Newbie trying to find the right bike

S

Sht50

Squid
hey guys, I am looking into buying my first all mountain bike, and would like some advice or input into 3 i am looking at. budget is $1200 and down, as I am chasing 2nd hand and don't want to throw thousands into in straight up.
I am looking at 3 at the moment that are within my budget and appear to be ok to my newbie eyes.

1st bike
2008 giant reign $600
The owner cant tell me to much about it but by looking at it, it has standard components and being an 8 year old bike would need some updating and maintenance.



2nd bike
2010 giant anthem x1 $850
Rebuilt forks and all new bearings, new chain, new cassette, new rear wheel and new shimano hydraulic brakes, wiper seals in rear shock replaced as well.
fox 32 100mm travel rebuilt with new coat stanchions. shimano altus brakes,xt shifters, rp2 rear shock, deore rear derailer, xt front derailer, sunrace cassette, kmc chain, simano mt15 new rear wheel.

- has had a lot of work and maintenance already done and 2 years newer.



3rd bike
2008 Scott Genius MC $1000
this is from a relative and Im not 100% sure about seems like a top of the line bike back in its day. looks well taken care off but it does need new seals in the front shock. any input on this type of bike would be great.




So they are the 3 I am currently looking at, but by no means the only ones. so any input into weather the pricing is right on them, or to steer clear from a particular model for whatever reason would be great.

Thanks.
 
stirk

stirk

Burner
Skip the reign, still has reflectors on it which means likely. stolen by some idiot who put reflectors back on it hoping it makes it more Street cred, knows nothing about it, sus.


The Giant is OK but average parts, and its a giant.

The Scott is on the money, if only because the guy looks organised and has a couple of nice kids bikes in the background that look well maintained.
 
johnny

johnny

I'll tells ya!
Staff member
stirk said:
Skip the reign, still has reflectors on it which means likely. stolen by some idiot who put reflectors back on it hoping it makes it more Street cred, knows nothing about it, sus.
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Oh dude...., just shoosh.
 
pink poodle

pink poodle

気が狂っている男
Knuckle the reign down to $450/500 then blow the rest of your $1200 on fine tuning it. But up your budget to $1500. Then at $1500 you might even find something in here worth looking at. What are you like with Allen keys.and grease?

Skip the anthem. It is an xc bike, not an all mountain. It will be awkward to ride by comparison to the easy going geometry of the reign, except in fairly specific scenarios.

The Scott will just be a pain in the arse. An expensive one.
 
S

Sht50

Squid
I thought as much about the scott. i think it may be more of a pain in the ass than anything. and have read the rear suspension is pretty finnicky and costly to repair.

I was just offered a 2015 stance 2 for 1200 which is at the top side of my budget but in comparison to the rest of them shouldn't need any work as such.

the grease and allen keys don't bother me at all, Im a mechanic/diesel fitter by trade.
 
pink poodle

pink poodle

気が狂っている男
Sht50 said:
I thought as much about the scott. i think it may be more of a pain in the ass than anything. and have read the rear suspension is pretty finnicky and costly to repair.

I was just offered a 2015 stance 2 for 1200 which is at the top side of my budget but in comparison to the rest of them shouldn't need any work as such.

the grease and allen keys don't bother me at all, Im a mechanic/diesel fitter by trade.
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Then don't waste your cash on the stance. They are low end junk. Buy the reign and fix.it up with some shimano Bling and nice forks.
 
Ultra Lord

Ultra Lord

Hurts. Requires Money. And is nerdy.
Seconded, stances are horrible. Much better off with the reign. They are good bikes still. Much better on that and spending abit on setting it up to suit you.
 
S

Sht50

Squid
So I'm in discussion with old mate with the reign now. Reckons he has owned it 2 months now and ridden it 5 times. I don't think he knows much about bikes at all. The problem being ill be buying it sight unseen as such apart from photos. He is pretty firm on the 600 but I think I could get it for 550 today. Is this reasonable considering I'm not really going o be able to ride it or look at it?










 
Ezkaton

Ezkaton

Eats Squid
I'm gonna say none of the above.

You want an AM bike, but then put up XC bikes like the Anthem, Genius, and mention the Stance?
The Reign looks fairly unloved, it might be more work than it's worth.

I'd say park your cash, save a little more in the meantime and keep hunting.
 
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H

HamboCairns

Thanks for all the bananas
Why not look at finding a hardtail 27.5+? Less maintenance and you'll learn more about how to ride. You'll have to save a few hundred dollars more but it'll be brand new and fitted.
 
M

madstace

Likes Dirt
Ezkaton said:
I'm gonna say none of the above.

You want an AM bike, but then put up XC bikes like the Anthem, Genius, and mention the Stance?
The Reign looks fairly unloved, it might be more work than it's worth.

I'd say park your cash, save a little more in the meantime and keep hunting.
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I'd agree with this. While I loved my 08 Reign and spent quite a bit on it, ultimately the geo held it back from being a great bike. If you can, look for a later model of the Reign if that's the sort of bike you're after. From the 2011 model it had a better head angle to go with a higher travel fork without blowing out the BB height.

Of course, plenty of other options out there, but all depends on what you can get for your money.
 
SideFX

SideFX

Likes Bikes and Dirt
Usually Id tell some one like you to " Keep walking "" until you have enough cash to buy a decant bike" But , stay away from the scott there heaps of shit and you will probably snap it . The two giants , well the reign is a little more heavy duty and will handle a bit more than the anthem . I would recommend the reign still a fun and very capable bike just out dated . Try and beat the price down to $450 or some parts/tyres and come up to $500 as you may find you will have to spend minor cash on new bearings and drivetrain < 9 speed is cheep as chips second hand > , maybe a shock service too . In 6 months you will have a better understanding of bikes and were and what you ride , then you be able to make your own informed decision on what bike style of bike you need .
 
S

Sht50

Squid
Thanks everyone for your input. So the general feeling I'm getting is I need to step my budget up a touch to get anything decent. And that is probably a for call. The budget is by no means set in stone, and if the right bike comes up I'm more than happy to step it up. I think I was putting up AM and XC styles maybe well for 1 I wasn't sure on the difference I suppose and thought they would all do what I wanted them to do. Ie general trail rides and mild down hill. And I suppose as was previously said after 6 months I will know more about what I want and what I want to ride.
 
pink poodle

pink poodle

気が狂っている男
Just saw the psylo forks...they are shit. And I doubt that front hub will convert from qr to 15/20mm axle. So you'd be up for a bit of an outlay there, if you decided to unburden yourself of the psylo.

Have you had a look through here?
 
S

shauncwz

Likes Bikes
A bit of a mixed bag of bikes you've chosen there. All different fork travel lengths as well. So a little confused on what you mean by all mountain. However, I hope my experience might be able to help you.

I initially got into mountain biking after being persuaded by a mate. Bought a cheapo kmart bike despite him advising against it. My thoughts were buy a cheapo bike and see how I would like mountain biking then buy a better bike if I really like it. 2 rides in and the fork was gone plus all the joints started creaking. So next, bought a second hand ($1000) bike with 120mm travel. Really great bike which was well take care of. However, it was a relatively old bike and lots of parts had to be serviced which cost money. But spent the money, rode more and soon I was after a bike with longer travel as 120mm felt a little scary rolling off big rocks. Sure you could do it, but I guess the longer travel made it more assuring for me. Now I own a 150mm all mountain bike and I am quite satisfied with it.

I guess my advise to you is, if you have a friend or friends who could loan you a few different types of bikes with different travel to try, then you could determine what kind of bike you'd prefer. Don't buy a old bike (unless you can get it for dirt cheap) as you would end up paying more to repair or upgrade parts. If you dont have friends who could loan you a bike, then I'd say save your money and look to buy a relatively new 140mm travel bike as it will handle most of the trails here in australia. eg: giant trance, norco sight, trek remedy, merida 140, specialized stumpjumper (150mm) or avanti torrent (150mm).

But if you want a 120mm bike and you want brand new just to start off with. The Polygon Siskiu dual suspension range is quite value for money. $1200 can get you a brand new bike I believe.

Hope this helps.
 
S

Sht50

Squid
Maybe I don't even really know what type I want after all. Just to get me onto something and start out would the anthem be ok. And then down the track I know more of what style I'm into and can pony up and buy something decent.
 
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