MTB question

Steve W said:

As the owner of many bikes but not a mountain bike it's now time to
buy one, mainly because my son has one and I want to ride with him!
Started looking last week and am absolutely amazed at the range
available. So the questions are
1/ is there a decent mountain bike newsgroup that's UK based?
2/ with 450 maximum to spend what's the best hardtail?
I have narrowed it down to the following three,
Gary Fisher 2005 Marlin Disc
Mongoose Amasa Comp 2005
Merlin Malt 1 ltd edition
But there may well be more, any ideas?

I'm struggling to stop myself buying an on-one inbred. You can get a
complete bike for £400 at the minute from On-one, and then slap some
Marzocchis and a pair of disks on for another £250. Might be an idea -
cheaper stuff tends to get worn out pretty quickly if you hammer it much.

"Steve W" <[email hidden]> wrote in message news:<[email hidden]>...

Quoted message said:

As the owner of many bikes but not a mountain bike it's now time to buy one,
mainly because my son has one and I want to ride with him!
Started looking last week and am absolutely amazed at the range available.
So the questions are
1/ is there a decent mountain bike newsgroup that's UK based?
2/ with 450 maximum to spend what's the best hardtail?
I have narrowed it down to the following three,
Gary Fisher 2005 Marlin Disc
Mongoose Amasa Comp 2005
Merlin Malt 1 ltd edition
But there may well be more, any ideas?

SW

Not a newsgroup, but the forum at www.whatmtb.com gets a lot of these
questions (and answers).

stross

in message <[email hidden]>, Steve W

(') said:

As the owner of many bikes but not a mountain bike it's now time to
buy one, mainly because my son has one and I want to ride with him!
Started looking last week and am absolutely amazed at the range
available. So the questions are
1/ is there a decent mountain bike newsgroup that's UK based?

No, but there is Singletrack
<URL:http://www.singletrackworld.com/forum/list.php?f=2&menu=14>

Quoted message said:

2/ with 450 maximum to spend what's the best hardtail?
I have narrowed it down to the following three,
Gary Fisher 2005 Marlin Disc
Mongoose Amasa Comp 2005
Merlin Malt 1 ltd edition
But there may well be more, any ideas?

The Claud Butler Cape Wrath is regularly well reviewed. Orange Gringo is
worth a look. There are good bikes from Specialized and Giant in that
price bracket. And on and on. Also, don't forget the second hand
market.

--
[email hidden] (Simon Brooke) http://www.jasmine.org.uk/~simon/

Morning had broken, and there was nothing left for us to do
but pick up the pieces.

Steve W said:

As the owner of many bikes but not a mountain bike it's now time to buy one,
mainly because my son has one and I want to ride with him!
Started looking last week and am absolutely amazed at the range available.
So the questions are
1/ is there a decent mountain bike newsgroup that's UK based?
2/ with 450 maximum to spend what's the best hardtail?

As ststed earlier, Singletrack.com is the best forum.You have to register
to post.
For £450, unless you really do want new, I would go for a good quality
2nd hand bike.Check out the classifieds on the singletrack site - there
are some good bikes going cheap there, and they are generally better than
new - MTBers are constantly upgrading, but obviouly be on the lookout for
any 'lemons'.
Alan.

--
To reply by e-mail, change the ' + ' to 'plus'.
http://www.dvatc.co.uk - Off-road cycling in the North Midlands.

A.Lee <alan@darkroom.+.com> whizzed past me shouting

Quoted message said:

Steve W said:

As the owner of many bikes but not a mountain bike it's now time to buy one,
mainly because my son has one and I want to ride with him!
Started looking last week and am absolutely amazed at the range available.
So the questions are
1/ is there a decent mountain bike newsgroup that's UK based?
2/ with 450 maximum to spend what's the best hardtail?

As ststed earlier, Singletrack.com is the best forum.You have to register
to post.
For £450, unless you really do want new, I would go for a good quality
2nd hand bike.Check out the classifieds on the singletrack site - there
are some good bikes going cheap there, and they are generally better than
new - MTBers are constantly upgrading, but obviouly be on the lookout for
any 'lemons'.

Test ride the bikes on your shortlist anyway, then you'll have something
to compare the used bikes with. Each bike has its own geometry, each
rider has their own shape and riding style, so other people's opinions
can only cover part of the story.

It's not essential to take them off road if you aren't experienced, but
ride them up and down some stairs, do a slalom of something spaced a few
yards apart, see how high you can get the front wheel as you mount a
kerb, that sort of thing.

--
Sue ]🙁🙂

What goes down must come up again - Confucius' Law of Mountain Biking

Sue White said:

It's not essential to take them off road if you aren't experienced, but
ride them up and down some stairs,

Do these two statements not contradict one another just a /teeensy/
bit? ;-)

Pete.
--
Peter Clinch Medical Physics IT Officer
Tel 44 1382 660111 ext. 33637 Univ. of Dundee, Ninewells Hospital
Fax 44 1382 640177 Dundee DD1 9SY Scotland UK
net [email hidden] http://www.dundee.ac.uk/~pjclinch/

Peter Clinch <[email hidden]> whizzed past me shouting

Quoted message said:

Sue White said:

It's not essential to take them off road if you aren't experienced,
but ride them up and down some stairs,

Do these two statements not contradict one another just a /teeensy/
bit? ;-)

<grin> I know what I meant!

It's not proper off-road unless it's a Natural Environment: mud, tree
roots, muddy tree roots, rocks, rubble, ruts, muddy ruts, mud, huge
muddy puddles, jumps over fallen branches, mud, and of course mud.
Stairs are probably available quite close to the bike shop, they're
consistent, and they don't get the bike all dirty so the shop needn't
know what you've been doing.

--
Sue ];(🙂

What goes down must come up again - Confucius' Law of Mountain Biking