What was yours?

[Dupi]

Hi Guys,

 

I am pretty new to mountain biking and also very new to the forum. I am in the market for an entry level mountain bike (29er hardtail) and the homework is coming on nicely. I was amazed at the sheer volume of information available and I must admit, also a bit overwhelmed at first. I wasn’t surprised to find that this exact same topic has been doing the rounds over and over again, seeing the volumes of mountain bikes on our roads. For this reason I won’t be asking the usual “best bike for budget?” question, but rather “what was your first entry level bike?”.

 

Information I am most interested in include:

• Bike?
• Cost?
• Overall experience (i.e. would you choose differently if given the chance)?

P.S. By “entry level” I mean not more than R10K.

 

Looking forward to hearing from you.

 

Cheers

Dupi

[Tayyib]

I started on an alloy mongoose super tyax with v-brakes and deore groupset...bought it off a friend for R2500. ...had some big crashes and buckled wheels on it in my first years riding..but I shredded the hell out of it and had some of my best rides ever! It was a jump, xc and downhill bike in my eyes and it held up well to the abuse until I upgraded. ...and I wouldn't have done it any other way!

[GerrieTruter]

I started on a 2005 GT Avalanche 0.5. Truvativ 5-D crank and the rest of the components was LX, if I remember correctly. Alex wheel up front and Syncros at the back. Got it from a friend for R1500. A year later got a bargain to buy a GT Marathon 1.0 and passed the Avalanche on to my brother.

 

Bike was the perfect bike to get into the sport with.  

[popcorn_skollie]

BMX as a laaitie then my first steel rigid MTB in high school, . Man that thing was terrible. Think it was a raleigh. Toptube was so high, standover was impossible. I sprayed it with a blikkie. Styling...

[HOEKVLAG]

I started with a Giant Alias that I bought for R5700. Heavy, with a coil fork but otherwise descent components. Had a lot of fun on it and it is almost bomb proof - my teenage son still uses it at the moment!

[Uni]

Avalanche Diva 2012 Steel frame rigid bike my OH bought for R1700 from complete cyclist in bryanston. Probably the cheapest bike they've ever sold.

 

OH was convinced by "i wanna start mountain biking" wouldn't last 2 weeks but he also didn't want me to go buy a R700 makro special.

 

I didn't know I didn't have a "proper" mountain bike. I rode without shocks. I survived careening down mud trails at magoebaskloof because the v-brakes just couldn't cut it.

 

First time out on a trail i broke the shifters... i wouldn't change that experience though. I rode for a year, then upgraded to what I'm still riding now. Another entry level bike but the first time up a hill with her... what a pleasure.

[T-Bob]

Took a long time to get my first dirt bike Was all about track and road for many years chasing national selection then was recommended a mtb for 'cross training' in the winter as a change from cyclocross and road. Had no idea what I was looking for, was based in London and flicked through the Loot paper and saw this beauty, looked like fun. 

 

Bike: Klien Mantra Comp / entry level? Not so sure but it was may level when I entered the world of dirt.
 

Cost: £250 (bought second hand from an exceedingly dodgy guy in a council estate but still had price tag on and never ridden. Condition was like it has 'walked' out of a show room. Didn't get a receipt.

 

http://lp1.pinkbike.org/p4pb5854883/p4pb5854883.jpg
 

Experience: People literally lost their minds when you turned up at a trail or a jump park with a Klein in killer orange in 98. Took that bike everywhere, UK, Europe back to Aus'. Uphill, down hill, cross country, single track and smashed 2 tons of hell out of it but still it rolled and rolled on. Never had the shocks serviced in the 5 years it was in my quiver and it never missed a beat. Just gave it a hose down, sprayed it with WD40 top to bottom and trued up the wheels it and it was fine! Still in a shed in Thredbo apparently. 

[gummibear]

Bridgestone MB3

 

R700

 

[Long Wheel Base]

My first MTB that I bought was a 2009 GT avalanche 1.0(I bought a GT because that's what Burry was riding back then) that I bought end of 2008 as they where launched. I paid R6000 for it. It had a mix match of deore and truvativ groupset and SR suntour shocks on. It had V-brakes as well. I loved it so much I still have it today and use it for my commuting/training. I have since changed the entire groupset to deore XT and a rock shocks TORA SL fork. Also have a pretty sweet set of ROLF PRIMA RALOS 6 wheels on. I do about 8000km a year on that bike(admittedly most of it is on the road). I have since bought a 29er but only race it.

[Patchelicious]

Fuji Tahoe 1.0 29er MTB - Bought for R10 000 new from Solomons 3 years back, was an incredible bike, XT bits. Only thing I did was convert to tubeless. Bike managed several stage races without a hiccup.

[Guest notmyname]

I had a yellow Peugeot steely rigid in 1990. Not sure what the damage was. It was a birthday pressie and the last bike I got that didn't come out of my hard work.

[Paul Ruinaard]

Not sure its w2hat you wanted but now I am aging myslef

 

• Bike: Kuwahara. It was Rigid - I think it had 7 or 8 speed Shimano on it as well.
  
• Cost: Jeez now that is in the dark mists of time - in 1995 ZAR it was about R 1200 from Westdene Cycles, where all the cool dudes shopped and you could do a deal on anything
  
• Overall experience: I was working in Botswana and this was to try and lose some weight. Rigid on rutted roads was bone shaking and the punctures were legendary. I eventually even tried solid tubes - which lasted all of 20 minutes as I was completely shattered from trying to pedal those. Bike was eventually so modified and changed that it was unrecognisable. Added Fork + V Brakes instead of Canti's (Old Rock Elastomer Fork). Gave it to my nephew who rode it for years and it was finally stolen from his house a couple of years ago in a break in. That bike was solid and just carried on going. The lesson is that steel is real.
  

[Odinson]

Had a bunch of horrid rigid bikes as a laaitie, mostly Raleighs.

 

In 2013 bought a Mongoose Switchback Expert 26er from Sportman's and rode that thing for 9 months till it was falling to pieces. It simply couldn't handle the punishment. After a particularly muddy ride, the fork was stuffed and the drivetrain ground to pieces. All things aside, it was still a fun bike and have a lot of good memories. 

 

Edit: Just read IQ of 2's post, which reminded me of when I was a kid, my dad had a bright spark and installed those foam tubes in my bike. It turned the already crappy bike into an absolute pig. The effort required to get the wheels turning was torture. Looking back now, I should've reported him for child abuse. 

[EmptyB]

Kuwahara and Silverback (about R1800.00)....cant remember anything else

[J∆kk∆ls]

First MTB was a Schwinn MOAB Elite 26"

Cost R7500 from Revolution Cycles in 2010

Great learning bike that took a lot of tumbles down Tokai single track.

 

Now riding a Cotic BFe 26" 1x10 custom build and loving it!

 

Next would love a 29er SS ('Renovo Badash' if funds allow it) 

[Paul Ruinaard]

Oh and whilst we are talking BS and reminiscing what about your first race?

 

So I took said Kuwahara out to the Rockhoppers quarry (which is now Eagle Canyon) on the coldest day of the year in July 1995 (not lying, it snowed in some place that afternoon and i remember it was Wimbledon final cause i sat on the couch all afternoon.) cause a mate suggested we do a race.

 

So of course we do a race not knowing squat nor ever havving raced a bike before.

 

SO we get there and the okes have all got those Produx bikes (With dual suspension and discs - - in 1995) and the like. I have  a pair of padded cycling shorts (yes Lycra) and a Carrera top i purchased at Westdene (and was very proud of).

 

The problem was as follows:

 

- it was cold. Like I said it was snowing in some places. But hey what to do I know. SO i put on all the clothes I had with me - tracksuit pants, windjammer etc, and went to the line like that. I am not sure if I even had a helmet.

Fashion mistake se moer - I was warm. At least for a bit.

 

- I was fat: Lets just say it was in the beginning of my cycling career

 

- I was very unfit: See above - a long ride was 10 km followed by Pizza. And that took 2 hours.

 

So we go off down a hill. Now having some experience in dirt bikes i could descend lekker. So that is what I did.

 

Then the road turned uphill and the okes left me for dead. Literally stone last wearing about 4 layers of clothes and looking like the abominable snowman.

 

I think it was about an 8 km or 12 km lap. Now realise that was at the limit of my fitness. So it was a very long, cold and tiring lap where I pushed all the uphills after about 2 kms. And I had that coppery taste of haemoglobin in my lungs all the time. I think i was hungover as well.

 

I think i finished when the okes were packing up the tables and the fast boys had done 3 laps and loaded their bikes.

 

And I needed the whole day to recover from that and sit on the couch telling war stories about my epic exploits.

 

I am amazed I even carried on