Some input please?

[tombeej]

From when I bought my first mtb back in 1995, to the various friends who've joined me in the sport since then, one little bit of advice when starting out.

 

If you are going to buy new, don't stress too much about the brand. Within a given price band they're all much-of-a-muchness at the end of the day. However, before you walk your bike out the store, I really do recommend you have the front brake and the rear derailleur replaced with really good quality ones. The other components can slowly be replaced over time, but for me, these two items are non-negotiables right from the start.

 

If you say that for now, you're only willing to focus on the front brake OR rear derailleur (not both), then spend your money on the rear derailleur. Trust me, get quality (e.g. minimum XT). Nothing worse than having issues with gear changing all the time, grinding and hopping frustrations at the first sign of a little mud or grass, etc. In my experience, what sucks the enjoyment out of mountain biking more than anything else, bar none, is gears that don't work they way you want them to.

[Tumbleweed]

The Silverback Alpine is a decent package at R4300.

[Drpain]

Thanks guys, you have given me even more to think about. I am split with this decision. There are so many good bikes on the market for the range and they all more or less come with the same gear.

 

I think I will have to go ride all of then to make my decision.

[BrianB]

I found myself in the exact same position as you in November when I decided that I had to get myself this MTB cos I've been wanting one for a long time now. A good friend of mine gave me a aluminium GT 20" chucker that I used as a BMX basically to play with & really appreciated the small bike for it being of such good quality compared to the ones you normally find in Makro etc.

I was also looking at about R5K max to spend and there are really good deals on the Gumtree etc. and the local biking magazine even suggested the Mongoose at Sportsman's Warehouse for R5k, but somehow I wasn't really attracted to it.

Then the one day I walked into Cajee's and walked out with a R13.7k "Scott Genius 50" valued at well over R20k. Reason for this was because I knew that I would end up selling the R5k bike at some stage for an upgrade and the truth is that you never get your money back when selling... so I decided to buy something I won't sell in a hurry... it works out cheaper that way me thinks.

The Scott dual suspension works really well cos you need a hard tail for climbing and a soft tail for downhill and with the 3 suspension settings on the fly (Lock-out, Traction & Full Travel) it offers more.

So I think that if you buying a lower budget bike that you know you would sell later on, I suggest you buy a 2nd hand one and you will most likely get all your money back when re-selling.

[Drpain]

Eish I hope I didn't make a mistake. I went to Cycle Factory today ready to test ride and buy a bike so, I asked opinions again and they saddled me up on two bikes after narrowing down gear. The Giant Revel 0 (Which I favoured) and The Titan Elite. I could not tel a noticeable difference between the two bikes, but I liked the Titan more. Looks and ride. So I ended up buying the Titan Elite.

 

I was happy with my buy until I tried to open their website for some pictures only to find that I can't find one. Does anyone know what their website is?

 

That said I am not worried about my purchase, it has allot of good gear on it and in most cases better gear then the other bikes in that price range. Two things in particular stand out. A Shimano spline crank, I don't know the exact name and the remote shock lockout which is only available on bike for R1000 - R1500 more.

Edited February 10, 2011 by Drpain

[tombeej]

Looks like a nice bike. Specs on the components?

[Caerus]

Looks nice enough I just hope you get the back up service if required. I could only find info from Titan bikes dating back too 2003.

[DJR]

Your bike looks terrible (too clean) - get it dirty ASAP! Jokes aside, did you get a helmet and gloves too - both are essential!

[Drpain]

Thanks guys, makes me feel a bit better. I mailed cycle factory and asked for the manufacturer's website, hopefully they will get back to me. Even though it might not be on the net this is the latest model from Titan and they are 5 models in, so I am not really worried. All the gear on the bike is exactly the same as the other bikes in it's class, but in some instances better. It's all Shimano so I am sure I wont struggle to replace something in the event it breaks. I will write all the components down and post so you guys can see.

 

I took it for a hour ride this morning and I love how it rides. The last bike I rode was a BMX about four 5 years ago and coming back I pondered over the thought of riding no hands, I was surprised at how stable it was and I could do it effortlessly. Tomorrow I am gonna go hit some dirt with my sis and we will see how it keeps up with her Merida.

 

Have a good weekend all!

[mtb_Josh]

well I can say you have a solid wheelset there. I have the same ones for training and haven't managed to do any damage whatsoever so far, and I've hit them HARD a few times. What shifters and deraillures does it have?

[Mackie]

All this talk of GT warms my heart. You will not be dissapointed with the GT Avalanche, the geometry is nice and comfortable (A bit upright) for more of a racing geometry the Zaskar is the way to go.

[scotty]

I've seen the Titan in a few bike shops (TDF Boksburg have quite a few) seems good entry class bike.

[Drpain]

I am quite happy to report that the bike is in fact made by Merida He says they don't have a site yet and to be honest I don't really care.

 

As for the gear it has 27 Speed Shimano Alivio shifters which is more then adequate for me right now, and I will ride them till they need replacing. All the other bikes in the price class has exactly the same Alivio shifters, only when the bike become more expensive do you get Deore and XT parts. I will post all the gear tonight.

[Drpain]

The specs for those of you who wanted to know:

 

Tektro Draco - Disk brakes.

Suntour 011 Series XCR - Fork (Remote Lockout)

Shimano VIAM - Hubs

Alivio Octalink - Crank

Alivio shifters and derailers

[leeu52]

I found myself in the exact same position as you in November when I decided that I had to get myself this MTB cos I've been wanting one for a long time now. A good friend of mine gave me a aluminium GT 20" chucker that I used as a BMX basically to play with & really appreciated the small bike for it being of such good quality compared to the ones you normally find in Makro etc.

I was also looking at about R5K max to spend and there are really good deals on the Gumtree etc. and the local biking magazine even suggested the Mongoose at Sportsman's Warehouse for R5k, but somehow I wasn't really attracted to it.

Then the one day I walked into Cajee's and walked out with a R13.7k "Scott Genius 50" valued at well over R20k. Reason for this was because I knew that I would end up selling the R5k bike at some stage for an upgrade and the truth is that you never get your money back when selling... so I decided to buy something I won't sell in a hurry... it works out cheaper that way me thinks.

The Scott dual suspension works really well cos you need a hard tail for climbing and a soft tail for downhill and with the 3 suspension settings on the fly (Lock-out, Traction & Full Travel) it offers more.

So I think that if you buying a lower budget bike that you know you would sell later on, I suggest you buy a 2nd hand one and you will most likely get all your money back when re-selling.

 

This is very valuable advice. One can probably buy double the value/spec right here on the hub off a hubber upgrading from "level 2" to "level 3".....which means you can skip the "level 1" step.

[RaeTrewBrowne]

what about the Serfas XC1D ?? Retail is somewhere around R4500.00

 

http://www.serfasbikes.co.za/bikes.cfm?year=2011&prod=xc1d_2011