Hi All! Been reading through the forum for quite a while, and decided I wanted to join today! Ok, so I'm not a “bicycle racer” like most of you guys here. I mainly enjoy myself over the weekends on a nippy single track in the veld or on a nice and quiet cruise on the foot of the mountains. A trail guy, that’s me! Now that that’s out of the way, let’s get to my question. A few months after I just bought my brand new blue & white Scott Aspect 30, it was stolen while waiting for me right outside a busy building’s entrance. How they did it, without being spotted, still escapes me to this day as it was tied down using the thickest woven steel cable I could get my hands on. I loved the Scott, it rode like a dream, paddling effortlessly. I didn’t know bike riding was so pleasant (and so addictive, lol) until the day I hopped onto that Scott. It also had all the bells and whistles like a nice speedo and some decent add-on handles the day it was stolen. Ok, so now that I have to start from scratch, I thought I would get some bright advice from people who are in the business. I need a new bike and I’m pondering about getting a softail (or Dual Suspension, whatever it’s called) or going for the hardtail option again. The Scott Aspect 30 2011 set me back R5 000. I’m willing to spend up to around R12 000 this time round. I looked at the Scott Genius, but unfortunately that’s a bit out of my price range. The one thing that’s bugging me is the servicing of the back shock and all of the back joints and bearings on the softail. Is it really something to worry about? Will I really need to service the bike that much more and will the service really cost that much more than it’s hardtail equivalent? The other thing is this “Bobbing” I keep reading about. What is it exactly? Is it that bad? Would I expect to get it on a bike in my price range? I don’t like clipons, will normal paddles have any effect on the bobbing? If I go for the hardtail I would most likely go for the Scott again as I quite liked it, but I’m aching to go for a softail from what I’ve read and heard. If I go with the softail, which bike would you guys advise me to go have a look at? I’ve did a bit of research and the Giant Trance X4 seems to be a good option from everything I’ve read. The guy who’s selling bikes on our town suggested I should also have a look at the new Mongoose range or Raleigh’s softail nomads, but he said that he can supply me with basically any type of bike I want. The thing is, I’ve felt someone’s hardtail Mongoose before and it weighed a ton and don’t know if Raleigh would be the right choice. I want this bike to last quite a while. I would like it to look good and still be tuff. I’ll be happy with entry level parts as long as the bike weighs under 15kg (my Scott was 12 or 13, perfect for me). Oh and I’m 1.93m if that influences anything. The Scott was a XL, just for the record. As this is a large chunk out of my savings I would appreciate any advice from you guys, and will act it out with confidence. This is something I would like to do once (again, lol ) and do it well. Thanx Guys and I appreciate your time, Jacques
