sunefa7

so here goes my first post,as the title might hint, i'm going to buy a bike, i havent had a "real" one from since i was a kid
i happened to ride a friend's 28" road bike one of these days and made me fall in love with the sport again...
im living at a city, country's Greece
i am looking for something cheap, while at the same time being able to be somewhat useable in both Off road and On road,since at holidays i happen to be going at the mountains(villages)
sure, you could say that a cheap ATB/MTB isnt a real ride, but thats what my wallet can afford at the moment, and since its the first bike ill get, i dont feel like spending lots
i weight 60kg/136LBS
my height is 178cm...or else 5 ft 10 5/64 inch
so here are the specs of the one i resulted in to and thinkin of buying :

Frame : HI-Ten 48cm / 19”
Fork : Zoom 386 ,60mm
Derailleur : Shimano RD-TX35
Shifter : Shimano ST-EF51
Brakes : Tektro v-brakes
Freewheel : Shimano TZ21
B.B set : Neco
Rims : Mach1 double ER28
Weight : 18.0

its a 29" ATB/MTB with knobby kenda kadre tires at the low price of 240$
my number 1 question is, is it really worth getting it? at that price of money?
as i stated before,im living in the city, so ill be riding it at the city a lot too and might try to get into group rides
will i need to change the tires into slick road like ones?
if so, what are some cheap ones,and what size should they be? will 28" road tires fit in it?
and will i be able to catch up to the 28" road bikes with em?
i heard the bigger the tire the faster it goes,so i wouldnt rly want to go for a 26" mtb at the city,altho i guess it would do better at turning left or right

regarding the holidays now,i dont think i will be doing anything extreme with it,not like it can anyway since its actually cheap...i might try to get into some forests or some trails but will it be safe? or would i trip on ever little stone i might step onto? should i change the suspension to a higher mm when i get there?

last but not least, the frame is 48 cm and i think its good for my height(178cm...or else 5 ft 10 5/64 inch) isnt it? some tests i've done says its ok but will the 29" tires make it uncomfortable for me?

im between this bike and a road one,but it would be a shame if the road one is useless at the villages i go to for vacations,i would want to ride my bike to the nature too

sorry for my english,it's not my native language and i hope for some replies to help me make my decision

Zephyr11

No. Don't buy that. I don't know what the prices are like in Greece, but you're better off saving up until you can afford an entry level bike at a bike shop. At that point, go try out as many as you can in your price range, and pick the one that fits the best.

sunefa7

hello, and thank you for the reply.
what's considered an entry level bike? i wouldnt want to spend a lot of money on my first bike and i wouldnt want to have the "scaredy" feeling of having it stolen,people steal a lot here
though if it's something cheap,i wouldnt care that much,i just want to enjoy some riding and have fun

can you tell me the reasons why the bike i found is bad?
i think that 240 euros for a 29" tires bike with 21 speed gears is actually good, isnt it?
not sure but the only drawback i can find is it's weight, but then again im very thin myself so i dont think it will be much of a problem

meanwhile

If you are on a tight budget, then buying used is an excellent idea. A lot of people buy bikes, never use them, and then they get sold a couple of years later at a 50-60% discount. On your budget you should probably look for a non-suspension bike even used - good suspension costs money.

meanwhile

Bikes in that price range often suffer equipment or build quality problems. The one you're looking at might be fine - no one can say. At least it has ok brakes (although you might need to tune them.) If you don't want to take time to buy used or save, then check it at least has alloy rather than steel rims for the wheels. (Braking vanishes on wet steel rims - not good if you hit a puddle going downhill.)

As for bike fit: google "bike fit, 29 mtb" and you'll get plenty of advice including youtube videos.

sunefa7

thanks a lot for the info, im going to have to ask about the rims on the shop, didnt know brakes would work better on alloy(if that's what you meant),thats some good info
i'll probably go and check it one of these days,if it pleases me and feels comfortable,i'll probably grab it...
for a starting bike it doesnt seem bad on that price, i only wanted some opinions from people that know better than me
i hope the rims are alloy indeed, safety goes first

meanwhile

Safety first is a good attitude. As long as a bike won't fall apart while you ride it and the brakes are ok, then it's usable even if people here are used to much better ones. You just have to ride slower and try harder. But do check those things! Especially check that the steering is tight and that the handlebars won't come loose.

Re. the rims, if in doubt check with a magnet - it should NOT stick to alloy (= good) rims.

You could also probably improve the braking by putting Kool Stop brake pads on - the pink ones for wet and mud if that's relevant - and making sure that the brake cables are clean and lubed inside their housings. You can improve grip with better tyres too.

..All the same, I'd still check for used bikes.

..Wait - does that 60mm mean a suspension fork??? If so, forget it. Cheap suspension forks are killers and the sign of an awful cheap bike. A good cheap bike will have a rigid fork rather than a bad suspension one.

sunefa7

Can you explain to me what the problem with the fork really is? isnt the 60mm the suspension travel?
after doing some research i think the higher the mm is,the more suitable the bike is for tougher terrains like rocky trails or something...the lower the mm though,all the better better for road riding, because it doesnt slow you down as much... isnt this correct?

if yes, why do you think its something cheap? should the mm have been lower or higher? suspension hints to me that it tries to be more of a road bike while at the same time somewhat useable is low dirt trails or something.

also,one more question, cant i change the suspension inside and put some lower-higher mm ones too? and how much does a cheap decent replacement cost?

EDIT : https://www.orient-bikes.gr/en/atb/steed-29 : this is the bike,posted it for you to see and maybe help me better,sorry if im breaking any forum rule, my purpose isnt advertising at all