Mountain bike; B1 Woodbumble; any good, etc?

[G]

Chain reaction have got these on a pretty decent deal (£799 from £1599):

https://www.chainreactioncycles.com/Models.aspx?ModelID=11999

Does anyone have experience with these or general comments on them?

[chris-red]

What do you want to use it for?
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[G]

Riding a mile and a half to work. No, really.

In the long term, an occasional bike to go down steep stuff fast and the like.

In the short term, some gentle off road stuff - remembering I've still got a broken leg, so could do with something extra-bouncy so that it doesn't hurt too much.

I am well aware it's a freeride bike and normally would be considered a ridiculous commuter / gentle trail bike for the record .

[eddclarke]

Go for it, I used to ride 15 miles each way on a Marin B17 DH (full downhill bike), its not as fast as a hard tail but loads more fun
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Honda XR125L 06 ----> Yamaha FZ6 05 + ex SAS XR250 --> VFR800 + XR250r

[cagiva gezzer]

Nothing wrong with the bike. It's got triple chainrings up front, so it's not a full on hardcore downhill bike.

It wont be that good on the road. You'll feel very cramped up and squashed due to the geometry and short stem.

Looking along the same lines, I'd go for these:

BeOne Hornet Plus 2006 - More XC, but still good enough for anything.


BeOne Nirvana 2.0 Full Suspension Bike 2007Not as full on as above, but good enough everything.

Getting the first one is like getting a KTM 990 over the KTM 6?? just because it bigger and meaner. Regardless that the 6??s are better for most people in most situations.
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"because one stroke isnt enough and four strokes waste two"

[G]

Cheers for the thoughts, however I'm looking for comments on the value of this specific bike not it's suitability for me - I have done my homework .

I've got a GT Avalanche Pro which is a decently specced light trail hard-tail that's fine for most of the riding I do, when I haven't got a broken leg anyway. So it didn't really seem worth going for a full-suspension bike that will do the same job.

Before I broke my leg I had been looking to get a freeride style bike through the cycle to work scheme for occasional use as you get a pretty good deal, to add to my GT.
Since breaking my leg, I've been riding the GT to work afair bit, but can't really do much more at the moment because of pain in my ankle/leg. So I resurrected the idea of getting a full suspenion bike, which would hopefully mean it'd absorb enough impact to do some gentle trail riding.

I quite liked the look of these especially when I saw a lower-specced version barely used second hand for £350. However that was the wrong frame size, so I went back to pondering a new one - but then I saw the woodbumble above which for £200 extra offers a significantly different bike to my GT for when my leg is better.

Oh and I'd suggest you got your analogy the wrong way around - as the 990 is a better 'do anything bike' in most situations apart from serious off-road riding I'd have said .
Instead I'd suggest the comparison should be between that LC4 600cc bike and an EXC300cc 2 stroke, maybe .

[cagiva gezzer]

There's a fine line between absorbing the impacts and causing soo much bob / drag that you'll be stressing your injury even more.

Nowt wrong with the bike, but i've never been a fan of freeride / DH bikes.
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"because one stroke isnt enough and four strokes waste two"

[chris-red]

[G]

The peddling it's self seems to be fine - it's impact that's the problem.
As I'm partly doing it for exercise, I'm not too bothered about putting a bit of extra effort in.

It's not the actual break that's the problem, but my ankle which should be ok, apart perhaps from a bit of metal sticking into it. It does seem to be getting a bit better the more exercise I do.

[G]

Cheers for the thoughts people, just to conclude...
I decided I really couldn't justify/didn't have the money to spend lots on a bouncy bike I may not even use that much. After much umming and ahhing I did however, after a possibly rash choice, get a slightly less bouncy and a lot cheaper one... A Carrera Banshee as mentione dabove . £275 'used twice' second hand with a load of extras (was the one that was up for £350, turns out frame was about right for me). I was hoping for the more expensive model, but decided I can upgrade this with relatively better stuff if I find myself using it decently and have lost less if I don't.

Just on my ride to work it does definitely seem to make a difference; though I do get to work a bit sweatier too. It does have lock-outs, but I've mostly been using it's full 6" of travel for all those nasty kerbs! Hopefully if my operation in a week does leave me hurting a bit more, this should help.

[EuropeanNC30R...]

Nice, but I'd feel inadequate if I was riding a bike that weighed more than I did.

[G]

That'd only worry me if I was still at my pre-Christmas weight .