New bike advice please

[Super Sywurm]

On 3/3/2025 at 12:36 AM, OVERDRIVE said:

@Titan Racing Bikes get in here 😎

Here is Titan minding their own business, they get pushed in almost all of the conversations.🫣

[ChrisF]

On 3/2/2025 at 3:50 PM, KimK__ said:

Advice needed please! I've started off with an avalanche reflex 2.0 and we've done just shy of 600km but the bike is giving me endless grief. The chain keeps slipping off the smallest cog, gear changes are delayed and clunky, and it's just not coming right no matter how often I take it to the cycle lab workshop.  A huge crash clearly didn't help.

I want to get another bike in the region of 10-12k....yes I know that's not a lot...and I'd really appreciate any advice.

Thank you!

 

 

 

 

Okay, so you already know the basics.  Enough good replies already.

 

NEW - up your budget about 15k.  (thats the short version after spending weeks helping a buddy search for a new bike under 10k)

 

SECONDHAND - absolute lottery .... in theory you CAN get a very nice bike.  In reality you can get a lemon thats going to end up costing a LOT of money .... Few things to check (many threads about this already)

- take a chain checker ... a stretched chain is an expensive drive drain replacement, walk away

- check the tyres, especially if it is "tubeless ready".  Also check if it is cracked (old and perished), dont get drawn in just by how much tread is left

- remove the chain, spin the crank .... it spin quietly .... now turn it gently through 180 degrees and FEEL the bearings.  This is a cheap fix item, but tells you how the bike was looked after .... did it go swimming, was it pressure washed, etc .... and gives you some idea of the condition of the other internal moving parts.

- Remove the front wheel and feel the bearing movement ...

- with the front wheel off, now feel the neck bearings

 

Certainly not fool proof, but really should be minimum checks done.

 

And PLEASE, dont fall for "it was recently serviced" .... that was the worst lemon we ever bought !!!

 

 

 

Last thought .... Argus is almost done .... winter is almost here .... lots of new entrants onto the secondhand market coming soon.

[ChrisF]

9 hours ago, Super Sywurm said:

Here is Titan minding their own business, they get pushed in almost all of the conversations.🫣

 

They must have some very good value for money options to keep popping up ....

 

Just 10 seconds on google and frankly I would rather buy a new entry to mid level @Titan Racing Bikes than risk a second hand bike, unless you KNOW how to properly check out a secondhand bike.

Edited March 4 by ChrisF

[RobynE]

I used to think it sounded SO arrogant and entitled when 10k was considered low for a bike. I feel that seeing Makro bikes pricing has lulled the non-cycling public into a false sense of bike worth.
 

I bought a 13k bike as my first “proper” bike. I felt so fancy. Coil fork and all 😂

 

I had great aspirations of tinkering myself. Ja, no. Big LOL. I am not my own mechanic. 
 

My peace is second hand with good quality proven components that are serviceable. On the 2 second hand bikes I have bought, I have had no need to tweak and they are super reliable. Granted I bought them from someone ethical who stands by his work (@Robert Whitehead). But still. The components themselves have been flawless. 
 

The three new bikes I bought (before buying the second hand ones) needed so, so much tweaking. It felt like I was at LBS after every 50km. Something was always skipping, squealing or jumping. On all 3 bikes I had to do the rear hubs within 200km (I am not the rider of all 3). Three different brands of bikes and not cheap brands; entry level models with components from the likes of Tektro, Nutt, Microshift, L-Twoo. 
 

On the 26”, once the components were upgraded to good used (rims, hubs, drivetrain, fork), never a moment’s trouble. Rims and hubs from TRC OEM to used DT Swiss. Fork from TRC OEM to old model Rockshox SiD WC. Drivetrain from Microshift Mezzo to SRAM GX 1x10. Headset bearings had failed after a crash. 

I did a few mods on the 700c before selling it and those good used parts didn’t fail either (the OEM components had failed/were getting increasingly problematic at 1000km in - I’d had to replace hubs from OEM to Novatec, OEM Suntour fork to Fox).
 

All 3 bikes have since been sold and are serving their new owners well - albeit that the only one sold “stock” still needs frequent tweaking apart from the hub which was upgraded. 
 

People have their comfort levels for sure but I will always go for component level before “newness” after my experience. Sometimes you luck out and get decent components at a bargain price, but that’s not the way it usually works out. 
 

Lots of talking and words from me but anyway. 

[Jensie]

On 3/3/2025 at 4:39 PM, KimK__ said:

Have you ever come across a brand called Patriot? Specifically Patriot Frontline? 

Very entry level and not built for mountain biking, Makro or Game bike. Please do not buy