£1k for a mountain bike

[matthewr]

I still use my 20 year old Mongoose SGX for most of my road use (was even my daily commute bike at one point), and occasionally some mild off-road, but my FS has spoiled me in that regard. It's still just as much fun as when I first got it as a teenager, although the 1pc crank is long gone, and I put a pair of Skyways on it too.

I rode some BMX very early in the 80s but didn't buy one until I was in my 40s. Mainly because I had spent my 20s riding XC MTBs and started having 10x the fun when I bought my Cove and started jumping off / over things and found skate parks were popping up everywhere. So I bought a cheap BMX and enjoyed a little bit of dirt jumping and some park riding before my failing body let me down. I was never any good but could ride small half pipes and hop and manual and was learning to fakie and air out of the quarter and pipe when I had to stop.. I deeply regret not having spent years doing it when I was young and fit.

 

[vuk]

gary.

do you have any pictures f the bike and trail(s) where you ride?

 

[garyi]

Hi Vuk, I have neither. The frame is yellow! Although not as garish as the one I linked too.

We are usually out as a family there is plenty of off the beaten bits around here, today we got 3 kg of blackberries they are in abundance this year.

 

[Hempknight]

I rode some BMX very early in the 80s but didn't buy one until I was in my 40s. Mainly because I had spent my 20s riding XC MTBs and started having 10x the fun when I bought my Cove and started jumping off / over things and found skate parks were popping up everywhere. So I bought a cheap BMX and enjoyed a little bit of dirt jumping and some park riding before my failing body let me down. I was never any good but could ride small half pipes and hop and manual and was learning to fakie and air out of the quarter and pipe when I had to stop.. I deeply regret not having spent years doing it when I was young and fit.

I used to love the old 80's BMXs, growing up in the 90's, I used to be able to walk in to the local scrap yard and pull out wrecks to work on (before such rigid health and safety lol) I had a little 16" Suntor with pedal back breaks for a while. I know your pain, I had to give up skate parks and tricks in my mid 20's due to an accident leaving me with mild nerve damage on my right side (just didn't have the control anymore). But it's still great fun, and it's supprising how fast an alloy BMX with plastic wheels can go

 

[rbrierle]

Interesting thread. Bar all the noise.

I bought a new HT last year - first bike I've owned in well over twenty years, last being a Dawes Racer!

There are some cracking deals out there. I picked up a close to £2k Scott carbon for £600 of my money - previous season model, a price match and Evans cycle scheme.
A combination of work and young kids mean time to myself is nigh on zero so it's massively under utilised pottering about with the kids etc, but the carbon frame at least helps when lifting it onto the roof!

My main decision was 27.5 Vs 29. Went into it leaning towards 27.5 and actually was 50:50/pros and cons after an hour or so comparing (Evans Trafford Centre were excellent). Can see why people have both but stuck with 27.5 in the end.

Glad you got sorted Gary and how you enjoy it.

 

[Mr Cat]

Sorry Gary, I'd have been all over this like a rash 4 or 5 years ago, but I've no idea of the current scene spec-wise. Both are great brands (Whyte are British, if that makes any difference to you) and very few manufacturers put out any duffers these days. Best advice would be to get a test ride and see which feels 'right' for you...appreciate that could be difficult, or near impossible.

yep, ideally you'll need to test ride as when I last bought a bike I tested a few and the trek felt right for me as did a clockwork orange (but was over budget), the specialised didn't feel right at all, and the marin less so... but that didn't mean they were bad..