Recommend a hardtail MTB

"Ian G Batten" wrote

Quoted message said:

I'm still aiming for L'Etape du Tour in summer 2005, and I'm cycling 50 mile round trips to work
more and more frequently. However, I'm also doing twenty or thirty mile trips on canal towpaths at
the weekend which, without the need to carry stuff for work or worry about getting home again in
the evening I'm doing rather faster. I'm finding that the cheap V brakes on my cheap (~$200) rigid
bike aren't strong enough when riding rapidly over humped bridges or down beside locks, and for
some sections of the routes I follow I think front suspension would be much more comfortable. I
also just fancy a `better' bike --- better shifting, lighter frame, that sort of thing.

I don't want rear suspension, for reasons of weight, price and bobbing up and down.

I've got a budget of about a thousand pounds, fifteen hundred at a push. I've eyed up the Kona
Kula and the Trek 8500 in catalogues, but not got any further than that. What else should I look
at? I want decent front forks, decent brakes.

ian

Try posting in uk.rec.cycling. Very knowledgable group, with the advantage that they are more
familiar with what's available in the UK.
--
mark

I've been pointed towards uk.rec.cycling for this topic.

Quoted message said:

Try posting in uk.rec.cycling. Very knowledgable group, with the advantage that they are more
familiar with what's available in the UK.

My original query was:

I'm still aiming for L'Etape du Tour in summer 2005, and I'm cycling 50 mile round trips to work
more and more frequently. However, I'm also doing twenty or thirty mile trips on canal towpaths at
the weekend which, without the need to carry stuff for work or worry about getting home again in the
evening I'm doing rather faster. I'm finding that the cheap V brakes on my cheap (~$200) rigid bike
aren't strong enough when riding rapidly over humped bridges or down beside locks, and for some
sections of the routes I follow I think front suspension would be much more comfortable. I also just
fancy a `better' bike --- better shifting, lighter frame, that sort of thing.

I don't want rear suspension, for reasons of weight, price and bobbing up and down.

I've got a budget of about a thousand pounds, fifteen hundred at a push. I've eyed up the Kona Kula
and the Trek 8500 in catalogues, but not got any further than that. What else should I look at? I
want decent front forks, decent brakes.

ian

Ian G Batten said:

I'm still aiming for L'Etape du Tour in summer 2005, and I'm cycling 50 mile round trips to work
more and more frequently. However, I'm also doing twenty or thirty mile trips on canal towpaths at
the weekend which, without the need to carry stuff for work or worry about getting home again in
the evening I'm doing rather faster. I'm finding that the cheap V brakes on my cheap (~$200) rigid
bike aren't strong enough when riding rapidly over humped bridges or down beside locks, and for
some sections of the routes I follow I think front suspension would be much more comfortable. I
also just fancy a `better' bike --- better shifting, lighter frame, that sort of thing.

I don't want rear suspension, for reasons of weight, price and bobbing up and down.

I've got a budget of about a thousand pounds, fifteen hundred at a push. I've eyed up the Kona
Kula and the Trek 8500 in catalogues, but not got any further than that. What else should I look
at? I want decent front forks, decent brakes.

ian

Might I suggest you look at cyclo-cross models. Lighter and more suited to commuting than a MTB,
unless you have to cross pastures, ride through construction sites, etc, which a 'cross bike still
does admirably.

Hi Ian,

that sort of budget means you will have a pretty good selection to choose from. So, what to choose?

Well from my own experience that probably means an aluminum frame

You could get disk brakes (hydraulic is probably best). However, it all depends on what you want.
Something like XT or XTR V-brakes will work very well. I use Avid's and find them to be extremely
good. Try something like SD7's and use Avid's own cabling system called FlakJacket.

For front suspension, I have found Marzocchi to be extremely good. Make sure you get a model that
has a "lock out" feature to stop the suspension from bobbing around so much when you are on the road
or climbing a steep hill.

Try and find a friendly and knowledgeable Local Bike Shop. As them questions, try out some bikes and
run your fingers lovingly over the componentry in the display cabinets!

I suspect that you need a really good XC machine as opposed to one that is designed more for
downhilling.

Other makes to look at could be Specialized and Cannondale, who tend to be a bit more innovative in
their designs. I have a Voodoo Hoodoo. It's excellant. Voodoo enabled you to configure your bike on
line. Unfortunately their web site seems to have dissappeared which means they have probably gone
down the toilet 🙁

regards

Rob.

Most people in this group would recommend that you _don't_ get an MTB for that kind of riding. Maybe
a hybrid bike would be a better bet, some come with suspension forks, but these have less travel. An
expensive MTB does seem like overkill unless you're genuinely going to ride it of-road.

From a general point of view, the market is competitive enough that you'll find offerings from all
the big names very similar in terms of spec at a price point. A grand will get you a very nice
hardtail MTB. Fifteen hundred quid something really good, and you can realistically look at full
suspension at this price level, including ones that _don't_ bob when pedalling.

Look for Marin, Specialized, Gary Fisher, Scott, plus Trek and Kona that you've already seen among
others as mainstream brands, but with the amount you mention you can look at stuff by people like
Cannondale or Klein that are pricier still. Orange are a UK make that people like at that price.

The bikes you mention would be fine, and a world away from your current bike. The brakes that you
mention will be a lot better. You'll find drivetrain components are all towards the top-end of the
manufacturers (Shimano's) offerings, possibly disc brakes, which are powerful, but may be overkill.

It would be best to find a good bikeshop to try some out. At this price range a good shop will
definitely want to alter the spec of the bike to suit you.

A good value alternative would be Merlin. www.merlincycles.co.uk. Choose a frame and spec it up how
you like. You'll need to know your Marzocchi's from your Manitous and your XT's from your Deore's.

If you want something different, you could do a similar thing with a titanium frame at
www.airborne.net, although there are UK distributors, so you don't have to buy over the net.

--

Regards,

Mark Davies

"Rob Horton" <yahoo.com@mr_horton> wrote in message "]news:[email hidden]... I have
a Voodoo Hoodoo. It's

Quoted message said:

excellant. Voodoo enabled you to configure your bike on line.

Unfortunately

Quoted message said:

their web site seems to have dissappeared which means they have probably gone down the toilet 🙁

Yes,went bust see:

Quoted message said:

"Rob Horton" <yahoo.com@mr_horton> wrote in message

"]news:[email hidden]...

Quoted message said:

Hi, anyone know what's happened to to Voodoo cycles?

Went bust in '91. See:

yellowjersey.orgvoodoo.htmlOpen ↗

Pete

..

Quoted message said:

Ian G Batten said:

I'm still aiming for L'Etape du Tour in summer 2005, and I'm cycling 50 mile round trips to work
more and more frequently.

Have a look at the rock lobster range from www.merlincycles.co.uk ; your budget will buy you a
good light frame with decent front suspension and XT groupset-and still leave enough left over to
buy a second set of wheels with slicks for the road. I bought a 'Team TIG' a couple of years ago:
853 frame, XT; rides great for commuting (with slicks it's almost as fast as a road bike) and
great off road too.

There are plenty of less well known MTB brands which give quality frames and components at much
better prices than the big names. A spare set of wheels plus slicks makes a lightweight hardtail MTB
into a very versatile machine, but do check for suitable fixing points if you want to fit a rack.

z

"Ian G Batten" <[email hidden]> wrote in message "]news:[email hidden]...

Quoted message said:

I'm still aiming for L'Etape du Tour in summer 2005, and

There's somethings I don't really understand here or am I missing something? You're training for
L'etape but you're looking to spend a shedload of money on a mountain bike? You ride so fast down
locks on (shared use) canal towpaths you need better brakes?

Ok, no harm working out on a mix of on road and off-road routes, and no harm having a decent
off-road bike, but if you're real aim is to do L'etape within the next 20 months or so don't you
think your money would be better spent on a good road bike? Unless you're so flush with cash you can
afford two good bikes within two years? On a budget of £1,500 you could probably spend half of it on
a road bike and half on an off-road bike and still get something reasonably decent in both
categories, especially in end of season sales.

Rich

Richard Goodman said:

"Ian G Batten" <[email hidden]> wrote in message
"]news:[email hidden]...

Quoted message said:

I'm still aiming for L'Etape du Tour in summer 2005, and

There's somethings I don't really understand here or am I missing something? You're training for
L'etape but you're looking to spend a shedload of money on a mountain bike? You ride so fast down
locks on (shared use) canal towpaths you need better brakes?

Ok, no harm working out on a mix of on road and off-road routes, and no harm having a decent
off-road bike, but if you're real aim is to do L'etape within the next 20 months or so don't you
think your money would be better spent on a good road bike? Unless you're so flush with cash you
can afford two good bikes within two years? On a budget of £1,500 you could probably spend half of
it on a road bike and half on an off-road bike and still get something reasonably decent in both
categories, especially in end of season sales.

When one of the cycling magazines did L'Etape two or three years ago they did it on a mountain bike
fitted with slicks as apparently did many others. Even then they grovelled up the last climb in the
granny gear.

Tony

"Tony Raven" <[email hidden]> wrote in message
"]news:[email hidden]...

Quoted message said:

When one of the cycling magazines did L'Etape two or three years ago they did it on a mountain
bike fitted with slicks as apparently did many others. Even then they grovelled up the last climb
in the granny gear.

I'd thought about that, although the OP didn't specifically say he was intending to do it on a
mountain bike. Having used a slick-shod mountain bike for commuting for a few years and now changed
to a franken-bike that is much more roadified (well, ti mountain frame and rigid carbon forks with
drop bars and road transmission) I've found the road(ified) bike offers much better road performance
- it's much lighter, cuts through the air/headwinds better and climbs better. So personally I
wouldn't think of doing L'etape on a mountain bike even if you paid me (...well, everyone has their
price). As for granny gears, you can always change your gear ratios with a bit of fiddling - get a
triple, use a mountain rear der and cassette - you don't have to have a lowest of 39/25 or something
like that on a road bike.

Rich

Ian G Batten said:

I'm still aiming for L'Etape du Tour in summer 2005, and I'm cycling 50 mile round trips to work
more and more frequently. However, I'm also doing twenty or thirty mile trips on canal towpaths at
the weekend which, without the need to carry stuff for work or worry about getting home again in
the evening I'm doing rather faster. I'm finding that the cheap V brakes on my cheap (~$200) rigid
bike aren't strong enough when riding rapidly over humped bridges or down beside locks, and for
some sections of the routes I follow I think front suspension would be much more comfortable. I
also just fancy a `better' bike --- better shifting, lighter frame, that sort of thing.

I don't want rear suspension, for reasons of weight, price and bobbing up and down.

I've got a budget of about a thousand pounds, fifteen hundred at a push. I've eyed up the Kona
Kula and the Trek 8500 in catalogues, but not got any further than that. What else should I look
at? I want decent front forks, decent brakes.

With that money and those criteria you have an enormous amount of choice. You should get youself a
number of test rides, and see what in the end you like best. If the surfaces on which you will ride
will be no more demanding than towpaths, you might also consider whether a 'hybrid' (either 26" or
700c) would be a better choice and one interesting bike I would consider in this area would be the
new Cannondale Street Rohloff.

Having said that, if you do go for a hardtail MTB it will both cope admirably with your towpath
and allow you to explore more interesting terrain. Put at least Scott ('Racing' range) and
Cannondale (F800,
F4000) on your list with the other Americans, and also consider home grown makes including Orange
(SubZero).

Oh, and, rear suspension is fun when the going gets really rough. But you're right that it's either
heavy, expensive or fragile.

--
[email hidden] (Simon Brooke) jasmine.org.uk~simonOpen ↗

;; I'd rather live in sybar-space

In article <[email hidden]>, Richard Goodman

Quoted message said:

There's somethings I don't really understand here or am I missing something? You're training for
L'etape but you're looking to spend a shedload of money on a mountain bike? You ride so fast down
locks on (shared use) canal towpaths you need better brakes?

95kg of me.

Quoted message said:

Ok, no harm working out on a mix of on road and off-road routes, and no harm having a decent
off-road bike, but if you're real aim is to do L'etape within the next 20 months or so don't you
think your money would be better spent on a good road bike? Unless you're so flush with cash you
can afford two good bikes within two years? On a budget of £1,500 you could probably

Bluntly, in principle I could afford both. However, the L'Etape thing is an aspiration, while the
sense of wellbeing from a forty or fifty mile day on the canals is here and now.

ian

"Ian G Batten" <[email hidden]> wrote in message "]news:[email hidden]...

Quoted message said:

In article <[email hidden]>, Richard Goodman

Quoted message said:

There's somethings I don't really understand here or am I missing

something?

Quoted message said:

Quoted message said:

You're training for L'etape but you're looking to spend a shedload of

money

Quoted message said:

Quoted message said:

on a mountain bike? You ride so fast down locks on (shared use) canal towpaths you need better
brakes?

95kg of me.

Even then, I find it hard to imagine that descents of canal towpath locks provide opportunity for
such speed that even cheap V's on a cheap bike should not have enough stopping power.... in fact,
plastic brake levers and rubbish brake compounds aside, I doubt there's much to choose between cheap
V's and expensive V's in terms of stopping power. The design is fairly basic. Hydraulic discs are
something else though.

Quoted message said:

Quoted message said:

Ok, no harm working out on a mix of on road and off-road routes, and no

harm

Quoted message said:

Quoted message said:

having a decent off-road bike, but if you're real aim is to do L'etape within the next 20 months
or so don't you think your money would be

better

Quoted message said:

Quoted message said:

spent on a good road bike? Unless you're so flush with cash you can

afford

Quoted message said:

Quoted message said:

two good bikes within two years? On a budget of £1,500 you could

probably

Quoted message said:

Bluntly, in principle I could afford both. However, the L'Etape thing is an aspiration, while the
sense of wellbeing from a forty or fifty mile day on the canals is here and now.

Ah well, then if you've got it, spend it. But I really don't think you _need_ spend _that_ much to
get a mountain bike fit for riding canal towpaths! You could spend a lot less and still get
something a lot better than what you've got now.

Rich