hi all,

i'm not starting to bike seriously yet , still a few years of rugby yet but i just bought a merida matts sub 50 bike 2008. I bought it for E200 and the guy showed me the receipt and he'd paid E545. he had never used it!! Just wondering about the quality of this bike and its components etc tektra disc and shimanio alivio gears etc. even though i won't be competing or doing serious riding i'd still like to be able to enjoy a spin properly with maybe a bit of off roading. Is there components i could change the might benefit me???

any feedback would be great

Cheers

Hi Owen

I use Alivio on my bike and find it fine, as long as you keep on top of lubing and adjustments.

I had Tektro disc brakes on my 1st bike  (cable not hydraulic) got me out of enough trouble but awfully wooden and sort of on/off, i'd suggest changing the brakes first, something with abit more modulation, Avid Juicy3's are a good budget hydraulic system. Quad also make some decent brake systems and Shimano as well - probaly be able to get a set of last years deores for a good price.

I don't know the bike though, although have read alot of good reviews for Meridda Bikes.

What fork does it have? That can often be a critical area as some forks are just pants, depends on the type of off road you want to do really - xc / dh / fr or am. 

BRands i have had problems with would be Sun tour - had a crank snap in half relegating me to the floor. And a XCR fork just explode on me, that hurt too. (although i've read that some sun tour forks are better than others and they alledgedly make forks for most of the big names).

Hope this helps abit m8.

hi,

they are RST gila ml80 lockout ... if that makes any sense to anyone!... prob just find some xc trails to play about on of a sunday for time being.

 thanks again

My first set of suspension forks were a set of RST Gilas 120mm, i gave them hell and they held up well, in fact they are still going strong on a Diamond back dirt jump bike (not mine).

TF2 does a great job of keeeping them smooth, as well as the chain and gear cables.

Mine didn't have a lock out function in fact i'm yet to experiance lock out, but i beleive it makes a great difference to climbing and road sections.

For general xc trails they will be fine m8, i used them on the Mountain where i live (however i use the term mountain with tongue in cheek - 450 metres above sea level equates to roughly 1350 ft, about 650ft short of a proper mountain). Very rough fire road most of it. And some great steep bits and corners.

Fox / Marzocchi / Rockshocks would most likely give a smoother ride, but also cost a fair bit more, i'd leave them until you are doing more on a bike. Guaranteed it won't be long b4 you're riding more than once a week once the bug bites.

Happy riding Owen.