Guest Omega Man Posted August 16, 2011 Share Ok cool, thanks I didnt know that. Pity Merida doesnt make them. Ok, cant be brand loyal, must just go with the best rig I can afford. Question: When entering PPA mountain biking events, are DH bikes allowed? Im not really sure on the rules or the type of the terrain the guys race on. Reason being, by next year this time I want to be entering in mountain biking events. PPA? There's a provincial series run by Chris Nixon in the cape. There's generally 5 or so races a year. PPA don't run any downhill races as far as I know. Our races are generally held over a weekend. Saturday is a practice day. You get taken up in a truck or bakkie and ride down the track as many times as you can manage. Then Sunday is race day. You get set off at 1 minute intervals and you race against the clock. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Soggy Posted August 16, 2011 Share Thanks very much for the info. That does change the type of bike I am gonna ride. I dont think I will be doing hectic jumps, but I do want a bike with some good travel, and sturdy. as I am a bit on the heavy side (96Kg fit). Cool, so it looks like a dual suspension mountie is more for my need than a DH bike. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
nigelhicks Posted August 16, 2011 Share Thanks very much for the info. That does change the type of bike I am gonna ride. I dont think I will be doing hectic jumps, but I do want a bike with some good travel, and sturdy. as I am a bit on the heavy side (96Kg fit). Cool, so it looks like a dual suspension mountie is more for my need than a DH bike. YEAH!!! Dude look for ... and ask for ... an ALL MOUNTAIN full suspension bike ... something with 5 to 6 inches of travel front and back! In Merida you will be looking at the One-Twenty series ... they have 120mm of travel (5 inches) http://www.factorydirectbikes.com/images/merida/2011/o-2579-MERIDA_ONE-TWENTY-800-D_2011_MOUNTAIN_BIKE.jpgthe merida One-Twenty 800D - minimum I'd say go for!! http://www.ride.net.au/uploaded/252/13100488_51one_twenty_1500_d_2011_.jpgthe Merida One-Twenty 1500D - This is a good bike - good spec ... (not sure on price though) Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Soggy Posted August 16, 2011 Share Awesome stuff!! My buddy has a one-twenty and that is one amazing piece of machinery!! Pity it just collects dust at his place and he says he will never sell it. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
FC&P2C Posted August 16, 2011 Share You can buy a complete dual suspension for less than the groupset and fork bought seperately. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
tunariaan Posted August 16, 2011 Share whats the price +- on these 2 merida bikes? Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
LazyTrailRider Posted August 16, 2011 Share Soggy, two points: 1) As has been quite correctly said, building up is generally quite a bit more expensive. My brother's building up a DH bike (with a 2nd-hand frame) at a total cost of R24k with the same components that one would get on a R16k complete 2nd-hand bike. 2) You'll definitely be better off with an AM bike than a DH one. My 5.5 incher is generally fine to ride most DH tracks at mild speed, only the really gnarly stuff puts it out of its depth. The cool thing though is that I can ride up, across, to/from home, and very comfortably ride/race the odd weekend XC/marathon event on it as well by just upping the pressure in the rear shock and cranking the fork down from 140 to 110mm travel. Not possible or fun on a DH bike! Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
jimmy hardtail Posted August 16, 2011 Share How much mtb riding have you done? If none then get a cheap hardtail bike for a few grand off gumtree or where ever and go ride for a month or two. Then sell it for what you paid for it and get a full suspension bike. I see so many people who cant ride properly because they started out with 5 or 6 inches of travel and let the bike do all the work. Never learned how to be smooth on a bike. Yes nick i mean you! Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Soggy Posted August 16, 2011 Share How much mtb riding have you done? If none then get a cheap hardtail bike for a few grand off gumtree or where ever and go ride for a month or two. Then sell it for what you paid for it and get a full suspension bike. I see so many people who cant ride properly because they started out with 5 or 6 inches of travel and let the bike do all the work. Never learned how to be smooth on a bike. Yes nick i mean you! Very good advise there! I am quite new to heavy mountain biking. I have a cheapie hardtail Giant that I am currently learning on, but it its a bit tricky learning dynamics of only having a front shock coming off a hard road bike. I think I should continue saving and get as much practice as I can on the cheapie hard tail. I have to use my body much much more on the MTB than the roadie. Being smooth is very important for me as well. I instill the same advise to my buddies who ride motorbikes with me. Riding is not about being fast but about being smooth as well. Edited August 16, 2011 by Soggy Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Guest Omega Man Posted August 16, 2011 Share I see so many people who cant ride properly because they started out with 5 or 6 inches of travel and let the bike do all the work. What about someone who went out and bought an 8 inch DH bike straight away? Edited August 16, 2011 by Omega Man Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
RiderX Posted August 16, 2011 Share I also would like to build up a bike one day but unfortunately like the others say its much more pricey than buying a new bike as a whole, unless you already own the key components like wheels, shock, fork etc and only need to buy a few stuff extra. If you buy a new bike the moment you roll the bike out of the shop the bike loses about 30% of its value, if you buy a bike second hand you wont have that sudden drop in value since nobody cares if a bike is 2nd /3rd or 4th hand only whether its been previously used or not. Problem with second hand though is you prob wont know what the previous guy did with the bike and serious issues with the bike might only become apparent after a couple of weeks of riding. Maybe an idea is to ask the second hand seller whether its possible to have the bike checked over by a bike shop, you can share the cost of that service, which should be minimal compared to the possible loss of buying something that might have huge expensive problems later on. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Soggy Posted August 16, 2011 Share I also would like to build up a bike one day but unfortunately like the others say its much more pricey than buying a new bike as a whole, unless you already own the key components like wheels, shock, fork etc and only need to buy a few stuff extra. If you buy a new bike the moment you roll the bike out of the shop the bike loses about 30% of its value, if you buy a bike second hand you wont have that sudden drop in value since nobody cares if a bike is 2nd /3rd or 4th hand only whether its been previously used or not. Problem with second hand though is you prob wont know what the previous guy did with the bike and serious issues with the bike might only become apparent after a couple of weeks of riding. Maybe an idea is to ask the second hand seller whether its possible to have the bike checked over by a bike shop, you can share the cost of that service, which should be minimal compared to the possible loss of buying something that might have huge expensive problems later on. Thanks very much for this! Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
The Drongo Posted August 16, 2011 Share What would the technical guys recommend over here? Build up a bike or buy a complete one? I'm quite handy when it comes to building bikes and have been doing so all my childhood (cheap BMX and very cheap mountain bikes). When it comes to price and components would it be better off to build one or buy a good used one? Any advise? I am looking for a future downhill bike, either buy or build up? Soggy. It is great fun, teaches you a lot, one of the pluses being that you will know your bike inside out.... However, even with purchasing your frame (source unknown) components new from, say CRC, you are going to end up paying far more for your build than buying a complete bike (in most instances). Knowing what you are looking for, and buying 'used' equipment from, say The Hub, you may be able to do it within a decent budget. Don't be tempted to pay 'new' prices for parts here though. Remember they come with little to no warranties etc, so even if hardly used max 60% of new. Enjoy. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
patches Posted August 16, 2011 Share All 3 of the bikes I've had (not counting bikes that were bought for me as a kid), I bought 2nd hand complete, and then upgraded certain parts with brand new ones I wanted. Probably not the cheapest option, but that way you'll have a bike to ride, and spend money on upgrading only the things you think will really make a difference. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
scotty Posted August 16, 2011 Share I looked at the option of bike build a few months back and the best i could find was around R8500 for a bike kit and that excluded frame, shock, headset and seat post. I had some of the parts including the frame already but for the same amount i could get a new decent specced HT bike. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Chubba Posted August 16, 2011 Share Building up a bike costs more than buying a new one. If you build it up with all new parts. I reckon buy a second hand bike and then swap out the parts that you want to upgrade. I have been doing that for years and now have so many old parts that i can buy a frame and build it up from spares. Then upgrade as cash allows. At least i always have a bike to rideI don’t agree with this. I have managed to nearly finish building a full sus bike, with all new good range kit, that will come out R10k cheaper then a bike of the same level, new. The key is to find a good frame at a great deal and take your time buying the rest of the parts using thehub, ebay, cwcycles and chainreaction. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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