How much better is a 'decent' mountain bike?

[Engineer1]

According to an article in MBR you don't even need a chain just use gravity for power.

[Silver993tt]

Engineer1 said:

According to an article in MBR you don't even need a chain just use gravity for power.

I thought the latest must have was magnetic drive

[missing the VR6]

I went from an 07 Hardrock Sport Disc (not Hydraulic) to a Ghost AMR5700 FS, and the difference is amazing. The Hardrock was pretty good but the difference the Ghost has made is mindbending, so far in the 3/4 months I've had it I've done Afan twice and another lovely welsh trail called Twrch (I think), done Surrey hills and even my local trail Bedgebury I can ride much faster and harder. Certainly wouldn't have wanted to do White's Level, The Wall or Twrch Trail on the Spesh.

I plumped for the Ghost as for the money £1700 it was slightly better specced then a Spesh or Trek and I couldn't feel any difference riding them.

With regards the concieved wisdom that FS bikes don't climb well with Pro Pedal on mine feels fine on climbs, certainly kept with my mate on White's Level climb and he's lighter and rides more than I do.

Go for it!

[nammynake]

Thanks for the advice guys. I am tempted more towards FS to be honest, although it's a big decision without having test ridden any. I think I'll start looking proper in the the new year, but I see FS as the best all-round option at the moment.

[mdavids]

Get in touch with some of your local bike shops and see if they hire demo bikes. It cost me £25 to hire a specialized stumpjumper fsr for a weekend. I was riding a cheap basic mongoose hardtail at the time and wanted to see how much difference there was - bought the stumpjumper the week after. Everything is better and if you enjoy riding bikes, you'll enjoy it even more on a decent one.

[TheD]

There is a specialised mountain bike shop near me that will happily talk to anyone wanting advice. I am not affiliated to them in any way. They are called Flying Fox Bikes and have the obligatory website as well.

http://www.flyingfoxbikes.com/

ETA..website

Edited by TheD on Saturday 27th November 14:14

[With these feet]

Went out for my first outing on the new bike (Spec End comp) on Saturday with my mate (with his O'Five).
My fitness has dropped a bit since the last time we were out but had a superb laugh.
I wouldnt go back to a HT due to the way you can rip down bumpy rutted root infested runs and the bike just takes it. HT owners will defend their bikes saying you can do exactly the same stuff, but climb better etc etc. Yes they are right,its a couple of pounds heavier and wont climb quite as well, but ultimately its about having a laugh (and keeping fit).

[anonymous-user]

the problem with aluminum hardtails is the stiffness of the rear triangle which is far stiffer than a steel frame whcih in corporates a slight degree of flex. a lot can also be down to tyres and pressure.

steel hardtails are lovely to ride and a "charge duster" or an "on one" would probably suit you better than a full suspension bike given your description of riding. you can pick up a well specced duster for around a grand and it will be a great ride.

[Bad-Gerbil]

if you're a lard like me, you don't really need the expense/weight of FS.
However, if you're doing more technical cross-country, then I would hold out for a FS - upgrading
parts as and when needed.
I have a Mongoose Teocali - wonderful disc brake and full air suspension, but may be considering
a hard-tail next time - but then again.............

[aka_kerrly]

nammynake said:

My current bike is a 2004 Specialized Hardrock. Hartail with front RST forks and rim brakes. The bike was used primarily for road/commuting initially, but more recently I've been going offroad on bridleways and forest tracks.

The bike has performed very well off road, and I've had no major mechanical issues or had to replace any components yet. However, things I'm not keen on are:

1. Brakes - reasonable stopping power on easy decents, but anything more technical and I need to use 3 fingers to get enough bite, meaning I have less control of the bars. I like the idea of 1 or 2 finger braking with discs.

2. No rear suspension - not so much of a problem on descents as I'm out of the saddle, but on other surfaces the constant jarring through the seat gets annoying and verges on being uncomfortable.

3. Weight - around 29lb I think, so can get a little tiring lugging up hill.

I am considering a new bike for use solely off road. Disc brakes seems the norm on the vast majority of bikes these days, however my main choice is between hardtail or full sus. My original budget was around 1k, which I believe can buy a fairly light hardtail, but alot of the reading I've done suggests £1500 as an approximate minimum for a full sus bike.

I'd be interested in peoples views, particularly those who've recently decided on full sus versus HT.

THanks

Edited by nammynake on Monday 22 November 22:39

Or a different take on things:

1) V brakes can be set up better, try some KoolStop pads and new cables. I run V brakes on my trials bike and have no problem with 1 finger braking

2)decent tires with thick inner tubes and perhaps get a old inner tube cut the valve off and stick it inside the tyre. Then you can run lower pressure and not worry about punctures.

3) weight, i bet the old RST fork weighs a fair bit, swap to a lightweight fork (rockshox an fox make fantastic cross sountry forks that are lightweight. Swapping to ally components like cranks/pedals/ lightweight eg Mavic x717 will significantly reduce weight and improve the 'feel' of the bike.


Dave

[Hard-Drive]

Dr S LB said:

Yes, as above. For you budget and type of riding a hardtail would make more sense. Avoid the On Ones though as they are pants. Go the self build route with a mixture of new and old- eBay is your friend. Get a new frame for around £500-600 (Cotic Souls are fantastic), get a decent used fork (up to 140mm for a Soul)used wheelset and buy a new groupset. There are loads of quality second hand parts around, have a look on singletrack, plenty of fashion victims selling off top end 2010 kit to buy 2011 stuff. Bargains are to be had there.
Don't get hung up on needing XT or XTR, the lower end SLX is just as good. Don't scrimp on tyres though, a good set of rubber will transform any bike, like wise crap rubber will ruin even the best bikes!

Sorry, but I don't agree. On-Ones are NOT pants. I built a geared slot dropout Inbred a while back and it's superb. In fact I've gone the other way, I've had a Fuel EX7 for a few years which is a great trail bike but I wanted something simpler and more mud friendly to ride locally, and it was only when I got the Inbred on the trails I realised how good it was compared to a FS, and why steel is such a good material. If they are pants, why do they sell so well, for such good money, and get such good reviews? Have you owned one then?

If an on-one does take your fancy, there are some brilliant "rolling chassis" deals on at the moment...buy that, buy a groupset from Merlin, get your LBS to build it/set it up and go ride.

I'm suggesting your LBS build it as you probably won't have the specialist tools and knowledge to build it yourself right now, you cant build a bike with a dogbone spanner any more! Which is also why I would not recommend the buy 2nd hand components/build it yourself route. By the fact that you are asking the perfectly valid question in the first place, you are still learning about the bikes in general, but if you go down this route, you need to know exactly what you want to build in terms of target weight/intended use, and then be able to identify all the components from the ads, and of course be succesful in getting/winning them. Unless you know what you are after, it will be very easy to end up with a hardcore hardtail, with short forks, a misaligned drive train running on wheels that need trueing and brakes that need the hoses shortening and a good bleed. You'll still end up having to buy a lot of it new, and you'll be waiting for ages before you actually ride it!

[chrisga]

Another vote for On-One here. My summer season 456 is not pants either. No reason not to look at them.

[anonymous-user]

With these feet said:

I wouldnt go back to a HT due to the way you can rip down bumpy rutted root infested runs and the bike just takes it.

Weirdly enough, this is precisely the reason i find myself riding my HT more than ever, the FS just makes it too easy. On the HT i have to pick a line, find the correct speed, maybe get out of the saddle, move the bike to find traction and balance, time the pedal inputs to float the bike over stuff. On my FS i just pedal a bit and off it goes, sooo boring by comparison!


(ok, in extremis the FS will go places the HT won't, but unless i'm doing really crazy stuff (which i find myself doing less of as i get older! (baa humbug) or unless i am planning on spending hrs in the saddle (which i haven't the time for!) the HT is more fun i think for me)