Advice needed please

[XPerience]

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

Edited June 3, 2011 by XPerience

[Schnavel]

Firstly, welcome to the hub!

 

Now just a quick question, how old are you? If you are still young my advice would be to go for a hardtail. For the same price (R12 000), you will get a hardtail with better components that will weigh considerably less than a dual suspension, and most likely last longer as there is no rear shock.

 

Furthermore, have you considered buying a second hand bike off the hub? Sometimes you can get a really fantastic deal at a fraction of the price. Both my bikes were bought second hand, and as a result I got a much better deal with fantastic components for a fraction of the price. For example, my hardtail MTB I bought second hand here off the hub set me back R6500 and weighs only 10.8kg! It is still in fantastic condition, and I have had absolutely no problems with it so far!

 

Good luck with finding the correct bike, hope this helps!

[leet22]

Welcome to the hub.

What type of bike will depend on what type of riding you will be/ want to be doing in the future. if you just going to ride on veld paths, single track jeep track etc a good quality hard tail will be good. If you are going to be doing jumps etc then a full suspension will be better, that is not to say you cant do it on a hardtail just a soft tail can be more forgiving.

 

The bob u talk about is when u put pressure on the pedal and the shock absorbs some of the force and compresses and then rebounds. Some shocks have a lock out where it locks the shock and so stops this etc. So shocks are clever and can tell the diffenece on force and bumps ie Pro pedal.

But unless u a real race snake a lot of us live with the little bit of bob some of us get. clip in pedals wont make to much of a differece to normal with it as its the force u use on the pedal.

 

There are pros and cons to both type of bikes, best way is to try a few out if you can to see which one u enjoy

You wont get a firm answer here on the hub.

[Tiny K]

Which LBS (local bike shop) you talk to? Dunno where in the Boland you are, but if in paarl or wellington, try Cornerstone Cycles in main road, nooder paarl area.

 

I am a roadie, so no advice from me re MTB's. Will get me one, one day.

 

If you are young, go HT, your body will absorb the bumps, unless you want to do jumps too (as leet22 said). As to brand, I would reckon they are roughly the same as the price goes up (but I could be wrong).

 

Buy what you like and make sure it is a bike that, if you look at it, makes you want to go ride!

[XPerience]

Thanx for the input guys, I'm at university at the moment so still have that needed spring in me

 

I would like to buy the bike new as I'm too bike-dumb to spot any flaws in a 2nd hand one. Will probably buy something I shouldn't have.

 

So for now I'm torn between these 2:

 

http://products.scott-sports.com/217984/2000/217984.jpg

 

Quite impressive in real-life I must say

 

&

 

http://www.giant-bicycles.com/_generated/_generated_za/bikes/models/images/550/2011/Trance_X_4_wht_red.jpg

 

Will sleep over it.

 

Thanx again for the input guys, appreciate it!

Jacques