Wanting to start out. Where and what to buy?

[ChrisF]

24 minutes ago, PandaAttack1 said:

Please don't support my intrusive thoughts to spend less on the miss's bike!  👀 Naughty naughty... We've discussed spending less on her bike, but we had a long and hard year. Part of buying everything to start this new hobby is kind of a thank-you gift to her. So I want it to be nice.

We spent some time this weekend to visit a few cycle shops here in Pretoria East. I'm glad I did my research before hand because everything on display etc is overwhelming. 

I am currently considering the Titan Cypher RS Sport for myself. It looks awesome and it gave me sparkles in my eyes when I viewed it in the shop. Currently available for 20k at Solomons cycles. We will see where we are at end of the month.

https://solomonscycles.co.za/product/titan-cypher-rs-sport-mountain-race-bike-dual-suspension-29-x6-aluminum-frameset/

For the GF we also saw many many options. Specialized have a few great looking bikes aesthetically. There are also quite a few hard tails to choose from at the 10-15k mark. I guess she will choose one on the day.

Our minds are still not made up, but glad we are kind-of moving toward making a decision. It was fun looking at all the bicycles and goodies in the stores. The Cycle Lab store on Lynnwood is MASSIVE.

 

All jokes aside ... just for a moment ....

 

SOME ladies do take to this sport !!  Some actually become excellent cyclists.  A decent bike, in your budget, may just make that bit of difference to get her to like the sport even more.

 

@KB280DT can tell you about his better-half's comments when she got the opportunity to ride a 1x11 thats been revamped .... her normal steed is a 3x9 (I think) .... the simplicity of the 1x, the fun of the lighter bike, the confidence of decent brakes .....

 

 

 

Trek is running an agressive campaign with big specials .... pitty there stock levels suck, and their fancy stores are not playing along nicely ..... a friend in Paarl is now getting direct assistance from TREK SA and one of their stores in HILLCREST ..... Nice brand.  Pity about some of their outlets not playing nicely .....

 

BikeAddict in Malmesbury is running a special on MERIDA bikes.  Pretty decent deals, but spec level are lower than on the Trek (when comparing the same special prices)

 

 

Black Friday ..... DO YOUR HOMEWORK !!!!  Each and every year many bike shops are caught out !!!  THIS weeks prices gets inflated, and then a special Black Friday price all too often ends up costing more than the current prices ..... Take screen prints of the current prices and specs ....

 

Traditionally I have found some of the best prices 1st week of December .....

[PandaAttack1]

4 minutes ago, ChrisF said:

 

All jokes aside ... just for a moment ....

 

SOME ladies do take to this sport !!  Some actually become excellent cyclists.  A decent bike, in your budget, may just make that bit of difference to get her to like the sport even more.

 

@KB280DT can tell you about his better-half's comments when she got the opportunity to ride a 1x11 thats been revamped .... her normal steed is a 3x9 (I think) .... the simplicity of the 1x, the fun of the lighter bike, the confidence of decent brakes .....

 

 

 

Trek is running an agressive campaign with big specials .... pitty there stock levels suck, and their fancy stores are not playing along nicely ..... a friend in Paarl is now getting direct assistance from TREK SA and one of their stores in HILLCREST ..... Nice brand.  Pity about some of their outlets not playing nicely .....

 

BikeAddict in Malmesbury is running a special on MERIDA bikes.  Pretty decent deals, but spec level are lower than on the Trek (when comparing the same special prices)

 

 

Black Friday ..... DO YOUR HOMEWORK !!!!  Each and every year many bike shops are caught out !!!  THIS weeks prices gets inflated, and then a special Black Friday price all too often ends up costing more than the current prices ..... Take screen prints of the current prices and specs ....

 

Traditionally I have found some of the best prices 1st week of December .....

Thanks for this @ChrisF. Will take some screenies to compare when we are ready to buy.

Will have a closer look at the Trek bikes, although most of them seemed out my budget.

[ChrisF]

This is the one my buddy is looking at -

 

https://www.trekbikes.com/za/en_ZA/bikes/mountain-bikes/cross-country-mountain-bikes/marlin/marlin-7-gen-3/p/36967/

 

Perfect for his use.

 

Going onto trails, that fork seems like the weak link to me .... sure it can and will do the job, but an air-shock will ride so much nicer .... sadly that pushes it into a different price bracket.

 

 

Sadly this is the reality in this price range .... you are going to sacrifice something.

 

 

Really worth your while to reach out to @RobertWhitehead for two nice second hand bikes for you two.  

[117]

Ive been down this road, and going the HT route first, with upgrades as you go on, is costly. By the time you've been through 2 frames and upgrades you've spent a fair amount of dosh that could have bought you a dual suspention the first time round. The same for buying good bibs... buy good and right the first time

Consider this: get a dual for you and an HT for mrs. When you upgrade the components on the dual you swap them over onto the HT. Win for both of you

There are plenty of good deals for your budget of 20 to 25k in dual suspension bikes (ally or carbon, dont be shy for either): https://bikehub.co.za/classifieds/c/dual-suspension-bikes?maximum_price=25000&meta_size[is_multi_select]=true&meta_size[value]=L&meta_wheel_size[is_multi_select]=true&meta_wheel_size[value]=29"

A good 27.5" wheel size for Mrs will work nicely on a M size frame. For mommy: https://bikehub.co.za/classifieds/c/hardtail-mountain-bikes?maximum_price=15000&meta_size[is_multi_select]=true&meta_size[value]=M&meta_wheel_size[is_multi_select]=true&meta_wheel_size[value]=29"%2C27.5"

Stay away from the retail store brands (avalance, Marin etc) and you'll be fine with which ever you decide to go for. If it has Shimano components this will be better at mid level range and cheaper than Sram to replace. If money allows, get a 1x12, or if not, then a 2x11 which you can change to a 1x11 easily enough and be happy for years (and cheaper than 12 speed). 
And if someone only bleats about how good a Scotty (or whatever brand it is), then they've probably never riden any other brand and should perhaps stick to knitting

#bringbacktheclassifiedcomments 😏

 

 

[ChrisF]

At these discounts ... just order two and start riding ....

 

https://www.facebook.com/BikeAddictza/videos/904185684606803/?app=fbl

 

 

 

[Robbie Stewart]

On 11/1/2024 at 2:52 PM, Daniel “Edward” de Villiers said:

and women and men are not the same down there.

What?!? Since when?

[ChrisF]

On 11/5/2024 at 7:09 AM, Robbie Stewart said:

What?!? Since when?

 

@PandaAttack1 just a bit of Hub history ....

 

On a previous version of the platform we could choose fonts.  "Comic Sans" became the defacto font for humour posts ..... on this platform we lost the font option, and soon "Italics" became the way in which humour is highlighted.

[PandaAttack1]

21 hours ago, ChrisF said:

 

@PandaAttack1 just a bit of Hub history ....

 

On a previous version of the platform we could choose fonts.  "Comic Sans" became the defacto font for humour posts ..... on this platform we lost the font option, and soon "Italics" became the way in which humour is highlighted.

Yes sir, I got the the sarcasm. My 'confused' emote was also in jest.

The end of Nov can't come soon enough! We are ready to sweat and ride!