Newbie shopping for a bargin

[Paulfromfourways]

Hi Guys,

 

I am a newbie (ride dirt bikes) but now I want to get peddling.

 

I am looking for a hardtail 29er large frame, hydraulic breaks and forks.

 

I have been hunting the Facebook market place, bikehub and cycle lab's site amd can't seem to find anything in my budget.

 

I have a strict budget of about 4k on the bike and another 1k for helmet, pump and maybe a rack for my polo.

 

My question is am I being unreasonable with my budget? I have seen cycle lad has sold Scotts, dimondbacks and merida for well under 4k with all those features but for the last 3 weeks I haven't come close.

 

If you have a old hardtail lying around I would be more than happy to take or off your hands.

 

Thanks

[RomP]

Was in the same boat as you early this year.  You will not find anything decent for the money you want to spend especially coming from a dirt bike background. Maybe an old 26r, but then its going to take at least another 2-4K to get it running well. Good helmet way over R1k already. The bikes you may have seen under R4k will have cheap components, groupsets and wheels...don't waste your money on that, but all depends on the type of person you are...some buy junk and ride it till the wheels come off and buy another piece of c@#p and so it goes, others buy good stuff and enjoy the technology..... Coming from dirtbikes ourselves, you may not take well to a HT..

Also are you wanting to do XC and get very fit, then you need a super light HT with all the bells and whistles or more trails type riding ( like with the dirtbikes) + a bit jumping etc...then you need a Dual sus. You will get many different opinions here as there are many different people riding different disciplines. My advice, first decide what sort of riding you want to do, then think about a budget.

You will get good advice on this forum..many guys here that will great give advice...also go read through old posts here...,many beginners / noobs have asked the same questions before.

Edited September 10, 2020 by RomP

[Paulfromfourways]

Thanks for the advice. I am definitely not a top.of the range kind if guy unfortunately my budget does not allow it. I guess I am after the best value for money no thrills options. I have been chasing down a few titans on at 6500/7000 but I would like to be all in by 7k and with a bike that will hold it's vaule.

 

I road a few 26er and I much prefer the 29ers.

 

I will mainly be do doing XC, touring jeep trails and single tracks.

 

Suggestions on brands and models to watch out for would be greatly appreciated

[ChrisF]

Lockdown has resulted in MANY taking up cycling.

 

This happened all over the world.

 

New bikes are sold out ...

 

Old bikes have been serviced and put back in use ....

 

 

Couple of threads on the Hub about how 2nd hand prices have shot up !!

 

Nee bikes are coming in at the weak exchange rate ... add supply and demand .... same bikes are now costing a lot more than in February ....

 

 

Only time will tell how long this will last ... once people go back to gym, in the pre lockdown numberz, we may see a reset to realistic 2nd hand prices .... then again, at the current new prices people may not upgrade as readily ....