Finally getting new bike and need advice

[jo_Ve22]

Hi Guys and Girls,

I'm looking at finally getting a new bike. I'm currently still riding my 2013/2014 ish scott aspect 9something (don't really remember). First bike I ever bought and served me well till now but it's time to upgrade to something better/newer.

I would consider myself an intermediate rider having done quite a few comps and regularly doing distance rides. I enjoy single tracks but most of my rides consist of gravel farm roadsand occasionally jeep and single track. 

I'm out of touch with brands and parts and need advice. Budget is up to approx 20k. I'm indifferent to hard or soft tail. Would prefer a 1x12 groupset and large frame and tubeless or tubeless ready. 

I wouldn't mind buying second hand if it meant I can get more bang for the buck, however I don't know what to look for when buying secondhand which make me worry I'll buy something that's not good. 

Any advice or recommendations would be greatly appreciated. 

Tia

P.s. area where I'll be looking is around Garden route and Pretoria/JHB since I'm based in Garden route but will be moving to Gauteng. Any shop recommendations in these areas is also welcome. 

 

Edited October 13 by jo_Ve22
Added additional information

[Jensie]

i know this is a little over your budget but is a great bike to consider

https://bike-addict.co.za/products/titan-cypher-rs-dash-alloy-2023

[ChrisF]

9 hours ago, jo_Ve22 said:

Hi Guys and Girls,

I'm looking at finally getting a new bike. I'm currently still riding my 2013/2014 ish scott aspect 9something (don't really remember). First bike I ever bought and served me well till now but it's time to upgrade to something better/newer.

I would consider myself an intermediate rider having done quite a few comps and regularly doing distance rides. I enjoy single tracks but most of my rides consist of gravel farm roadsand occasionally jeep and single track. 

I'm out of touch with brands and parts and need advice. Budget is up to approx 20k. I'm indifferent to hard or soft tail. Would prefer a 1x12 groupset and large frame and tubeless or tubeless ready. 

I wouldn't mind buying second hand if it meant I can get more bang for the buck, however I don't know what to look for when buying secondhand which make me worry I'll buy something that's not good. 

Any advice or recommendations would be greatly appreciated. 

Tia

P.s. area where I'll be looking is around Garden route and Pretoria/JHB since I'm based in Garden route but will be moving to Gauteng. Any shop recommendations in these areas is also welcome. 

 

 

New Cycle LAb shop opening in Paarl on 25 October.

 

One would expect some serious specials .... and price matching from other shops ....

 

 

Best time to do your homework and be ready to pull the trigger when the right deal comes up.

[Bike Dewing]

My opinion is dont spend your budget on just the bike.. 

go short and get a fitting and have money to change out components that might not be correct for you..

things like stem, handlebar width(reach,drop, flair angle), saddle etc.. do that and any bike can be awesome.😉🤘🏻

[jo_Ve22]

4 hours ago, Jensie said:

i know this is a little over your budget but is a great bike to consider

https://bike-addict.co.za/products/titan-cypher-rs-dash-alloy-2023

Browsing through bikehub I saw that one. Looked interesting, however I don't know the Titan brand all too well. Know they are fairly common and popular brand. Also I read on one of the threads that one should try and avoid the SRAM Sx components and rather look at the Gx. Any comment on that? 

[jo_Ve22]

4 hours ago, ChrisF said:

 

New Cycle LAb shop opening in Paarl on 25 October.

 

One would expect some serious specials .... and price matching from other shops ....

 

 

Best time to do your homework and be ready to pull the trigger when the right deal comes up.

That would've been awesome, unfortunately I'm out of country till about start December so won't be able to go to the opening. 

[jo_Ve22]

2 hours ago, Bike Dewing said:

My opinion is dont spend your budget on just the bike.. 

go short and get a fitting and have money to change out components that might not be correct for you..

things like stem, handlebar width(reach,drop, flair angle), saddle etc.. do that and any bike can be awesome.😉🤘🏻

Thanks for the advice. I've heard many people say that getting a fitting has changed their biking enjoyment alot, and I also know that some shops in the past (don't know about now) has offered that service free of charge when buying bikes. The trouble I'm having is finding a decent bike in the budget and still having enough to do stuff like that. I probably then could just keep my Scott and just do fitting on it. I have had some advice previous that it's not worth the money changing too much on a cheaper bike such as the one I have currently but rather upgrading the bike as a whole. Better option for money value

[ChrisF]

1 hour ago, jo_Ve22 said:

Browsing through bikehub I saw that one. Looked interesting, however I don't know the Titan brand all too well. Know they are fairly common and popular brand. Also I read on one of the threads that one should try and avoid the SRAM Sx components and rather look at the Gx. Any comment on that? 

 

My experiences with 1x12 have not been happy ...  the tolerances are incredibly fine.  To enjoy 1x12, you need to buy upper end in both brands.

 

I much prefer 1x11.  Much better experience with these, and cheaper to maintain.

[jo_Ve22]

1 minute ago, ChrisF said:

 

My experiences with 1x12 have not been happy ...  the tolerances are incredibly fine.  To enjoy 1x12, you need to buy upper end in both brands.

 

I much prefer 1x11.  Much better experience with these, and cheaper to maintain.

Thanks for the advice. Will definitely have a look at it. 

[Bike Dewing]

1 hour ago, jo_Ve22 said:

Thanks for the advice. I've heard many people say that getting a fitting has changed their biking enjoyment alot, and I also know that some shops in the past (don't know about now) has offered that service free of charge when buying bikes. The trouble I'm having is finding a decent bike in the budget and still having enough to do stuff like that. I probably then could just keep my Scott and just do fitting on it. I have had some advice previous that it's not worth the money changing too much on a cheaper bike such as the one I have currently but rather upgrading the bike as a whole. Better option for money value

Yeah it is like over capitalizing on a house in some cases.. 🤷🏼‍♂️🤣🤣.. ive done it.. ive easily got 20k of mods in my 2018 alloy scott that didnt wven cost 20k to begin with.. but my bikes is amazing and i love it.. its anout how your bike makes you feel at the end of the day🥳🤘🏻

 the shops will fit you when you buy a bike off their floor but i would only do that as a start point and then go see someone thats reputable and not just making a sale..  

aaaanyways.. spend your budget and maybe save for some changes a little later to make the bike more comfortable.. like a month of two saving and you can start with the fitting and maybe chnage your stem length.. work to your budget.. remembe. you can also do the fitting and look on the second hand market for the parts.. you can do it cheaply when you know what length/size components you need..

[jo_Ve22]

6 minutes ago, Bike Dewing said:

Yeah it is like over capitalizing on a house in some cases.. 🤷🏼‍♂️🤣🤣.. ive done it.. ive easily got 20k of mods in my 2018 alloy scott that didnt wven cost 20k to begin with.. but my bikes is amazing and i love it.. its anout how your bike makes you feel at the end of the day🥳🤘🏻

 the shops will fit you when you buy a bike off their floor but i would only do that as a start point and then go see someone thats reputable and not just making a sale..  

aaaanyways.. spend your budget and maybe save for some changes a little later to make the bike more comfortable.. like a month of two saving and you can start with the fitting and maybe chnage your stem length.. work to your budget.. remembe. you can also do the fitting and look on the second hand market for the parts.. you can do it cheaply when you know what length/size components you need..

Yeah the rabbit hole goes deep when we start modifying. But thanks for the valuable advice. I'll definitely take that into account. 

Only problem is now you are making my decision harder with your good advice because now I have to take more things into consideration 😅🤣

[Bike Dewing]

Just now, jo_Ve22 said:

Yeah the rabbit hole goes deep when we start modifying. But thanks for the valuable advice. I'll definitely take that into account. 

Only problem is now you are making my decision harder with your good advice because now I have to take more things into consideration 😅🤣

Its goes and goes and goes.. 🤣🤣

im just a big advocate for fitting correctly.. and the things ive bought will transfer to a new bike with me.. sooo it works out when i upgrade later.. change out and sell or keep as spare🤷🏼‍♂️.. 

You can even make an apointment with a fittwr and sit there seeing what frame would be the best starting point.. if you wanted🤷🏼‍♂️🤣🤣.. 

i dont get much sleep as you might have noticed🥵🤣🤣🤣

 

[jo_Ve22]

35 minutes ago, Bike Dewing said:

Its goes and goes and goes.. 🤣🤣

im just a big advocate for fitting correctly.. and the things ive bought will transfer to a new bike with me.. sooo it works out when i upgrade later.. change out and sell or keep as spare🤷🏼‍♂️.. 

You can even make an apointment with a fittwr and sit there seeing what frame would be the best starting point.. if you wanted🤷🏼‍♂️🤣🤣.. 

i dont get much sleep as you might have noticed🥵🤣🤣🤣

 

Yeah it seems you might be an insomniac. 

What would your opinion be on buying second hand for cheaper vs new and then using left over money for fitting and upgrading? 

[Bike Dewing]

1 hour ago, jo_Ve22 said:

Yeah it seems you might be an insomniac. 

What would your opinion be on buying second hand for cheaper vs new and then using left over money for fitting and upgrading? 

The second hand market is amazing.! Can grab such good deals if you patient and keep a close eye on the classifieds.. 

yeah i think you can get a lot more bike for your money that way..

[jo_Ve22]

41 minutes ago, Bike Dewing said:

The second hand market is amazing.! Can grab such good deals if you patient and keep a close eye on the classifieds.. 

yeah i think you can get a lot more bike for your money that way..

Great, I'll stop pestering you I promise. Just want to know where would be best place to keep an eye out for secondhand deals (obviously on here but where else)? 

And then also what should I look out for and avoid when buying a bike second hand? 

[Robbie Stewart]

You can thank me later for converting you to REAL mountain biking 😜