cross country bike or trail bike for newbie

Hi all.

I'm completly new to this forum. I hope it'll be the goto place to help clear up my muddled mind. I've been partaking in triathlon and road racing for the past 4 or 5 years now. I'm becoming a bit browned off with all that tbh.

I headed for Ballinastoe with acouple of mates last weekend. We hit the trails and I had an absolute blast. I was riding a 3/4 yr old ktm hardtail with 600 wheels.I've made my mind up that I am going to take the leap and get a mtb. I have a small dilemma. I would like a bike for mainly trails but also a bike that I could do some xc exploring and/or possibly the occassional race on.

I live in Louth. So I've a decent choice of locations not too far from me. I'm a family man, so time is'nt going to be in abundance. However, I still hope to make the most of any opportunity.

Should I go for a trial bike that would also be suitable for a bit of xc. Or, should I go the other route; a xc bike that'll ride well on the trails. Also, fs or ht ? 27.5 or 29 ?

I'm 5 ft 11in and weigh between 80 and 85 kg depending on what I'm training for.

Appreciate any positive feedback. Many thanks, Eoin.

(budget 1000 - 2000 at a push).

cross country bike or trail bike for newbie

I'd go with a trail orientated bike to be honest. Most of the modern ones can climb well enough to race xc occasionally but most of your riding won't be racing it'll be getting out with your mates for a blast. For your budget I'd go second hand as you'll get good value in terms of spec. 120-140mm would be spot on for 90% of the stuff here abouts. Check the buy and sell Mtb Ireland Facebook page for options or Pinkbike and Bikeradar


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Go for a bike just like this one: http://forum.epicmtb.com/showthread....arbon-710-2016

Thanks for the reply. Thats along the same lines as I was thinking. Could you advise on whether to go full sus or hardtail, 27.5 or 29 wheels?

Many thanks.

Looks the business. I'd have to be pretty sure of what I wanted before I went with that type of bike. All the best with the sale. Thanks anyway.

29er fully would be my choice...

cross country bike or trail bike for newbie

Tough call. I'd definitely go full suspension but the wheel choice depends on how you like to ride. Personally i prefer longer marathon type stuff but I struggled to find a 29er I liked that felt comfortable until my current bikes, but the newer geometry of the bikes these days lend themselves to more trail style riding. I'd bias towards a 29er but would suggest you try both before deciding if you can. Longer and slacker is the new catchphrase but bike set up and geometry make a bike difference, stem length, bar width, stack height etc. Can all be personalised to adjust the feel of the bike.


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Think I will try and find something in the full suspension category. Not sure if I should go 27.5 or 29. I'm assuming that the wheel sizes are interchangeable on most decent set ups. It would be nice to have the best of both worlds or, at least the option down the line.

Anyway, thanks for the feedback. All very helpful.

27.5+ bikes are often interchangeable with 29 but not standard 27.5, most 29ers can run 27.5 wheels but it will alter the geo. if you have designs on some xc/marathon racing go 29


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