New MTB - Help

[Ratty]

hardtail ' date=' dual in one ??? Please tell more ! I need to know . It is not a question of HT or DS , but what DS to get . If weight is a problem for you (the bike) then rather look at getting a road bike or ask Daemon for advice on cutting away half you saddle to save 5gr .[/quote']

 

I have a rather nice road bike already thanks.  It sits in the garage most of the time!!!

 

When it comes to single track and downhills I have no problem at all.  Uphills and flat jeep tracks are not my strong point, but I'm working on it.  I've never ridden a full suspension bike so I have no idea what it will be like and am worried I won't like it.  Trying to find one to borrow for an hour so I can get a feel but my family and friends don't seem to trust me ;-)

 

I've been looking at the reviews for the Giant Anthem and the majority of the people are raving about them.  Think its definitely one to look at.

 

Thanks guys for taking the time to reply.  Any and all advice is welcome!!!

 

 

 

 

 

[Thug]

Ratty, why not look at the Santa Cruz Juliana, a WSD of the Superlight.

 

 

 

[Marius]

SantaCruz has a Woman Specific bike as well. The frames are nice and light if you want to use it for racing.

 

Have a look at there website for more info: http://www.santacruzbikes.com/juliana/ this is really the best value for money!! <?:namespace prefix = o ns = "urn:schemas-microsoft-com:office:office" />

[Ratty]

Mintsauce unfortunately I am in a rush to buy.  Either that or I need to spend some money fixing mine (again).  I'll go insane without a working bike especially with all the mud around.

Will make sure I buy the right bike this time!

 

 

[Tridude]

This is the link to the Anthem W http://www.giant-bicycle.com/en-AU/bikes/women/499/22619/

Again, this is THE bike. (+- R17000)

[_Daemon_]

 

hardtail ' date=' dual in one ??? Please tell more ! I need to know . It is not a question of HT or DS , but what DS to get . If weight is a problem for you (the bike) then rather look at getting a road bike or ask Daemon for advice on cutting away half you saddle to save 5gr .[/quote']

 

Hehehe was more like 200grams

 

[_Daemon_]

Giant Anthem...end of story...if you want a race setup full suspension.

Giant Trance....Lovely play bike, but still quite good for racing, if your not that serious about races, this is the one I would go for.

giant Reign, if you love to huck, drop and bomb down every single technical bit you can find, and get almost more airtime than time on the trails.

 

Quite a giant fan.

 

Hardtails, mmmh tough choice, I would SERIOUSLY look at the GT Zaskar, giant XTC, and saw a Stevens in action yesterday, and got to say the attention to detail on that frame impressed me quite a bit.

 

[rock]

anthem

[Ratty]

Ok, so here is another question, if I want to go look at some of these bikes whats the best shop (Western Cape)?  Definitely want to look at the Anthem mainly because that seems to be the most popular suggestion and no one has said anything bad about it.

 

 

[MintSauce]

rock....perma-tubes is so last century. Why you not got Stan's yet....? I didn't even smell a puncture on Saturday(except when I passed your party)

 

 

Ratty....most shops should have something for you to testride. Don't know if they'll let you take it on a proper ride though.

 

I know Shane from Bowman's will do this with his personal Titus, but I very much doubt any shop will give you a bike to do a full demo on. Sucks really. In the States some of the larger shops mail-order their demo-bikes to customers(at a cost, but if you buy the demo-cost gets deducted from your new bike)

 

What size....maybe some Hubbers can help?

 

 

 

[MintSauce]

Ok' date=' so here is another question, if I want to go look at some of these bikes whats the best shop (Western Cape)? 

 

 

[/quote']

 

William's Bikeshop - Somerset West

Bowman Cycles - Bree st, Cape Town

The Epic Bike Shop - think somewhere in the S/Suburbs

Mason's - Stellenbosch

 

....there's more, but these are the only ones I've had some experience with and can personally recommend

 

 

 

 

 

[rock]

rock....perma-tubes is so last century. Why you not got Stan's yet....? I didn't even smell a puncture on Saturday(except when I passed your party)

  

 

 

permatubes....LOL......

 

party !

 

we stopped after 37 mins of riding for the first one and it was 12 pm by the time we had ridden for 56 minutes or so.....you do the math !

 

still won't go stans.......but in theory those nasty thorns shold have had no effect on a stans'ed wheel.......it just seems far to complicated/messy etc.

 

(will maybe consider it when I need new tyres)

 

I just need to stop giving away my one and only spare tube at races......

 

 

[mrmed]

I love my new Giant Anthem 0 although it is taking me a little while to get used to. I'm stiff after long rides and my fingers are taking stain from the rapid fire shifters! (No comments from the peanut gallery please)

I think the real question lies in what type of races you are going to do. If you're doing short (under 60km) XC racing buy a superlight hardtail but if you want to do marathon and stage race events then a dualie is the answer.

[MintSauce]

 

we stopped after 37 mins of riding for the first one and it was 12 pm by the time we had ridden for 56 minutes or so.....you do the math !

 

still won't go stans.......but in theory those nasty thorns shold have had no effect on a stans'ed wheel.......it just seems far to complicated/messy etc.

 

(will maybe consider it when I need new tyres)

 

I just need to stop giving away my one and only spare tube at races......

 

 

 

That's ridiculous....did you guys finish the ride or head back?

 

Stan's is really not as complicated/messy as it seems. Initial installation will be slightly messy....easy once you get the hang of it.

 

Well worth it IMO

 

 

 

[racman]

I saw a few "Demo" bikes at Maverick's -Somerset West this weekend. Looks like they have an a Giant and Merida shop demo bike as well(don't know model though.

[racman]

One tip they have in Bicycling this month is that you must first learn to ride a hard tail properly before going DS. That way you don't let the bike do all the work.

 

 

 

Which bike are they talking about - I want to buy it , 'cause it sure feels like I am doing most of the work when I ride my bike!!!