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Greetings from South Africa

R

robofunk

Chimp
Sep 16, 2003
2
0
Cape Town, South Africa
I've been reading this site for several weeks now, and decided its about time I say hello to you all. This site has provided some great reading materal and been very informative and helpfull to me so far.

I live in Cape Town, South Africa and have recently decided to take up mountain biking on a more serious level. I've been riding an old Avalanche MTB which is about six years old and has no suspension, so I think I deserve the upgrade :D

My problem is that since I am a little behind with MTB developments, I'm finding it hard to pick a decent hardtail to get started with. We have some nice forests and bike-friendly nature trails here, so I'd be doing mostly light XC and roadwork with the bike.

Since I'm only starting out, I don't want to spend much more than R4000 (about $560 USD). My local bike store has three bikes that I've narrowed my selection down to - The Trek 4300, the Giant Rincon, and the Scott Montana (Performance Series).

All are in the same price range, but the Scott has Alivio components, a step up from the Rincon's and 4300's Acera components.

I took the Rincon and the Scott for a test run outside the shop, and I must say that the Scott shifted a lot smoother and felt more responsive than the Rincon. Unfortunately, I didn't have time to climb onto the Trek, but I've heard many mixed reports on the Trek 4300.

I haven't found any Scott-related threads on this forum, so I've had a hard time trying to gather reviews and form an opinion.

Of these three bikes, which do you think would be the best choice? What is your opinion on the Scott range of mountain bikes?

Thanks for your help and the great forums :)
 
Serial Midget

Serial Midget

Al Bundy
Jun 25, 2002
13,053
1,896
Fort of Rio Grande
Welcome to the monkey - I do not know too much about the models you suggest but I am pretty sure you will outgrow them very fast. Neither the Trek or Giant is worth upgrading. Try to save your bling until you can pop for a mid level machine. Make your Avalanche last a little bit longer... it will be worth it.

Instead of making a choice between what you can afford now, take some time and determine exactly what you need in a bike and save until you can get exactly what you want. Always buy the best you can afford... :)
 
R

robofunk

Chimp
Sep 16, 2003
2
0
Cape Town, South Africa
Thanks for the replies, gents.

I wasn't aware that Scott bikes weren't available in the US. Is there a story behind this? With a company name like 'Scott USA' I'd expect them to be easily available there :confused:

Serial Midget, I would have liked to have waited longer, but the Avalanche is in terrible shape. Both rims are on their last legs, and the rear derailleur is quite badly damaged, making shifting very difficult. Summer is upon us now (well, were one month into Spring here), and there is no way that bike will last more than a few hours more hours on bumpy terrain like the forest :(

I went down to my LBC again this weekend to take another look at my options. I didn't want to rush into anything, so I took a week to try and do some research on those three bikes I previously mentioned. After going on another test-ride on the Scott Montana, I was sold.

I had a short ride in Tokai forest this past weekend, and I'm pleased with the bike and how it is responding. I'm not going to do anything heavier than light XC (like forest trails) and road work, and I feel that I made a good decision for the timebeing. If things get more serious, I'll be upgrading the bike as I go along.

If anyone is interested,
here is a picture of the bike. Its nothing terribly special, but it suits my needs and my pocket :)

splat, I'll be taking another ride in the forest this weekend, and I'll try and take the digital camera along with me.

Thanks for your help so far, I'm looking forward to spending more time on these forums :)
 
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