Robyn Eshelby-Theart

Thanks very much guys - super helpful! I'll have a look at everything properly and then come back with the deets.

My guys have got a few bikes. 1 x Raleigh, 1 x Gotcha and 1 x Totem XC330. All budget MTB (Makro bikes). My guys all live-in and mostly use the bikes to go to Spar - a 10km round-trip. The bikes hold up pretty well in general but there's no way the wheels are running true. They get quite a lot of punctures which I'm sure isn't aided by wonky wheels. I believe that over-inflation on the cheap wheels buckles/warps them. Am I right in assuming that wheel upgrades will make the bikes safer? If so, what is a good wheel for the bikes? They are all 29" bikes. And then I could match the wheels with decent tyres and my guys could be safer. I'm afraid that buying new bikes is not an option.

Hey @nox1111, Thank you so much for taking the time to reply to my post. I really appreciate your a) time and b) experience. It gave me a lot to chew over! I spent a few days trying out various bikes at various places. I tried full suspension, hardtail, no suspension, etc. The Rockrider I referenced does have full suspension. As it happened I felt awkward and off balance and it was a definite no. I tried a couple of Giants and Avalanches as well, and a Trek. None of them ended up being "my bike". I was really quite surprised when I got onto a BTwin RS700 hybrid and lo and behold it was instantly "my bike". I picked it up yesterday morning and rode it properly for the first time today. Rode with my kiddo to school and then ended up taking a much longer route hope, trying the bike over different terrain. When I got home I wanted to carry on riding and today I'll fetch her from school on the bike as well (I normally drive behind her). We'll be hitting up NF this weekend. I LOVE my bike. I'll be getting a suspension seat post because that is where my back is most affected and I definitely won't be doing hardcore MTB. Based on your reply I started looking for a new bike for SWAMBO and tomorrow I should be picking up a lightly-used Avalanche bike for her. She's coming from a literally cheapest-ever Gotcha bike so really anything will be an improvement for occasional use. ❓I wonder if you guys can confirm if this is an original Avalanche bike - the Reflex 3.0 sticker at the front doesn't seem to match the other pics I can find online, so I'd just like to double check. I haven't seen the bike yet but the people seem decent and the bike appears as advertised (used twice, basically new), in photos at least. Thank you! (And I added a pic of my own bike this morning because it's cute - and I have raised the mudguard since the pic )

Hi guys, I'm new here. Cycled to school as a kid but not much since, but now my kiddo (7) is cycling to school and I'm cycling with her. We live near Fourways, Johannesburg. The thing is - I have some back issues. I have 2 prosthetic discs in my neck and at the end of September I'll have another in my lumbar spine. I'm a little chonky for my height but the problem is that, well, my back hurts - a LOT - and it makes even low-impact exercise pretty tough to maintain. Used to be very active and sporty but now I'm cuddly and enjoy pizza. I currently have a cheap-as-chips Totem bike with suspension. But it's steadily heading down the hill in terms of reliability. Brakes are poked, gearing is going, rim is bent, and honestly it weighs a damn ton. I'm therefore in the market for a new bike that is lightweight - has dual suspension - will stand up to a bit of trail (we live on dirt roads and it's 5-10km a day). I had a look at the Rockrider ST540 (Decathlon) online and it seems like decent bang for buck. My budget is definitely not more than R11k and honestly I'd like to spend less as I realistically don't know if I will be able to maintain the cycling, even with a bike that suits my needs on paper. Perhaps you guys can recommend a second-hand bike that will serve my purpose? Thank you so much for your input.