which mountainbike

[Jesper]

it's a fuggin jungle out there
which mountainbike should one pic, not going to be doing any extreme off road stuff but want something half decent that can be used for light off road and commuting as well 9-10 miles each way all city riding.
haven't a clue what are good brands and what to avoid either as I haven't owned a bicycle in over 10 years
was looking at these 2, not sure a full suspension jobbie is a bit overkill.
any advice appreciated as I'm totally blank on this -

http://www.cyclesuperstore.ie/shop/pc/vi...duct=39932

http://www.cyclesuperstore.ie/shop/pc/vi...duct=38276

[banana.logic]

Give us an idea of how much you want to spend...

[Jesper]

(24/01/2012 08:23)banana.logic Wrote:  Give us an idea of how much you want to spend...

well I would be buying through the cycle to work scheme which give me up to 1000 euro to spend and that have to cover helmet,lights,lock as well, get to buy without having to pay vat as well, only rule witht the cycle to work scheme is that it have to be a new bike or at least it has to be bought through a dealer

[banana.logic]

Wow.... That's an awesome deal/scheme!!!

If you know what size you want (roughly) you can get some awesome deals from chain reaction cycles.

As for full suspension vs hardtail, I love my full suspension and I ride it to work every day; it's great on Sydney roads because they suck, and you can get up onto the footpath nice and easily if the road is a bit intense. But you do lose a bit of efficiency, not that I mind as I'm fit enough not to have to worry about it (plus it's only a half hour ride to work).

I would go and test ride a couple from both camps before you make a decision though (if you are close enough to a bike shop that is), but if it were me getting a commuter bike I would go for a nice light dual suspension cross country bike more like the the second one you linked. I'll have a look and see if I can find any others I think look good too.

[Jashdown]

I dunno, I would have to say a hardtail if you're going to be doing a 20 mile commute each day, you get over the dual suspension pretty damn quick at those distances. I find them way too inefficient for anything over 5km on city type roads, let alone 32km of riding.

Hardtails are lighter and cheaper, so you can get better gear for the same money.

[roobars]

Tell me more about this cycle to work scheme.....

[Jesper]

(24/01/2012 09:41)roobars Wrote:  Tell me more about this cycle to work scheme.....

you get to buy a bike/gear up to the value of max 1000 euro free off vat charges and also get to pay it out of your gross wages, in this place I just have to go to a bike shop and pick what I want, get the invoice and hand it to my manager, she then pays the invoice and I collect my bike and then I can pay it off over 12 months if I want to

[Wally]

You're talking in Ireland of course .. just to avoid confusion (if there is any) since your location is blank You did say Euro so should be pretty self explanatory

Anyway .. great scheme!

I would go the hardtail too, unless it's a lockable rear? I have front suspension but have it on the hardest setting (not lockable unfortunately) as 99% of my riding is road / bike path type trails. You definitely lose efficiency with rear suspension as others have mentioned, but front is a must.

I hadn't ridden without front susp for a while, borrowed my bro-in-laws bike in Austria (no susp) and it was HORRIBLE even on the slightly bumpy off roads!

[banana.logic]

I (as I mentioned in my earlier post) disagree about losing too much efficiency with a dually, if you are fit and have a decent amount of time it won't be an issue. Plus if you want to take it off road at some stage you will thank yourself, and these days you can get a nice light dual suspension bike for a decent price.

This has my money if you were going to get one from CRC http://www.chainreactioncycles.com/Model...elID=58998

But there are plenty to choose from.

[GTR4N]

Just get a huffy slider lol