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Bike Buying...HELP
Hi I am new to mountain biking...borrowed a bike a few times and loved it so have decided to buy a bike of my own and get into it a bit, I am 39 and not getting any younger so looking for something to hit bush trails and rides, the trails up in the Perth hills and also cruising around with the misses too.. I have $1500 to spend and have been told a lot of different things..some say buy a hardtail now and get a decent bike for the money, some say hardtails are too hard work and to keep saving and buy a dual or buy a second hand dual now.. I literally have no idea, would love to know experienced peoples opinions. I am 39, 5'9 and 83 kgs..relatively fit if that means anything to the bike world .
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Your budget is rather slim and I'd recommend looking 2nd hand. I don't think you'll anything new worth riding for that budget (sounds a bit stroppy I know but crap gear ruins the experience and you wont get in to it)
I'd recommend to look for alloy dual suspension of a well known brand with good components. 27.5 or 29'' wheel size. Good components is Shimano XT and Fox suspension. Shimano SLX may be OK as well but don't go for cheap stuff. RockShox makes good suspensions as well.
I'd put Giant on the top of list for makes, they are a bit cheaper than other well known brands but well reputed and a safe bet.
Buying 2nd hand is not easy. Look for cracks in welds or dings on the frame. Especially the chain stays (the rear bits the connects the rear wheel to the frame). Check for play in bearings for the rear susp, front fork, wheels etc. There should be no play and all bearings should be smooth. Check the fork for any play, i.e. the lower part has a play in it if you use the front break and push the bike back and forth, put your hand over the area where the lower tube of the fork meets the upper tube. If you feel any play there the fork needs a service and it'll cost a quarter of your budget to fix.
There are loads of 2nd hand options out there, a few facebook groups dedicated to trading MTB gear and you have bikeechange.com.au to browse as well but I think you'll find the biggest selection of used stuff on the FB groups as it is free to sell there.
In any case, if you are happy to do the research and learn about the brands and models and comfortable buying and checking 2hand gear there are great deals to be had.
That my 2c worth.
Yeh thanks , i might spend 1500 on a secind hand bike maybe an anthem or trance?, seen a couple fir around the 1500 mark.. not on fb sp unfortunately can't look on tge sales pages will just have to keep searching gumtree
There is a Trek HiFi DLX 29er (probably 2011-12) on Perth gumtree at the moment.
Fox suspension front and back (100mm) plus a good spec for $1,300....bargain!
Trek are fantastic bikes to ride....not sure of the size though....
Good Luck in your searches!!
Specialized ruze expert, garland cycles south perth, on gummy, good suspension,wheels, gears, bars,tyres, seat pooper etc, dont buy older bikes with outdated forks, wheels geometry etc just because they may appear to have better brand stuff, chances are its obsolete, most of the entry stuff now is as good as mid range a few years ago or better,and dont be scared off upsizing to a large, most mediums are too small and changing a stem shorter on a large works wonders over a medium with a long stem, as long as you can get seat low enough, basically geometry n sizing is more emportant than part spec, just my opinion tho....oh its only 1750. Bargain!
Sorry to shit on previous post but treks of that year were rubbish, ctd or drcv rubbish, i had a remedy 2013, nice geo but rubbish, rockshox shocks of that era junk too, edit for previous post, its on bike exchange not gummy
Cheers everyone for your advice.. being new to the sport and not knowing how much i would get into it i def wanted to keep my budget down without going too old of an bike, i ended up buying new, and although it probably isn't a keeper if i plan getting more serious into it, i got a good deal on a norco fluid 7.2 DS 2017 model. Came with dropper post (which i had no idea about but was amazed by it on frost ride) and tubeless tyres.. i went up to kalamunda for my first time to test the bike out and yep, fell in love with sport even if i did get ridiculously lost...
Well done, you have to start somewhere and your journey begins.
Enjoy getting lost while you have the chance, eventually you will know your local trails inside out and wishing you could get lost again.
Life is short, buy the damn bicycle! LOLs
Well done, norco make a great flatform, rs suspension,disc brakes, seat popper, 1x and wide bar, ya ready to shred, just keep an eye on the rear skewer first few rides, now go ride!