To Buy a New Mountain Bike or Upgrade?
Mountain Biking
Buying a new mountain bike or getting an upgrade for your old one is a key question everyone faces sooner or later. As everyone knows Mountain Biking has really taken off over the last decade with huge investment in R & D in bike technology. This means choices for people wanting a new bike are limitless especially with the advent of good quality E-Bikes thrown into the mix. By the way,”I cant wait until I can justify getting one of these …pedal assist, Turbo settings!!”
However you still cant beat nailing that technical climb under your own steam. Especially, feeling your legs and lungs screaming for more oxygen before hitting the next descent. After all this is what Mountain biking is all about isn’t it?
Mountain Bike Options
Choices for new bikes include 26, 27.5 and 29 inch wheels in hardtail or full suspension. The other consideration is what type of mountain biking you mainly do? Is it Downhill, Cross country, Enduro or Trail riding as this will start to limit your choice of bikes. What is your budget? What are your suspension preferences? If you are not sure which to go for it is best to get out there and try them all. You have options including manufacturers bike demo days, which are generally free. Just visit their websites as they travel up and down the country.
Alternatively you can try good local bike shops such as Peak District based Bike Garage in Bamford or 18 Bikes in Hope were in theory you can pay for a days hire but try multiple bikes. This is limited by how much fun you have on each one! If you are riding trail centers then they tend to have offers on demonstration bikes. Consequently, if you end up buying a bike you can get the cost of the hire fees refunded.
How Much to Spend?
The important thing is to be honest with yourself. If you ride twice a month at a trail centre can you justify spending £6K on a carbon framed full suss bike? or would you be better upgrading components on your current bike and upgrading your skills and knowledge of how to ride better? Mountain Bike Skills courses are popping up all over the country and can be a great way of getting more from your riding. We all develop bad habits and sometimes it is worth getting that feedback and making corrections at a much smaller cost from qualified instructors. Internet retailers all compete on component costs so upgrading your current bike can be very cost effective.
We all want the best but what do we really need to make our experience better? Better skills or better bike or a new mountain bike or upgrade? To book a course with our instructors just email info@dolomitetraining.co.uk