Avalanche Reflex 2 Aluminium Hardtail Mountain Bike

[WDC1997]

Good day.

I am about to purchase a Avalanche Reflex 2 Aluminium Hardtail Mountain Bike

Specs are: Frame: 29 Alloy Tubing internal gear cable Fork: Coil Suspension |60mm Travel Stem: Avalanche Alloy 31.8mm | H42 | R: 7° |Length 80 mm Handlebar: Avalanche Alloy 31.8 mm | 720mm | back sweep 7° Seat post: Avalanche Alloy 30.9 mm | 300mm Sadddle: Avalanche custom sport Cassette: 11-32T Crank: Alloy 170mm 24T*34T*42T GEARS: 24 speed Rear Der: 8 speed Brakes: Hydraulic Disc Weels: Double wall 29er wheels

Any expert opinions?

I am new to.mountain biking and would like to drive moderate trials with the above mentioned bicycle. 

I am 1.8m in length and quite heavy just for consideration.

I can buy this bicycle for R5000 (special - R2000).

Any advice would be much appreciated. 

 

[RobertWhitehead]

You'll get a million opinions and a million reasons to buy and or not to buy. 

Let me be the first to offer an opinion: 

This is an entry level bike with entry level components, the riding experience will also be "entry level". The bike will feel somewhat sluggish and heavy but you have to start somewhere. Get some miles on it and when you've learnt a bit more about your likes and dislikes then donate it to a family member or someone who'll use it to commute and get yourself something better. 

Don't expect to get much for it when one day you decide to move on from it. One thing I can add is that these bikes (the brand) doesn't have much value when trying to resell, if you're looking for something that will hold it value try looking at a more "main stream" brand like Giant, GT, Scott, Merida, Trek. 

 

Good luck 

[Newbie321]

If you take MTB seriously you'll outgrow that bike within a year and depending on how hard you ride it will be fixed more than actually riding. 

My first cheap MTB I went through something like 3 axles and 1 bottom bracket in 6 months. The chain lasted longer  

[RobynE]

Having owned an Avalanche Reflex 3.0 the above two comments are spot on. My first ever post on the hub (might have been my second) was asking about this bike. 
 

What you will likely find is: 

 

- brakes will need frequent tinkering. You can help by bedding them in properly when you get the bike, but they’ll still need tinkering

- rear hub and BB won’t take much rough stuff. By that I mean tree roots, pavements etc, not drops. The hubs don’t like being rattled around. 
 

- gears will need frequent adjustments, at first and then every 3rd or 4th ride. 
 

- your drivetrain will retain a lot of grit, grime and muck, so make sure you clean it well after every ride.

 

- it is very much an “urban” fork and doesn’t like too much trail or mountain. Expect it to start squeaking or clunking as soon as you’ve roughed it up a bit. Again I mean tree roots and and a rock or pavement or two - not “real” trail stuff. 

 

If you pay 5k new it will be worth 2.5k after you’ve ridden it for a month and if you tried to trade it in on something else you’d probably be offered 1.5k. 
 

Now all that being said: 

 

I gave mine to a staff member who rides the h**l out if it commuting, doesn’t lube it, doesn’t wash it, with tyres way harder than they should be, and for some reason it just keeps going. It’s a pig to ride in my opinion but it gets him from A to B reliably. Or should I say “got”, as staff member is an ex-staff member and sold it to another guy in the area who still rides the h*ll out of it with no problems a year later 🤷 

 

For 5k it’s about the best you’ll get for your money, but if you could add a few grand to your money you may be able to pick up a Trek Marlin or Silverback Stride and they would probably serve you better. Then you’d have a decent frame on hand and could upgrade components as you want or need to and you’d sell the bike easily down the line for closer to what you paid for it than you’d have paid for the Avalanche.
 

I paid R4000 for the Avalanche, had it for a few months and wouldn’t have gotten more than 2k for it, hence I gave it away. I’d already spent close to 1k on servicing and caring for it. Conversely I wash and lube my 10ish K Giant 29er and fling it around, over annd through all sorts of things and it doesn’t complain and hasn’t actually “needed” a service in the year I’ve had it. The “false economy” aspect is really something to factor in. 

[Gavin Minnaar]

14 hours ago, RobynE said:

Having owned an Avalanche Reflex 3.0 the above two comments are spot on. My first ever post on the hub (might have been my second) was asking about this bike. 
 

What you will likely find is: 

 

- brakes will need frequent tinkering. You can help by bedding them in properly when you get the bike, but they’ll still need tinkering

- rear hub and BB won’t take much rough stuff. By that I mean tree roots, pavements etc, not drops. The hubs don’t like being rattled around. 
 

- gears will need frequent adjustments, at first and then every 3rd or 4th ride. 
 

- your drivetrain will retain a lot of grit, grime and muck, so make sure you clean it well after every ride.

 

- it is very much an “urban” fork and doesn’t like too much trail or mountain. Expect it to start squeaking or clunking as soon as you’ve roughed it up a bit. Again I mean tree roots and and a rock or pavement or two - not “real” trail stuff. 

 

If you pay 5k new it will be worth 2.5k after you’ve ridden it for a month and if you tried to trade it in on something else you’d probably be offered 1.5k. 
 

Now all that being said: 

 

I gave mine to a staff member who rides the h**l out if it commuting, doesn’t lube it, doesn’t wash it, with tyres way harder than they should be, and for some reason it just keeps going. It’s a pig to ride in my opinion but it gets him from A to B reliably. Or should I say “got”, as staff member is an ex-staff member and sold it to another guy in the area who still rides the h*ll out of it with no problems a year later 🤷 

 

For 5k it’s about the best you’ll get for your money, but if you could add a few grand to your money you may be able to pick up a Trek Marlin or Silverback Stride and they would probably serve you better. Then you’d have a decent frame on hand and could upgrade components as you want or need to and you’d sell the bike easily down the line for closer to what you paid for it than you’d have paid for the Avalanche.
 

I paid R4000 for the Avalanche, had it for a few months and wouldn’t have gotten more than 2k for it, hence I gave it away. I’d already spent close to 1k on servicing and caring for it. Conversely I wash and lube my 10ish K Giant 29er and fling it around, over annd through all sorts of things and it doesn’t complain and hasn’t actually “needed” a service in the year I’ve had it. The “false economy” aspect is really something to factor in. 

How did you manage that?because a Year without a service on a bike wow I ride 200-220Km a week and mine is serviced evry 600km to keep it tip top shape even my fork take them in evry 50 hours-100 hours and 150 and then rebuild in 200 are you sure you can even remember hoe your bike performed the day you got it? I am sure if you do a full service you will notice a huge improvement on your bike.

[RobynE]

10 hours ago, Gavin Minnaar said:

How did you manage that?because a Year without a service on a bike wow I ride 200-220Km a week and mine is serviced evry 600km to keep it tip top shape even my fork take them in evry 50 hours-100 hours and 150 and then rebuild in 200 are you sure you can even remember hoe your bike performed the day you got it? I am sure if you do a full service you will notice a huge improvement on your bike.

No, the Avalanche got plenty servicing. At least once a month. More than my current bike. That’s what I’m trying to say 😊 The Avalanche was still finicky even though it got serviced so regularly. 

[RobynE]

10 hours ago, Gavin Minnaar said:

How did you manage that?because a Year without a service on a bike wow I ride 200-220Km a week and mine is serviced evry 600km to keep it tip top shape even my fork take them in evry 50 hours-100 hours and 150 and then rebuild in 200 are you sure you can even remember hoe your bike performed the day you got it? I am sure if you do a full service you will notice a huge improvement on your bike.

PS the Giant also gets serviced but not because it “needs” it ie there’s something wrong or I’m struggling with something and not enjoying the ride. I just service it when I have some money in my pocket 😂 

[Gavin Minnaar]

No I understand Fully I wasn't attacking you you or being mean if it came off that way I was merely saying because you say you ride threw evrything and over everything as in I mean I get that I love my trek x-caliber and my wheels is the the things I service most and hubs because I ride it like I stole it and ones a year I do a complete tear down of the bike at TREK to regrease evrything and what so on,and obviously I do the rockshox services on the hours to retain warranty. 

[Bike Dewing]

On 1/19/2024 at 7:50 PM, RobynE said:

Having owned an Avalanche Reflex 3.0 the above two comments are spot on. My first ever post on the hub (might have been my second) was asking about this bike. 
 

What you will likely find is: 

 

- brakes will need frequent tinkering. You can help by bedding them in properly when you get the bike, but they’ll still need tinkering

- rear hub and BB won’t take much rough stuff. By that I mean tree roots, pavements etc, not drops. The hubs don’t like being rattled around. 
 

- gears will need frequent adjustments, at first and then every 3rd or 4th ride. 
 

- your drivetrain will retain a lot of grit, grime and muck, so make sure you clean it well after every ride.

 

- it is very much an “urban” fork and doesn’t like too much trail or mountain. Expect it to start squeaking or clunking as soon as you’ve roughed it up a bit. Again I mean tree roots and and a rock or pavement or two - not “real” trail stuff. 

 

If you pay 5k new it will be worth 2.5k after you’ve ridden it for a month and if you tried to trade it in on something else you’d probably be offered 1.5k. 
 

Now all that being said: 

 

I gave mine to a staff member who rides the h**l out if it commuting, doesn’t lube it, doesn’t wash it, with tyres way harder than they should be, and for some reason it just keeps going. It’s a pig to ride in my opinion but it gets him from A to B reliably. Or should I say “got”, as staff member is an ex-staff member and sold it to another guy in the area who still rides the h*ll out of it with no problems a year later 🤷 

 

For 5k it’s about the best you’ll get for your money, but if you could add a few grand to your money you may be able to pick up a Trek Marlin or Silverback Stride and they would probably serve you better. Then you’d have a decent frame on hand and could upgrade components as you want or need to and you’d sell the bike easily down the line for closer to what you paid for it than you’d have paid for the Avalanche.
 

I paid R4000 for the Avalanche, had it for a few months and wouldn’t have gotten more than 2k for it, hence I gave it away. I’d already spent close to 1k on servicing and caring for it. Conversely I wash and lube my 10ish K Giant 29er and fling it around, over annd through all sorts of things and it doesn’t complain and hasn’t actually “needed” a service in the year I’ve had it. The “false economy” aspect is really something to factor in. 

Agreed.. if you can push that budget to like 10k and have a look through the classifieds on here you’ll find some nice options that will give you better longevity.. 

[Bike Dewing]

https://bikehub.co.za/classifieds/item/hardtail-mountain-bikes/696346/momsen-al429-shimano-xt-rockshox
 

as an example I reckon this is a good deal.. got remote lockout for the forks which isn’t necessary but it’s a nice feature to have.. shimano deore is decent, my gt avalanche comp had deore and it rides nicely.. my buddy rode the same as me on the tokai trails for almost 5 years with no issues.. (I bought the gt on his recommendation).. 

[dasilvarsa]

16 hours ago, Gavin Minnaar said:

No I understand Fully I wasn't attacking you you or being mean if it came off that way I was merely saying because you say you ride threw evrything and over everything as in I mean I get that I love my trek x-caliber and my wheels is the the things I service most and hubs because I ride it like I stole it and ones a year I do a complete tear down of the bike at TREK to regrease evrything and what so on,and obviously I do the rockshox services on the hours to retain warranty. 

You Just Bought It       Won't need a Service for a Long Time.

[Shebeen]

On 1/20/2024 at 10:38 AM, Gavin Minnaar said:

How did you manage that?because a Year without a service on a bike wow I ride 200-220Km a week and mine is serviced evry 600km to keep it tip top shape even my fork take them in evry 50 hours-100 hours and 150 and then rebuild in 200 are you sure you can even remember hoe your bike performed the day you got it? I am sure if you do a full service you will notice a huge improvement on your bike.

You service your bike every three weeks?