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Hi,

I have recently moved out to Witham and been walking the dogs over Danbury. Thinking of having a go at the mtb'ing over there, looks like fun.

Sorry not sure if this is the right place for a few questions?...........

Need to go and buy a bike first, have had them in the past but never sure if they were the right size for me? Can anyone tell me what size bike I should buy, think I am 5'7" and a bit.

What is the best bike to buy sub £600 from Evans to get me started?

Can't remember if the mtb over Danbury wear special shoes? Do I need special pedals and shoes?

Any help would be really appreciated.

Thanks.

Mike

Just checked I am 5'8" not sure if it makes much of a difference.

Hi Mickey welcome to the forum. To answer a few of your questions (just my opinion )first

1)Need to go and buy a bike first, have had them in the past but never sure if they were the right size for me? Can anyone tell me what size bike I should buy, think I am 5'7" and a bit.

A lot of bike frames differ in size so the general consensus is TRY before YOU BUY. Having said that at 5`7ish you are probably around a small/med in that order. Is it xc you want or more do it all. Some xc bikes are more race oriented than others, ie longer top tubes and more forward riding position.

2)As for shoes, that`s a personal thing some feel more connected to the bike by wearing clip in shoes/pedals whilst other`s like the freedom of flat pedals and the knowing that if all goes bad you wont be glued to the bike lol. If you want the special shoes/pedals depending on size there might be some going cheap as Macca just broke his ankle (off work 2 monthsish) because his foot didnt disconnect from the pedal.
EDIT- Have I helped you decide yet
We have a regular on here Gturn aka (Luke) from Triton Cycles,which is a friendly shop that has served me well over the past 5-6 years, you could give him a call and see where that takes yer. Tell him you are from the forum of course.
http://www.tritoncycles.co.uk/
My mate just bought this from triton only last friday.

Hi, thanks for the help...

I am not sure if I want to do XC, thats because I don't understand any of it! I suspose I just want to have a good old ride around Danbury/Thorndon, would like to join the regular group at some point, I wonder what they are doing?

I need to buy from Evans through ride to work scheme, think I get 40% tax off?

Mike

The bikes have varying head angles ie steeper/slacker. the steeper the angle the easier for hill climbing, the slacker the more stable for descending. see it like this:

xc/racing steep HA/longer TT/ a bit like a moto gp rider.
downhill slacker HA/shorter TT a bit like a moto cross rider.

Most are somewhere in between.

Do a bit of research on internet to help you make your mind up.
http://www.leelikesbikes.com/

I'm sure Luke does the bike to work scheme too. Worth asking as you'll probably get a good deal.

A lot of bike stores do the Cycle To Work thing, I wouldnt just limit yourself to Evans, a lot of bike stores have a very limited stock so could end up buying the bike that isnt quite right for you, personally Im a fan of buying all the components seperatly (some 2nd from Ebay, etc) and after a bit of trial and error you will end up with a bike that is perfect (for you anyway).

Buying/building a bike can be a bit of a minefield, especially if youre not really sure whther you are after a XC/DH/Hybrid bike, I found it very useful to buy lots of bike mags (Dirt being my fave) and read through the various features/reviews/ads and you will get an understanding of the vast complexities of different types of bikes and components, and of course Sheldon Brown's page is always worth a visit..http://sheldonbrown.org/bicycle.html

Andy