Bicyclemania Grass root trail & mountain bike riding <> Buy a cycling trail ..... You'll not get lost again <>

B u y a w a t e r p r o o f t r a i l m a p w i t h d i r e c t i o n s ..... 'y o u ' l l n o t g e t l o s t a g a i n'

Scalpel Team Replica

Bicycle shops to day are modern state of the art places selling gleaming top lined products made from fancy materials you may not of heard about like carbon-fibre, titanium, and special blends of aluminium. Gone are the days when bicycles were made from steel and one size suited all and the choice of bicycles were Raleigh.

Ask yourself, ...... 'What do you what a bicycle for'....?

It's an obvious question, but sometimes over looked mountain bikes are now very technical bits of kit, so choosing the right one for your type of riding is the most important decision you'll make, so don't waste money on the wrong machine.

That is up to you, but we at Bicyclemania recommend you try and spend at least £450 on a bike if you what to go off/road, spending less could mean your new bike spends most of it's time in the workshop or worse busted. Try not to go for the adverts offering bicycle for £49.99 why ..! because at that price it will not last 5 minutes off road & less time if you try jumping.

~ Trail Riding ~ Cannondale Scalpel

All about riding on a variety of terrains, and guess what? it'll be what you will mostly be riding on. The mountain bike market offer you Hardtails & full suspension with suspension travel from 80mm to 125mm.

~ Free Riding ~ Cannondale Prophet

All about riding steep descents, wooden frame structures, jumps and cliff edge drop-offs. Mountain bikes for this generally feature big & heavy full suspension frames with at least 150mm (6") of travel to adsorb the heavy impacts.
(They are getting lighter every year example>Cannondale Prophet)

~ Cross Country Riding ~ Cannondale Cross/Country Hardtail

All about light weight and efficiency, it used to be dominated by hardtail mountain bikes but now the manufactures have designed light-weight full suspension bike. The nature of the full suspension X/C bike means loads of money because of the components and materials used.

~ Downhill Riding ~ Cannondale Downhiller

All about socking up the big hits at warp speed. A downhill mountain bike is in essence a freeride bike but quite a few pounds heavier, downhill bikes will have full suspension travel of about 200mm and cost a kings ransom too.

~ Dirt Jumping Riding ~ Cannondale Street/Jump

All about jumping, street riding & skate parks, Dirt bikes are overgrown BMX's with small tough hardtail frames with few gears and usually a short travel suspension fork.

Buying a second-hand bicycle >

Always go for the mountain bike with the best frame your money can buy. So much of the bikes life is in the frame and that is transmitted to the ride. Heavy or low quality frames will feel dull and uninspiring to ride.

Go shopping with cash for discounts and extras and remember to haggle, never pay the price on tag if you can help it.

Make sure the bike you choose is right, take it for a test ride & get the shop to change the odd things, you may have to pay the extras but it will save money in the long run.

If your bike is quipped with air sprung systems you'll need an air pump, unless it's supplied with one. Do get the shop to show you how to operate the pump and set the air setting for your weight.

Some parts on mountain bikes are down-graded, usually the bits like hubs, bottom brackets, headsets & front mechs so check to see what you are getting.

Go bargain hunting around October/November its usually the time of year when the bike manufactures are launching the new models. But do be weary of old stock models, they may be selling off cheap, it could be an issue later on finding spares.

Try to go to the mountain bike shop in the week when you can get the sole attention of the assistant to help you with any questions you have. Also chances are there will be no muppets putting you off.

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