Looking for a beginner All Mountain, Hardtail Mountain Bike

[Lachiepower0402]

So I am a beginner at mountain biking, I own a sort of mountain bike, a Repco piece of !! BAN ME NOW FOR SWEARING !!, which isn't a mountain bike. I will going in the Husky100, I am doing the 20km ride in December. So I will be wanting a All Mountain style of mountain bike, hard tail, 29 inch wheels and definitely disc brakes.

I was considering brands such as: Santa Cruz, Specialized.

Another point I want to make is that I don't want a bike that has Suntour parts as they are not the best parts, I would want a good fork e.g. Fox or Rockshox and good gears e.g. Shimano. Also good disc brakes e.g. Shimano.

Bikes I was thinking of are:

http://www.santacruzbicycles.com/en/au/highball" onclick="window.open(this.href);return false; (Base model)

What bikes would you recommend and how much should I spend?

[Ross]

I rrecently bought a Giant XTC 29er which is pretty good value for the money. Especially with $600 discount!

http://www.giant-bicycles.com/en-au/bik ... 916/66499/" onclick="window.open(this.href);return false;

[Lachiepower0402]

That bike looks pretty good and it has good parts. How did you get a $600 discount on it, because I would not be able to afford that bike at the original price.

[Ross]

The new models are out now/out soon so LBS was having a runout sale

[Lachiepower0402]

So the 2015 model will be coming into stock, so the 2014 model will be the discounted one. Do all bike shops have this sale?

[Lachiepower0402]

I've just worked out my budget for my bike and it is $1529 maximum, so the Giant bike will be out of the question, what do you everyone think about the Santa Cruz bike, by reading the specs or from experience.

What bikes can anyone recommend for my budget with descent parts.

Thank you in advance

[Lachiepower0402]

How about this bike?

http://www.trekbikes.com/au/en/bikes/mo ... caliber_8/#" onclick="window.open(this.href);return false;

[mitzikatzi]

Have a look on bike exchange http://www.bikeexchange.com.au/s/mountain-bikes" onclick="window.open(this.href);return false;

Or if you can live with a 26" bike. I guess a 650 back wheel with a smaller tyre would fit. Ask on MTBR.
build this up http://www.this link is broken/au/e ... -prod90794" onclick="window.open(this.href);return false;
search eBay and rotorburn etc for second hand parts. Bit of time I think you could do it for $1500
a 29er might be more
http://www.this link is broken/au/e ... -prod90796" onclick="window.open(this.href);return false;

All Mountain is a specific style of bike. Somewhat different to a "mountain bike" which in my mind would be more XC or Trail. I suspect if you want to go racing a XC or Trail bike might be more suitable than an All mountain bike. A Ragley Piglet is more a Trail bike than the Blue Pig (AM) I linked to above.

Nothing wrong with higher end Suntour forks.

[Lachiepower0402]

Thanks for the advice, but I would like to, for my first mountain bike, purchase a complete bike from a shop so I can get it fitted, test ride it, etc.

I would probably want to go with a Trail bike then, would this be suitable for road use as well?

Which Suntour fork models are the best ones and which ones should I stay away from?

Are the two bikes that I mentioned before suitable?

Thank you in advance,
Lachiepower0402

[mitzikatzi]

Go to Bike Exchange

Search for bikes $1000 to $1500 close to your postcode.
Look for a bike discounted or on sale.
Trek make good bikes.
I see a few Scotts with happy owners.
$1500 will get you a Trek Fuel 4 on sale.

All bikes have positives and negatives in that price range.

[Lachiepower0402]

The only Trek bikes that are in my area are X-Caliber 8's. Their was one Trek Fuel 8 but it was used and I wanting to get a new bike.

The X-Caliber has some good reviews, will it handle rough trails and a bit of jumping?


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[Gordonhooker]

You did say looking for a beginner mountain bike, after the Repco this one from Reid is not too badly spec'd out for a bike under $600.

http://www.reidcycles.com.au/reid-xenon-29er-disc.html" onclick="window.open(this.href);return false;

[silentbutdeadly]

So I will be wanting a All Mountain style of mountain bike, hard tail, 29 inch wheels and definitely disc brakes.

That's a difficult combination in the new market these days...

Most all mountain/enduro/trail rigs are typically 120mm to 140mm travel duallies with 26 or 27.5 wheels.

Amongst the Santa Cruz range, their hardtail Chameleon is more of a AM bike than the Highball you suggested...but neither of them will hit your budget regardless (SC Chameleon 2015 RRP frame only is $980 and $2840 with D build kit, Highball frame only $940 with D build is ~$2,600).

If you can find a bike shop trapped with a 2014 Giant XTC Advanced 2 (the Advanced version is the slacker version of the XTC that 'might' count towards the AM side of XC) in your size then you might hit budget - but I'd reckon it'd be closer to $1,700 if you fell across one.

Another option that 'might' hit budget (but you'd be buying sight unseen) is the On One Parkwood (29er) or On-One 456 Evo 2 (26er) or On One 45650B (27.5er). Either way...these are perfectly specced for your needs and would be useful to go to school on if shopping locally. The Cotic Soul speaks to me but that's just a frame.

The Trek X-Caliber is an XC orientated bike...their AM bike is the Fuel EX, it's a dually and it won't hit budget (unless you are extremely lucky)...plus there are the usual extra maintenance costs associated with duallies.

Frankly...I can't think of anything off the top of my head locally and fully built that will hit your budget.

[Lachiepower0402]

All right then, the size of the wheel doesn't matter, if I want to get a descent bike and not be picky. Would a XC bike be better for me, seeing that the Trek X-Caliber is XC.

The Reid bike looks OK, but I am not sure about the quality of the bike, seeing the price is $600.

[trailgumby]

YEs, it would. And I agree with your thoughts on the Reid. Heavy.

All Mountain hardtails are quite rare in the market outside Canada, and it's not a bike you would ride significant distances on. Typically they have a 150mm fork, slack head angle, super short stem and wiiiiide handlebars, and are built like tanks (heavy) to survive the abuse. Heavy duty Downhill wheels and double-ply rear tyres are typical. Meant more for riders who enjoy adding extra challenge to tackling technical trails that are IMBA black to double-black rated (advanced to very advanced) and ride with flat pin-spike pedals and body armour. Gap Jumps and 2 feet plus wheelie drops to flat for starters.

Does that sound like you as a beginner mountain biker? I'd have thought it unlikely.

So I would go for an XC 29er as being much more suitable for your target event. They roll better and are more comfortable than the smaller wheeled bikes. Plenty of those around and a few are starting to turn up secondhand at affordable prices with a decent spec. Giant is one brand, Gary Fisher (now absorbed into Trek) is another, the key thing is to get your sizing correct as 100km is a very long way to ride on a bike that doesnt fit. For a 100km event with my back at my age in your shoes I'd be looking hard at 29er duallies, but that's going demonstrably up a level budget-wise.

Hard to go past Giant for value. However, I'd disregard completely their marketing blather about 27.5" being the "magic" wheel size, unless you are too short to fit a Medium frame. For XC endurance events on typical trails 29ers are demonstrably faster (read: easier to pedal).

[Homo Suburbiensis]

YEs, it would. And I agree with your thoughts on the Reid. Heavy.

The Reid is lighter than the Trek X-Caliber 7. Most bikes around the $600 (for value brands) and $1000 (for big name brands) are around 14kg anyway. http://www.bikeradar.com/au/gear/articl ... est-40305/" onclick="window.open(this.href);return false;


Mind you, I don't know much about mountain bikes but I would think that the poor fork on the Reid (suntour XCT) would be a more appropriate criticism.

[Ross]

Here's a 29er duallie - http://www.abcbikes.com.au/2014-giant-a ... 9er-2.html" onclick="window.open(this.href);return false;

[mitzikatzi]

Nice Bike Radar link.

Yes a XCT is closely related to a Pogo stick

[silentbutdeadly]

All right then, the size of the wheel doesn't matter, if I want to get a descent bike and not be picky. Would a XC bike be better for me, seeing that the Trek X-Caliber is XC.

Absolutely...TrailGumby is right.

If you go XC hardtail then there's heaps to pick from in your budget...

And if you get one that has a RS Recon or Reba solo air fork then you'll find that you can actually gut the fork, remove the spacer in the air canister and have an instant 120 mm travel if you find yourself needing the extra travel down the track...that's a bonus.

2015 Giant Talon 1 at $1,400 retail is a damn good place to start but if you can snare the XTC 27.5 1 ($1,800 RRP) then that'd be my pick. Merida and Cube also offer very good bang for buck on their XC models

[Lachiepower0402]

I can't find any XTC bikes for my budget, but their is a Talon for my budget near me:

http://www.bikeexchange.com.au/a/27-5-m ... /102593786" onclick="window.open(this.href);return false;

[trailgumby]

That's a very good buy for the money. However, if you know your frame size, you can get something like this for the same $1400 or much less

http://www.ebay.com.au/itm/Giant-Anthem ... 43cf99df82" onclick="window.open(this.href);return false;

Or like this for a little more:

http://www.ebay.com.au/itm/Giant-Trance ... 7675.l2557" onclick="window.open(this.href);return false;

I'm still very firmly of the view that for XC anything less than 29er is short-cutting yourself.

[Lachiepower0402]

Like I said before, I don't want to buy a bike online, sorry. The main reason is because my parents are the ones providing the money for the bike, they told me I can pick a bike in this budget and they do not want to buy online, but I will look out for those bikes in my LBS, seeing how good they are.

[mitzikatzi]

Probably a good idea to buy from a store. Find a shop you like and buy from them. Not all shops are the same after sales service is important as is selling you what you need not just what they have in the shop.

This shop might be worth a look http://tbsm.com.au/bikes/mountain-bike/xc-trail-ht" onclick="window.open(this.href);return false;

A Norco is another brand worth thinking about.

[silentbutdeadly]

I can't find any XTC bikes for my budget, but their is a Talon for my budget near me:

http://www.bikeexchange.com.au/a/27-5-m ... /102593786" onclick="window.open(this.href);return false;

You'll do well with that. A young bloke in my club has been racing one of those in the Victorian Interschool series this year and been getting podiums despite being spectacularly mechanically unsympathetic. If you are just starting out then it is an extremely good place to start. It'll do fine at most of the popular Sydney trails like OMV, Mt Annan, Manly Dam or the new Wylde...or even further afield like Ourimbah.

It won't go so well on things like Oxford Falls but then as a beginner...neither will you.

[Lachiepower0402]

Probably a good idea to buy from a store. Find a shop you like and buy from them. Not all shops are the same after sales service is important as is selling you what you need not just what they have in the shop.

This shop might be worth a look http://tbsm.com.au/bikes/mountain-bike/xc-trail-ht" onclick="window.open(this.href);return false;

A Norco is another brand worth thinking about.

That store is a bit far away from me, about an hour drive.