Newbee to Mountain biking

[Yanto]

Hi all. I do quite a bit of road riding but will stop soon for the winter and only use my Bianchi on a turbo in the garage to maintain fitness. I am considering having a go at mountain biking, and have a mate who rides at Llandegla quite a bit. Basically, to do the 'learner type' trails do I need a bike with front suspension or will a non-suspension bike be ok?

Secondly I have been offered a 5 year old Scott Sport series at a very reasonable price and wondered if its at all possible to fit a front suspension unit to this bike? Or would it be better to just buy a bike that already has front suspension. I do not want to spend much as not sure if I will take it up.

Many thanks for any advice offered

 

[maurice]

You don't need front suspension for learner trails. Back in the day people raced rigid bikes downhill.

It's nicer having suspension though, it's less harsh and you go faster. You will get weird types telling you they "love the vibe" or some such though.

Not familiar with the scott, but it probably is possible to fit forks to assuming it's not a pile-o-shite. But yeah it's most likely you would be better off buying a hardtail in the first place.

 

[Mr Pig]

You might start off on simple tracks but pretty soon you'll be bouncing over rougher terrain. I'm not saying you'll 'need' a pogo-fork but if you think you would like one eventually you'd be better off getting one to begin with. Their main down side is weight. The upside is that you can hit big bumps really hard and not fall off! ;0)

Is that Scott bike a MTB or hybrid? I know that the Sportster is a hybrid.

 

[Yanto]

Mr Pig - the Scott is a mountain bike from about 5 or 6 years ago. Also looking at Specialized Hardrock Sports from 07. They seem to be a better bet all round?

 

[Mr Pig]

They seem to be a better bet all round?

I don't know. I think Specialized bikes are great value but Scott bikes aren't rubbish either. The problem you've got is that the Scott is five years old and not the spec you want. By the time sort out any worn parts and fit a pogo it might not be the bargain you first thought, do your homework.

I looked at the Hardrocks a few months ago. I don't think they looked bad but there was a few details that I found disappointing, the forks in particular looked pretty basic. Still solid bikes though, the Mondeo of the bike world ;0) You could do a lot worse but I felt that spending a little more was worth doing. I bought a steel framed Genesis bike and I have to say that off road it's really sorted.

 

[bonj2]

Hi all. I do quite a bit of road riding but will stop soon for the winter and only use my Bianchi on a turbo in the garage to maintain fitness. I am considering having a go at mountain biking, and have a mate who rides at Llandegla quite a bit. Basically, to do the 'learner type' trails do I need a bike with front suspension or will a non-suspension bike be ok?

Secondly I have been offered a 5 year old Scott Sport series at a very reasonable price and wondered if its at all possible to fit a front suspension unit to this bike? Or would it be better to just buy a bike that already has front suspension. I do not want to spend much as not sure if I will take it up.

Many thanks for any advice offered

Basically you can do the green/blue trails at any trail centre (llandegla being no exception) with rigid forks. You can theoretically do the red with rigids, but it'll be a lot more fun with good suspension forks, as you'll be able to go faster and be more in control.
The thing is though if you get the mtb bug you will want to do the red.
For suspension forks, look for marzocchi or fox (or high-end rockshox), pref. at least 120mm travel, and ideally with lockout so you can lock them out for climbing on road.

 

[02GF74]

the geometry for frames designed for with suspension forks is different than those for rigid forks.

if you fit suspension forks to a frame that was not designed for them, it will sit higher at the front than intended and the angles will be out - whether that creates a problem for you I don't know.

ebay is full of new and nearly new front suspension bikes; just take your time finding the one that you like.

sizewise you are looking at inside leg length less 15 or 16 inches; it will be around 5 or 6 inches smaller than youor road bike, assuming that is sized correctly.

 

[Mr Pig]

the geometry for frames designed for with suspension forks is different than those for rigid forks.

But many frames are built with the geometry corrected for suspension forks now. That bike might well be ok.

 

[Yanto]

Mr Pig - can I ask which Genesis bike you got and also (cheekily) ask what you paid please?

 

[Trillian]

you can ride any trail on a ridged single speed bike, a friend of mine goes as far as using a coaster brake (back pedal)

it just might be harder work and a bit more bumpy

 

[Mr Pig]

Mr Pig - can I ask which Genesis bike you got?

I got the Altitude 00, which is the cheapest steel bike. List price was £570, I paid £540 but I've seen them advertised for a lot less now that they're last year's model. It's a very comfortable bike.

All of the steel bikes and the aluminium ones, the Core range, share the same geometry so if you can try out any of the bikes you'll know the fit of the others.

 

[Yanto]

Just lloked at a Carrera Vulcan in Halfords for £320. It has 24 gears, 100mm travel on front forks and a lockout facility. Anybody know anything of these? Halfords own brand?

 

[Yanto]

Also looking at a Felt and Focus on Wiggle. Both at around £240. The Felt has 75mm fork travel and disc brakes with 21 speed. The Focus has 100mm fork travel with lockout but only v brakes. Which is better spec please? Thanks again

 

[KitsuneAndy]

Also looking at a Felt and Focus on Wiggle. Both at around £240. The Felt has 75mm fork travel and disc brakes with 21 speed. The Focus has 100mm fork travel with lockout but only v brakes. Which is better spec please? Thanks again

Depends on the rest of the kit really. Link to both the bikes in question?

 

[Mr Pig]

Halfords bikes get mixed revues, a friend of mine had one and liked it. Only buy one though if you can service it yourself as Halfords bike staff are notoriously hopeless, or at least they can be. The young guy in my local branch is ok but he was telling me how bad the two guys who proceeded him were, they'd rather sell you a new bike than sort your old one. The shop also sells bikes with disk brakes despite neither of the staff being trained to service them!

If you do go for a Halfords bike, don't buy one full price. Halfords don't sell many £500 bikes so hang on and you'll get one half price!