Newbie saying Hi and asking for recommendations

[black4tress]

Hey guys,

Newbie here and first post.
Well, Hello all.

What can I say about myself. 30 something. Although I like to think I'm still in my early 20s. Been riding Road bikes for a couple of years now, still loving it but have ventured into mountain biking with a couple workmates - crazy workmates who just fly down these hills. You gotta have balls of steal to do this stuff, well, I'm working on that one. Anyhow, hello to all you men and women out there with balls of steal !!!

Can I get some recommendations on a hard tail around the $1000. I currently have a Giant boulder which how can I put it .......... heavy, old, not enough gears. This was adequate for the odd 30km rides on the road to work but lately couple of mates have asked me to venture off road. Been to the Oaks couple of times, did the dirtworks 50 and sucked at it big time. Of course I am blaming my bike.
Anyhow, not sure where I am going with this mtb stuff, I'm a roadie and haven't fully warmed to mtb yet but enjoying the rides otherwise, hence did not want to spend too much on . Was looking at the Giant XTC2 but cant afford it really.

What are your thoughts on the Avanti Barracuda (currently $1200) or a Felt Q720 ($1100) or the Giant Talon ($1100).

I have already looked at the Talon and it looks a beaut but it seems quite heavy. Spec wise is also on the lower end. Barra and Felt I have only searched online and with the Barra, they have a special at the moment $1200 down from $1500.

Anyhow, any input would be appreciated.

Thanks
Tone

 

[Ivan]

Hello Tone and welcome!

Have you considered a secondhand hardtail? It is definatley a buyers market with some good bargains popping up quite regularly.

 

[black4tress]

Gday Ivan,

Yes, have considered 2nd hand. Have an eye on some XTCs but open to new ones cause you never know what these 2nd hand ones have been through.

Thanks

 

[shmity]

Second hand is a great way to go, lots of good deals on nice xc bikes come up on the forums all the time. Alternatively if you can hold off for a few months you should be able to pick up a sweet deal on a new bike thats being run out when 09 products start to ship. Usually between August and November.

 

[black4tress]

Thanks Shmity,
Your right, but with the XTCs they are so popular that most stores I speak to don't move much with the price.

I'll try to be patient but itching to get something half decent to ride.

 

[sockman]

If you are after an xc bike, IMO 2nd hand is a better option. Its pretty unlikely that an xc bike will have been thrashed, and the only upgrades or repairs I can see being needed would be the drivetrain if the bike has enough km's on it.

 

[shmity]

Generally a store wont budge much on price until you're at the point of laying the plastic down. Too many years of people getting a nice price out of them and turning around to just go down the street to haggle a better deal with them. Again, when the new giants start to ship (they also tend to be earlier than most, at least in recent years) you should be able to wangle a fair price drop then. If you're really keen on one then id suggest saving your cash and buying something decent, youll only end up regretting buying a cheap bike that needs new parts within 6 months anyway.

As an aside are you on the taller or really short side of things? You tend to find large and x-large framed bikes hang around longer than those in the small/medium size range and will lend itself to you getting a better deal.

Failing that i just had a quick look in the for sale forums and theres a norco nitro from 07 on sale there. rrp is 1700 so you could realistically offer something pretty close to your budget and get a really decent bike that seems like its been looked after pretty well.

 

[jai0310]

it can be worth looking on ebay as there are usually some cheap norco's on there

 

[shmity]

The problem with ebay is you dont get to check up on a riders history before hand. Atleast with this site you can do a quick run down on what said person has done to the bike before you get your grubby little hands on it.

 

[black4tress]

As an aside are you on the taller or really short side of things? You tend to find large and x-large framed bikes hang around longer than those in the small/medium size range and will lend itself to you getting a better deal.

I'm 175cm, so neither here nor there. I'm one of those average size guys that goes to a store looking for cheap shoes and clothes but they are all out of Med.

Failing that i just had a quick look in the for sale forums and theres a norco nitro from 07 on sale there. rrp is 1700 so you could realistically offer something pretty close to your budget and get a really decent bike that seems like its been looked after pretty well.

Yes, thanks. Will check it out.

 

[black4tress]

The problem with ebay is you dont get to check up on a riders history before hand. Atleast with this site you can do a quick run down on what said person has done to the bike before you get your grubby little hands on it.

Yep, agree. Unless its local and the seller allows you to view beforehand than you just dont know what your getting. Atleast you can determine whether their is cred (or none) with the sellers of this forum.

Thanks all.

 

[DeBloot]

I'm a roadie and haven't fully warmed to mtb yet but enjoying the rides otherwise, hence did not want to spend too much on .

Hi and welcome. I had a boulder years ago when I started and attempted to ride trails on it. It wasn't up to the task of anything more than rocky and not steep fire road. I bought a new hard tail (GT Zascar) and went out with the local club on a few rides and soon realised that I had bought the wrong bike for what I wanted to do. About 6 months later I bought a second hand duellie. I found the duellie opened up the possibilities of riding much more varied terrain, faster.
So you may find that when you get a better bike you will get bitten by the bug the way I did and want to take on more challenging terrain.
So what I'm saying is, I would save some money and buy a 2nd hand hard tail and see how much you like it. You may have to replace some parts, but you will have to do that sooner or later anyway.
I would never buy 2nd hand sight unseen so I can check for frame cracks. But I would think 2nd hand XTC's (or similar) and such wouldn't see the caning that duellies get. And when you replace parts, you can replace them with the good stuff. As long as you have a good frame.
If down the track you start eyeing of your mates duellies with envy, you can then consider buying one of the entry level duellies. I've seen some great ones for around $2000+.
And as far as doing your time on a hard tail to make you a smoother rider etc. Yeah, well that's true, but I just want to have fun on varied terrain on a bike that can handle a poor line choice, lack of finesse or inexperience.
Well that's my 2c anyhoo.
Good luck.