P
Phil
Guest
hi everyone i was thinking about buying the barracuda 20 niner, just wondering is it a good bike and what height is it suitable for
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M
mac
Guest
I had a baracudda mountian bike and I liked it, good bike. Altho Im not sure what height 20 is for. i'm 6"2 and I had a 25 in and it fitted my well so maybe for sum1 less than 6 feet
A
alex
Guest
OK. Where to start?
Barracuda are not a briliant brand name. The frame is hydroformed alloy, which is good. However, I can not tell you about the responsiveness of the ride geometry or the weight of the frame. However, the frame looks as though it is set up to allow some tricks. On the pictures that I have seen, whoever assembled the bike put the skewer on the wrong side.
The frame looks a bit rough and ready, but viable.
The forks. 75mm cheap forks. They will be ok for some XC work, but do not expect great things. They will be heavy and not brilliant. However, they will be OK for your local trails and fields. They will have difficulty with anything with reasonable bumps.
Suntour chainset. Heavy. Suntour make viable components, especially for other people. However, at this price bracket, do not expect too much. Square tapered internal bearings. Serviceable, but not great.
Gears. Shimanoe 21 speed, with pod shifters. Viable. Not brilliant, but this will give you a consistant shifting performance. The 21 speed implies a freehub. This is cheep, basic, but absolutely fine.
Mechanical discs. I am not a big fan of these, but as long as you service them they are fine. However, I would say that you should consider looking at V brakes instead. Discs are more expensive than V brakes and the performance improvement for mechanical is not briliant. You appreciate these when they are hydraulic, but mechanical leaves me cold. That said, these are good if you are thinking about hitting the mud. It will stop you from having to carry your bike when your wheels clog up. They serve a purpose and you will find them an improvement on V brakes. However, the extra expense for these could have gone into the forks or frame, so.....
29 inch wheels.
These are a bit of a fad item. Being larger than usual 26 inch mountain bike wheels, they offer a better top speed. This is great if you are looking at reasonable tracks. You will notice that it is not as responsive on single track. Also, the larger wheel takes more effort to get going. So great when you are rolling, but getting speed up in the first place. That said, the larger wheels have not stopped cyclocrossers. You are looking at similar issues as these riders. Anyway, personal choice on that one.
Overall I am not a big fan of this machine. It is trying to do too much and I can see problems. I would recommend you spend about £250 and go for the basic version of the Specialized Hardrock, with V brakes. The hubs are disc ready, allowing you to upgrade. Also, it has 24 gears, which take a casset and are the same width as a 27 speed. The 24 is great for winter riding, but allows you to upgrade to 27, without having to replace the entire rear wheel. In short, it has a good frame and you can build on it. The forks are still cheap, but better than the ones on the Barracuda.
Overall, I would rate this as 4/10 within its price bracket.
Luck
Barracuda are not a briliant brand name. The frame is hydroformed alloy, which is good. However, I can not tell you about the responsiveness of the ride geometry or the weight of the frame. However, the frame looks as though it is set up to allow some tricks. On the pictures that I have seen, whoever assembled the bike put the skewer on the wrong side.
The frame looks a bit rough and ready, but viable.
The forks. 75mm cheap forks. They will be ok for some XC work, but do not expect great things. They will be heavy and not brilliant. However, they will be OK for your local trails and fields. They will have difficulty with anything with reasonable bumps.
Suntour chainset. Heavy. Suntour make viable components, especially for other people. However, at this price bracket, do not expect too much. Square tapered internal bearings. Serviceable, but not great.
Gears. Shimanoe 21 speed, with pod shifters. Viable. Not brilliant, but this will give you a consistant shifting performance. The 21 speed implies a freehub. This is cheep, basic, but absolutely fine.
Mechanical discs. I am not a big fan of these, but as long as you service them they are fine. However, I would say that you should consider looking at V brakes instead. Discs are more expensive than V brakes and the performance improvement for mechanical is not briliant. You appreciate these when they are hydraulic, but mechanical leaves me cold. That said, these are good if you are thinking about hitting the mud. It will stop you from having to carry your bike when your wheels clog up. They serve a purpose and you will find them an improvement on V brakes. However, the extra expense for these could have gone into the forks or frame, so.....
29 inch wheels.
These are a bit of a fad item. Being larger than usual 26 inch mountain bike wheels, they offer a better top speed. This is great if you are looking at reasonable tracks. You will notice that it is not as responsive on single track. Also, the larger wheel takes more effort to get going. So great when you are rolling, but getting speed up in the first place. That said, the larger wheels have not stopped cyclocrossers. You are looking at similar issues as these riders. Anyway, personal choice on that one.
Overall I am not a big fan of this machine. It is trying to do too much and I can see problems. I would recommend you spend about £250 and go for the basic version of the Specialized Hardrock, with V brakes. The hubs are disc ready, allowing you to upgrade. Also, it has 24 gears, which take a casset and are the same width as a 27 speed. The 24 is great for winter riding, but allows you to upgrade to 27, without having to replace the entire rear wheel. In short, it has a good frame and you can build on it. The forks are still cheap, but better than the ones on the Barracuda.
Overall, I would rate this as 4/10 within its price bracket.
Luck