need advice on buying a mountain bike?

  • Thread starter Thread starter Hana R
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Hana R

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im buying a mountain bike soon but have no idea where to start really.

I need a woman's mountain bike but do not know what size of bike is best. (I am 5ft 6 tall).

It needs to be able to cycle on flat road but also on forest ground.

What other advice can you give me and what accessories do I need to buy to get started

Thanks
 
There are many things to consider when purchasing a bike. It's fairly similar to choosing a car. And if you take mountain biking seriously then the stakes can get high.

Price Range
Frame Material
Front Suspension vs. Full Suspension
Disc vs. V-Brakes
Toe Clips vs. Clipless (vs. Platform)
Riser vs. Low Rise
 
You do not need to spend thousands on a bike for the sort of riding that you do. A good entry level machine will do you fine.

There are two main issues when looking at a bike. Weight and reliability. The heavier it is, the more weight that you have to move. Many cheep components will wear quicker and will not be able to maintain reliable shifting etc.

You can ride a male bike, but bear in mind that your legs are longer than a males with the same body length. This means that female specific bikes have a shorter top tube, so women riding male specific bikes that are the right height for them can often feel stretched out over the bars.

However, A good starter bike would be the Specialized Hardrock Sport. About £2-300 depending upon the model. Not a bad machine, with reasonable kit. A good tool for what you want.

Scott are also a good brand, but you will pay more for their Contessa range. That said, Scott put a lot of work into making their frames light. For these bikes you are looking at about £400.

Many of the main manufacturers do a female specific range. However, you get what you pay for. Do not look at full suss and Discs for less than about £800. Boardman do a good entry susser at this price. A decent hardtail, with discs will cost about £5-600.

So for the sort of riding you want, you do not need a lot of travel on your forks. You don't really need the extra weight and hassle of discs. Go for a simple, honest tool, with 21 or 24 gears. Go for pods, rather than shifters, as this is easier on your hands, allows you to customise your grips for Eurgonomics if you need, and is easier to maintian.

Look for branded components, like Shimano and SRAM on gears. Make sure that this is supplied on the shifters and derailiers. A common trick is to put a brand name on thee rear derailier, where it is visible and then budget stuff where it actually matters.

Sizing your bike. Go to the bike shop, stand over the machine. You should have between 2 -4" clearance from your girly bits and the top tube. Anything else gets painful when you dismount (Feet 1" apart while standng over bike). Adjust your seat post so that your leg is fully extended when you peddle with your heal. This means that your leg is slightly bent when peddling. Reach over the bike and see if this is compfy. Take it for a spin in the car park.

If your saddle is quite low and close to the frame with your leg extended. The frame is too big. If you do not have about 1 1/2" of seatpost in the frame, it is too small.

Accessories:

Lid
Mini pump
Gloves and padded shorts/tights.
Multi tool (Parktool do a nice one)
Chain tool if not included in multi tool
SRAM power links.
Spare tube.
Puncture repair kit.
Tyre levers.
Lights if riding at night.
Cateye do some nice rear lights. You might also look at a set of Electron Halogens for about £40.

Go to these to see whats out there:

www.chainreactioncycles.co.uk
www.wiggle.co.uk
www.rutlandcycles.co.uk

luck
 
I usually buy the very cheap hybrid mountain bikes you can get at Tescos or Argos. I once got a free hybrid mountain bike when I paid to join a health club.

One point I would make, is that the cost of replacing parts can exceed the cost of a brand new bike. For example, I have had two rear wheels which need replacing, and I cannot find a new wheel anywhere which is cheaper than a new bike (about £40-£50 for a new bike in Tescos, and a little bit more for it to be delivered from Argos)

The bottom bracket tends to go on the bikes as well, and whilst the replacement parts are only about £10-£20, you need specialist tools and expertise to replace and refurbish. A bit of a waste of time considering by the time you have worn the bottom bracket out, you will probably have worn brake pads, rusted the chain, and buckled the rear wheel and need a few new tyres and inner tubes as well.

I use the bikes a lot. Buy two cheap ones at once, so that you have a spare. They are excellent value for money. The expensive ones may last a little bit longer (particularly the bottom bracket), but they are not worth the money.

One cheap bike lasts me a year of fairly high mileage, off road and on road useage.

You might want to get road tyres for the bike, as the off road tyres will wear out pretty quickly on the road. New tyres are worth getting (you can get new ones for under £10. Brake blocks are worth replacing (about £4). Have a spare inner tube or two, and tools to replace inner tube.

Other than that, when the bottom bracket or rear wheel buckles it is time to replace the bike.
 
Hi Hana

I'm a keen mountain biker and have always gone for either GT or Trek as a brand, never had any problems. The model you want will depend on your ability and how much you want to pay but looking at the above you will probably want something no more than a Trek 4300 (both ladies and men's models available). Evans Cycles are a great bike shop chain, knowledable staff and can you take the bikes out on a trial run. Try them or another specialist bike shop (avoid going to less specialist shops as their staff just won't know, or be on commission for a less attractive brand they want rid of).
 
Halfords would be a good place to start - they will tell you the size of bike to look for and talk you through the different kinds of bikes and features. If there is no Halfords nearby, look in the Yellow Pages for your nearest bike shop - sometimes local shops cost a little more but they offer a good service.
Don't be tempted to buy from the Internet or from a supermarket because you are stuck if anything goes wrong, and quite often new bikes have a few "hiccups" especially as the gear cables stretch a little at first.
 
Halfords would be a good place to start - they will tell you the size of bike to look for and talk you through the different kinds of bikes and features. If there is no Halfords nearby, look in the Yellow Pages for your nearest bike shop - sometimes local shops cost a little more but they offer a good service.
Don't be tempted to buy from the Internet or from a supermarket because you are stuck if anything goes wrong, and quite often new bikes have a few "hiccups" especially as the gear cables stretch a little at first.
 
BMX is better. Try eBay they are a lot cheaper there. Mountain bikes are not recommended to use is forest because they could injure your back. Goodluck.
 
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