What Bike For Porker

[MattMoore]

Afternoon all,
Been slowly losing weight ove the past few years, still a porker though. Now its time to get my fitness up and make a big push for my holiday in May. Bought a rowing machine a couple years ago, but get bored after 20 mins. I always used to enjoy mountain biking though so wan to start again.
I want to make sure I get a bike thats very strong, so the chances of m wearing out things prematurely are as low as can be
With this in mind, would I be better off with a hard tail or full suspension setup?
Mainly will be riding on cycle paths around my area, so some off road terrain but nowt spectacular.
Budget is about £600, will spend more if its significantly better in some respect.


Thanks

Matt

[Revs_Addiction]

Kona Hoss?

Built from Iron Girders!!

[duff]

If you're riding tow paths etc then you really don't need full suspension.

You don't say how much you weigh but I'd question wether many bigger blokes really need a beefy bike - I'm 15.5st and have had a carbon full sus bike and a lightweight hardtail and ridden them both fairly hard with no problems.

Edited by duff on Monday 2nd February 17:37

[MattMoore]

well I'm a few stones heavier than you
I've never minded second hand either, so any suggestions I could bag from a well known auction site would be welcomed.
A guy I used to work with had a specialized full suspension bike, I think it was an FSR, was an 07 bike, hydraulic discs etc, they seem to go for £600 or so on that same site, are they any good?

[mk1fan]

Kona Hoss, On-One 456, Dialled Bikes Prince Albert, Cove Stiffee, DMR Trailstar. Hardtails that come up on e-Bay.

Carrera Banshee is worth a look for new - but total overkill for a tow path.

[MattMoore]

If overkill leads to extra comfort i'm all for it

[littleandy0410]

If extra comfort means you're more likely to ride it more often, then maybe full sus is the way forward! The Specialized you mention is probably either a Stumpjumper FSR, which is a 5" travel Trail bike, costing 1500-2000 new, or an FSR XC, which is what I ride. Mine is an FSR xc Expert 08, which is 4" travel, and had an RRP of £1100. The FSR xc has gone from 4" travel last year, to 5" and a redesigned frame, so there are some good deals out on 08 models new.

I'm not saying don't go for a Hardtail, just don't discount a full susser. Some rear shocks at that price range will come with a lockout, so on smoother roads or for climbing hills, you can lock it out, then when on towpaths or woody trails, sit back and enjoy the comfort of the rear shock!

Have a look at Paulscycles.co.uk, Tredz.co.uk, Edinburghbicycle.com, Evans.co.uk, cyclestore.co.uk, bikescene.co.uk, merlincycles.co.uk, wiggle.co.uk and see if there's anything that takes your fancy!