Re-introduction to mountain biking - recommendations?

[Maxeh]

Afternoon chaps,

As an avid road cyclist wanting to tip my toe back in to the world of mountain biking I'm after some recommendations for a bike to get me going again.

My knowledge of mtb's is fairly limited but I guess some of it is transferable from the road stuff in terms of brands.

I'm after something the polar opposite of my current bike (Giant Propel) that can handle things from weekends in the New Forest to days out over the South Downs.

The budget can be flexible, its wether I play it safe and go for a cheaper hard tail for sub £500 or go a bit further and get a full susser for £1000

Higher end of the budget I've noticed the Caliber Bossnut and Canyon Neuron but hard tail wise I'm a little lost.

Open to opinions!

[TheTrash]

I'd avoid the current model Bossnut if you need a Large one. I bought one for the Mrs and on full compression the rear wheel was hitting the frame. GO Outdoors tried telling me the tyre fitted was the wrong spec and too big, it was only a 2.2. They then offered to fit offset bushings which again wouldn't work, so they said I could have a new bike. In the shop we tried the 2 others they had in that size and they both had the same problem. I think they went too cheap on frame manufacture.

The new 2017 bossnuts are due mid june.

[milu]

I've just done similar. Didn't want to go mad so ended up with a Diamondback heist 2.0. Rrp for 2017 model is £750 I got one for £650.
Only done 2 rides but am happy I think. I will say though that blasting round Sherwood pines this morning I could've done with a full suspension. But would a £7-800 one have been any good?
Anyway I'll do local paths and trails with the odd 'forest' run too so a hardtail is fine I think.
Nice only having one front ring too so no thinking about gears.

It's definitely different to my last MTB of several years back.

[Kermit power]

milu said:

I've just done similar. Didn't want to go mad so ended up with a Diamondback heist 2.0. Rrp for 2017 model is £750 I got one for £650.
Only done 2 rides but am happy I think. I will say though that blasting round Sherwood pines this morning I could've done with a full suspension. But would a £7-800 one have been any good?
Anyway I'll do local paths and trails with the odd 'forest' run too so a hardtail is fine I think.
Nice only having one front ring too so no thinking about gears.

It's definitely different to my last MTB of several years back.

My first MTB was a 2005 Specialized XC FSR Pro with 100mm travel front & rear suspension which I upgraded to a whopping 110mm on the front when I fitted Rockshox Reba SL forks.

Ten years later, I swapped to a Stumpjumper which took me up to 150mm front & rear, but at the same time, I decided to strip pretty much everything I could off the frame of the XC and build myself a Hardtail with a nice steel frame I bought on eBay, as I'd never had a hardtail before.

Whilst there are certainly plenty of places where it's more comfortable to ride with the full susser, I've yet to find anywhere I've got the nerve to ride on that that I've not also been perfectly happy to ride on the hardtail with 40mm less travel at the front and 150mm less at the rear, plus my riding ability has increased as well.

Sure, you might want to get yourself a full susser at some point in the future, but for the moment, I'd just enjoy the bike you've got, safe in the knowledge that if you do add/change in the future, you'll be a more competent rider because of it.

[Greendubber]

Similar story to me, used to race XC as a youth, stopped racing and got into DH with some mates. Got a Santa Cruz Bullit, went to the alps and all over the UK riding but stopped about 10 years ago but got into road riding 3 years ago.

I'm currently telling myself I need to spend more than my original budget and keep being drawn to an Orange P7 Pro. I had a P7 when I was racing years back so it'll be a nice nod back to my younger days

[Maxeh]

Ok so in terms of a ~ £500 hard tail I've seen the following:

Vitus Nucleus 275 VR
Canyon Grand Canyon AL 4.9 (if budget allows)
VooDoo Bizango 29
Trek Marlin / X-Calibre

Anything else I need to be aware of? Happy to go for a 2016 model.

[warp9]

Can't comment on any of those bikes, but have just come across this article you might find interesting/useful
http://www.mbr.co.uk/reviews/hardtail/mbr-hardtail...

[Daveyraveygravey]

I've got a Propel for the road, and a Boardman Comp hard tail for the South Downs. I don't do any crazy jumping and don't feel the need for body armour, and for me the Boardman is great. I got it on Ebay about 4 years ago and it was a couple of years old then, so around 2011 vintage I think.

As someone else said a full suss would be more comfortable in some places, but the Boardman copes well with what I throw at it. I did the whole of the South Downs Way on a Specialised Hard Rock back in 2010, and even that coped with the trip. I have been riding it again recently, and it does transmit more shock to you than the Boardman, and is heavier so getting it up steeper technical climbs is harder.

[battered]

Why don't you want to use your existing bike for the job in hand? If the answer is "I just want a new bike" then great, crack on, but I suspect the old one will do the job if you want it to.

[Daveyraveygravey]

I've got a Propel for the road, and a Boardman Comp hard tail for the South Downs. I don't do any crazy jumping and don't feel the need for body armour, and for me the Boardman is great. I got it on Ebay about 4 years ago and it was a couple of years old then, so around 2011 vintage I think.

As someone else said a full suss would be more comfortable in some places, but the Boardman copes well with what I throw at it. I did the whole of the South Downs Way on a Specialised Hard Rock back in 2010, and even that coped with the trip. I have been riding it again recently, and it does transmit more shock to you than the Boardman, and is heavier so getting it up steeper technical climbs is harder.

I'd look at Ebay, 26ers seem to be seriously cheap, I guess since 29ers have taken over. You can get a perfectly good hardtail for around £300.

[toastyhamster]

milu said:

I've just done similar. Didn't want to go mad so ended up with a Diamondback heist 2.0. Rrp for 2017 model is £750 I got one for £650.
Only done 2 rides but am happy I think. I will say though that blasting round Sherwood pines this morning I could've done with a full suspension. But would a £7-800 one have been any good?
Anyway I'll do local paths and trails with the odd 'forest' run too so a hardtail is fine I think.
Nice only having one front ring too so no thinking about gears.

It's definitely different to my last MTB of several years back.

heh, you probably passed us, did my first ever MTB ride twice round Kitchener yesterday morning, started around 9:30, damn, parts of me are sore this morning.

First run out for my new Specialized Pitch, quite happy with it apart from changing gear, big ring unavailable (not that it mattered yesterday), pretty annoying on a brand new bike, will be sorted at the service.

Edited by toastyhamster on Monday 8th May 15:01

[battered]

No need to wait for the service, half a turn on the top ring limiter screw will see it done. Takes seconds, if you don't know what you are doing ask here and take notes of what you do so that you can return all settings to original if it goes pear shaped.

[WestyCarl]

Daveyraveygravey said:

I'd look at Ebay, 26ers seem to be seriously cheap,

This 100%. Don't get taken in by the the 27.5/29er marketing hype. 90% of riders probably couldn't tell the difference.........;)

[Maxeh]

Having done some more digging, if buying new this Vitus does seem like a complete bargain, sub £400 too with discounts floating around.

http://www.chainreactioncycles.com/vitus-bikes-nuc...

Edit:

However, they do a 29 version too..any reason to go for one over the other?

http://www.chainreactioncycles.com/vitus-bikes-nuc...

Edited by Maxeh on Monday 8th May 19:17

[toastyhamster]

battered said:

No need to wait for the service, half a turn on the top ring limiter screw will see it done. Takes seconds, if you don't know what you are doing ask here and take notes of what you do so that you can return all settings to original if it goes pear shaped.

Thanks, have to admit that while being fairly handy with spanners I've left bike mechs alone, will give it a whirl tomorrow.

[milu]

toastyhamster said:

heh, you probably passed us, did my first ever MTB ride twice round Kitchener yesterday morning, started around 9:30, damn, parts of me are sore this morning.

First run out for my new Specialized Pitch, quite happy with it apart from changing gear, big ring unavailable (not that it mattered yesterday), pretty annoying on a brand new bike, will be sorted at the service.

Edited by toastyhamster on Monday 8th May 15:01

We did 2 laps too. Started at 7.30am though.
I've never been before but really enjoyed it. I am sore from the saddle too,different shape to my road bike of course.
Was pretty tiring too considering the low miles compared to road riding.

[battered]

toastyhamster said:

battered said:

No need to wait for the service, half a turn on the top ring limiter screw will see it done. Takes seconds, if you don't know what you are doing ask here and take notes of what you do so that you can return all settings to original if it goes pear shaped.

Thanks, have to admit that while being fairly handy with spanners I've left bike mechs alone, will give it a whirl tomorrow.

If it's Shimano and conventional then the limit adjusters are the 2 small screws on the front derailleur. If the fault is that it won't push the chain off the small front ring to the big one then turn the UPPER screw OUT half a turn and keep trying until it works. If it goes too far and dumps the chain on the outside then wind the upper screw in. If the fault is the chain dumps on the inside or won't go on the smaller ring then you do the same thing with the lower screw. Once you know what you are doing you can do this without getting off the bike, just ride it up and down, test and twiddle until it works. All you are doing here is adjusting the limit positions, you aren't messing with the shifters, just the end stops.

[Craikeybaby]

Maxeh said:

Having done some more digging, if buying new this Vitus does seem like a complete bargain, sub £400 too with discounts floating around.

http://www.chainreactioncycles.com/vitus-bikes-nuc...

Edit:

However, they do a 29 version too..any reason to go for one over the other?

http://www.chainreactioncycles.com/vitus-bikes-nuc...

Edited by Maxeh on Monday 8th May 19:17

I got that bike (27.5") in 2014, as a cheap bike to see how I get on with mountain biking- over 4,000km later, albeit with some drivetrain upgrades, I'm finally looking to replace it with a full sus bike. I'll probably keep the Vitus for local rides in the winter/commuting etc, as it still rides well.

[battered]

Sounds like it has done a great job for you. Keeping it for commuting/pub/shop chores is a great scheme because as you no doubt know it's now basically worthless were you to try to sell it so you may as well use it until it wears out. My pub bike is now 22 years old. I haven't worn it out yet. I've only worn out 3 rear wheels, 2 fronts, 4 bottom brackets, 1 headset, 1 rear derailleur, 2 sets of shifters, 1 chainset, 3 rear cassettes and a few chains. But it's still the same old bike. Look after your bike.

[Greendubber]

Those Vitus bikes are fantastic value.