FullSussa
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December 2013, Vol 9
MOUNTAIN BIKE MONTHLY
Cherise Stander Column pg22
Conservation Column pg14
Enduro Racing
pg8
Building an XCO course pg20
Bike Review
pg16
Guide to buying your FIRST NEW BIKE If you’re picking this up as you peruse your first mountain bike purchase, in what is to become your local bike shop, this article is especially for you. Get them to make you a coffee and put your feet up as you read the Full Sus guide to purchasing an entry level bike.
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here are a host of factors to take into account. Just like buying anything else of considerable cost, it pays to do your research. There is so much to get through, so let’s jump right in. In our first entry level bike article we look at hard-tail 29ers because they are versatile, cost-effective, simple to set-up, cheaper to service and to be honest, despite the lower specification components, some are really very capable. If you need convincing, just give Dylan Chilcott’s account of riding five of the six days of the Lesotho Sky race on a rigid bike a read. Not that we want to turn all of you into steel frame, single speed mountain biking purists (you might read that as snobs, depending on your prerogative.) First off you need to consider the type of riding you are going to be doing. Most manufacturers produce bicycles not only for price points, but with an intended use in mind too. So where will you be riding? Will you be riding for fitness or commuting mostly on tar and the odd gravel road? Will you be riding on gravel roads and the odd bit of single track? Or are you keen on jumping headlong into this mountain biking malarkey, riding rooty and rocky single track at every opportunity? The type of riding you
intend doing will be the over-riding factor in your choice of bike. If you’re going to throw a set of slicks on your new steed and use it to get back to your teenage figure, or even complete an Argus or 94.7 Cycle Tour, you won’t need to be concerned with tubeless compatibility, tapered head tubes and front shock (commonly referred to as the fork) specifications. You can safely purchase a bike from a reputable store safe in the knowledge that there isn’t much you’ll be able to do to cause it significant damage. For this usage a cheaper model isn’t going to affect your riding pleasure. We’d suggest going for as big a range of gears as possible though, as you might need the smaller gears for getting up climbs like Suikerbossie, especially if you’re unfit, and the bigger gears for maintaining a good tempo on the flats. If you’re planning on getting out into nature on your new bike, riding gravel roads in nature reserves like the West Coast National Park, De Hoop Nature Reserve or Golden Gate Highlands National Park, then you’ll need to look for a slightly more capable machine. Looking at bikes in and around the R10 000 mark there are a host of options. You will
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probably not want to spend extra on tyres so choose a bike which is already fitted with tyres with a medium profiled knobbly. The rule is lower profiled knobblies for smoother terrain and more aggressive protrusions for the rough stuff. For gravel road riding go for a middle of the range tyre. It’s worthwhile to note that the width of your tyre is also going to affect your rolling resistance. So if you’re not intending on going seriously off-road you could do without the extra resistance that the added grip of wide tyres provides. Gravel road biking is a good way to get out into nature and maybe the MTB bug will bite while you’re out there… It is for this reason you should seriously consider spending an extra R2 000 to R3 000 which will take you out of the realm of true entry level bikes and into the realm of capable budget machines. These bikes have sadly felt the Rand/Dollar weakness quite badly with distributors having to push up the prices quite a bit between 2013 and 2014. So perhaps the best tip of this article, and this goes for those of you in the market for high-end
IF YOU’RE GOING TO THROW A SET OF SLICKS ON YOUR NEW STEED AND USE IT TO GET BACK TO YOUR TEENAGE FIGURE YOU WON’T NEED TO BE CONCERNED WITH TUBELESS COMPATIBILITY, TAPERED HEAD TUBES AND FRONT SHOCK SPECIFICATIONS. turn to page 2