Budget conscious newbie buying a Raleigh MTB from Makro

[Baster_Klong]

Lucky for you you came to the right place and asked the right questions, all these guys cant be wrong?

[KarlvN]

I was donated a old DunFlop Steel Frame Full Sus last year August. I weezed my way around the short trail at Koeberg Private Nature reserve a couple times, until finally I was invited to go ride Hillcrest...Well, I pushed that beast up that flippen mountain! And all the way up I was swearing under my breath and vowing to give up MTB'ing forever! I have never been so demoerin for a long time...Then I hit the ST downhill section...Heaven! Sheer and Utter heaven...my virgin experience with singe track and I was sold. Blew the brakes on the way down, cracked the frame and stripped the left crank in its chops. Well that was the end of the Dunflop, but I had the BIGGEST smile on my face you could possibly imagine. That got me to the point of trawling every single website in SA selling anything remotely resembling a MTB until I finally ended up getting the deal of the century on a sweet Bergamont 29er in Somerset West. I have done roughly 900 km thus far, mostly in the Tygerberg Hills area, and I am super amped for it.

 

My advice...Buy a decent bike first time round. Massmart does not know a MTB from a Oven!

[KarlvN]

Or, you could always check out bikelife.co.za for a bit of a finance deal to buy that sweet new steed and all the gear you require once off...

[Rocket-Boy]

Like everyone else has said dont do it.

It will break on the first ride.

Go 2nd hand it make you much happier in the long run.

[Daniel J Méssem]

I think those makro bikes have little stickers that say you shouldn't ride them offroad - so apart from being a horrible ride they are likely pretty dangerous too 

 

my 2c, get a 2nd hard hardtail, very doable for 5k 

 

later on you may decide to go dual sus, by then you will have a better idea of what you want out of the bike too 

[AlanD]

hahaha, reminds me of my first bike bought at Makro, ashamed to admit that:-). The pedal kept falling off despite my best efforts to keep it on, then crank arm gave way, BB broke, the front fork died a miseralbe death and the rims followed suite. Sweari saw them roll past me while riding...hahaha. Don't buy it, waste of moeny. Rather save for something decent and look on the hub here, great bikes up for grabs.

[Imploder]

Like most things in life, there is a sweet spot in terms of spec and the price that you wish to pay. 

R5k will not buy you a good enough experience in my view. Also consider that you will require a proper helmet (one that fits properly and airs well enough to allow air flow to cool you down), basic tools to fix a puncture (tube, tyre levers, pump) and you may wish to get clipless pedals (SPD's) early on to avoid having to learn how to ride with them later, so throw in a pair of shoes as well. 

 

I would suggest that you save up for another month or 2 and try and get your total budget to R10k. Helmet, shoes and one or 2 cycling shorts are also decent christmas pressies to get. 

 

PS: A softer saddle is not necessarily the answer. Good cycling shorts are. 

What he said!!!

[rudi-h]

dude, rather eat dry oats for 6 months before you buy a crap bike.  in my life my bike gets the 3rd biggest budget after a house and a car, because its the one thing in the world that makes me smile the most!

 

if money is tight, shop around for a while and get the best 2nd hand bike that you can afford and double your budget.  In a year from now you would have forgotten that you were out of pocket by an additional R5k, but you'll enjoy your bike for much longer!

 

i'm suffering from post bike purchase broke-ness at the moment.  I haven't been to a restaurant in ages and I'm eating peanutbutter sandwiches for breakfast and lunch, but my weekend rides makes it all worth the while!

[Shebeen]

I know it's none of my business, so you don't need to answer or gives reasons how it came to this. but you're really considering swapping a harley for a makro special raleigh?!?!?!?!?!?

 

i think that is a downgrade only oscar could fathom.

[Khoisan]

Don't worry about the hard saddle, get yourself decent MTB riding shorts as that shammy inside will help for sure. 

 

I ride with a hard saddle which is better and lighter and for mountain riding with single tracks, switch backs etc it's better as the saddle is "smaller" and makes the on / off easier.

 

Look at getting First Ascent or Fox shorts, their shammy's last long!!

 

Oh, and off course, Don't by the makro special, if you pay peanuts you get monkeys!

 

Welcome to the world of MTB !!

[scubes]

My sister bought a Makro special. I warned her not to ha. A week later she returned it and got her money back. Rather buy a used 26er that is a decent bike. That is what I did last year to get into MTBing. This year I bought my new Silverback 29er after using the 26 frame to experiment with and know what I like and need etc.

[Dexter-morgan]

I am pretty budget conscious, believe me you will buy something cheapish, upgrade, upgrade and upgrade, cycling gets under your skin.

[worriesnot]

http://www.junkmail.co.za/sports/cycling/gauteng/pretoria/pretoria-east/raleigh-29er-comp-frs-alooy-mountain-bike-33639835

 

here is a guy (or gal) selling the same bike for R4k - only have 3km on it.

wonder why?

[CraigCCW]

I have to agree with all the opinions, don't buy the Raleigh from Makro.

 

Rather keep checking the classifieds, I had a quick look and there are quite a few decent bikes there.

 

Or spend a bit more on something like the Silverback Sola 4.

 

http://cyclelab.com/bikes/mountain-bikes/silverback-sola-4-29-mountain-bike-black-blue.html

 

Good luck.

[ians H2Sport]

I was donated a old DunFlop Steel Frame Full Sus last year August. I weezed my way around the short trail at Koeberg Private Nature reserve a couple times, until finally I was invited to go ride Hillcrest...Well, I pushed that beast up that flippen mountain! And all the way up I was swearing under my breath and vowing to give up MTB'ing forever! I have never been so demoerin for a long time...Then I hit the ST downhill section...Heaven! Sheer and Utter heaven...my virgin experience with singe track and I was sold. Blew the brakes on the way down, cracked the frame and stripped the left crank in its chops. Well that was the end of the Dunflop, but I had the BIGGEST smile on my face you could possibly imagine. That got me to the point of trawling every single website in SA selling anything remotely resembling a MTB until I finally ended up getting the deal of the century on a sweet Bergamont 29er in Somerset West. I have done roughly 900 km thus far, mostly in the Tygerberg Hills area, and I am super amped for it.

 

My advice...Buy a decent bike first time round. Massmart does not know a MTB from a Oven!

Massmart, like other big format retailers, buy and sell to a price point. They cannot be criticized for not knowing about high end bikes. They sell what their target market wants.

[Daniel J Méssem]

http://www.junkmail.co.za/sports/cycling/gauteng/pretoria/pretoria-east/raleigh-29er-comp-frs-alooy-mountain-bike-33639835

 

here is a guy (or gal) selling the same bike for R4k - only have 3km on it.

wonder why?

 

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

Edited October 22, 2014 by Daniel J Méssem