Good day,
Like many others, I have discovered this site as a valuable resource for newbie cyclists like myself. Thanks to everyone contributing to making this such a welcoming community!
I am in the process of finding my first bike, and I've done enough research to figure out I need a dual-suspension, 29", M bike. This would be fairly entry-level, and from what I gather new bikes at this price point is about R40k, which is a lot to spend, so I want to make sure I start looking in the right places. I have two questions in this regard:
1. At this price point, is there a big difference between brands, or is it much of a muchness? Looking at Trek, Merida, Scott at the moment.
2. Used bikes are of course much cheaper, but I fear that because I don't know anything, buying second-hand might be risky as I won't know what to look for, and might buy something that will end up giving me lots of problems (that I won't be able to sort out myself, because I don't know anything yet..) So is it worth paying a premium for a new bike in order to get the support, advice etc from experts in shop, or should I save the money and take a chance on a used one?
Grateful for any advice,
Herman
