A friend asked for my opinion, and I could paste it into FB or I could put it here. Hence…

Basically I got the Ridgeback Dual-Track Quest “29er” because I wanted to explore the local countryside off-road – heath, gravel, tank ranges – and it’s good for that. I’m not going to attack serious mountains with it partly because I lack them around here, but also because my knee reconstruction is good but not bombproof – so I’m a wuss.

Also I wanted a reasonably-priced 29er.

In some ways it was a bit of a tangerine, if not a lemon. I took delivery of the bike from AW Cycles in Reading (nice people) but on the test ride around the block I found that the rear hanger was bent and that it wasn’t shifting properly; the bend was fixed on the spot but eventually they swapped the rear cassette and uprated the rear derailleur in order to fix the shift smoothness issues. Higher spec kit has a vicious shift spring.

I put a Brooks saddle on it, but the el-cheapo stock seatpost would not retain saddle position irrespective of how much I torqued the post, so I eventually swapped the post for a Thomson.

Also I had to swap the seatpost QR clip because the Ridgeback original stripped its threads within days.

Also I’ve swapped the Contis for Schwalbe MarathonPlus ATB so that I have fewer punctures, and installed CrankBros pedals.

My impression of Ridgeback is that they design the frames, have them made elsewhere, import them and then lard them up with the contents of the Shimano catalogue, infilling with cheaper components where they can; I believe they actually have some special relationship with the UK Shimano distributor but can’t remember exactly what it was that I discovered at the time.

So: frame, fork, wheels, chainset, all ok modulo the above. The ally frame sounds very hollow which worries me, but I believe that’s normal and I just try to take care of it. Brakes OK. The bars are “meh/so-so” – I may swap them for better ergo, and I would like better height from a different stem. The cheap parts are cheap and I felt were best trashed.

Would I buy it again? Maybe. MTB is not a high priority for me – it’s more of an adjunct to countryside exploration since I prefer cycles to horses and I miss my DRZ400 – but I think given the option and unlimited budget I’d build a steel frame hardtail or rigid, with really FAT tyres.

OTOH if you’re strapped/on a budget, I’d suggest watching Ebay for a Specialized Rockhopper which is supposed to be pretty indestructible. Or check the Police Auctions sites. 🙂