Suspect this is a question for @Gary...
2018 was my first full year back on 2 wheels since Uni over 15 years ago. I rode my 120mm FS trail bike, then at the end of autumn got a gravel bike for staying fit through the winter; whilst I would always prefer to take out the MTB cleaning pivots in freezing water after a winter ride started to grate. I guess I am a fair weather MTBer! I will probably get a full suss EMTB at the end of the year after the 2020 bikes are announced, but before then I want to concentrate on improving my skills on the trails. That includes getting more confident at manualing, bunny hopping and jumping; at nearly 40 I have no ambitions to become the next Sam P ?, but I would like to be able to tackle trail centre reds with confidence and maybe even the smaller dirt jumps at Chicksands and Woburn.
And that’s why I’ve started to wonder if a secondhand dirt jump bike might be a good idea. My FS trail bike is great, but might it be easier to build my pumping, bunny hopping and jumping techniques on a lightweight HT jump bike? There seem to be plenty on eBay and Facebook in the £200-300 range, some with suspension forks and others without. Is this a good idea, and if so what should I get - 26” or 24”, suspension forks or not? Or would I just be better investing the cash in coaching instead? Thanks in advance!
2018 was my first full year back on 2 wheels since Uni over 15 years ago. I rode my 120mm FS trail bike, then at the end of autumn got a gravel bike for staying fit through the winter; whilst I would always prefer to take out the MTB cleaning pivots in freezing water after a winter ride started to grate. I guess I am a fair weather MTBer! I will probably get a full suss EMTB at the end of the year after the 2020 bikes are announced, but before then I want to concentrate on improving my skills on the trails. That includes getting more confident at manualing, bunny hopping and jumping; at nearly 40 I have no ambitions to become the next Sam P ?, but I would like to be able to tackle trail centre reds with confidence and maybe even the smaller dirt jumps at Chicksands and Woburn.
And that’s why I’ve started to wonder if a secondhand dirt jump bike might be a good idea. My FS trail bike is great, but might it be easier to build my pumping, bunny hopping and jumping techniques on a lightweight HT jump bike? There seem to be plenty on eBay and Facebook in the £200-300 range, some with suspension forks and others without. Is this a good idea, and if so what should I get - 26” or 24”, suspension forks or not? Or would I just be better investing the cash in coaching instead? Thanks in advance!