Best mountain/trail bike for 165cm lady, 80kg, with back issues

[Robyn Eshelby-Theart]

Hi guys,

 

I'm new here. Cycled to school as a kid but not much since, but now my kiddo (7) is cycling to school and I'm cycling with her.

 

We live near Fourways, Johannesburg.

 

The thing is - I have some back issues. I have 2 prosthetic discs in my neck and at the end of September I'll have another in my lumbar spine.

 

I'm a little chonky for my height but the problem is that, well, my back hurts - a LOT - and it makes even low-impact exercise pretty tough to maintain. Used to be very active and sporty but now I'm cuddly and enjoy pizza.  

 

I currently have a cheap-as-chips Totem bike with suspension. But it's steadily heading down the hill in terms of reliability. Brakes are poked, gearing is going, rim is bent, and honestly it weighs a damn ton.

 

I'm therefore in the market for a new bike that is lightweight - has dual suspension - will stand up to a bit of trail (we live on dirt roads and it's 5-10km a day).

 

I had a look at the Rockrider ST540 (Decathlon) online and it seems like decent bang for buck.

 

My budget is definitely not more than R11k and honestly I'd like to spend less as I realistically don't know if I will be able to maintain the cycling, even with a bike that suits my needs on paper. 

 

Perhaps you guys can recommend a second-hand bike that will serve my purpose?

 

Thank you so much for your input. 

[nox1111]

OK, here's where I am left confused. You say that you want dual suspension, yet your reference bike - the Rockrider is a hardtail.  With your back, I would guess FS is best, and a proper set up would be worth its weight in gold - since it will help with back issues.

Also your budget is max R11k and I understand budgets, so max is max, it is just at R11k and full suspension, secondhand your only real option is either 26" or older 27'5 / 29 bikes.  With that comes servicing and part replacement, which quickly adds up.  Understand that R11k - albeit a solid chunk of money, does not go far in bicycling terms.

That being said, there's normally plenty of serviceable machines out there, and most times, you can make a realistic offer to the seller.

I assume you are on the fence between small and medium in terms of bike size based on your height?

Size Small may be your best bet - as often these are difficult to resell, so you get nicer bikes for the same price as something like a med or large that has a wider audience.

 

Here's some that you can look at - maybe save a bit on the buying price, and spend on upgrades and maintenance.

 

https://bikehub.co.za/classifieds/item/hardtail-mountain-bikes/569144/gt-avalanche-comp-shimano-deore-air-fork

https://bikehub.co.za/classifieds/item/hardtail-mountain-bikes/518456/silverback-stride-expert-m-1x12-airfork

https://bikehub.co.za/classifieds/item/hardtail-mountain-bikes/573614/giant-liv-29er-tubeless-like-new

https://bikehub.co.za/classifieds/item/dual-suspension-bikes/573649/volcan-fs-pro-26-full-carbon

https://bikehub.co.za/classifieds/item/hardtail-mountain-bikes/573559/29er-medium-gt-karakoram-comp-mtb-air-fork

https://bikehub.co.za/classifieds/item/dual-suspension-bikes/563794/giant-trance-x

https://bikehub.co.za/classifieds/item/dual-suspension-bikes/572436/giant-trance-x3-soft-tail

https://bikehub.co.za/classifieds/item/dual-suspension-bikes/570405/commencal-meta-55

 

 

 

 

 

 

[Robyn Eshelby-Theart]

Hey @nox1111,

 

Thank you so much for taking the time to reply to my post. I really appreciate your a) time and b) experience. It gave me a lot to chew over!

 

I spent a few days trying out various bikes at various places. I tried full suspension, hardtail, no suspension, etc.

 

The Rockrider I referenced does have full suspension. As it happened I felt awkward and off balance and it was a definite no. I tried a couple of Giants and Avalanches as well, and a Trek. None of them ended up being "my bike". 

 

I was really quite surprised when I got onto a BTwin RS700 hybrid and lo and behold it was instantly "my bike". I picked it up yesterday morning and rode it properly for the first time today. Rode with my kiddo to school and then ended up taking a much longer route hope, trying the bike over different terrain. When I got home I wanted to carry on riding and today I'll fetch her from school on the bike as well (I normally drive behind her). We'll be hitting up NF this weekend. I LOVE my bike. I'll be getting a suspension seat post because that is where my back is most affected and I definitely won't be doing hardcore MTB. 

 

Based on your reply I started looking for a new bike for SWAMBO and tomorrow I should be picking up a lightly-used Avalanche bike for her. She's coming from a literally cheapest-ever Gotcha bike so really anything will be an improvement for occasional use. 

 

❓I wonder if you guys can confirm if this is an original Avalanche bike - the Reflex 3.0 sticker at the front doesn't seem to match the other pics I can find online, so I'd just like to double check. I haven't seen the bike yet but the people seem decent and the bike appears as advertised (used twice, basically new), in photos at least. 

 

Thank you!

 

(And I added a pic of my own bike this morning because it's cute - and I have raised the mudguard since the pic  )

Edited August 4, 2022 by Robyn Eshelby-Theart