To all the MTB RIDERS?! ROAD CYCLER NEEDS HELP!

[ASmit]

Im a road cycler but due to all the accidents and bike jacks on the road the sport is becoming more and more dangarous. MTB is a much saver sport, or so i have heard.

 

so really condidering doin the MTB, but afraid I will spend money on a bike and in the end I wont like it.

 

and i really dont know much about MTB, to be honest im clueless.....

 

so if you have advice on purchasing a bike, places to train in pta area, any tips will help.......

 

o one last thing...... I DONT LIKE TO FALL! HOW BAD IS THE FALLING PART?

[numbnuts]

Im a road cycler but due to all the accidents and bike jacks on the road the sport is becoming more and more dangarous. MTB is a much saver sport, or so i have heard.

 

so really condidering doin the MTB, but afraid I will spend money on a bike and in the end I wont like it.

 

and i really dont know much about MTB, to be honest im clueless.....

 

so if you have advice on purchasing a bike, places to train in pta area, any tips will help.......

 

o one last thing...... I DONT LIKE TO FALL! HOW BAD IS THE FALLING PART?

 

1st give a idee on budget hard to advise on bikes without that one

 

lots of places to train in pta and lots of groups - spes. area Centurion/East?

 

Falling on dirt is better than falling on tar

Edited October 19, 2010 by numbnuts

[Tuxstir]

Falling. Um that all depends on you. If you dont like falling them dont fall. Sorry best advice i can give. But I'll say this much. Mtb is soo much fun.

[kosmonooit]

Find a good brand hard tail to begin with (lots for sale 2nd hand here) - and you are lucky, you have Groenkloof near you, its a great place to train and develop mtb skills.

[reteid]

you are going to fall.my motto is the more i fall the less i hurt.by falling every now and then i have discovered that you are no longer afraid of falling therefore less tense on the bike and therefore tend to fall less.once you have tasted mtb i doubt whether you will call yourself a roadie again.welcome to the weird and wonderfull life that is mtb

[The expat cyclist]

Falling on dirt is better than falling on tar

 

Not so sure my wife would agree with that...Her first real fall on a mtb and she broke her elbow.

[SUPER M]

There are only two types of MTB'ers. Those that have fallen, and those that are going to fall. (Sorry for the bad news. hehehehe!)

 

But falling is stil better than being bike jacked of hit by a car!

 

How much are you looking at spending?

[DJR]

See if you can get to one of Ride's "ride before you buy" events. Pay a little money and try a few bikes over the same short route to see which one works for you.

 

Generally, if you are used to riding a certain quality roadbike with matching components, buy a MTB with about the same level of components. If you buy cheap and nasty compared to your roadbike, you WILL hate MTB.

 

Roadies generally adapt well to hardtails at first but often go for full suspension as they get more into MTB.

 

Budget is often the deciding factor. For a basic hardtail, spend R5000, for a midrange R10000, for a great one R25000 and up. For a basic full susser, spend R10000, for a midrange one R15-20000 and for a great one R30000 and up.

 

Any of the well known brands (Giant, Specialized, Trek, Merida, Mongoose, Cannondale, GT) will give you better value for money than the boutique brands.