Andrewjw

Personal experience As a first purchase I bought a second hand 26er DS with bottom of the range components and i absolutely loved it. Recently i have bought a 29er HT with better components and love riding just as much as i did on my 26er. You do get alot of bang for your buck on a second hand 26er and that why i purchased it. I am a large guy - 115kg and did not want a bike to fail when i was first starting out. Good luck with the purchase.

I bought the Merida TFS 500 2015 Model - am extremely happy with it!!! Great bike. The chaps at Gecko were extremely helpful.

I had an amazing weekend of riding my bike - did a trail at Haazendal and absolutely loved it!!! Bit of a sore bum this morning but otherwise it was great!!!

Yes i did - Brand new condition - and the seller was extremely helpful! Very Pleasant experience - even dropped off the MTB at my premesis!

Thanks all for the advice, i have now purchase a Silverback Shift and am extremely happy!! Was able to test quite a few differant configurations and decided to go with a DS 26er!! Thanks once again for all the opinions and advice!

Thanks Crash - I have not bought one yet......... Have made my mind up though, and will be going for the 29er HT. If I don't like it then I will sell and go the 26er route.

Thanks!! LOL

Thanks all for the replies! I have been doing the research and have been visiting the LBS - the reason I posted this thread was because I was getting conflicting answers from the sales people and I thought the community would maybe be less bias that the LBS. Anyway - I have decided to keep my eyes glued to the classifieds section- and hopefully something comes up that will suit my requirements. Thanks once again for all the opinions and recommendations.

Hi guys, I need some advise. I am 1.91 (1.92 on a good day) and about 110kg. I am looking for a MTB. Want to cycle at least twice a week and do the odd MTB race. I am a beginner - use to do some cycling 7-8 years ago on a hardtail 26er. Now, for my question - I have a budget of R6000 to R8500 - should i buy a second hand dual suspension 26er or should i buy a very entry level 29er hardtail (second hand or brand new)? I have never riden a 29er or a 26er dual suspension. Is there really a huge differance between the two? Have had conflicting sugestions/recomendations and personally dont really mind having a 26er with better components than an entry level 29er............ please comment. Also would i need to get an XL frame or would a Large suffice? Thanks in advance