Mountain Bike

[stoatsngroats]

It’s your choice, but my experience of front suspension is that it provides only mild dampening when on rough track. The rear remains u suspended except for that provided by the tyre and level of inflation.
There is some weight gain too due to the suspension fork.
If your arthritis is in your arms shoulders or hands, it may be a help to have the suspension, otherwise I would imagine it would provide little respite.
I do ride across the Sussex downs occasionally, and am glad I have the front forks, but I could also do without it, so my posts may be of no assistance to you,

 

[SkipdiverJohn]

The way you avoid taking a beating from your bike is you ride it with a light touch, and when going over rough stuff like potholes and tree roots get your backside off the saddle and put your weight on the pedals. That way the bike can move around to find the path of least resistance over the obstacle.
That's the difference between riders like me who still stick to fully rigid frames and the ones who ride bikes with suspension. Rigid frame riders have to pick their route to minimise the punishment whereas sus riders usually tend to just plough on and let the bike soak up the impact forces.
Low-end quality suspension bikes are truly horrible things to ride and are quite enough to put many people off cycling completely. Unless you are prepared to spend a lot of money on a bike that has quality suspension engineering in it, you are really better off avoiding suspension completely. It can't be made to be both cheap and work well.

 

[Justinslow]

My wife’s decent Cube hardtail had a puncture the other day so she went out on her old rigid mountain bike. She couldn’t wait to throw it back in the shed! She really missed the comfort of the fatter tyres and the front suspension on her Cube

Why do people insist on trying to change someone’s mind when they ask advice specifically about a type of bike?

We’ve got two “cheaper” mountain bikes from Halfords for the kids, the “Kraken” And a “Woman’s Vengeance limited”, both bought very cheaply in sales and both perfectly capable of reasonable family rides on and off the road. The Btwin or Forme or Carrera mountain bike will probably be fine for what you want within your budget.

 

[Vantage]

The 540 will do just fine for your requirements.
It's almost impossible to buy a mountain bike without front suspension these days so not worth looking for one.
A suspension seatpost is a nice little alternative to going for a full suspension bike and can be had for as little as £15. SJS cycles have a good range. I use one myself when offroading so can vouch for their effectiveness.

 

[ChrisEyles]

No problem with going for suspension if you think you'll benefit from it on the routes you're planning to ride! Sounds like you've thought it through fairly carefully already.

As @Justinslow says any of those MTBs should do the trick nicely, don't think you'd go wrong with any of them.

 

[raleighnut]

You could always go for a sprung saddle,

 

[Jody]

Given the choice and coupled with the Decathlon bike having an un branded air fork, I would probably opt for the bike Vickster recommended. Slightly better finishing kit and also has a coil fork which will require little maintenance.

Given a £400 budget I wouldn't overlook the Calibre from Go Outdoors. Rockshox fork, Shimano hydro brakes and a good quality for the price tag. Very highly rated, budget push iron and on budget at £400.

https://www.mbr.co.uk/reviews/hardtail/calibre-two-cubed

https://www.gooutdoors.co.uk/15988432/15988432-calibre-two-cubed-hardtail-mountain-bike

 

[vickster]

I don’t know if the OP is set on 27.5 wheels but the Forme site suggests the 19” and 21” come with 29s. Be worth confirming with Pauls obviously

 

[Justinslow]

Given the choice and coupled with the Decathlon bike having an un branded air fork, I would probably opt for the bike Vickster recommended. Slightly better finishing kit and also has a coil fork which will require little maintenance.

Given a £400 budget I wouldn't overlook the Calibre from Go Outdoors. Rockshox fork, Shimano hydro brakes and a good quality for the price tag. Very highly rated, budget push iron and on budget at £400.

https://www.mbr.co.uk/reviews/hardtail/calibre-two-cubed

https://www.gooutdoors.co.uk/15988432/15988432-calibre-two-cubed-hardtail-mountain-bike

Not sure where you are finding “Unbranded air fork” in the description?
Says it’s a Suntour xce, which I thought was a basic coil fork?

 

[Jody]

Not sure where you are finding “Unbranded air fork” in the description?
Says it’s a Suntour xce, which I thought was a basic coil fork?

https://www.decathlon.co.uk/st-540-mountain-bike-grey-red-275-id_8500757.html

Go on then. Call me daft but they are not listing what fork is used on the Rockrider

"100 MM FRONT SUSPENSION
Ride over obstacles with the hydraulic fork. Its 100 mm travel allows you to calmly overcome more obstacles (roots, pebbles, stones, mud).
Its built-in lockout system helps to prevent bobbing and loss of speed on faster terrain."

 

[vickster]

https://www.decathlon.co.uk/st-540-mountain-bike-grey-red-275-id_8500757.html

Go on then. Call me daft but they are not listing what fork is used on the Rockrider

"100 MM FRONT SUSPENSION
Ride over obstacles with the hydraulic fork. Its 100 mm travel allows you to calmly overcome more obstacles (roots, pebbles, stones, mud).
Its built-in lockout system helps to prevent bobbing and loss of speed on faster terrain."

Below the price (at least on desktop version)

Ideal for cross-country and trail riding, the updated Rockrider ST540 mountain bike is a 27.5-inch hardtail with an SRAM/Shimano 2 x 9 drivetrain, Suntour XCE 100mm travel front forks (with lockout) and powerful hydraulic disc brakes. Married onto the strong double-walled rims, the 27.5 x 2.2 tyres are both grippy and lightweight.

• Comfortable raised position and hammock saddle
• 27.5-inch wheels and 18 speeds
• Lifetime warranty on frame, stem and handlebars

 

[Vantage]

They spec a Suntour XCE fork in the fine print. It's well hidden though.


Vickster beat me to it

 

[Jody]

Below the price (at least on desktop version)

I see. I went straight to detailed description below that stated it was an air fork (coupled with the pics showing nothing other than 100mm on the leg)

 

[Jody]

I love the contradictory sales pitch

"Ideal for cross-country and trail riding, the updated Rockrider ST540 mountain bike............"

at the bottom of the ad

"Restricted use :Not suitable for XC, All Mountain, Enduro and BMX. "

 

[vickster]

Decathlon’s descriptions are often poor (and with dubious English, you’d think as a global company they’d get their French to English translations proofed by an English speaker)
They do a lot of arse covering on uses, weight restrictions etc. Be interesting to know whether they reject lots of warranty claims