly setup shock will make you feel you are being bounced from one rock to another.


FS have their place - long (5km+) rocky descents on a hard tail can be very tough work. As others have said quality tires at the right pressure are cheap investments.

IMO, coaching offer the the biggest change and best value option, picking the right lines and correct body position makes you smoother, faster and takes less effort.

Cheers
LD

*Just realized that I have no idea how hard a blue route is at a trail center...hopefully the above still makes sense!

In reply to Monk:

Yeah, £1k is fair enough. I guess I'm just looking at the brands I know atm, like specialized & trek and their entry level is approx £2k, so figured that that was what you had to pay.

In reply to blackmountainbiker:

Exactly!

In reply to John Stainforth:

I only weigh 8.5stone. I don't want a heavy bike.

In reply to DragonsDoExist:

I'd second a Canyon. I bought a Spectral last year and its a peach for the money. Downside is that its a blind buy from a website, unless you know someone with one to test and get the size right.

Another shout might be the Liv Embolden 2...comes in at about 1k and its decently spec'ed for the money. Liv is the female specific brand of Giant, and uses all the same components.

In reply to Wry Spudding:

Tbh, I've never ridden anything buy an ht, and I do really love my ht. I have thought about buying another one, but for the money to spend I may aswell buy an fs, as it seems to be the way most people are going.
That way, I can slowly upgrade components on my ht while still having another bike to ride.

In reply to Marek:

Yes true. But I also need a new bike. I say need, as I do need one, not just want one.

In reply to Lurking Dave:

A blue's not hard. I do them with my 7yr old. I can ride red & (cautiously) black routes. But mainly prefer to be away from trail centres. Mainly go for the kids.

Maybe the travel on my ht could be better. I do feel like I kind of feel thrown about when riding rocks, which is why I'm considering a fs

In reply to craig1983:

Thanks. The liv looks good!

In reply to DragonsDoExist:

That was me but I realised I was talking about road bikes so deleted it. Point being that for a roadbike certainly the engine (you!) is more important than the bike and a £500 racing bike will get you up Mt Ventoux as well as a £2500 one.

In reply to DragonsDoExist:


A heavy bike (all relative of course) may be a drag uphill but it's actually better downhill. I've seen people strapping a kg or two to their frames to get more controlled downhill performance. But yes, at 8.5stone it's going to be a tricky compromise.

In reply to DragonsDoExist:


I guess my point was that for riding in the Lakes and on blue trails you don't 'need' a £2k bike. Something half that price will be more than adequate. Of course if you 'want' a £2k bike then get one and enjoy it.

In reply to Marek:

If I can find a decent £1k bike I'd rather buy that. Just wasn't sure they existed due to most lower ones being around the £2k mark. But I do now

So what is wrong with sub 1000 pound bikes? You already get XT components, air shocks and 180mm hydraulic brakes in that price range.

In reply to tjin:


For hardtails there's nothing wrong at all, but full sus bikes can tend to be on the heavier side - I gather. Except for the Calibre Bossnut it seems, which seems to have people amazed at it's good value and sorted geometry.

In reply to DragonsDoExist:

Exactly?

In reply to DragonsDoExist:

http://www.gooutdoors.co.uk/calibre-bossnut-ladies-mountain-bike-p383862?ut...

In reply to DragonsDoExist:

More relaxed geometry makes a difference, as does a neutral body position over the centre of the bike and maintaining momentum. And a dropper. Whatever you do, get a dropper.

In reply to Marek:

A heavy bike is not better down hill. A lot of the improvement in bikes in the last ten years has come from weight reduction, geometry, pedal efficiency and suspension setup/control.

Those Bossnuts are meant to be very good, I've seen them ridden extremely hard and you can always upgrade the spec if you feel it's holding you back

In reply to planetmarshall:




If the OP gets into mountain biking as her 'main thing', then the answer is yes (for a full sus), because otherwise everything breaks or wears out in no time or performs like a piece of crap.

I now buy frames and spec components based on experience of what works.

In reply to DragonsDoExist:

I think full suspension is getting a hard time here. I don't think my full suspension bike is any easier to ride on steep, loose or rocky stuff. Infact it can be harder once you are going slower. But I think the rest of the time off road its just more comfortable. So FS does help people stay comfortable and protect injuries. In general off road i prefer my FS bike up down or along. The weirdest thing about my FS is how much better if climbs than my old hard tail

I think components are much of a muchness. Tiagra and Deore work really well for me. Cheaper hard tails can have terrible forks. I would hold out for an air fork with alloy stanchions.

If you can access the Lakes I would try demo a FS from some where like Bike Treks in Ambleside

In reply to John Clinch (Ampthill):

Based on experience, I'm mainly thinking money is well spent on in terms of wheels (rim/hubs), tyres (tubeless of course), bottom bracket, headset, fork, rear shock, brakes and dropper post.

Plus, longevity and robustness of bearings/pivots in rear linkages on FS (and ease of changing etc) is also important.

'Disposable' components like derailleur, cassette and chain are less important, cheaper can be 'better.'

In reply to craig1983:


The key to whether this would actually be good value in the long run for the OP will be the wheels/hubs, BB, Hset, drivetrain. At that price point, something has to give, and it's usually those things.

And 120mm travel in the Lakes.... The OP will soon be wanting for more than that if she gets into biking.

Plus there is no dropper, so add another £125 - £300.

In reply to coinneach:

My experience of the latest Cycle To Work Scheme is that it’s a rip off.
The only supplier option was Halfords and whilst you can chose something outside of the Halfords Range, be prepared for a fight to get something else.
You pay full price for the bike. Discounts you may see online, don’t count.
The final payment (with my employer) is the maximum market value after one year. My son’s employer runs the same scheme but over three years and then just writes off any residual value. A nice deal if you can get it.
If you have a decent employer – it’s an option. If your employer is just doing it for the annual reduction in Employers Contributions – perhaps not such a good deal.

In reply to DragonsDoExist:

Bit late to the party but I’ll put my tuppence into the pot.

From personal experience & preference I’d recommend that you buy a hardtail over full sus. The reason being. – Basically you get more for your money and you have fewer parts to maintain. The componentry that comes on a £1k HT will be better spec’d than that that comes on a £1k FS & you needn’t worry about servicing bearings or bushings in the rear, or even sending the shock off for its annual service.

I’ve reverted back to riding XC on a HT, I’m from a background of DH racing in the UK and Europe so it was a strange thing for me, but if you get the right HT you’ll never be lacking for bike as I can’t out ride mine (Only if I decide to do some DHR on it)

It’s probably a bit out of budget, but I’d recommend something like this ex demo @£950 –

https://www.orangebikes.co.uk/shop/factory/ex_demo/2017_clockwork_120_orang...