What mountain bike for a beginner?

Rouxenator said:
I am assuming it is one of those limited edition ones you could win along with a 10 year bottle of brandy. Like this one : http://www.bikehub.co.za/forum/classifieds/157306-mountain-bike-by-cardinal-with-richelieu-branding/

For that money I would not take it. It is very entry level and you can get a much better bike from http://rapidbikes.co.za/
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Know of any reviews on Rapid Bikes. Might look at the Peak Pro 27.5 to start out with. Can get an old Mongoose for R1900 but it is a 26"

I was looking a this http://raleighintl.com/mxr-29er/
but everyone says stay away from Makro / Game bikes.
 
What's your budget? Rather look for a good used 29er on bikehub.co.za or gumtree.

My current bike is an awesome Silverback 29er and I got it for less than R10k.
 
Rouxenator said:
What's your budget? Rather look for a good used 29er on bikehub.co.za or gumtree.

My current bike is an awesome Silverback 29er and I got it for less than R10k.
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Low budget at the moment. 3k

Will b just riding mainly trails, single track. Maybe 20% will be road. I wouldn't be doing any racing, just riding with friends to get fit.
 
How tall are you? On the smaller frames 29s also don't make sense. The best is to hang around on the forums and wait for a good second hand deal then 3000 can get you a nice bike.
 
Beachless said:
How tall are you? On the smaller frames 29s also don't make sense. The best is to hang around on the forums and wait for a good second hand deal then 3000 can get you a nice bike.
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Very hood advice and often overlooked. Things have been much easier for me since I moved to XL from Large.
 
Thanks for the feedback. I'm 1.75m. I like the Rapidbike, seems to be better than those Retail store stuff. Can get a new Silverback 29er for R6999, sadly over my budget at present.

The Mongoose I can get is the Rockadile with discs and Suntour fork entry level for R1900 neg.

http://www.mongoose-bikes.ru/items/395279/

Everyone says to look for a 29er, that's why i asked about the Rapid bike as it is listed on there site at R3995 for the 27.5". Then not to much to save up.
 
It could be a rebranded Suntour, however it is probably some OEM shock from China. You can always upgrade if you need to or if you manage to break it.
 
Rouxenator said:
It could be a rebranded Suntour, however it is probably some OEM shock from China. You can always upgrade if you need to or if you manage to break it.
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Thats what i was also thinking with the Raliegh :D The mxr29er is on special for R2999.

Alu frame, Shimmano gearing(also entry level),etc. Has a Zoom fork with no lock :(. 29" Rims are Mach1 from France. Only thing I did not like on that one was the cheap nylon pedals and the tyres also look cheap.

MXRDS29er_spec2.jpg
 
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Firstly, lock out is the most useless feature I have seen on shocks. I have TWICE paid R1k to get rid of the nasty Pop-Loc remote lockout system that Rock-Shox has, purely because it starts acting up and then the fork is always locked. OK, on air shocks it is never fully locked out but it does close the floodgate of the damper pretty well. Right now my Rock-Shox Reba has a manual lockout that is variable, so you adjust the opening of the floodgate. It works, I used it once just to test it, never again.

So long story short, forget about locking out the shock.

Secondly, those nylon Raleigh pedals are actually quite good. I ride flat pedals on my MTB and in December I took my Shimano Saints in for a service, as a temporary alternative I bought a pair of those nylon Raleigh pedals from Game for R69. They work so well they are still on my bike.

A few things you do have to take into account when buying something like that Raleigh from Game is :
1) It was probably built by a store employee with not a lot of knowledge about bikes, so somethings might not work as it should.
2) The seatpost seems to use the old style saddle clamp as opposed to the newer laprade type.
3) Disc brakes seems to be mechanical, not hydraulic.
 
Rouxenator said:
Firstly, lock out is the most useless feature I have seen on shocks. I have TWICE paid R1k to get rid of the nasty Pop-Loc remote lockout system that Rock-Shox has, purely because it starts acting up and then the fork is always locked. OK, on air shocks it is never fully locked out but it does close the floodgate of the damper pretty well. Right now my Rock-Shox Reba has a manual lockout that is variable, so you adjust the opening of the floodgate. It works, I used it once just to test it, never again.

So long story short, forget about locking out the shock.

Secondly, those nylon Raleigh pedals are actually quite good. I ride flat pedals on my MTB and in December I took my Shimano Saints in for a service, as a temporary alternative I bought a pair of those nylon Raleigh pedals from Game for R69. They work so well they are still on my bike.

A few things you do have to take into account when buying something like that Raleigh from Game is :
1) It was probably built by a store employee with not a lot of knowledge about bikes, so somethings might not work as it should.
2) The seatpost seems to use the old style saddle clamp as opposed to the newer laprade type.
3) Disc brakes seems to be mechanical, not hydraulic.
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Is a 29" Schwinn Moab Mountain Bike worth looking at? It is 1.5 years old. Oke wants just under 4k. It has mechanical disc brakes. Suntour XCT fork.
 
If you want him to stop biking quickly get him the heavyweight Makro cheapies.
 
If you can find one of these, buy it, been comfortable and happy since 2010. although not very fit :-)

Bloody good bikes, and they are cheap if you can find one, caught mine on a fire sale, 7 years an absolutely no issues, just some sevices of the shocks, but this thing is by far stronger then I be. :-0

images.jpg

mountain-cycle-fury-frame.jpg
 
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