New to MTB

[igg]

You might not want to pay, but other people, particularly newer cyclists and those who just can't be bothered will still pay for services (necessary or not) because someone told them they need to do it every X number of KM or months. At the end of the day, the price behind a service is more about the labour and the time rather than the actual work done.

 

Since educating myself, I've personally switched to doing my own maintenance, hence my costs regarding consumables such as grease, oil, brake fluid, etc., because I didn't have any of these things. Now that I do, I definitely see my expenses dropping from hereon, but I can't see them ever going below R100pm once I average out the cost of all the components over time.

[Guest notmyname]

Start with a proper budget. Then add 20% onto that and look for what you can get for your money. It is about money ???? to start off with. Once you know what you are doing you will also realize that there is no such thing as a budget in cycling. It is a dirty deep hole where every single cent you earn goes!

These wise words. However, the joy the bottomless pit provides is not easily rivaled.

[Big Ray]

Hey Judd,

 

Always great to hear more people are riding.

 

My advice is fairly simple.

 

Buy cheap second hand, ride every chance you get, see if you like it, if you love it like most who try it, by then you'll know every answer to the questions you've asked and you'll buy your weapon of "your" choice to get to the next level.

 

Enjoy the journey, it's part of the fun.

[Riamich]

In sort of same predicament as OP but budgets differ (sorry to hijack). Trying to convince the Mrs I have to prepare a feasibility study and proper vase study to be in a position to acquire a MTB.

Let's start with budget Max R50000 which excl shoes pedals and gear.

I'm a roadie so I know only what is in theory of owning a MTB. Groupsets I hear of XT Deore and the works which if I have to compare to road grouppo ito Ultegra Dura ace 105 how does that fit in.

As well as sizing I know that when I read up is different to road bike set up I'm riding a medium 54cm road height 1.78 but will do proper sizing and set up once I know or have an idea what to get.

I hear a lot that maintenance on MTB are fat more expensive then roadbikes. A buddy of mine who works at LBS they do specialized and tells me about servicing of Spez is expensive.

Brand I'm looking at Scott, Specialized and Cannondale.

 

Your input is valuable

[Riamich]

In sort of same predicament as OP but budgets differ (sorry to hijack). Trying to convince the Mrs I have to prepare a feasibility study and proper vase study to be in a position to acquire a MTB.

Let's start with budget Max R50000 which excl shoes pedals and gear.

I'm a roadie so I know only what is in theory of owning a MTB. Groupsets I hear of XT Deore and the works which if I have to compare to road grouppo ito Ultegra Dura ace 105 how does that fit in.

As well as sizing I know that when I read up is different to road bike set up I'm riding a medium 54cm road height 1.78 but will do proper sizing and set up once I know or have an idea what to get.

I hear a lot that maintenance on MTB are fat more expensive then roadbikes. A buddy of mine who works at LBS they do specialized and tells me about servicing of Spez is expensive.

Brand I'm looking at Scott, Specialized and Cannondale.

 

Your input is valuable

[Paul Ruinaard]

In sort of same predicament as OP but budgets differ (sorry to hijack). Trying to convince the Mrs I have to prepare a feasibility study and proper vase study to be in a position to acquire a MTB.

Let's start with budget Max R50000 which excl shoes pedals and gear.

I'm a roadie so I know only what is in theory of owning a MTB. Groupsets I hear of XT Deore and the works which if I have to compare to road grouppo ito Ultegra Dura ace 105 how does that fit in.

As well as sizing I know that when I read up is different to road bike set up I'm riding a medium 54cm road height 1.78 but will do proper sizing and set up once I know or have an idea what to get.

I hear a lot that maintenance on MTB are fat more expensive then roadbikes. A buddy of mine who works at LBS they do specialized and tells me about servicing of Spez is expensive.

Brand I'm looking at Scott, Specialized and Cannondale.

 

Your input is valuable

Read down the posts - there is a lot of valuable advice.

 

The difference is whether you are a competitive rider or a weekend warrior who wants to do 30 to 40km on an MTB. If you are the latter and dont see this thing getting too big in your life then start small. If you are a normally competitive guy who likes road racing and want to see if MTB will fit, then this will be an expensive exercise in the longer term.

 

MTB's are much more expensive that road as they go through so much more and are treated so much harsher.

 

Hardtail vs FS is determined by 1.) your budget (I assume you meant R 5k and not R50k) and b.) how young and supple and fit you are.

 

Get a hardtail to start if you are young and can handle the ride being a bit harsher and are more competitive.  If you do have R 50 000 as you said above then its a totally different discussion (But i assume that was a typo)

 

Other questions you need to answer WRT maintenance are really whether you are competent to do it yourself and have got the time, skills and patience to service bikes. Me, i have the skills and the tools but not enough time so i send it out to the shops for most of the things. Otherwise MTB's are very simple to fix and a couple of basic tools and techniques lead to you being skilled to fix most things.

 

At a base level all of them are the same (cheaper MTB's that is). Group sets, components and cranks vary. And wheels.

 

For Shimano,  the SLX groupo is basically the trickle down XT from last year. So its always getting new features (10speed vs 11 speed)

 

XTR is the equivalent of Dura Ace, read made from unobtanium cause it costs all the money in the universe to repair it and is often proprietary. XT= Ultergra, SLX=105.

 

SLX is excellent value for money and great technology. I have it all over my bike, and yes you can mix and match pieces but not 10speed/11 speed without some pretty crazy caveats.

[Riamich]

Thanks for the valuable info. Much appreciated. I prefer more road then MTB the reason for getting a mtb is merely that there are more MTB events around my area then Road.

and no its no typo Budget is R50K.

 

Will do a little more research etc.

I don't wanna break the bank let alone sleep on the couch if maintenance cost are gonna be high.

 

Read down the posts - there is a lot of valuable advice.

 

The difference is whether you are a competitive rider or a weekend warrior who wants to do 30 to 40km on an MTB. If you are the latter and dont see this thing getting too big in your life then start small. If you are a normally competitive guy who likes road racing and want to see if MTB will fit, then this will be an expensive exercise in the longer term.

 

MTB's are much more expensive that road as they go through so much more and are treated so much harsher.

 

Hardtail vs FS is determined by 1.) your budget (I assume you meant R 5k and not R50k) and b.) how young and supple and fit you are.

 

Get a hardtail to start if you are young and can handle the ride being a bit harsher and are more competitive. If you do have R 50 000 as you said above then its a totally different discussion (But i assume that was a typo)

 

Other questions you need to answer WRT maintenance are really whether you are competent to do it yourself and have got the time, skills and patience to service bikes. Me, i have the skills and the tools but not enough time so i send it out to the shops for most of the things. Otherwise MTB's are very simple to fix and a couple of basic tools and techniques lead to you being skilled to fix most things.

 

At a base level all of them are the same (cheaper MTB's that is). Group sets, components and cranks vary. And wheels.

 

For Shimano, the SLX groupo is basically the trickle down XT from last year. So its always getting new features (10speed vs 11 speed)

 

XTR is the equivalent of Dura Ace, read made from unobtanium cause it costs all the money in the universe to repair it and is often proprietary. XT= Ultergra, SLX=105.

 

SLX is excellent value for money and great technology. I have it all over my bike, and yes you can mix and match pieces but not 10speed/11 speed without some pretty crazy caveats.

[feetup]

https://www.bikehub.co.za/classifieds/135006-giant-revel-0/

 

Get into the sport before blowing 15k.

It is not for everyone(5% of the world do not mtb )

When you fall in love with the ball breaking climbs you will get the bucks somewhere and upgrade to exactly what floats your boat.

[BenGraham]

Wish I had 50K to try out a sport. You're a luckier man than I Riamich. Buy yourself a Pyga. they're wicked hot and proudly South African.