Used mountain bike ?

[blade7]

In an effort to improve my fitness I've been doing a lap of Grafham Water 3 or 4 times a week since Christmas, I think it's time I upgraded from the £50 Tesco bike I've been using. So is it realistic to think something used for say £100 will last or do I need to up the budget ?

[joshleb]

Up the budget.

As much as you can!

[P-Jay]

Ah - going from the bottom up eh?

Nah, you're doing it wrong - what you need is one of these:

https://www.leisurelakesbikes.com/128513/products/...

Obviously it's an awful lot of money and will ruin you financially and your spouse / partner will leave you so you need to nibble away at the budget until you reach the point you can just about afford it, as long as you say, give up eating or something - then you've found the right budget

But seriously, I've seen some lovely bikes for £100 on Gumtree etc, one of the young lads on work just bought a GT Hard-tail for £40, I suspect it's mid-2000 era, but it's had an easy life by the looks of it, perfectly good for his needs.

[dcb]

blade7 said:

In an effort to improve my fitness I've been doing a lap of Grafham Water 3 or 4 times a week since Christmas, I think it's time I upgraded from the £50 Tesco bike I've been using. So is it realistic to think something used for say £100 will last or do I need to up the budget ?

Some quite nice new bikes to be had in the 150-200 area. Alloy Frame, disc brakes etc.
Not the greatest bikes in the world, but tends to use the 2nd cheapest parts, not the absolutely
cheapest parts of the bottom of the range bike.

You'll get laughed at by the snobby serious bikers who drop 1,000 without batting an eye,
but these bikes are the next level up from the steel frame / rim brakes bottom of the range
bike you seem to have now.

Evans bottom of the range is way beyond your budget at about 300, so you are stuck with the
likes of Halfords or maybe Argos.

Tip for the top: Shimano Tourney derailleur is made of chocolate. I'm on my third in three years.
Derailleur hangers, chains, brake pads, brake cables and gear change cables rarely last a year.

Oddly enough, I'm still on my first set of tyres, which I thought wouldn't last long.

[sawman]

I recently picked up a very nice Kona for £100 off ebay, would have been a £1k bike when new, loaded with nice kit. I was worried it might have been nicked, but the guy had had it since new, but had invested in a new bike via cycle to work

[tvrforever]

Sounds odd, but we picked up 3 x Orange MTBs from Neilson https://www.neilson.co.uk/ as part of their annual end of season stock refresh - great bikes at very good prices (ie less than £1k for 1yr old Sub5). I just put them in for a service after buying and all great

[Some Gump]

IMO an older / less fashionable bike with good kit would be a much better shout than chasing the latest wheel size / 1x11 fad. A normal 26" bike with 21 gears from much higher in the range when new would command far lower prices on fleabag than a 1x11 29er that would 2-3 steps down the range new.

Main thing- get something that fits you, and is specced to the type of riding you do. Don't get tempted by a high spec full suss job if what suits is a hardtail and vice versa. I'm far more into road biking, but a team sky level really pointy race bike would actually bring me less enjoyment than a decathlon bike with a more relaxed and comfortable position for long rides.

[cologne2792]

I bought a secondhand Carrera Vulcan a year ago for about £140 and it's been very good so far. At 48 I can now nearly keep up with my kids but as the oldest has just turned 10 probably not for much longer.

[The_Jackal]

blade7 said:

Thanks for all the advice so far. My use will always be laps of Grafham or similar, so what setup should I go for ?

Any bike will be an upgrade so just go with one you like the look of and can afford. Don't overthink it, the spec of the bike will be largely irrelevant for you. Disk brakes are fine and rarely need maintenance. It is people fiddling with them that cause the problems.
Gumtree is your friend.

[anonymous-user]

get a decent bike. i bought cheap and in the end regretted it. used 300 quid goes far.

[blade7]

Like the look of a Jamis Komodo on Gumtree/ebay, frame is too big for me though .

[anonymous-user]

what size is it.

sizes can be a nit misrepresented as frame sizes can actually fit different sized people due to adjustments on seat/steerer etc.

i am usually a medium but have a large.

[battered]

blade7 said:

Thanks for all the advice so far. My use will always be laps of Grafham or similar, so what setup should I go for ?

Anything that was £300+ when new will be great. You can go older and avoid discs for circuits of Grafham water, as you say rim brakes are easier to maintain. I LOVE discs, they are great, but I have just had the Devil's own job servicing some Hayes 9 discs brakes (I failed, actually) and I've ended up fitting some spare Hope discs that I did eventually manage to bleed. On a wet descent I wouldn't have anything else, and rim brakes are marginal when touring in mountainous areas with luggage. I'm talking Alpine descents here, in the wet they are seriously scary and you can chew through a set of brakes in a day. But Grafham water? You only use the brakes twice.

[blade7]

That Jamis frame is a 19", guides say 17" is right for me. There's a few blind bends around Grafham, and sometimes walkers don't heed a bell and take up the whole path. Have to admit I like the looks of the discs though.

[battered]

Any brake will stop you from 10mph on the flat. 30+ mph on a wet descent is another matter. If you never intend to do the latter, then it's not a problem. That said, hydraulic discs are great. They will stand any bike on its nose in the wettest, muddiest conditions imaginable, if the tyres can get enough grip. Try that with a cable brake. The disadnavtages are that they are heavy and that when they go faulty you can't do a trailside fix the way that you can with cable brakes. If I carry spare cables and blocks they weigh nothing and I can fix absolutely any fault at the side of the road with a multitool. Try that with hydraulics. Hydraulic brakes don't go down often, maybe every 5 years, but when they do it's not a roadside fix. Some can be a real pain, indeed my LBS won't service some brands, in lieu of servicing existing brakes at £20 a wheel they just sell a new brake at £50 an end.

[blade7]

From what you've said perhaps discs are a better plan, I am wary about bikes coming the other way...

[Zippee]

I appreciate this would have been the wrong size for you (16") but to give you an example of what e-bay can throw up - http://www.ebay.co.uk/itm/Rare-Kona-Lava-Dome-Moun...
This would have been perfect. Ignore those saying you need disc brakes, for £100 or less you'll likely get poop for brakes so stick with getting the best bike not just the brakes. A decent set of cantis or V-brakes can be set up to stop you on a dime even when wet.

[battered]

blade7 said:

From what you've said perhaps discs are a better plan, I am wary about bikes coming the other way...

Eh? You tell us that you only ever ride round a lake. Last time I looked lakes were pretty flat. I point out that any brake will stop you quickly on the flat at 10 mph, and you only need discs when coming down steep hills in the wet, and so you say "maybe I do need discs then after all". I don't get it. As others have said, a rim brake will stand a bike on its nose from 10mph. You aren't going to go significantly faster around Grafham Water. Even in the wet a rim brake will be more than adequate at that speed.

I use rim brakes on my road bikes. I only use discs on MTBs that see wet and muddy conditions and steep hills. The only time I have ever wanted a disc brake on a road bike and not had one was coming down Mont Ventoux in awful visibility and pouring rain, with touring gear. I don't see you getting into that situation riding around Grafham Water on a Sunday.

If you come across a nice bike that happens to have discs, great. If not, I wouldn't let it become a show stopper. Like those 90s Konas (there's a 19" Lava Dome on Fleabay as we speak), spend £100 on a good one of them and you'll have it until it wears out. Set aside 10 years or so, maybe 20.

[blade7]

battered said:

Eh? You tell us that you only ever ride round a lake. Last time I looked lakes were pretty flat. I point out that any brake will stop you quickly on the flat at 10 mph, and you only need discs when coming down steep hills in the wet, and so you say "maybe I do need discs then after all". I don't get it. As others have said, a rim brake will stand a bike on its nose from 10mph.

Even I can average 13 mph around Grafham, that's including some 5 mph bits. I watched a youtube lap where the guy wasn't exactly caning it and was still doing over 20 mph in places. I take your point about the brakes though.

[Zippee]

blade7 said:

battered said:

Eh? You tell us that you only ever ride round a lake. Last time I looked lakes were pretty flat. I point out that any brake will stop you quickly on the flat at 10 mph, and you only need discs when coming down steep hills in the wet, and so you say "maybe I do need discs then after all". I don't get it. As others have said, a rim brake will stand a bike on its nose from 10mph.

Even I can average 13 mph around Grafham, that's including some 5 mph bits. I watched a youtube lap where the guy wasn't exactly caning it and was still doing over 20 mph in places. I take your point about the brakes though.

To be fair you can average 30mph round Grafham and rim brakes would still be more than you'd need.
Heck, if I could do a day bombing up and down pretty large hills in the peak district on a set of cantis and have zero stopping issues I really can't see you requiring anything else.