Getting into cycling / mountain biking

Grubscrew

Grubscrew

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I am unsure if I posted but this before, couldn't find anything in search.

We have rented bikes for a few times and we liked it, but still not too sure, so I thinking about buying a few nice 2nd hand bikes.

My wife is 1.65m tall, will bike with a medium frame work on 26 inch tyres for her? Or do we have to go 29 inch tyres?

Since I am a Man and I don't run when it is raining, a large frame with 29inch tyres should be ok. On a hot day I am 1.78m tall.

You help in this thread is appreciated.

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Grubscrew said:
I am unsure if I posted but this before, couldn't find anything in search.

We have rented bikes for a few times and we liked it, but still not too sure, so I thinking about buying a few nice 2nd hand bikes.

My wife is 1.65m tall, will bike with a medium frame work on 26 inch tyres for her? Or do we have to go 29 inch tyres?

Since I am a Man and I don't run when it is raining, a large frame with 29inch tyres should be ok. On a hot day I am 1.78m tall.

You help in this thread is appreciated.

0x0x0x0x0
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You are a medium frame size, your wife a small..

The simplest thing to do though, go out to a bike shop where they can fit you for the correct frame size..

You don't have to buy anything, just get fitted, look at a few bikes like you want to buy it and then say thanks, I will be waiting to see what black Friday has in-store in terms of specials..
 
Priapus said:
Bikehub is a great site.

Actually getting rid of my two bikes soon. Can't take them with me unfortunately.
Click to expand...

Agreed, Bikehub is great for all sorts of bike kit, once you figure out what you are looking for.

P.S. Interested in selling your bike work stand?
 
Grubscrew said:
I am unsure if I posted but this before, couldn't find anything in search.

We have rented bikes for a few times and we liked it, but still not too sure, so I thinking about buying a few nice 2nd hand bikes.

My wife is 1.65m tall, will bike with a medium frame work on 26 inch tyres for her? Or do we have to go 29 inch tyres?

Since I am a Man and I don't run when it is raining, a large frame with 29inch tyres should be ok. On a hot day I am 1.78m tall.

You help in this thread is appreciated.

0x0x0x0x0
Click to expand...
26ers are dead. Get your wife a 29er, unless you want her to give up on cycling. The 29er just rolls easier through ruts and over obstacles.

You are about my size (on the border of a small / large frame) and I ride a 29er medium. My road bike is a 54cm (one size smaller than where large starts @ 56cm), so a edium for you, and small for her.

A bicycle frame size is not a bank balance, do not fall for the larger is better thing... unless it is rim size, but even then, do not go for funny sizes (> 29er) or fat wheels.

Go sus things out at the local specialty cycling shops (not Sportsmans or Decathlon) and get a feel for the position & comfort on a medium and large frame.
Note though that each manufacturer has different geometries, so fit / comfort can differ between manufacturers. Remember that reach to the handlebars cannot be fixed by saddle position (fore / aft) .

If you want to join the dark side get a steel frame and turn it into a single speed! Just know that you'll then always have the wrong gear, even though you'll technically have 3 gears: sit, stand & push
 
geezer said:
I am sure that our resident mountain biker, @Rouxenator will be willing to add some helpful comments and insights to this thread.
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If he goes softer than "steel is real" or anything else than "gears are like testicles, you only need one"... well... :D:D:D


Irrespective of any of that, the more cyclists, the better!
 
Yeah best advice is to go get fitted but it does cost around R750.

Try get carbon, dual suspension and Shimano slx or better second hand but it is pricey.

Those would be my bottom specs to have a good time on a bike.
 
Scary_Turtle said:
Yeah best advice is to go get fitted but it does cost around R750.

Try get carbon, dual suspension and Shimano slx or better second hand but it is pricey.

Those would be my bottom specs to have a good time on a bike.
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Those are the bottom specs for a great time, sure.. however, they are just getting into this hobby now..

Nothing wrong with an alloy frame, hard tail and deore when you are just getting started..
 
WAslayer said:
Those are the bottom specs for a great time, sure.. however, they are just getting into this hobby now..

Nothing wrong with an alloy frame, hard tail and deore when you are just getting started..
Click to expand...

I would maybe go aluminum but the dual suspension saves your bum. Hardtails suck and my bum cant handle it. Once you have ridden a heavy aluminum frame around and sucked air you wish you would have spent a bit more.

For around 8-15k 2nd hand dual suspension is very possible on a half decent aluminum frame.

Min for a decent carbon frame with dual is 15k 2nd hand but you have to look for the right buyer but probably closer to 20k.

Also you don't know a guy's budget.
 
@Grubscrew - whereabouts are you located? If in Pretoria I'd recommend going to Cycle House (Rachel de Beer St, Pretoria North). The owner (Anton) tends to give honest advice, rather than what fits his profit margins best.

If you buy used, a few things to look at:
1. What condition is the groupset (gears) in? Generally you won't want to downgrade, and replacing an XT set isn't cheap.

2. You'll probably want dual-suspension. It is not a requirement, but makes your ride softer and will keep your wife more interested in cycling. If there's a remote lock-out lever to change the suspension settings, that is a super nice bonus. However, you'll want to send the suspension in for a service soon'ish. Cogent is pretty good (many bike shops send to them for service), but a full service can also be pretty pricey. R5k for a shock service is cheaper than R10k to replace a fork, though (numbers are very rough guestimates).

3. How happy are the breaks? A break bleed is not too hard to do if you diy, but if you mess up you can collapse the break and throw it away (been there,...).

4. Back to shocks - shocks should be setup for the rider. Never allow heavier people to ride on your bicycle without first setting the shock for them - it is easy to pop seals if a heavy person get onto a bicycle setup for a light person. If you're heavy and you want to test-ride a bike - make sure that the shocks don't compress more than about 30% when you get onto the bicycle. If they do compress that much, don't try anything like a bunnyhop.

5. Dropper posts are really nice to have, and if you enjoy somewhat rocky downward slopes they become a "really want to have". Keep in mind that they also wear out eventually - test its action before buying.
 
Thanks for the tag @geezer

We recently had to buy a bigger bike for my daughter since her 20" Titan was justy getting too small. That said she is just a little too short to fit on a small 29er so we opted for a 26er and it works pretty well.

My advice however is to go for a 29er if at all possible. Finding a good bike is not that hard, there are plenty of used ones from good brands if you look around - the tricky part is getting the best bang for your buck in terms of components.

Things I had to upgrade on the kid's bike was:
Tubeless tyres @ R800 - these are tricky to find for 26ers but loads of options exist for 29er. Look out for specials as tyres are usually R500 each.
1x crank @ R400 - used part, if you buy from Rapide it will cost more, but last more and make for a good reduction in weight and maintenance.
10 speed groupset @ R1400 - running with a 1x crank you definitely want 10 or more gears, I found on 9 and 8 speed the gaps are too big and it does throw the chain off on some shifts.
Hydraulic brakes @ R1000 - really is a huge upgrade over any cable brakes.

If you just want casual riding then I would only bother with tubeless tires on a decent 29er. You can worry about the rest later when it comes time to replace those parts if you manage to ride the bike enough so that they become worn out.
 
I got this one Grubbers. Secondhand, a third of the price of the 2023 equivalent and clean as a whistle. Service and new tires done. I'll move to clipless after a few months (it's been over a decade since I last rode).

IMG_3632.jpeg
 
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