This is a good bike for me, right?

March 13, 2021 12:52 PM

Quick reality check on this mountain bike. If can only buy one bike to use on easy to moderate single track and also paved rails-to-trails type of rides, is this Liv Tempt 2 a reasonable choice?
posted by HotToddy to Sports, Hobbies, & Recreation (11 answers total)

Yes, reasonable.
Disc brakes, you can mount a rack, Front suspension that might be lockable (for non bumpy times), wide ish tires... Sounds good!

(For absolutely no reason, go for the 29" option. I have a personal, nonsensical dislike for 27.5" wheels.)
posted by Acari at 1:27 PM on March 13, 2021 [4 favorites]

I agree with Acari, it's good choice, except I find 29" oversized unless you are stump jumping.

Less mass and lower center of gravity with a smaller wheel.
posted by nickggully at 1:32 PM on March 13, 2021 [1 favorite]

Response by poster: I’m 5’0” so . . .
posted by HotToddy at 1:36 PM on March 13, 2021 [2 favorites]

Also agree it looks nice, and a good value for the price. And I'm no expert on fitting bikes but if you're 5'0 it seems you might want the lower mass and CoG that nickgully mentions, in addition to the slightly lower saddle height etc.
posted by SaltySalticid at 1:56 PM on March 13, 2021

Yep, it’s a nice bike. With only the one 30T chainring at the front you’re not going to be able to ride at huge speed on roads, but it’ll be perfect for up and down hills in the bush. That sounds like what you’re after, so have fun riding it!
posted by Fiasco da Gama at 2:05 PM on March 13, 2021

I personally don't like single chainring bikes (mine is a 42-32-20 triple), but it definitely is one less thing to go wrong or get out of adjustment.

And at 5'0", I think you should insist upon a 165mm crank arm at most, and when I was looking a number years ago, anything less than 170mm was hard to come by.

I also think those tires are too knobby.
posted by jamjam at 2:51 PM on March 13, 2021

It’ll be fine. For $650, it’s not gonna be great, but it’ll get you an idea of whether you want to do more of this kind of thing and get a nicer bike. As components wear out, it is questionable whether it will be worth it to replace the major ones, but that’s down the road quite a bit.

The used market for very small mountain bikes is very small to the point of non-existence, so my usual advice to look at used bikes instead of new bikes at this price point doesn’t hold.
posted by rockindata at 3:11 PM on March 13, 2021

I have booty so that seat would be a no-no for me. If you have booty, you might want to swap it out.
posted by Thella at 5:03 PM on March 13, 2021

I have zero experience with MTB (I'm an urban transport kind of biker gal), but the petite bikers group I'm in on Facebook frequently mentions Liv as a good brand for us 5'0" riders. Hope this works out for you!
posted by Pandora Kouti at 6:39 PM on March 13, 2021

Response by poster: Thanks all, I bought it!
posted by HotToddy at 8:36 PM on March 13, 2021 [5 favorites]

Yay! As a heads up: longish rides on pavement might feel like a bit of a slog, especially if you’re with folks who are on lighter road bikes.
posted by bluedaisy at 11:20 PM on March 13, 2021 [2 favorites]