Mountain bike advice

[Crazyfool]

I used to be a road rider, but when my first son came along, I converted to a mountain bike so I could carry him ad later his brother on the back. I'm not sure of the age, somewhere around 2005, I bought a Giant Rincon. At the time I didn't want to spend too much money and despite the comments I've received about the quality of Giant bikes, I have to say I've been really impressed with this one.

After hauling boys for near on 10 years, I am safely at the point where I can put all that behind me. So I want to treat myself to something a bit more special.

We went on a family holiday to Scotland in September where we hired bikes at the Nevis Range. They use fix tail Treks, although they did have a couple of full suspension versions as well. I was really impressed with the ride, so have started looking at them

The question is, which one?

https://www.evanscycles.com/trek-superfly-6-2017-mountain-bike-EV286573

Or this one

https://www.evanscycles.com/trek-superfly-9-6-2016-mountain-bike-EV242023

I'm looking for a bit of an all rounder rather than hardcore mountain biking.

Any help would be appreciated.



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[Orange225]

Out of those 2, there's not really much difference, one comes with sram running gear, which I find a clunky, the other has mostly shimono, personally I find the shimano brakes much more reliable, and ones a alloy frame and the others plastic.
For me between those two I'd take the carbon version with shimano gear

 

[Crazyfool]

I didn't even pick up on that! I don't think I've heard of SRAM.


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[Orange225]

There's two main component manufacturers, sram and shimano, I prefer shimano as we have less problems with them. From the two you picked, it looks like one is only available in 18.5". How tall are you?

 

[Crazyfool]

That's the next question. I'm 5'11" so wondering what size I should go for. If I'm paying this sort of money, I want it to be right.


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[Orange225]

At your height you should be on an 17 1/2 to 18 1/2 ish or a size large seeing as your from a road background so you'd be used to a larger bike, I'm 5'10" n a bit and I'm on a medium/17" but I prefer a smaller frame to throw around a bit easier. Bearing in mind that sizing can be different from one manufacturer to another. Your best bet is to go through a local bike shop, they'll try you on a couple of different sizes to make sure your comfortable, and you'll have some comeback if your not happy

 

[Crazyfool]

Thanks for the advice. Its really appreciated.


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[Orange225]

Not a problem. Anything else just let me know

 

[Crazyfool]

By the time I got around to making a decision the Superfly 9.6 was sold out, so I opted for the more expensive option and went for the 9.7.

First impressions are good. I've only taken it on some short road rides and it goes really well. The gear change feels super quick compared to my last bike and overall the bike feels light. On the road the only slight criticism I would have is it could do with a couple of more gears, but all in all good.

I'm going to take it in for its 6 week check next month and get the persistent front inner tube problem resolved at the same time; then hopefully its lots of fun riding it this year!

Any suggestions on a speedometer.

Cheers

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[superkarl]

Any suggestions on a speedometer.

Cheers

You're a mountain biker now.
Don't be a fag. Eyes on the trail

 

[Scweak]

What's your front inner tube problem? As for speedo, they're not really used on MTB, but if you must, I would just get a phone mount and use Strava. Any actual mountain biking make sure you throw your phone in the backpack though!

 

[Crazyfool]

Just keeps on going flat all the time. I think it's the valve. I just need a new inner tube.

I'll probably do without the speedo. It was more for distance and I like to track my average speed...keeps me pushing along! I normally use Map my Run.


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[GSB]

If you want something "special", have you considered buying something a bit more unusual and maybe even a bit retro? It's far more satisfying than buying new, and you can build up something really cool and custom spec'd for the same sort of money, or perhaps even less. Here's one of mine;

 

[Crazyfool]

If you want something "special", have you considered buying something a bit more unusual and maybe even a bit retro? It's far more satisfying than buying new, and you can build up something really cool and custom spec'd for the same sort of money, or perhaps even less. Here's one of mine;

View attachment 114963

Is that custom made or off the shelf? Looks cool!


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[GSB]

Is that custom made or off the shelf? Looks cool!


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A little of both. It's a 2004 Whyte P R ST-4, which I had stripped and powder coated, before fitting it with modern shocks, drivetrain, wheels and bars etc. Once I'd bought the all the bits (mostly on eBay), it took me a day to put it all together. It's unusual, a bit geeky (designed by two F1 engineers), crosses rough ground like no other bike I've owned and is very very comfortable. The whole thing cost less than your new option, and (if it's important to you) will retain its value far far better. I've been playing around buying and selling old bits of bikes that take my fancy for years, and it's the only hobby I have that doesn't actually cost me anything.

 

[Crazyfool]

One year on and the bike is still going well. I tend to spend a lot of time off road and starting to realise the tyres need to be upgraded. Even today I was all over the place on the icy/muddy route.

A great purchase was the Beeline. (https://beeline.co) its great. It can either give you directions or I prefer to use the as a crow flies facility which allows me to go pretty much where I like without getting too lost.


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[MarkOC]

Decent tyres are a must have, they are the only part that makes contact with the ground so you want to have confidence in them. Consider going tubeless as well, I haven't had a puncture in almost 2 years.

 

[Crazyfool]

I’m trying to work out what sort of tyre to go for. Any thoughts?


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[Orange225]

All depends on what type of riding and where

 

[Crazyfool]

Mud, gravel and a bit of tarmac


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[Orange225]

Looks like an all round type of tyre then, one of the best all rounders in my opinion would be a Maxxis high roller 2 in a 2.3 in the standard compound, unless your finding yourself sliding out a lot, in which case, a slightly softer compound version might help, we stock high rollers on pretty much all of our bikes