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Hi

I have been thinking about getting into mountain biking for a while, I used to ride bmx quite a bit when I was younger but seeing as I'm now the wrong side of 30 I think it's time I got something with bigger wheels lol

I'm looking for a little advice about how to get started etc also I haven't got much to spend on a bike so I was hoping that that you might be able to give me a few pointers on what to look out for on eBay

Thanks for you help

Welcome, I guess you need to take a punt on what sorry of riding you'll be doing, cross country (xc), all mountain, Ferrier (bay that there are many mountains around here), downhill (requires a bigger mountain than all mountain ironically!)

What sort of bmx did you do, street, race, freestyle, ramp? Are you looking to do more of that on a bigger bike?

And what sort of budget will you be looking in?
Oh and thats not enough to get what you want,
and dont fall into the "just another £100will get me" trap

I reckon if you were into BMX you would 'gravitate' towards All Mountain tbh as you get XC with the ability to throw in some confident Gravity descent too.

Budget will decide what you get as always!!

Thanks for your responses.

I used to ride mainly Street, Park and a little Dirt, So I guess I would be looking for more jumps and skill rather than speed but I'm willing to give anything a go.

My idea was to find a really low budget bike may be an old model or something on ebay I'm most likely looking at £100 - £150 tops for two reasons. Firstly if I don't like MTB I won't have wasted loads of money secondly if I do like it i'll probably bend the first bike quite quickly if previous form is anything to go by lol

DJ (DirtJumper) biking is prob closest to the BMX you did, they are smallish frames, very low seat, suspension forks with not much travel, and because they are relatively uncomplicated can be bought cheapish, although £100-£150 is not going to go far, you'll find most of us here would prob spent that on a single compenent !

Having said that Dirt Jumping is pretty specialized and takes a lots of skill and nerve, not too mention specialized area of which there are really only one or two locally.

For £100-£150 you are only going to get a very basic run araound that no doubt would not last long, one good thing about spending more is that decent equipment often holds its value and can be sold second hand, but hey the amount I sepnd/spent on my bike has increased massively in tghe last few years as I get more into it and realise what I want, on my recent trip to Morzine my bike performed brilliant with no braeakages (a second hand Commencal Supreme DH frame costing me £500 and about £1700 in total), compare this to myfirst trip with a rather naff bike that caused me no end of problems !

Andy

Thanks Andy,

I have seen Dirt Jumpers and while I like them I think they are a bit specialised for me at the moment, I live in the Brentwood area so I guess i'll be heading over to Thornden to start with. I got the impression form a few sites a I have read that a Hardtail is a good starting type while I figure out what I like riding ?

Yep, HT all the way, keep an eye out as there is some bagains to be had, what you got to look for is a decent set of forks, IE staying away from the SR suntours and the likes.

Ha..just some some Suntours for the massive sum of £15, was gonna be a spare bike project for a friend that I cant be bothered to finish, yep, they felt pretty horrible, pre-load adjustment on both legs..pointless !

Andy

I got fully kitted out from chain reaction cycles for less than £600 inc bike / pads / FF / jersey / gloves.
i also got a hardtail . commencal premiere HD4 team blue. its my first bike doing xc an is more than enough.

MuZzA

That's spooky I was just looking at that ad I knew GT was a half decent BMX make back in the day but didn't how they stacked up on MTB's

Those gt's will be very limited when it comes to jumping
at least with a jump bike you can keep gears on it and jack the seat post up for off road

i used to use a giant STP

Specialised Hardrock this year and 2011 model is supposed to be a good entry bike though not ridden one just read a review once.

Might have to think more like £250-300 for anything half decent for off rood use - even second hand.

Thanks again for all your help.

I guess it's a case of keeping an eye on ebay and seeing what comes up, with a bit of luck I'll be able to join you for a ride soon