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Budget conscious newbie buying a Raleigh MTB from Makro


BLADE_RSA

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That's a nicely specced bike for that price !

Agreed, very nicely specced, alos looks like it has been looked after.

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Thanks guys (and gals?)

 

Really appreciate the advice and I think I will take it. If only that red and black Merida listed was a medium frame!

 

Damn! I'm such a sucker for red and black in general it's not even funny. Secretly it is probably also what made me reconsider the Makro bike :)

 

Back to the drawing board I suppose :)

 

Oh and for those who wondered about me going from riding a Harley to now needing to consider Makro specials and tightening my belt, THAT'S NONE OF YOUR BUSINESS!!

 

 

 

Relax I'm just kidding, but it is kind of a long story which involves me getting retrenched a year ago and needing to sell my bike.

 

Coincidentally around the same time, my cousin had a major prang on his ninja 600 and sustained what is called a "diffuse brain injury" which pretty much left him mentally disabled for life at 35 years old so selling seemed like a really good idea at the time.

 

Then the buyer of my HD business went phut which has left me still paying off a bike I don't have anymore.

 

Why put it up with that BS you might ask? Well, cos the buyer is my dad and it was my way of helping him out of a pinch without being able to give him hard cash.

 

It's been a tough run I suppose but such is life's bumps, you beat some and other's "wys jou waar David die wortels begrawe het" - I've learnt that it's getting back on the saddle again afterwards that counts.

 

I've been blessed with a well paying job in a much better environment subsequently but monthly bills and debt repayments a bit of a drain on the finances - thus the current dilema.

 

Sorry if all of that is overshare but who knows? Maybe a hubber feels sorry for me a donates me a 2nd Hand, Red and Black 650B, "proper" hardtail bike if they feel sorry enough for me :D - you never know - jk

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Sportsman's warehouse has a titan 29" rims hardtail for R4,800 with disc brakes, something to consider.

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Don't do it.

It's guaranteed that:

* after hitting a couple rocks your saddle will point up in the air - poking you in the bum.

* a peddle will strip from the crank arm and fall out.  

* Some bolt will come loose and the brake lever will swing into your front wheel sending you over the handle bars.

Nothing sucks more than having to hike 7km back to your car with a broken bike.  If you drove with your friends - then you'll end up waiting for them while they enjoy their ride on their decent bikes.

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Sportsman's warehouse has a titan 29" rims hardtail for R4,800 with disc brakes, something to consider.

 

Noooh!

 

Djy willie hoor rie - moenie!!

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Do it! U sold the Harley and don't have 5k to get a 2nd hand bike....sell ur riding jacket that a couple of k more.

 

Anyway ,just a run down on how pricing works on the hub.

 

Listed 7-9k will accept 4-6k.

9-18k will accept 6-15k

 

Just put in some low ball offers on older adds u will be surprised.

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There, I said it...

 

I've been doing a lot of research and figured it would be interesting to bring my thoughts here to see what the hubbers would say about my findings/opinons on buying my first MTB.

 

My story:

 

I've pretty much decided 100% that I want to take up MTB'ing as a hobby in order to get fit and get back on 2 wheels. I'm taking a sabatical from motorbikes for a few years as a recent family tragedy has left me not wanting to leave my wife and 2 little  girls in the lurch if I have a serious accident on my motorbike. So... Harley Davidson sold and colours and riding gear stowed away in the rafters (sadly).

 

Thing is though, I've been riding (motorbikes) for about 30 years so 2 wheeling is kinda part of my DNA. I figured taking up MTBing would be a good way of keeping the animal at bay and also having some fun with friends whilst getting back into shape - I truly miss my six pack hahaha.

 

So this past weekend I borrowed a bike and did my first trail ride (Rietvlei in brackendowns). We did a "cut-and-paste" mix of the different trails and 11 kilo's or so later I was feeling thoroughly mountain-bike-bug-bitten aleit gasping for breath with my smoker lungs.

 

I've chatted to a number of people and all have done their best to give me good advice. Right in the beginning before I knew anything about this I looked at a dual susser at Makro and was impressed. It looked better than any bicycle I'd ever owned but then I spoke to a dealer who sorta swayed me in the direction of Titan - though it was way above my pretty much non-existant budget.

 

Once I started thinking of dropping more than 5k on a bike then the proverbial thought flood gates opened and I played with a number of options including considering the following brands (all in hardtail of course):

Titan

Silverback

Momsem

Scott

Merida

 

The above would have been new hardtails at a price range of 8 to 14k.

 

Then I saw a second hand Scott Spark for R12k posted for sale here and that got me thinking about buying a 2nd hand bike - plus I had received advice to consider this as an option.

 

Before long I even started considering financing a new "proper" bike, something along the lines of the Scott Spark 710 dual susser.

 

BUT... then I logged on to my bank and reality started sinking in - I honestly cant afford to drop much more than R5k on a bike right now or in the near future - I simply don't have the cash or the credit facilities available right now.

 

One thing I know for sure and that is that the Giant I rode on Sunday was too big for me (large frame) and the seat sure as hell was too hard - I'm still sitting very gingerly and it's been almost 2 whole days (I know, I know TITS,TITS and more TITS :) - but seriously, I'm not too proud to buy a "senior" saddle and even cover that with an additional gel seat cover - this pain is near unbearable man!

 

So then I did some more research and discovered that Raleigh is actually a near 100 year old brand and that they have sold millions of bikes all over the world and that got me thinking again about the bike I saw at Makro.

 

Does the mre fact that it is labelled Raleigh and not Merida or Scott and the fact that it is sold my a Massmart chain instead of a dealer and the fact that it is a dual susser at under R4800 brand new (yes really) automatically have to mean that it will fall apart after 10 rides and that it is utter junk?

 

Considering my budget constraints, I find myself needing to challenge these preconceptions and prove the theory wrong. Also, in my experience, more expensive does not necessarily always mean better in all aspects and it is often more a case of brand loyalty that comes from a good experience on a particular bike (remember, I rode Harley's so I think I'm entitled to that opinion at least :).

 

Don't get me wrong, from what I've seen read and heard, I'm not anti-expensive bike at all and would buy that new Scott Spark in a heartbeat if I had the cash but I simply don't and I don't want to wait until I do either cos I want to get riding ASAP - that is of course, once I can actually sit properly again :)

 

Thanks for reading guys, hope you had a chuckle or 2 along the way. Your well thought out responses that show you can challenge the paradigms of marketing brainwashing would be appreciated but the trolls are welcome to post too :D.

 

Oh, and I promise to post a pic of my new bike (whatever it may end up being) on my couch.

 

Cheers

 

Link for the bike in question: http://www.makro.co.za/sports-and-outdoor/raleigh-29er-sports-frs-alloy-mountain-bike-272037EA

I tell you what! Come ride CWCycles Durbie Dash 54km on my Scott Spark 910 1 x 10 convertion this weekend and then decide if you still wanna buy that Raleigh from Makro. Would like to se your face afterwrads and would like to sit this one out, way to unfit......

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Hey Blade, to get you going I will set you up with some starter kit I have lying in the cupboard. I have a helmet, gloves, bottles, cages and a pair of size 9 shoes and some other bits and pieces for you.....used but still perfectly functional. Let me know if your keen. Spend your full R5k on a bike out of the classifieds.

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looks like the fork is the wrong way around...

 

http://images.junkmail.co.za/images/large_web/2014/1/30/1391081558828796943Pretoria-20131117-00492%20(Copy).jpg

 

hahhahahaha epic, that fork is the wrong way around 

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hahhahahaha epic, that fork is the wrong way around 

 

The whole "thing" looks the wrong way round!!

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