MTB recommendation

I have a friend at work, alas no internet access, who's looking for a new
hardtail MTB. He's looked at a Marin Rocky Ridge (around £950) which he
seems to like, but doesn't know much about alternatives. Usage will be
trails, up to 30 miles, he's around 10 stones and not a spring chicken, and
will not be using it to jump off walls etc.

Any suggestions / recommendations in the same price bracket?

Cheers,
Chris


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Chris Walters
Hungerford, UK
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"Chris Walters" writes:

I have a friend at work, alas no internet access, who's looking for a new
hardtail MTB. He's looked at a Marin Rocky Ridge (around £950) which he
seems to like, but doesn't know much about alternatives. Usage will be
trails, up to 30 miles, he's around 10 stones and not a spring chicken, and
will not be using it to jump off walls etc.

There are a huge range of bikes out there...

A key issue with an off-road bike, no matter what you do with it, is
weight. Lighter is generally better and there have to be important
reasons for choosing a heavier bike. A ten stone rider who is not
doing nasty downhills should not have worries about breaking things so
from his point of view there should be no particular reason to worry
about strength.

Another key issue, particularly if you are doing distances, is
comfort. A full suspension bike will weigh more than an equivalent
hardtail by about 4 pounds; it will also cost more by several hundred
pounds. But a good one will be a lot more comfortable to ride and will
also, as an added bonus, handle difficult surfaces better so you will
be able to go faster for the same skill level. While we're on comfort,
whatever bike you get, expect to throw away the saddle that comes on
it and replace it with one that really fits you. And (obviously) size
matters. It doesn't matter how good a bike is, if it doesn't fit it
won't be comfortable.

Finally, there is an important tradeoff between maintenance and
adjustability. Air suspension units are much more easy to tune for
your weight and riding style but on the whole take somewhat more
maintenance than spring ones. Don't buy elastomer-only suspension
units, they tend not to work well for long.

Do not buy a hardtail until you have ridden a reasonable distance on a
good full suspension bike and got the feel of it (hire one for a
day). It's a different compromise and not necessarily the right one
but one you ought to evaluate.

Cantilever and V brakes stop off-road bikes perfectly adequately in
all but very wet conditions. Disk brakes really are more powerful,
and less affected by wet and mud. But they weigh more and are much
more expensive.

Makes I would recommend looking at include Orange, Whyte (why is it
that high profile British MTB companies seem to have colour names),
Cannondale, Santa Cruz. In a slightly higher price bracket, the german
Nicolai bikes are about the nicest around.

--
(Simon Brooke) http://www.jasmine.org.uk/~simon/

I'm fed up with Life 1.0. I never liked it much and now it's getting
me down. I think I'll upgrade to MSLife 97 -- you know, the one that
comes in a flash new box and within weeks you're crawling with bugs.

Simon Brooke wrote:

Another key issue, particularly if you are doing distances, is
comfort. A full suspension bike will weigh more than an equivalent
hardtail by about 4 pounds; it will also cost more by several hundred
pounds. But a good one will be a lot more comfortable to ride and will
also, as an added bonus, handle difficult surfaces better so you will
be able to go faster for the same skill level.

And as an added bonus the handling tricky surfaces better makes the bike
more efficient at going over them, as the big bumps move the suspension
rather than the whole arse-end of the bike which eats up quite a lot of
energy. So even though the bike's heavier you may well end up using
less effort over the course of the journey.

Makes I would recommend looking at include Orange, Whyte (why is it
that high profile British MTB companies seem to have colour names),
Cannondale, Santa Cruz.

I'm hardly an MTB expert, but Specialized seem to have a good name in
the field and are probably worth a look too.

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