Mountain bikes... advice please!

What's Hot
135

Comments

  • DeadmanDeadman Frets: 3852
    It's a nightmare looking for the best specced bike around 500 notes. I upped my budget to 800 and it opened up a LOT more possibilities. In fact I ended up with a £1600 last year's model. 
    For the £500 you've got I'd buy second hand.
    0reaction image LOL 0reaction image Wow! 0reaction image Wisdom
  • IamnobodyIamnobody Frets: 6887
    Boromedic said:

    @Iamnobody

    The gears and brakes on the Calibre would be an upgrade on your Carrera Vulcan but all in all you have a decent frame and fork there already and it's not worth changing. Ride it more and then when you feel ready or fancy a treat go the next level up and you'll notice a difference more than you would going between them. 
    Hi thanks for the information. Sorry OP to derail the thread but mine is a 2009/10 model at a guess. @boromedic would your advice apply still?

    Given it's so old and a bit rusty I'm almost tempted to buy one of these - I get 10% off at Halfords so it would only cost me £220ish.

    http://www.halfords.com/webapp/wcs/stores/servlet/MobileSearchRouter?srch=carrera+sulcata&action=search&storeId=10001&catalogId=10151&langId=-1&mode=search
    Previously known as stevebrum
    0reaction image LOL 0reaction image Wow! 0reaction image Wisdom
  • BoromedicBoromedic Frets: 4700
    Hey @Iamnobody I'm not sure looking at the older Vulcan you would gain much beyond bigger wheels (which are a bonus depending on what riding you do), they are pretty similar in spec to be fair. I suppose it depends on the condition of the older bike! If it still works with a bit of TLC then ride it for a while, save some pennies if you can these days with the cost of everything and get a higher spec one maybe?

    My head said brake, but my heart cried never.


    0reaction image LOL 0reaction image Wow! 0reaction image Wisdom
  • BoromedicBoromedic Frets: 4700
    Boromedic said:
    Awwww mate, awesome bikes they are I wish I hadn't had to sell mine as I'd put a load of man hours into stripping it and refurbishing the gears etc. but I had no choice at the time. Mine was a 1995 one and I loved it, had Mavic rims and full Shimano. Looked ace once I stripped the chipped coating and polished it up.....


    That looks amazing. I nearly bought sporky's old clockwork, which was an ace looking bike but alas it was a teency bit too big for me. :( 
    Cheers dude, was sad to see it go, put a lot of time into getting it straight. Still it went to a good home in the end so I was pleased! The Clockworks were also class, it was actually one of them I wanted but this one cropped up and I actually traded guitar fx for it (the blasphemy!), including a Jap CE2 that was lovely. Glad I traded in the end though, it was definitely worth it.

    My head said brake, but my heart cried never.


    0reaction image LOL 0reaction image Wow! 0reaction image Wisdom
  • BoromedicBoromedic Frets: 4700
    Deadman said:
    It's a nightmare looking for the best specced bike around 500 notes. I upped my budget to 800 and it opened up a LOT more possibilities. In fact I ended up with a £1600 last year's model. 
    For the £500 you've got I'd buy second hand.
    Yeah I'd agree with you wholeheartedly, end of year blowouts with a budget of £750+ opens a world of possibilities up but it depends on your circumstances I suppose. 

    I'd also agree with second hand being a great option if you know what you're looking at, there's a few unscrupulous sellers out there as well willing to skank a newb/novice out of his cash for a cracked frame or a knackered fork.

    My head said brake, but my heart cried never.


    0reaction image LOL 0reaction image Wow! 0reaction image Wisdom
  • IamnobodyIamnobody Frets: 6887
    Boromedic said:
    Hey @Iamnobody I'm not sure looking at the older Vulcan you would gain much beyond bigger wheels (which are a bonus depending on what riding you do), they are pretty similar in spec to be fair. I suppose it depends on the condition of the older bike! If it still works with a bit of TLC then ride it for a while, save some pennies if you can these days with the cost of everything and get a higher spec one maybe?
    I'll mainly be riding along canal towpaths, a bit of park riding and possibly the odd less than 2 mile commute to work.

    Mine needs a new chain and would definitely benefit from a service. (I'm not up to speed to do it myself). The forks need a look as well...

    So it probably needs £50+ spending on it to bring it up to a good standard that would ride like a new one. Although it's useable - I've been out on it today.

    So add £50 onto the £50-100 I'm likely to get for selling it then I'm nearly at the price of the new Carerra one...hmmm.

    I'm the shallow sort of person that gets a kick from new things as well!

    I must say though I like the look of the 2018 Specialized  pitch sport in black - very understated...

    Previously known as stevebrum
    0reaction image LOL 0reaction image Wow! 0reaction image Wisdom
  • duotoneduotone Frets: 971
    Am enjoying the bike porn & links guys...keep it up.
    0reaction image LOL 0reaction image Wow! 0reaction image Wisdom
  • BoromedicBoromedic Frets: 4700
    Iamnobody said:
    Boromedic said:
    Hey @Iamnobody I'm not sure looking at the older Vulcan you would gain much beyond bigger wheels (which are a bonus depending on what riding you do), they are pretty similar in spec to be fair. I suppose it depends on the condition of the older bike! If it still works with a bit of TLC then ride it for a while, save some pennies if you can these days with the cost of everything and get a higher spec one maybe?
    I'll mainly be riding along canal towpaths, a bit of park riding and possibly the odd less than 2 mile commute to work.

    Mine needs a new chain and would definitely benefit from a service. (I'm not up to speed to do it myself). The forks need a look as well...

    So it probably needs £50+ spending on it to bring it up to a good standard that would ride like a new one. Although it's useable - I've been out on it today.

    So add £50 onto the £50-100 I'm likely to get for selling it then I'm nearly at the price of the new Carerra one...hmmm.

    I'm the shallow sort of person that gets a kick from new things as well!

    I must say though I like the look of the 2018 Specialized  pitch sport in black - very understated...

    Yeah I hear yer, i'm an infernal tweaker so I'd have the spanners on it. The fork on your Carrera is pretty easy to service, just disassemble, clean, check seals, copious grease, reassemble, voila! Still new stuff is always cool!

    That Spesh is nice for sure, this is my current MTB although I haven't been on it fer ages, for one reason and another :(


    My head said brake, but my heart cried never.


    0reaction image LOL 0reaction image Wow! 0reaction image Wisdom
  • skunkwerxskunkwerx Frets: 6838
    Just seen this Bmc as well, not in the sale but within budgetz. 

    Colour is awesome but from my inexperienced eye, the gears etc albeit shimano are lesser quality? 


    https://www.evanscycles.com/bmc-sportelite-alivio-2016-mountain-bike-EV233469
    The only easy day, was yesterday...
    0reaction image LOL 0reaction image Wow! 0reaction image Wisdom
  • BoromedicBoromedic Frets: 4700
    Yeah, that is a nice colour my friend has a Cube in a similar shade and it's lovely. As you say the spec is a little poor unfortunately, still say the Voodoo if you're going new! 

    My head said brake, but my heart cried never.


    0reaction image LOL 0reaction image Wow! 0reaction image Wisdom
  • BoromedicBoromedic Frets: 4700
    edited August 2017
    How tall are you dude, and what (just a county would do) area do you live? I can do some ebay searching for you if you like with regards used bikes, but I would always recommend going and looking at any used bike you are interested in before you buy as there are some snakes out there as well as a whole host of stolen property. So it's a bit of a minefield to be honest.....

    My head said brake, but my heart cried never.


    0reaction image LOL 0reaction image Wow! 0reaction image Wisdom
  • TTBZTTBZ Frets: 2873
    edited August 2017
    Ohh seeing shiny new hardtails is giving me bike GAS now! I really like that stealth Specialized. Something about a clean looking hardtail that looks so fun to ride. I often wonder if I really need a full suspension - most of what I ride is downhill/jumpy stuff but it's not really that rough given most of my riding is at Woburn Sands these days with the odd trip over to Cannock or Forest of Dean!
    0reaction image LOL 0reaction image Wow! 0reaction image Wisdom
  • 57Deluxe57Deluxe Frets: 7329
    <Vintage BOSS Upgrades>
    __________________________________
    0reaction image LOL 0reaction image Wow! 0reaction image Wisdom
  • skunkwerxskunkwerx Frets: 6838
    Well I've done a hell of a lot of looking. 

    A few of the specialized bikes in evans sale arent available in anything other than xl, so rules them out, and they were the closest spec to the voodoo bizango for the same price of £500. Though their forks werent as good.

    The next nearest matches to the Voodoo's spec are £600, and even then, the forks on them were possibly a lower suntour model than the radion which the Bizango has. I think, they were a specialized or a scott, or a cannondale.. 

    Thing is, halfords take british cycling discount. 

    So the Voodoo Bizango would cost £450 in total with that applied. Which literally is the most bang for the least buck. 

    Which leads my dubious mind to ask... whats wrong with it? Lol. 

    Are those other brands bikes (scott, cannondale, specialised, norco) built better frame wise do you think? I havent a great deal of knowledge regarding how many parts are on a bike that may be budget. 

    Also need to find out about its wheels, as the radion forks are a thru axle with a 15mm something, which I have no experience at all with, so I guess not all wheels or qr skewers fit this bigger size? 


    The only easy day, was yesterday...
    0reaction image LOL 0reaction image Wow! 0reaction image Wisdom
  • BoromedicBoromedic Frets: 4700
    edited August 2017
    The frame on the Voodoo will be at least as good as the brand names you're talking about. There aren't many factories making them so they could even be made at the same place. The big brand bikes in this price range are just entry level, designed to promote brand loyalty when people upgrade. Voodoo actually exists mostly in this price range and has more expertise at making a bike work for a specific budget rather than piecing something together just to have your brand on it. A lot of these entry level big brand bikes have the same frames anyway. If you read the review I posted you'll see how much MBR rated the frame alone. Given the fact it comes with a better fork from the start you'll probably never need to replace it if its serviced correctly. I'd buy the Voodoo, the big brand bikes here have zero value other than the name. If you're going for a new bike the Voodoo is the better option

    As for the wheels they have a 15mm thru axle so all that means is if you replace the hubs/wheels you need to buy one that is 15mm specific. They're reasonably popular these days as they stop axle twist during heavy compressions and steering so you'll have zero issues. Whilst not as widespread as the 9mm QR standard they aren't as rare as hens teeth either. 

    My head said brake, but my heart cried never.


    0reaction image LOL 0reaction image Wow! 0reaction image Wisdom
  • skunkwerxskunkwerx Frets: 6838
    Thanks dude. 

    Yeah the voodoo looks like Its going to win out, + with 2 halfords within riding distance, it makes collection etc a lot easier. 

    Funnily enough I was browsing halfords site again and they have a Boardman comp 650b which is also reduced but £20 more than the Bizango. 

    Seems like the same forks, but smaller wheels, 9mm axle, with sram components and Avid db1 brakes. 

    But no stores seem to have either in stock so I'll have to pop down and see if I can find a same brand/wheel size bike to sit on to gauge size before ordering! 
    The only easy day, was yesterday...
    0reaction image LOL 0reaction image Wow! 0reaction image Wisdom
  • BoromedicBoromedic Frets: 4700
    edited August 2017
    The Boardman would be another good choice if you can find your size? I'm not a fan of SRAM but plenty are. I find their budget brakes (Avid) are shite in particular although they have improved they're no match for Shimano ones.

    My head said brake, but my heart cried never.


    0reaction image LOL 0reaction image Wow! 0reaction image Wisdom
  • BoromedicBoromedic Frets: 4700
    edited August 2017
    I would always recommend throwing your leg over one before you buy..... But as you're having to order it and unless you're freakishly small or a basket baller the websites are pretty decent with sizing guides these days if you truly get stuck debating on sizes.

    My head said brake, but my heart cried never.


    0reaction image LOL 0reaction image Wow! 0reaction image Wisdom
  • skunkwerxskunkwerx Frets: 6838
    Fuck sake the Bizangos gone back up to £625 the week I was about to pull the trigger... lol..
    The only easy day, was yesterday...
    0reaction image LOL 0reaction image Wow! 0reaction image Wisdom
  • BoromedicBoromedic Frets: 4700
    Nightmare.....

    My head said brake, but my heart cried never.


    0reaction image LOL 0reaction image Wow! 0reaction image Wisdom
Sign In or Register to comment.