29er For Occasional Use ~$600

[kirky92au]

So I'm considering getting a 29er to ride around and do some trail work. The trails are noting challenging and are only poorly kept fire trails. I would imagine the bike is going to be lucky to see 100km a month if that. With that in mind I'm not overly fussed about it as it is just going to something to muck around on when I don't want to be on my roadie.

I do want 1thing and that is disc brakes, I'm don't mind about anything else.


So I'm thinking about a Giant Boulder 1, Merida Big Nine, Trek Marlin. Anything I should know about these bikes? or getting a low range 29er?

[adamr]

Look on eBay for a mint second hand bike. I just got a mint condition 2012 GT Karakoram 1.0 29er for $500. Definitely worth a LOT more than any $500 new-from-shop bike.

[silentbutdeadly]

Nothing much wrong with any that you have named. All similarly specced. However, most components are quite heavy and not really fit for trail though once the speeds get up. I would avoid the Boulder due to it's upright quasi-hybrid geometry but the others are worth a look. And there are more...

http://www.bikeexchange.com.au/adverts/ ... 106&search" onclick="window.open(this.href);return false;[bikeMake]=&search[flag_not_womens]=1&search[flag_womens]=1&search[gender_index]=&search[maxAmt]=600&search[minAmt]=0&search[newOrUsed]=-1&search[option_value_ids][]=&search[orderBy]=-1&search[pa_type_id]=&search[pc_dist]=5&search[per_page]=40&search[postcode]=&search[q]=&search[state]=2&search[taxon_ids]=86

Some in this price bracket have hydro discs but most are cable...

[ningnangnong]

I'm in a similar position to you kirky, with an only ever so slightly higher budget.

I've just been scouring eBay and Gumtree the last few weeks, hoping to get some bang for my buck. Rotorburn is also worth a look too. I'll also give a shout out to trailgumby who I PM'ed about a used bike I saw, and he gave me some very helpful advice. Cheers again mate!

There's a few decent second hand bikes out there, just depends what size you're after and how far you're prepared to travel to look at one - I'm heading down to Sydney this Saturday to check one out. Hopefully it's all good because I'm pretty keen on it!

[Haakon]

I'd suggest that at that budget, the disc brakes you'll get are not too flash. Consider something cheaper with a better drivetrain but V brakes. Some good pads and they will be as good if not better than cheap disc brakes.

http://www.reidcycles.com.au/bicycles/m ... -29er.html" onclick="window.open(this.href);return false;

[Calvin27]

I went that way a few months ago with exactly the same budget. Here were my picks (obviously I went over budget as you do )

- Giant Boulder 0 - There are a few for the $520 mark. Full X5 drivetrain rather than the rainbow selection on other bikes with random shimano/suntour parts. BB5 disc brakes too. Only downside is it looks boring as hell!
- Specialised Hard Rock Sport Disc ~ $550 for 2013 runout. Upgrades to hydraulic disc brakes and actually rides better than the Giant IMHO. This bike has some serious rainbow parts on it though - Suntour cassette, shimano derailleur, forget what the crank was.
- Merida - Didn't bother checking these because they specify freewheels and not cassettes for the TFS100MD
- Trek Marlin - Pretty average, no main pros or cons.
- Cannondale Trail 29er 5 - $600. Look ok on paper. Rides good. Lower speced than its rivals but looks heaps better IMHO.
- Fuji/Kona in this price range - Most were using integrated shifters/brakes which are really annoying.

My pick is the Boulder 0 if you can get over its looks. I dropped by a few times to keep looking over it in the flesh I ncase it would grow on me - it didn't. But like I said I went up a few hundred in budget instead.

[mitzikatzi]

I would spend more

$750 2013 Polygon Cozmic29 CX2.0 - 29er Mountain Bike, Shimano Deore / SLX

or

$700 Apollo Xpert 29S 2012

[kirky92au]

I went that way a few months ago with exactly the same budget. Here were my picks (obviously I went over budget as you do )

- Giant Boulder 0 - There are a few for the $520 mark. Full X5 drivetrain rather than the rainbow selection on other bikes with random shimano/suntour parts. BB5 disc brakes too. Only downside is it looks boring as hell!
- Specialised Hard Rock Sport Disc ~ $550 for 2013 runout. Upgrades to hydraulic disc brakes and actually rides better than the Giant IMHO. This bike has some serious rainbow parts on it though - Suntour cassette, shimano derailleur, forget what the crank was.
- Merida - Didn't bother checking these because they specify freewheels and not cassettes for the TFS100MD
- Trek Marlin - Pretty average, no main pros or cons.
- Cannondale Trail 29er 5 - $600. Look ok on paper. Rides good. Lower speced than its rivals but looks heaps better IMHO.
- Fuji/Kona in this price range - Most were using integrated shifters/brakes which are really annoying.

My pick is the Boulder 0 if you can get over its looks. I dropped by a few times to keep looking over it in the flesh in case it would grow on me - it didn't. But like I said I went up a few hundred in budget instead.

Oh wow thanks, yea I think it is going to come down to the Boulder and Marlin. I think everything else is sort of out of my budget really, I am trying to limit myself as I know I'm not going to use it very much.

[TheWoodenTree]

Same situation as you 2 months back. Was deciding between the Giant Boulder and Specialised Hard Rock Sport Disc 29er.
Got the Speccy in the end for $500 as it was on Red Ticket although I personally feel that you can't go wrong with either.
I had initially thought of getting a slightly better 29er but most were > $1k. Well after 2 months, I think the Speccy is more bike than I could handle.
Occasional single tracks, bike trails, a little offroad, ride to town. It fits all my needs. Almost 500k into the ride now.

I did spend close to $500 on accessories and riding attire though. So you should factor that in.

Cheers

[kirky92au]

I ended up getting the Marlin, essentially all those bikes would of been fine for me. The Marlin looks nice and on the 2 hour ride I did with it this morning I loved every minute.

[trailgumby]

Photos or it didn't happen

[kirky92au]

[trailgumby]

haha nice!

And what an awesome spot to go ride

[petie]

haha nice!

And what an awesome spot to go ride

Qft! If I lived there I would be riding every damn day!!

In response to the original post, and for histories sake, I was riding a cyclingdeal 26er MTB as my main ride when home. Raced it, crashed it and put plenty of kms on it. Think it cost me $650 and is waiting there for me when I get back. Much better specced than the big names, just a different name on the frame.