Rockriders

[paulw1969]

I am looking to get a relatively low cost mountain bike for commuting (i already have a road bike). Notwithstanding the fact that some do continue to use 23mm slicks this time of year i'm not comfortable on these icy mornings and need to get to and from work in one piece. My commute is a 15mile round trip. So thats my reasoning for 1+n out of the way.

My current route to work is by main roads and back roads (70/30 split), however there is an alternative riverside cycle track (hard surface i believe) which i could use if i want to in February when i move site........the car will not be an option come February......we have a parking levy here in Nottingham.
Hybrids seem to be out of my price range....i really only want a cheap reliable bike which i can have chunkier tyres (studs if need be). It would be nice tooccasionally use a mountain bike again after so many years (20 years ago my best bike was a Muddy Fox Courier) but it would probably be only canal paths/riverside rides on the odd occasion i fancy something different from road riding.
I cannot give a budget....i have not got one...struggling at the minute...but if i dont ride it will cost me more in the long run so need to get something sorted. Dont really want second hand unless it A1 condition and nearby as the cost of repairs can make second hand unviable.

I was looking at the Rockrider series by Decathlon....the question being are these as good value wise as their sister Tribans? The Tribans seem to be held in high regard. I guess disc breaks have their advantages, and i guess being able to lock out the suspension is a big bonus for road work. I have ridden a full sus bike once before and to be honest i didn't like it much....but that was a few years ago and hadn't done ANY riding for many years so i reckon i would be ok with front sus after getting used to it but i would like the option of locking it out.
was looking at this http://www.decathlon.co.uk/rockrider-52-2012-id_8207349.html.

Although this appears to have a better gear set (from what i have read elsewhere here) http://www.decathlon.co.uk/rockrider-53-2012-id_8206682.html.

I am open to other options. My local LBS stocks Meridas and Raleigh but you dont seem to get as much bang for your bucks (however much i want to support them i am struggling) and Decathlon isnt that far from me

Sorry for the long post

 

[subaqua]

short answer - yes

long answer.

I have the rockrider 8.1 , bought in 2010 just as i started to get back into cycling, I used it as a daily commuter, weekend runabout, rode in high beech ( epping forest ) when ever i got the chance.

really really good value for money as they are top specced as decathlon/btwin have sup[erb buying power. the SRAM x7 has worked faultlessly and has been a joy to re index when i have stripped bike down to clean it properly. the newer ones don't have the Juicy 3 brakes they have the next one up in the range. apparently better but i am very happy with the disc brakes on mine.

several others on here have rockriders and have a similar experience to mine.

 

[paulw1969]

Subaqua,

Epping Forest....brings back memories of Sunday afternoon walks when i was very young......but i digress.

Reckon i might go and have a looksee at the bikes i have highlighted.

 

[Hacienda71]

I would be tempted to go for the slightly better spec of the two Rockriders as it has a lockout on the front fork which would be preferable if a lot of your riding is going to be on the road/hard paths.

 

[Kestevan]

Mrs Kes has a Rockrider 5.2 (I think). Cracking bike for the money.

Only week points are the wheels (which are fine for light off-road, but dont like being hammered); and the stock tyres, which are useless nasty, hard plastic crap thingies with sod all grip

 

[Alan57]

When I was looking for an mtb the rockrider 8.1, after much online searching for reviews ,was on my shortlist . The only reason I didn`t get one was because there were no specific finance deals , if I had the cash to spend I would have bought it . Rockriders seem to get consistantly good reviews.

 

[MrJamie]

Maybe you can winter-ify your road bike a bit to keep the cost down.

That said, having a bike you can use for trails and canal/river paths might keep things interesting when you dont feel like road cycling

 

[Gaz Vickers]

I have a RockRider 5.2, Only £200 brand new! No complaints here.

 

[paulw1969]

Hi folks, sorry for delay i have spent every spare minute looking at bikes this weekend (what time i had that is!)
I went and had a look at the 5.2 and 5.3.
It would seem that you get a lot for your money with these bikes.
Having cocked a leg over one i'm not so sure i will get along with an out and out mountain bike for my commute, which is what the bike will be used for mostly. So having also looked at hybrids in the same sort of price range (which i didn't realise there were any) elsewhere (didn't like the Riverside bikes in Decathlon) i think i'm erring on the bigger wheel size.
I'll let you know and thanks for your replies

 

[paulw1969]

Maybe you can winter-ify your road bike a bit to keep the cost down.

That said, having a bike you can use for trails and canal/river paths might keep things interesting when you dont feel like road cycling

Did look at this....but as i believe studded tyres start at 35mm i think the only alternative would have been a 28mm treaded tyre which would not have given much benefit and yes i agree having a second bike would give me options and also importantly give me a "cheaper" bike for commuting in the crap that accompanies winter....salt, road grime etc.

 

[subaqua]

Hi folks, sorry for delay i have spent every spare minute looking at bikes this weekend (what time i had that is!)
I went and had a look at the 5.2 and 5.3.
It would seem that you get a lot for your money with these bikes.
Having cocked a leg over one i'm not so sure i will get along with an out and out mountain bike for my commute, which is what the bike will be used for mostly. So having also looked at hybrids in the same sort of price range (which i didn't realise there were any) elsewhere (didn't like the Riverside bikes in Decathlon) i think i'm erring on the bigger wheel size.
I'll let you know and thanks for your replies

No probs. what didn't you like about the riversides? I have the riverside 7 and its a cracking machine.

 

[SatNavSaysStraightOn]

Did look at this....but as i believe studded tyres start at 35mm i think the only alternative would have been a 28mm treaded tyre which would not have given much benefit and yes i agree having a second bike would give me options and also importantly give me a "cheaper" bike for commuting in the crap that accompanies winter....salt, road grime etc.

I was having similar issues as well, though I have 25mm tyres. the winters start at 32mm I think, but my Triban 3 does not have the clearance and my understanding was that rims that can take 23mm tyres could only go up to about 28mm tyres. I did manage last weekd on the Triban 3 but virtually all of my commute is on ungritted backlanes and it was "interesting" to say the least - though I did not come off thankfully, just held up a lot of traffic cycling up the wrong side oft the road for 750m to avoid a major section of ice. Cars were amazingly tolerant of that move!
So I did the n+1 thing this weekend with an accidental purchase off ebay for a £100 for a very nice 2nd hand Specialised Rockhopper that has been well looked after and recently fitted with new chain, cassette and new (good) tyres all round. My OH had one in the past, so we had an idea of what we were getting which helped and having had a Scott Scale in the past, I knew roughly what size I needed. The new mtb now have the schwalbe marathon winters fitted and I should get chance to bed them in tomorrow hopefully - suspect that will now scare off all the ice from around here!

 

[lulubel]

my understanding was that rims that can take 23mm tyres could only go up to about 28mm tyres

I'm not sure that this is always the case. My Fulcrum 5 CX cyclocross wheels have the same internal rim width as my DT Swiss road wheels, so they can presumably go as narrow as 23mm, but according to their website, they're recommended for up to 35mm tyres. I think this is due to the rim walls being thicker, and presumably stronger, than on the road wheels.

 

[SatNavSaysStraightOn]

I'm not sure that this is always the case. My Fulcrum 5 CX cyclocross wheels have the same internal rim width as my DT Swiss road wheels, so they can presumably go as narrow as 23mm, but according to their website, they're recommended for up to 35mm tyres. I think this is due to the rim walls being thicker, and presumably stronger, than on the road wheels.

- with the triban 3 I rang my usual bike shop and spoke with one of the mechanics and actually asked him what tyres it could take. He had me measure the internal rim space (I think it was something like 13mm or 15mm) and basically told me the wheel could take 18mm-25mm, 28mm at a push but most certainly not 32mm, but that would not have mattered becuase the clearance on the T3 is severely limited in this case.

 

[lulubel]

- with the triban 3 I rang my usual bike shop and spoke with one of the mechanics and actually asked him what tyres it could take. He had me measure the internal rim space (I think it was something like 13mm or 15mm) and basically told me the wheel could take 18mm-25mm, 28mm at a push but most certainly not 32mm, but that would not have mattered becuase the clearance on the T3 is severely limited in this case.

Yes, I wouldn't try to put anything wider on wheels unless I knew they were definitely designed to take it. That's why I got the new wheels - I wanted to put wider tyres on my road/cross bike (I had 25mm at the time) and just going up to 28mm didn't seem worth it. I've got 32mm on it at the moment, and they're lovely. They give a much nicer ride on bad road surfaces and even handle some light off-road without me feeling like I'm being shaken to bits.