Trek 4500 vs Avalanche Reflex 29" 3 vs ROOK SHIFT 8 SPEED

[Overlay5146]

Hey Bike Hub People

I need advice on these three bikes. I liked riding bikes as a kid and I want to get back into it but i don't know what to look for. I don't know if I want to take this serious as a sport yet but i also don't want to buy trash or end up over paying for something. I'm looking for a good decent bike that if I want to get serious It wont take much to get it to a competitive place

I came across a Trek 4500 for R4000 but its second hand but refurbish. A new Avalanche Reflex 29" 3 on special for like R800 more or should I save a bit more and go for the rook. Or are all 3 not what I'm looking for

Edited December 21, 2023 by Overlay5146

[RobertWhitehead]

I wouldn't go for any of the above mentioned, I won't go into too much detail but I will list one disadvantage for each: 

Trek - 26er

Avalanche - straight steerer 

Rook - is more of a commuter bike

[Overlay5146]

27 minutes ago, RobertWhitehead said:

I wouldn't go for any of the above mentioned, I won't go into too much detail but I will list one disadvantage for each: 

Trek - 26er

Avalanche - straight steerer 

Rook - is more of a commuter bike

Any bikes or brands that I should check out

[RobertWhitehead]

Brands aren't too important, size will be quite important and actually liking your bike is also quite key 

[RobynE]

Had the same Avalanche last year - nope - not if you want to enjoy your return to biking. Horrible gears and brakes and so heavy too. And not worth upgrading components on it.  
 

If you could get yourself to between 6 and 8k you’ll pick up something like a Signal 1x (one-by, meaning a single chain ring up front, much less complicated gearing) S930 model which is a decent bike for the price and will definitely set you off on the right track. We have one and it’s really not bad for a reintroduction to cycling. A bit heavy but everything works and when I used it the other day to bang around the red trail at Northern Farm it didn’t let me down. It’s not my carbon fibre Giant, but it gets the job done and will bring you home. 
 

Stretch your budget a bit further and you’d possibly pick up a Titan Racing 1x or a Norco. 
 

Something heavy with multiple chain rings is going to put you off pretty quickly. Even if you’re comfortable with shifting front and back the tech is mostly very old and clumsy and you’ll be tweaking and fiddling and it will be irritating. Better drivetrains have better resilience and ease of use (something as simple as the setup’s ability to shed muck and sand etc and not retain gloop) but on the Signal for example the LTwoo isn’t bad for the price. Needing to constantly fiddle with a bike just to ride around the block is super annoying unless you enjoy that kind of thing (I do not). 
 

As Robert says, the size of the bike is probably the first consideration. But bikes do ride a little differently between manufacturers, so if you’re a Medium in one you may be a Small in another based on the geometry of the bike and your comfort levels. 
 

And you want a 29”. Don’t bother with 26”. You’ll halve your “investment” when you try sell it and it’s getting increasingly difficult to find good quality 26” components that haven’t been yanked through a bush backwards. Maintaining a 26” in race-ready condition is basically setting money on fire. 
 

Finally - a bike fit is great to ensure you’re positioned as best you can be. You won’t always have to do a fit but do one and listen and learn. It totally changed my approach to cycling and I’m super thankful I did it. 
 

Above written as someone who re-entered this realm at 41 years old, 2 years back, having last ridden a bike in high school. 
 

PS Robert can build you a bike. I talk about my Giant like it’s fancy and expensive - it wasn’t - Robert just built me a really cool bike for the money I paid and I couldn’t be happier with it almost one year down the line of having it (and bonus is it weighs less than 10kg). 

[Overlay5146]

3 hours ago, RobynE said:

Had the same Avalanche last year - nope - not if you want to enjoy your return to biking. Horrible gears and brakes and so heavy too. And not worth upgrading components on it.  
 

If you could get yourself to between 6 and 8k you’ll pick up something like a Signal 1x (one-by, meaning a single chain ring up front, much less complicated gearing) S930 model which is a decent bike for the price and will definitely set you off on the right track. We have one and it’s really not bad for a reintroduction to cycling. A bit heavy but everything works and when I used it the other day to bang around the red trail at Northern Farm it didn’t let me down. It’s not my carbon fibre Giant, but it gets the job done and will bring you home. 
 

Stretch your budget a bit further and you’d possibly pick up a Titan Racing 1x or a Norco. 
 

Something heavy with multiple chain rings is going to put you off pretty quickly. Even if you’re comfortable with shifting front and back the tech is mostly very old and clumsy and you’ll be tweaking and fiddling and it will be irritating. Better drivetrains have better resilience and ease of use (something as simple as the setup’s ability to shed muck and sand etc and not retain gloop) but on the Signal for example the LTwoo isn’t bad for the price. Needing to constantly fiddle with a bike just to ride around the block is super annoying unless you enjoy that kind of thing (I do not). 
 

As Robert says, the size of the bike is probably the first consideration. But bikes do ride a little differently between manufacturers, so if you’re a Medium in one you may be a Small in another based on the geometry of the bike and your comfort levels. 
 

And you want a 29”. Don’t bother with 26”. You’ll halve your “investment” when you try sell it and it’s getting increasingly difficult to find good quality 26” components that haven’t been yanked through a bush backwards. Maintaining a 26” in race-ready condition is basically setting money on fire. 
 

Finally - a bike fit is great to ensure you’re positioned as best you can be. You won’t always have to do a fit but do one and listen and learn. It totally changed my approach to cycling and I’m super thankful I did it. 
 

Above written as someone who re-entered this realm at 41 years old, 2 years back, having last ridden a bike in high school. 
 

PS Robert can build you a bike. I talk about my Giant like it’s fancy and expensive - it wasn’t - Robert just built me a really cool bike for the money I paid and I couldn’t be happier with it almost one year down the line of having it (and bonus is it weighs less than 10kg). 

Thank you so much Robyn. You really gave me alot to look into. There is so much detail in this and I will check out those bikes you mentions. I thought that 26 would be cheaper but from what you saying there is no point and they on their way out. The multiple chain rings I didn't really think about but now that you point it old constantly shifting around trying to find the right gear does not sound fun The world of cycling is much deeper then I thought it was.

[V18]

If commuting and gravel is your thing, rook as a brand is hard to beat. They're also quite pleasant to deal with. 

Otherwise post your location, height, inseam and intended use here and many of us will scour through the local classifieds and revert to this page for you. 

[RobynE]

1 hour ago, Overlay5146 said:

 

Sure thing. I felt very overwhelmed, as back when I was a kid there was a corner shop that sold bicycles and you kinda just picked the colour and whether you wanted road or MTB. If you go into a bike shop now you’ll be SHOOK. The options are basically endless and you can spend as much as your budget will allow. Like, there are bikes upwards of 200k, and bikes that are 5k, and you need to find your sweet spot. 
 

The thing is, if you buy a bike and it’s *** or uncomfortable or complicated or you don’t trust it, you won’t ride it, and you won’t necessarily chuck it and buy another. You might just think that cycling is not for you. Hills are hard, descents are sketchy, but hills are less hard with decent kit and you’ll fall off less (or work harder to fall off) on descents with a decent bike. And you can go faster in general 😁 
 

No bike is going to make you a champion off the bat but coming back into this and spending a lot of time reading and learning, I realise that I could have bought a LOT of crap, and I lucked out with my first bike (which I still have, and seemed SO expensive as a brand new purchase at 13k) - I fairly quickly realised I really enjoy cycling but my bike didn’t have enough mountain in it - tried out some new bikes, felt underwhelmed and really quite disappointed, spoke to Robert, and got a cool second bike. I still have my first bike and I still love it, but it’s not the one I chuck down loose, rocky descents or attempt loose, rocky climbs. But the first bike was the right bike for me because it made me excited to get on a bike every day and by the time I started looking for a second bike I’d already done almost 2000km on the first in a year - and that was with major spine surgery in the middle of it all. 
 

You need to have a sit on whatever you are interested in, because no two bikes feel or ride the same, and the exact same components on a different frame can give such a vastly different ride. I’d sat on quite a few bikes before I sat on “the one” and when I sat on it I just knew. It’s served me well and will continue to do so for a good long time (e.g I’m doing Race To The Sun and other road and gravel races on bike #1 this year, as well as commuting to the shops etc, and the MTB is picked for Trailseeker and other MTB events). 
 

If you could manage to save say R15k, you’ll have a really decent hardtail (front suspension only) that won’t need upgrading for a good long while. And then you might decide to get a full/dual suspension bike instead, or upgrade your existing components, etc. There are no rules, but start with something that you like to ride 😊

 

Oh! And good brakes. You’ll really appreciate good quality disc brakes (preferably hydraulic) as you get to grips with cycling again. The only thing more annoying for me than clicky, unreliable gears, is brakes that don’t work properly, or squeal. It’s so off-putting. 

[Eugene]

The Trek is really old and the Rook is one of those uncommon brands. 

You don't mention costs and/or spec. The entry level Avalanche's are best avoided, but their higher end models are very competent. It just depends on which one you were looking at. 

Brands that offer value for money are Titan, Axis, Avalanche and Surge. 

[RobynE]

I cannot confirm the legitimacy of this ad or anything else.

 

Titan Drone 29er. It’s a 2x but if it’s in decent nick and the seller is legit it may be worth a look. 
 

https://www.facebook.com/share/eP2xGUvcUYEW29Wa/?mibextid=2JQ9oc

[Overlay5146]

4 hours ago, RobynE said:

I cannot confirm the legitimacy of this ad or anything else.

 

Titan Drone 29er. It’s a 2x but if it’s in decent nick and the seller is legit it may be worth a look. 
 

https://www.facebook.com/share/eP2xGUvcUYEW29Wa/?mibextid=2JQ9oc

Thank you Robyn I will check it out. I get what you saying about finding the right bike when getting back into it instead of something cheap and then you end up hating the sport and the bike just ends up as a clothes rack.

[Overlay5146]

20 hours ago, V18 said:

If commuting and gravel is your thing, rook as a brand is hard to beat. They're also quite pleasant to deal with. 

Otherwise post your location, height, inseam and intended use here and many of us will scour through the local classifieds and revert to this page for you. 

I'm based in Cape Town and my height is 183cm and my inseam is 83cm and I want to say gravel riding. I haven't spent any time on my MTB trails or really riding the roads. So I dont know what I'm into yet

[RobynE]

Here’s another - it’s in Joburg but you could probably negotiate and get a decent bike for pretty close to what you were originally thinking of spending. It’s a fairly upright ride but gets the job done and it’s a new-ish bike. You could probably get back more or less what you pay for it if you choose to upgrade (and sell privately). 
 

Again, no idea of the bike or legitimacy. 
 

https://www.facebook.com/share/P5RqUBWZAZtCo8z5/?mibextid=2JQ9oc

[RobertWhitehead]

5 minutes ago, Overlay5146 said:

I'm based in Cape Town and my height is 183cm and my inseam is 83cm and I want to say gravel riding. I haven't spent any time on my MTB trails or really riding the roads. So I dont know what I'm into yet

L frame on a 29er frame and XL if you were to consider 26er or 650B . What are you looking to spend? 

[Overlay5146]

5 hours ago, Eugene said:

The Trek is really old and the Rook is one of those uncommon brands. 

You don't mention costs and/or spec. The entry level Avalanche's are best avoided, but their higher end models are very competent. It just depends on which one you were looking at. 

Brands that offer value for money are Titan, Axis, Avalanche and Surge. 

I will definitely check out those brands 

[RobynE]

And another, this time in KZN, but has a slightly better spec. Would need to know what the definition of “Used: Fair” is. 

 

https://bikehub.co.za/classifieds/item/hardtail-mountain-bikes/682289/2021-titan-rogue-sport