Dangle_kt
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| posted on 22/9/12 at 11:02 AM |
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Rode Coed y Brenin and I'm hooked!
Went last weekend with a load of mates, had an absolute HOOT riding the dragons back route - none of us have ridden since being teenages (when we were
all quite practiced at the v local riding spots) - 15 years out the saddle is too long!
We hired bikes, which was great for a first time, but I enjoyed myself so much I can see me wanting to own my own bike for running at some other trail
centres that don't hire bikes out.
So - any MTB's on here who ride XC/Trails want to give me some pointers on what to look for?
I rode a FS Trek Fuel EX 8 - and thought it was brilliant, swapped half way round with a mate, and was reminded what a hard tail leads to on the next
rocky decent (felt like my teeth were going to fall out!) - the FS flatters my rusty riding skills, and let me get away with poor line choice - but I
have to say I'm temped by FS as long as it can lock out for the long climbs.
I haven't really got a budget, but I wouldn't go over £1k 2nd hand for a decent FS bike, more like £500 for a 2nd hand hard tail and would
only buy new through the cycle2work scheme (which is next open in March!!!!) - limiting me to £1000 max bike.
So - any advice?
FS or Hard tail?
Any decent brands to look out for, or avoid?
What sort of spec should I be looking for?
What kit do I NEED, and what should I consider as nice to have?
Also my backside (or specifically the "inbetween bit" was KILLING after long afternoon in the saddle - to the point I couldn't sit
on the saddle for the last 30 mins of the ride - do cycling shorts help with this, or is it just saddle time to toughen up?
any good forums to ask these sorts of questions on?
Cheers!
[Edited on 22/9/12 by Dangle_kt]
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clanger
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| posted on 22/9/12 at 12:19 PM |
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welcome to the world of sweat and pain...........
you really got to ask yourself what you want to do long term, and what type of terrain you're gonna be riding more often. I go out with mates
who have real gnarly purposely designed FS jobbies which are ££££'s. trouble is they are soooo heavy its unreal. I got a compromise FS XC bike,
not as light as a hard tail, but then again does'nt weigh as much as a battleship. They leave me downhill, but I'm always waiting for em
on top of the next climb. 
if you're gonna go mostly cross country then go for a good lightweight FS setup with lockout. If its just canal tow paths and local proms them a
hard tail is the way to go. Any balls out grit your teeth downhill stuff then you'll have to tool up accordingly.
Second had is always better as you'll find lots of hardly used steeds on the market, especially when the weather turns shortly. With the
explosion in britsh cycling this summer, the trails are awash with top class ironmongery. The novelty soon wears off and Ebay will be chockers
shortly. Get the best you can afford, and look for the top end components, not neccessarliy the bright shiny bling mobiles.
As for kit, if you're gonna go off-road seriously, then quality clothing and proper SPD shoes are a must. Cycle shorts will prevent you getting
monkey butt, and a good well fitting helmet will save your nogging, when, not if you come off
If you're going to go downhill mental stuff then lower leg protection should be considered. Ride with a mate until you feel confident, as coming
off in the middle of nowhere on your todd could end up turning nasty.
Build you fitness slowly and try to ride regularly, in all weathers. Its great fun when the going gets slick. When you're comfortable, the
worlds you're oyster. There's tons of places in the UK to hone your skills, and be warned it can become an obssesion.
Me, I don't ride off-road to often these days, as I've been slamming in the miles on the roadie over the last few months training for an
Ironman. When the weather is wet/cold, i'll be dusting off the MTB and hitting the trails. Maybe catch you in the Afan forest over the
winter.
Enjoy yourself and welcome back to cycling 
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Simon
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| posted on 22/9/12 at 12:46 PM |
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I'm booked up to do CyB in May next year along with (if we get time) a ride up Snowdon and the Marin trail, maybe the new Antur Stiniog trail
centre too.
Did Glentress/Innerleithen twice last year (bear in mind it 400+ miles away ) and Afan once and was up at Dalby Forest last month. I'd also
recommend you look up events run by Evans Cycles and UK Cycling Events (Wiggle) as these get you out on organised rides with refreshments and good
routes that you might not ordinarily have found.
I've never worn protection, but last weekend on local forest (which I've done dozens of times) I managed to hit some gravel by an entry
gate (hit that too!) and have severly bruised left leg (lots of blood from both knees; can't change gear with right thumb and have very sore
right ring finger, so even for mild trials, I'll be investing in some armour This was supposed to be a training ride for a 12 hour team enduro
I'm doing next month!!!
As for bikes, for this sort of riding a half decent all rounder like mine (Giant Trance X4) is great. Base model just over a grand all the way up to
£3k ish. MBR yet again ranked it top in their budget FS bikes, rating it better than bikes costing twice as much in some cases.
I'd also recommend you buy some local OS Explorer Active maps (plastic coated) and study those for local trails
(byways/bridleways/footpaths/farmland) as riding off road is a) so much safer, b) more fun/technically challenging and c) for the mileage, a damn site
harder workout than any road ride will give you.
For tasters, this is a friend on my fave trail:
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=bSLGoZjmyvo
This is just scary - promo for Antur Stiniog (once it gets to 45 secs in)
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=YtbsrUijM4M
ATB
Simon
[Edited on 22/9/12 by Simon]
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RK
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| posted on 22/9/12 at 01:09 PM |
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Go to a decent bike shop and ask their advice. Anything remotely like the last vid, and you probably need a bit more experience and some serious
equipment. A XC bike would fly to pieces on such a trail at any speed, and you would be picking bits of metal out of you for years! It would not be
fun, anyways.
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Peteff
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| posted on 22/9/12 at 03:33 PM |
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Cycling shorts help and are essential even for road riding. I got some Aldi cycling shorts, you can wear your cargo shorts over them so you
don't look silly
yours, Pete
I went into the RSPCA office the other day. It was so small you could hardly swing a cat in there.
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Dangle_kt
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| posted on 22/9/12 at 05:09 PM |
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Thanks guys - appreiciate the tips - and NO I wont be running anything like that 2nd vid posted up for many a moon! That is pretty hardcore DH!
That first vid though, looks lovely a lovely run!
I've got a few bikes in mind 2nd hand:
Trek fuel ex 8
Specilized stumpjumper fsr
Specilized camber
cube ams 100
all seem to come in below a grand, some by a long way.
Cargo pants over the top are a must, I'm not yet at the lyrca stage!
I can see how it could become adictive, but at least I'll get fit in the process!
What about gloves? Camblebak?Spares kit?
[Edited on 22/9/12 by Dangle_kt]
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me!
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| posted on 22/9/12 at 05:49 PM |
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CyB is excellent fun- best trail centre I've been to! I go to Cannock Chase most often, which is tame in comparison but still a good laugh. I
used to ride a hard tail until Afan beat the crap out of me- I could barely move my hands by the time I got back to the campsite, and my legs were in
agony!
I ride a Canyon Nerve AM, it's pretty nice and a 'bargain', if you can call a £1600 bike a bargain! Canyon are well worth a look-
you budget will nearly get you a brand new Nerve XC 6 - http://www.canyon.com/_uk/mountainbikes/bike.html?b=2555 these are 120mm XC/trail centre FS
bikes, and get seriously good reviews. You are looking to buy at the right time as well- the manufacturers are changing model years so there are
bargains to be had. Any thing between 120-150mm travel should see you right, towards the top end if you want to fly downhill, lower end if climbing is
your bag.
Good gloves/helmet/lycra shorts are a must. After I started road cycling I now wear proper roadie bib shorts under my baggies- I find these much more
comfortable as the pad tends to stay in place better. And you can parade around looking like a wrestler before you don the baggies! I also take a
DaKine version of a camelbak, pretty much a necessity. Also a saddle bag with a spare tube, a multi tool, CO2 inflator, patches etc, quick fit chain
links (most used item), £20 (for a taxi!) and a spare pair of brake pads if its wet. I did a set of pads in one lap of Cannock once- it's like
grinding paste when wet, hence the pads! You will be amazed how much this lot comes to, so budget for it!
All the bikes you list are good. Check out bike radar.com for loads of reviews, and a pretty active forum.
Enjoy it, you will get addicted. I absolutely love it and am planning a trip to the alps next year! Good to see some MTB'er on here.
If you want to see how its done- check this out! The guy is a loon. And the commentator is a prat!
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=PaUuc9siazI
Edit- just noticed the Canyon site may not be much use to you- they're pretty much all sold out until the new models come in! Must be good
:-)
[Edited on 22/9/12 by me!]
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RK
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| posted on 22/9/12 at 06:59 PM |
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Just dont be shocked at the price of bike parts vs car parts. The car parts market is a lot bigger!
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Stott
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| posted on 22/9/12 at 07:26 PM |
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You don't need cargo pants over cycling shorts, you can just buy cargo looking cycle shorts with the ducks butt sewn in, how times have
changed!
As for the saddle though it might be worth going to your LBS (local bike shop - you'll see that acronym a lot) and getting one that fits your
ass, some kill and some are stunning, we're all different.
I've got a WTB pure V Race saddle which is very comfortable, I can be on it for hours and it's still great. My bro agrees and bought one
for his Commencal which came with a fancy saddle but was torturous.
ATB
Stott
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Simon
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| posted on 22/9/12 at 07:53 PM |
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Another thing that's worth looking at is a dropper seaport so you can adjust seat height between two presets depending on whether you are going
up or down.
ATB
Simon
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