If you fancy a skills course, get in touch with One Planet at Llandegla. Theyll see you right I'd have thought.
As for glasses, I wear varicofocals and priced up some Oakley's with my prescription. About 300 quid lenses only. I haven't ordered them, as I'm still waiting for six numbers to come up. Specsavers do some cheaper ones with inserts, may be worth asking them.
Super - I just looked up and they have one on September 3rd. Think I'll book it as soon as I have my bike.
Haha! OK. Thanks! Do you ride with just your normal glasses then? I did when I was away the week before last, and didn't find them to be too hazardous, but having looked at the trails in my area, I think I'd be better off getting a decent pair.
As for whether you're doing the right thing, I've had plenty of different bikes. The Soul is an icon, but isn't necessarily the best bike for a novice. What you don't know yet is whether you'll prefer a hard tail to a susser. You aren't limited by the bike to different types of trail, but your approach will be.
@Jody 's Anthem is a cracking bike, so was my old Canyon Nerve, the and if I want full on bouncy stuff the Ibis is my go-to bike. A Soul is many things to many people. They were built with 100 mm forks and light kit as XC bikes, or 150s for out and out hooliganism. You've been bitten by the marketing or some sage advice, take your pick. With a 120 (sweetspot) fork and that gearing, the Silver is a bit of an all-rounder. It will last you forever. Whether its the last bike you ever own is a question only you will answer. You're lucky to have that sort of money as a starting budget...... after all, you could learn to ride on a 200 quid second hander and take your time choosing. I'm not trying to put you off, but your enthusiasm is almost breathtaking!
Why not look for a used Soul via Pink bike or Single track world? You never know, you might hate it, but used you'll get most of your money back.
Great advice! Yeah, I know what you mean. Will take a further look into full suss vs hardtail, but do think I'll be happy with the Soul, and would use it as my only bike long term, as that's what I'm looking for before I get a mortgage and all that. I am lucky at the moment, as I'm working full time teacher and also gaining from three years of investing into videography and producing quite a lot of wedding films. The money from both being paired is ace, but the amount of work is anything but. Sometimes living off three hours sleep. I just need to relax my mind now and let the business take over as I go to part time. It'll give me the best life to work ratio doing the biking... and if it's one thing that I've learned from cameras / lenses / tripods / sliders / gimbals etc. it's that you get what you pay for. That's both in terms of investing in your education, as well as the equipment side. That's why I'm keen to get a great bike starting out, and then just adding to it if necessary at a later date, but also learning from educated bikers and mastering the basics as quickly as possible to stay out of the hospital.
From what I've read about full suss, and the complexity of the design to the components used, I am much more inclined to go with the hardtail. Seems more robust and I'd rather have a classic bike that's been loved by many over a compromised full suspension bike that I'll likely damage long term.
Is there any reason why a novice may struggle with a Soul?
Its horses for courses and only you can make that decision. Everybody has their own reasons for buying the type of bike they do, having weighed up where you ride, your style of riding, weight, comfort, spec, travel of suspension, maintanance and anything else that crops up.
Thanks Jody. Having looked around my area, these places seem the most likely that I'll be riding:
Delamere Forest - do trail rides on a Thursday night with the bike shop - show you different routes to take
Rivington Pike
Bickerstaffe Cycle Track
Lee Quarry MTB Trails (easier side of it!)
And the one everyone seems to recommend here, Coed Llandegal Trail Centre
After reading an article of hardtail vs full suss, it does look like a hardtail would suit me a lot more... I'd prefer it going uphill, and think for its robustness, it'll be a better investment and help me to become a better rider over relying on full suss to help me out.
) I have some plano Oakleys which won't cost me as much to replace.
