Recommend an MTB?

[Some Gump]

Hi PP forum!

Dirty road bike noob here. I've got an MTB, but it's a decrepit old Trek 4500 with gears sufficiently worn that today when I tried to use it off road, the chain came off 3 times under power and I almost neutered myself! (it's set as good as I can get it, but the chainring moves on the crank spider, it's officially fubar!)

I don't see the point of refreshing the components on such an old, heavy, and 400 quid new (in 2006) bike, so obviously n+1 kicks in! I'm down to 3 bikes (from 5) so I think it passes the test...

So, what to get? I have no idea!

I am:
Mid 40's, a coward downhill, but a bike fan.

I'd like to ride:
Explore-y uphill trails like the ones above Castleton in the peaks
The less challenging downhill trails at places like Phillips Park, Whinlatter etc

I'm not going to ride:
Scary jumps (I'm 45)
Crazy downhills (I'm a dad, if I break a bone it'll just make wor lass miserable)..

..So now I need advice - because I know jack all about MTB's! I have no idea if a high spec but older 26" hardtail, or a newer but more lowly 29 is better, I have no idea about what the good groupsets are etc. Figuring I want relaxed geo not twitchy (my Focus roadie is pointy as hell, my GT roadie far more benign) - but I have no clue as to what bikes have what geo etc.

Budget aiming for 300 ish, but could do 5 if needed. Obviously, this is ebay / FB territory, so I don't want to go to a bike shop and waste their time only to not give them a sale.

Do any PH'ers have any suggestions in general / "buy this on ebay"?

Cheers
Gump

[Super Sonic]

Why not upgrade the bike you have?:
https://www.ebay.co.uk/itm/365584060219?_skw=spoke...
https://www.ebay.co.uk/itm/405976307400?_skw=bike+...
https://www.ebay.co.uk/itm/382885242881
Or get a Carrera Krakatoa.
Carrera Krakatoa Mountain Bike| eBay UK https://share.google/vpEbyFYq8zQcgFMt3
c/w biopace chain set.

Edited by Super Sonic on Saturday 28th June 21:33

[trashbat]

Where are you? Sounds like Manchester or similar.

[Some Gump]

Super Sonic said:

Why not upgrade the bike you have?:
https://www.ebay.co.uk/itm/365584060219?_skw=spoke...
https://www.ebay.co.uk/itm/405976307400?_skw=bike+...
https://www.ebay.co.uk/itm/382885242881
Or get a Carrera Krakatoa.
Carrera Krakatoa Mountain Bike| eBay UK https://share.google/vpEbyFYq8zQcgFMt3
c/w biopace chain set.

Edited by Super Sonic on Saturday 28th June 21:33

Haha made me crease that!
Also thanks for recommendation

[Some Gump]

trashbat said:

Where are you? Sounds like Manchester or similar.

Aye, not far from Manchester airport. Got Mac Forrest, Bolly hills, etc etc within a ride, Philips park, dellermere etc a drive and ride…

Flat as a witches tit near me though, which is why I ended up going down the road route - I’m not aware of any decent man trails within about 12 miles ish…

[trashbat]

Some Gump said:

Aye, not far from Manchester airport. Got Mac Forrest, Bolly hills, etc etc within a ride, Philips park, dellermere etc a drive and ride

Flat as a witches tit near me though, which is why I ended up going down the road route - I m not aware of any decent man trails within about 12 miles ish

There's two Philips Parks with bike trails in Manc; I'm going to guess you mean the Prestwich one.

I live around there. If it's useful, you could bring your Trek around at some mutually convenient time and I'd be happy to give you an idea of whether it's worth bothering with fixing up, and what you might need to make it workable. I'm not a bike mechanic and I actually don't ride much any more, but my MTB preferences are similar to yours and I've had a fair bit of experience with bikes like that over the years.

I offer that because I think there's probably a balance to be struck here: not spending a load of money before figuring out whether you actually like this kind of riding, but not having a bike so st that it unnecessarily puts you off. I don't know where £300 on eBay gets you in that respect - could be very random, anywhere between a disappointment no better than the Trek, and a really nice bike.

[OutInTheShed]

Some Gump said:

Hi PP forum!
.....

..So now I need advice - because I know jack all about MTB's! I have no idea if a high spec but older 26" hardtail, or a newer but more lowly 29 is better, I have no idea about what the good groupsets are etc. Figuring I want relaxed geo not twitchy (my Focus roadie is pointy as hell, my GT roadie far more benign) - but I have no clue as to what bikes have what geo etc......

Cheers
Gump

How do you quantify 'better'?

It's a weigh-off between modern lazy geometry and older bikes with quality forks, among other things.
I bought an older full sus bike with nice components on it and enjoy it a lot.

I could probably go faster downhill and hurt myself more spectacularly on a more modern bike. But that's not what I'm looking for.

You could probably sort your Trek quite cheaply if you enjoy wielding spanners. But equally you can probably find a good used bike with decent suspension, XT--level gears, nice brakes etc.

It's nice to try different stuff to see what you enjoy.

[AB]

I have a Cannondale Rush and I'm on the Wirral, recently bought a new bike and you can come and take it away for £300 if you want?

Let me know if you want pictures/details. It's a decent bike which is now resigned to the garage.

[DE1975]

At that price point a Voodoo Bizango would be a decent shout. They were always highly rated as good value for money bikes and were sold by Halfords in decent numbers so plenty available on FB marketplace to find one near you in the right size.

[Some Gump]

Thanks Trashbat - kind of you!
I know my old trek needs a lot though, front chainrings def goosed, rear mech has been through the spokes and straightened by me with hammer / pliers, and as we all know n+1 doesn't need much of an excuse!

Wirral chap - i'll google that bike and have a look

Thanks for the tip re. Voodoo bizango, my old man bought one the other year, it's def a lot nicer than my old trek!

[mattvanders]

https://www.facebook.com/share/1CrrJiiBLz/?mibexti...

If it’s more long days in the saddle riding xc but not racing xc a down country bike is what you are after. A light bike but more relaxed geometry than a full on racing machine. I had a trek stache - not the exact one as in the link as I swopped out most parts in the end - great bike for me at the time before moving on to more aggressive hardtails

[HenryV1415]

£300 or £500 is largely gong to buy you someone else’s problem.
I’d get a modern but basic frame and build it up with cheap but new components to avoid that issue.
Go with modern geometry over a betteolder bike. New geo is far better to ride and will give you a lot more confidence downhill which is what you need. Downhills are fun and the essence of MTBiing so don’t avoid them. You don’t have to be doing big jumps.

[gmackay2]

I know your budget is perhaps £500 tops, but I have a very nearly new one of these for sale, size large frame for £700
Vitus Sentier VRS 27

https://vitusbikes.com/collections/sentier/product...

Really fun hardtail and the 2.6" tyres take mud/rocks etc in their stride.

[Matthen]

I've been looking for a couple of months. Similar usage patterns to yours.

Facebook Marketplace prices are insane (people asking for 75% of list on 5 year old bikes) - occasionally something comes up, but itll be gone quick (and there's always that nagging suspicion that the "good" deals are on nicked bikes).

I've ended up ordering one of the uprated Rockhoppers from Specialized; air fork but low end - reasonable otherwise - with Vitalitys 25% off; so came to £600.

That was the "best" value I could find that should be trouble free for a couple of seasons at least.

Carrera Fury was also an option; similar spec (worse fork but with a dropper post).

Everything i read said that Air forks make the biggest difference in this price range, so find the bike with the best rated one you can.

[DaveyBoyWonder]

Definitely buy a new bike. Have a look on FB/ebay - for your budget theres loads of stuff like 29" and 27.5" Orange hardtails like Clockworks etc which will all be a massive step up from a 20 year old hardtail.

[tobinen]

I am in a very similar position but struggling to find something decent <£450 used.

I may resort to the cycle to work scheme just to dip my toe in with something around the £1,000 mark.

[keepoffthemarbles]

I faced a similar situation recently albeit I’m older than you and hence even more fragile. I’ve ridden all kinds of bikes for years and never been shy to spend way more on bikes than my biking ability and fitness deserved. My last 15 years or so has been road bikes due to my predominant commuting use case, including many years commuting from the Surrey ‘countryside’ into central London - yes I was that full kit winker on the daily time trial….!

About a year ago I traded my over priced Surrey home for a building site in the north of Scotland. The man maths included an allocation of funds to address my woefully inadequate off road bike(s) and after much research of full suspension, vs hardtail vs gravel bike I ended up with a flat bar gavel bike, i.e. no suspension. My new riding is mostly forestry trails and single tracks south of the Moray Firth and I decided the rigid bike with 50mm tires, at the right pressures, would provide sufficient absorption and importantly for me this set up deters me from throwing myself down trails that would probably kill me. Performance up hills was also a key consideration and I found that when testing out a borrowed hard tail I locked out the fork most of the time. I’m now several 000’s of Km into my new bike and it is perfect for my use case.

I guess my point is - don’t rule out a fully rigid bike that can take 50mm tires. The possible cost saving over a bike with a suspension fork could mean better drive train components are available.

Sorry for bringing up the G word in an MTB thread. Long live rule 12.

[MajorMantra]

Just as a data point, I recently sold a good Whyte 805 hardtail with a near-new drivetrain for £300 on FB. Something like that would be a good shout?

It was a 10 year old bike but the geometry was progressive for the time (not too short...) so they're not horribly dated like a lot of stuff from that era would be, 27.5 wheels aside.

[tobinen]

I must be wanting the moon on a stick as still nothing I fancy has come up around £400.

If I up to £700-ish then Oranges, Whytes et al appear. I am not on FB so maybe I am missing out there.

I would like a large 29" hardtail with one front cog for pottering around bridleways, etc.

Or am I being too narrow-minded as a virgin MTBer?