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Good day everyone. I hope all is well! I’m a woman in her late 20’s looking to get into cycling and was hoping I could ask for some advice on which mountain bike would be the best for me? I’m 160cm tall, and my budget is around R3,5k to R5k. I’m also happy (would probably prefer it) to go the 2nd hand route and have been browsing Facebook marketplace, but unfortunately with no knowledge in this area, I have no idea what to look for nor what is a good/bad fit for me. All the different wheel and bike sizes, and different brands have me totally flabbergasted. 😅 I would truly be grateful for any advice you guys could give an ignorant newb. 😁 Thanks so much in advance! Melissa

Hey everyone! I'm a fairly active woman, in my mid-twenties (1.68 m tall) looking for a mtb within a budget of approximately 3.5 to 4.8k. I just had my entry-level Raleigh nomad 90 26" bike stolen. So, looking to slightly upgrade from this. My aim is to find something that is budget-friendly as well as won't need replacing within a year or two at least. I would potentially like to enter races in the future, I used to run 5 and 10k races (with the intention to do longer ones) but recently stopped due to achilles injuries. I have heard that road bikes tend to be more difficult to ride for beginners. I live in Somerset West so would be riding around here and possibly to Stellenbosch. I found a few second-hand bikes which I will list below: -GT Karakoram 3.0 29" wheels, 3x9 groupset, medium frame. Hydraulic disc brakes. Grossmark 11 alexrims MD19 tyres. Shimano Alvio gear set. rear derailleur. Shimano Acera crankset. for 5.5k (a bit out of my budget). -GT Karakoram medium frame with deore xt components. Magura brake levers. 29-inch new Hornet tubeless tyres (ridden twice). New saddle. Just had a service. Spare saddle and cycle clothing included. At 4.9k. https://www.facebook.com/marketplace/item/551320800270968/?ref=search&referral_code=null&referral_story_type=post -Titan Racing Calypso Cruz 650b medium frame 27.5-inch wheels. tubeless Vittore tyres. Hydraulic disc brakes. Shimano Altus rear derailleur.. All Shimano components for 6.5k. https://www.facebook.com/marketplace/item/713574107217115/?ref=search&referral_code=null&referral_story_type=post Titan Calypso 27.5" tyres. Unsure of sizing, https://www.facebook.com/marketplace/item/572736628032405/?ref=search&referral_code=null&referral_story_type=post -Titan Racing Rogue SE second hand for 5.5k. Ad did not include specs but the bike is apparently close to brand new, have added a link to the official site for specs here https://titanracingbikes.com/bikes/rogue-se/ -Merida 1: https://www.facebook.com/marketplace/item/213050991346228/?ref=search&referral_code=null&referral_story_type=post 2: https://www.facebook.com/marketplace/item/1305792310280194/?ref=search&referral_code=null&referral_story_type=post What would be the best bang for my buck out of the above? Or alternatively any other recommendations in this range? Any advice would be greatly appreciated Updated: links Thanks in advance.