Newbie, which bike ???

S

slayer71

Squid
G'day all just getting into abit of off road riding looking to update and get a new bike. Have narrowed it down to five maybe and want abit of advice which would be the better option for me, or any other options that you can recommend me.
Will be spending around $500 to $800.

1.Jamis Durango 1 or 3
2.Giant Boulder 1.0 or a Avalanche 1.0
3.Fuji Nevada 1.0

It would be a medium size I'm about 5'10.

Cheera all.
 
S

slayer71

Squid
Cheers been looking I'd say it might be between the Giant Boulder 1.0 and a GT Avalanche 1.0, they both look like they have the better gear.

Which would be the best option ???

Any other suggestions ???
 
guitar1234

guitar1234

Likes Dirt
Had a Boulder as my first bike, loved it to bits

just don't drown her in mud or the brakes stop working completely :p
 
C

cramhobart

Likes Dirt
I recently brought a gt avalanche frame and built it up as a play bike, and as an all rounder I rate it highly-its a super fun bike to throw around.
It gives away a bit on technical climbing but more than makes up for it on the way down.
 
ikon

ikon

Likes Dirt
Well you are buying at the right time of the year. 2011 bikes are all going on special and 2012 are now becoming availible.

I would say that you need to write up a wishlist of features you want need, such as cable vs hydro brakes, fork features, i'd say ignore lockout unless you plan on doing a lot of smooth road riding, look instead for compression adjust if it's in that price range.

also decide on if you want shimano or sram, this is mostly a choice on which levers you prefer.

other than that, you are still really in the general purpose MTB catagory of things so there's not really a lot of major choices to be made.
but Giant has always offered good value for money in all areas so are worth heading up your list at least at first
 
cameron_15

cameron_15

Eats Squid
Check out the 2012 Apollo bikes, they've really gone hard at this year to challenge some of the bigger bike companies. They've just started to trickle into shops at the moment and they look fantstic. Very clean and elegant, excellent value for money.

Have a look at the 2012 Apollo Volatile, RRP of $699 and it's got Rock shox forks and hydro brakes!

volatile_v1_2012.jpg

http://apollobikes.com.au/bikes12/sport/volatile
 
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slayer71

Squid
Ok new options, between the Giant Boulder 1.0 and the Giant Talon 1.0 maybe the Yukon as well ???

Whats the difference, is there much ???
 
A

adaib

Likes Dirt
slayer71 said:
Ok new options, between the Giant Boulder 1.0 and the Giant Talon 1.0 maybe the Yukon as well ???

Whats the difference, is there much ???
Click to expand...
Spec and Geometry differences.

Talon has higher level spec, such as Sram X5 derailleur and shifters. It also has hydro Avid brakes. Meaning you get more stopping power, which is always useful.
Combine these together and you end with a more enjoyable ride.

And the geometry differences are significant.
The Talon is on the verge of a perforance race bike, where are the Boulder is a pure bred Lifestyle fun bike, that can handle some off road.
So the talon will have a more aggressive riding style, meaning the bars are lower helping you ride up hill. Overall, it will be more suited to bash around your local trails than the Boulder, which is more suited to fireroads and dirt tracks. The boulder, with its more relaxed style, is probably more comfortable.


You need to think about what sort of riding your going to be doing on it.
 
kgunzer

kgunzer

Likes Dirt
If you're in South Sydney, there might be shops stocking 09 STPs.

Try convincing the shop keeper to sell you their brand new 09 STP 0 (with RS Argyles forks, RF Atlas cranks, and Avid Juicy5s) for $800. That's a big bargain!
 
S

slayer71

Squid
Thanks for the advice, cheers sort of leaning towards the Talon now, will be doing offroad trails & tracks but may get into some more heavier trails and stuff so for the extra dough the higher spec stuff will probably be better in the long run.

Just one more question how would the GT Avalanche 1.0 stack up againt the Talon ?





Talon has higher level spec, such as Sram X5 derailleur and shifters. It also has hydro Avid brakes. Meaning you get more stopping power, which is always useful.
Combine these together and you end with a more enjoyable ride.

And the geometry differences are significant.
The Talon is on the verge of a perforance race bike, where are the Boulder is a pure bred Lifestyle fun bike, that can handle some off road.
So the talon will have a more aggressive riding style, meaning the bars are lower helping you ride up hill. Overall, it will be more suited to bash around your local trails than the Boulder, which is more suited to fireroads and dirt tracks. The boulder, with its more relaxed style, is probably more comfortable.


You need to think about what sort of riding your going to be doing on it.[/QUOTE]
 
A

adaib

Likes Dirt
slayer71 said:
Just one more question how would the GT Avalanche 1.0 stack up againt the Talon ?
Click to expand...
Similar in terms of spec and geometry.

The GT has a different brand, Shimano rather than Sram, of components. And the GT also has a good quality Rockshox Tora fork. Which is better than the Giants, SR Suntour.

It would seem that the GT has a better spec range than the Giant. Except that might also mean is more expensive.
Both bikes will have similar capabilities on the trail.

Either way, once you get your bike, take it to your local bike shop, and get them to set it up for you. Aka; Bar height, seat angle and height and stuff. Having that all dialled is crucial to having a good ride, and it only takes 5 min.
 
fatdude

fatdude

Likes Bikes
My brother has a yukon 2009 i think and it hasn't had any issues. It has rock shox tora forks and shimano hydro brakes and has been a solid bike. Thats what i should have bought , i got a 2009 jamis durango 2.0 and the forks crapped out after a few weeks (rst omegas), and got replaced with some smaller legged manitou forks which have no adjustment and feel like sh*t, and the front tektro brakes never really worked that well. Saying that the brakes did get fixed under warranty only a few months back (on a 2 year old bike that was nice).
 
B

bml434

Likes Bikes
Food for thought

Why not buy second hand ? First bike is probably going to get a fairly hard time and you could probably get something twice as good for the same money
 
B

bardynt

Back in his day.....
hey

i was thinking the same thing

the talon looks good but was wandering whether spend extra money and get xtc its about twice the price
 
B

brokenbus

Squid
Boulder

I have a Boulder and while it is reasonably solid and ok value its not that great as a mountain bike. The gearing is too high with a 28/38/48 front chain ring and the mechanical brakes require constant adjustment and its a bit heavy- I clock up about 120km a week on it and half of that is dirt fire trails. I have since bought a Giant Trance and it is fantastic but costs heap more as well. If you are just going to ride firetrails that are not to steep and bike paths etc the boulder will do the job but if you want to do something more technical, I would get something with hydro brakes, a 22/32/44 chain ring and a bit lighter if you can afford it.
 
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