Suggestions for a £1k hardtail bike?
Discussion
Recently given up cycling to work because I find the traffic a bit stressful.
Keen to continue cycling and since I live in Edinburgh, plenty of terrain nearby. Looking to purchase a mountain bike to use on it, but haven’t had one or done any for 10 years plus so I’m a bit out of the loop.
Can anyone suggest some contenders for a good hardtail that’s quite relaxed/traily/big tyres rather than a full on XC type machine?
Keen to continue cycling and since I live in Edinburgh, plenty of terrain nearby. Looking to purchase a mountain bike to use on it, but haven’t had one or done any for 10 years plus so I’m a bit out of the loop.
Can anyone suggest some contenders for a good hardtail that’s quite relaxed/traily/big tyres rather than a full on XC type machine?
26" - no, just no. Not that there's anything inheritantly wrong with 26" wheels, but they're a (almost) dead standard.
OP, have a look at the Vitus Sentier range, they've just won MBR hardtail of the year with it in the £1000 price category. Get British cycling membership and you'll get 10% off too.
OP, have a look at the Vitus Sentier range, they've just won MBR hardtail of the year with it in the £1000 price category. Get British cycling membership and you'll get 10% off too.
Edited by Tall_Paul on Sunday 8th July 13:08
Tall_Paul said:
26" - no, just no. Not that there's anything inheritantly wrong with 26" wheels, but they're a (almost) dead standard.
OP, have a look at the Vitus Sentier range, they've just won MBR hardtail of the year with it in the £1000 price category. Get British cycling membership and you'll get 10% off too.
Chain Reaction have 164 different 26" tyres in stock. I agree that most companies have moved away from 26" wheels but it's not dead by any stretch and you can pick up some great second hand bargains on bikes as people are convinced to "upgrade" to larger wheels by the bike companies.OP, have a look at the Vitus Sentier range, they've just won MBR hardtail of the year with it in the £1000 price category. Get British cycling membership and you'll get 10% off too.
Edited by Tall_Paul on Sunday 8th July 13:08
Tall_Paul said:
It's not just tyres, it's frames, forks, wheels too. If you're a rider who's coming back to MTB's or completely new to them, then there's no good reason to buy a new 26" wheel bike. Maybe a stonking deal on a used bike, but buying new, nah.
Perhaps if buying new but OP doesn't state that.I had spotted the trek and was considering it. How do you find it?
Any other suggestions now that we’ve established 26” wheels are fine/in no possible circumstances but a bike with 26” wheels?
Actually, quite tempted by the idea of ‘plus’ sized tyres due to possibly being a bit comfier? (Really would like a FS bike but can’t justify it at this point).
Any other suggestions now that we’ve established 26” wheels are fine/in no possible circumstances but a bike with 26” wheels?
Actually, quite tempted by the idea of ‘plus’ sized tyres due to possibly being a bit comfier? (Really would like a FS bike but can’t justify it at this point).
I got hold of a Vitus Sentier VRS last month but got it second hand. The bike had hardly been ridden so it was a steal but even at the RRP I would have been happy. The spec is fantastic for the money, 1x10 drive, through axles front and rear, decent forks up front. I had a boardman FS team before that won best full suspension of the year when it was released, but I've never felt as secure or confident on a bike as I do on the Vitus.
The only upgrades I'm making are a 203mm disc up front (i'm a heavy guy, most people would be fine with the 180mm) and a RSP dropper (price match it from go-outdoors if you get one, cheapest way).
Brilliant bikes!
The only upgrades I'm making are a 203mm disc up front (i'm a heavy guy, most people would be fine with the 180mm) and a RSP dropper (price match it from go-outdoors if you get one, cheapest way).
Brilliant bikes!
Tall_Paul said:
26" - no, just no. Not that there's anything inheritantly wrong with 26" wheels, but they're a (almost) dead standard.
OP, have a look at the Vitus Sentier range, they've just won MBR hardtail of the year with it in the £1000 price category. Get British cycling membership and you'll get 10% off too.
I agree with all and Vitus are hard to beat, buying a 26" wheeled bike now when virtually no major manufactures even offer them any more should be thought of like a VCR or Minidisc player, fine if you like retro otherwise not sensible.OP, have a look at the Vitus Sentier range, they've just won MBR hardtail of the year with it in the £1000 price category. Get British cycling membership and you'll get 10% off too.
Edited by Tall_Paul on Sunday 8th July 13:08
Tall_Paul said:
26" - no, just no. Not that there's anything inheritantly wrong with 26" wheels, but they're a (almost) dead standard.
OP, have a look at the Vitus Sentier range, they've just won MBR hardtail of the year with it in the £1000 price category. Get British cycling membership and you'll get 10% off too.
I agree with all and Vitus are hard to beat, buying a 26" wheeled bike now when virtually no major manufactures even offer them any more should be thought of like a VCR or Minidisc player, fine if you like retro otherwise not sensible.OP, have a look at the Vitus Sentier range, they've just won MBR hardtail of the year with it in the £1000 price category. Get British cycling membership and you'll get 10% off too.
Edited by Tall_Paul on Sunday 8th July 13:08
Herman Toothrot said:
I agree with all and Vitus are hard to beat, buying a 26" wheeled bike now when virtually no major manufactures even offer them any more should be thought of like a VCR or Minidisc player, fine if you like retro otherwise not sensible.
Having done a quick google, am I now to believe that 650b is the new 29er?This resizing 'because this one's better' can't go on for ever.... can it?
Fastpedeller said:
Having done a quick google, am I now to believe that 650b is the new 29er?
This resizing 'because this one's better' can't go on for ever.... can it?
29 was and still is 29, and 650b (or 27.5 as 98% of people refer to it as) is basically the new 26".This resizing 'because this one's better' can't go on for ever.... can it?
There's no 'one is better than the other' with 27.5 and 29ers, they bofh co-exist alongside each other quite well, sometimes in the same bike!
We are in a great time for mountain bikes - full suspension designs are very efficient and you can pedal a 160mm travel bike uphill without much issue. You can ride anything from a 120mm travel to a 180mm travel bike most places, and hardtails have also moved away from the XC focused designs to something fun and rowdy but capable of doing the daily commute. The choice of wheel and tyre sizes means there's something for everyone from 27.5" to 29er plus hardtails, short and long travel 29er and 27.5 FS bikes. Lastly, you can buy a perfectly good Full suss bike that will handle 90% of the stuff most people will throw it down for £1000, and well under £2000 gets you an extremely capable FS bike that's only a a small percentage worst than one double the price. And, £500 on a hardtail will get you all you need to start out with a very capable bike.29ers have moved on loads since the early days - in general they're faster over rough stuff, keep speed better and rollover bumps easier. However they're less agile and less 'fun' (but a lot of that depends on the geometry).
27.5" bikes are more agile, more fun, but not quite as fast in a straight line. Better in twisty tight singletrack. No-one makes 26" bikes anymore as 27.5" has all the good points of 26" but with some of the benefits of 29ers. 26" still has it's place in dirt jumping/trials/die hard hardtail enthusiasts, but for general trail riding, 27.5 or 29 is your choice.
You may also have see reference to 'plus' size bikes - this is just big tyres, which the industry as a whole is moving towards, but a true 27.5+ bike will have 2.8-3.0" tyres. More grip, more comfort. 2.5 and 2.6" tyres will fit pretty much all current bikes now and aren't that much bigger than a standard 2.3" but they make a difference.
Edited by Tall_Paul on Monday 9th July 23:36
I'd have one of these, £720 with BC discount or more if you can find some vouchers at a discount.
https://www.halfords.com/cycling/bikes/mountain-bi...
I have the model down (not as nice a fork, NX instead of GX gearing) and it's far more capable than I am!
https://www.halfords.com/cycling/bikes/mountain-bi...
I have the model down (not as nice a fork, NX instead of GX gearing) and it's far more capable than I am!
river_rat said:
travel is dangerous said:
(Really would like a FS bike but can’t justify it at this point).
If you would like a FS bike, look at the Calibre Bossnut (or Bossnut Evo) which are both in your price range.travel is dangerous said:
interesting, I had assumed that it would be better to have a good quality HT rather than a bottom of the range FS... but that bike looks well-reviewed. What do people think would be better?
That's assuming you need a FS to start with.An aggro HT with the right geo, forks and tyres can be fun too. I use a Commencal META with a Yari 160mm and 2.35 HansDampf. Brilliant at Bike Park Wales but versatile / light / comfy enough on long XC rides. I assume the Bosnut would be 3 kgs heavier.
Gassing Station | Pedal Powered | Top of Page | What's New | My Stuff