What Mountain Bike?

[Comacchio]

Good evening,

In the coming weeks I plan to purchase my first bike since the days of my paper run and I was looking for some advice on what bike to go for - I thought a bike was a bike until I went into one of the shops and seen such variation...

I have a rough budget of between £400 and £500 however I think it will be closer to the £400 mark unless there is a great improvement in quality for a little extra money. I appreciate this puts me in the region of a hardtail. The main use of the bike will be for reaching the start of some of the more remote Munros in Scotland, however it will still be used on country roads and cycle paths. I don't plan on taking the bike up any major hills, so the tracks will mainly be dirt/deer stalking paths.

I live on the west coast of Scotland and the bike shops nearby to me are Evans Cycles at xscape & Tiso Outdoor experience in Glasgow.

I would be most grateful for some advice on what's the best buy for me.

Many thanks,

Allan

[Dimski]

I bought a Specialised Hard Rock Disk for £400 at the end of last year, for the money it seems great.

I don't really have a good frame of reference, as it replaced an aged knackered Kona. However, hydraulic discs, strong frame, the reviews say for the price it's a great bike.

I took it to Brechfa yesterday and it took the red (Gorlech) trail in its stride, although I'd expected it to be easier on climbs, given how much lighter it was than the Kona!

ETA - It's a 29er, my first. Didn't cause me any issues on the trickier singletrack bits.

[Gizmoish]

Couple of suggestions:

http://www.halfords.com/webapp/wcs/stores/servlet/... - last years model but don't worry about that. Good quality, great spec inc an air fork.

This is a full-sus at £480: http://www.decathlon.co.uk/btwin-rockrider-520-s-m... - rear sus is air, front is coil.

[Comacchio]

Thanks for the quick replies!

If it matters I'm 5"4' and weigh about 10.5 stone!

Im guessing i need to go for a medium frame at biggest as I don't have the longest legs around!

Allan

[Gizmoish]

Definitely a small frame then. Although it matters less on an MTB because you're not just sitting on the saddle.

[matt-ITR]

£400-500, I would say get a hardtail. Any full suspension bike at that price will be heavy with cheap parts and compromised suspension.
Look for a good deal on a 2013 bike, anything up to 50% off is possible and you will get a better bike.

[Gren]

Hardtail. If it must be new then the Rockriders from Decathlon are usually the best at the price : http://www.decathlon.co.uk/C-359112-mountain-bikes... or you might strike lucky with a good end of season deal from Pauls Cycles : http://www.paulscycles.co.uk/m1b0s2p0/Mountain-Bik...

Don't discount second hand. You should get a very good bike - lighter and with a better spec at that price

[DMN]

At that price point you can't go much wronger than the already mentioned Hardrock.

Ultimatly you should try as many as you can and buy the one that feels right. You should be able to get disc brakes and a half decent fork. Don't worry too much about the gears etc, just upgrade them as they fail.

[Blakeatron]

Maybe a bit over budget - but I was in a similar situation to you last year.

I went for a cube analog (from memory £520), quite high spec with pretty decent parts for the money.

I have got a bit addicted and this bike has had a hard time, covered nearly 1500 miles all mountain; it has only had a new rear wheel, new front dérailleur (bad crash) and very little maintenance.

I have just ordered a £3k full suspension, but will definitely be keeping the cube!

[daddy cool]

Gizmoish said:

Couple of suggestions:

http://www.halfords.com/webapp/wcs/stores/servlet/... - last years model but don't worry about that. Good quality, great spec inc an air fork.

I own two Boardman's so im a bit biased, but dont forget you can save loads off the retail price
1) wait till theres a 10% deal (theres a limited discount on at the mo)
2) Join British Cycling to get a further 10% off (plus for the rest of the year, absolutely anything in halfords is 10% off)
3) Order vouchers at 10% off face value and pay with them - instructions below
4) Sign up to Quidco and order on the halfords website through their portal - usually get 3% cashback


http://www.pistonheads.com/gassing/topic.asp?h=0&a...

[Comacchio]

Thanks for all the replies. I'm thinking at the moment my comfortable price is £400... That could change if I get a haul of cash at my birthday next week!

The cashback/discount stuff looks interesting!

Allan

[campionissimo]

I'd go secondhand - you could get a really decent bike for £400.

I've just picked up a couple hybrid bikes, both Trek, one for £175 (£550 new) and the other for £195 (£450 new).

Not a scratch on either - they might have been used 3 times between them.

[campionissimo]

something like this - it's not going to go for much more than the starting price.

http://www.ebay.co.uk/itm/Specialized-Hardrock-Mou...

[Panda76]

Google Paul's cycles they have some of last years frames still in stock with some pretty good discounts.

I.e you could grab a bike that should be some £700 - £800 for £500. Just because they are 2013 frames.

Edited by Panda76 on Wednesday 26th March 18:41

[Mr Gearchange]

^ what he said.

A bit of shopping around will see you bag a half price bike from somewhere.

The difference between a £1000 RRP bike and a £500 RRP bike will be significant. Be patient and you will score a really great deal somewhere.

[Lubermans]

+1 on trying to find discounted 2013 bikes, this one at Pauls Cycles looks good value to me...

http://www.paulscycles.co.uk/m1b0s2p5082/SCOTT-ASP...

I saved about 40% off the RRP on my 2013 Scott Scale 920 last October

[Jayfish]

This is a lot of bike for the money

http://www.wiggle.co.uk/felt-six-70-2013/

£358, 9 speed cassette, hydraulic disks

leaving you some cash for helmet, lights etc.

[AC43]

campionissimo said:

I'd go secondhand - you could get a really decent bike for £400.

I've just picked up a couple hybrid bikes, both Trek, one for £175 (£550 new) and the other for £195 (£450 new).

Not a scratch on either - they might have been used 3 times between them.

There's some real junk out there but also some real gems.

I got my 2013 Trek Cobia for £500 in January. They were listed at £950 last summer. Barely used.

[Allyc85]

I have a 2013 Hardrock Sport Disc 29er, and the only weak point on it is the Suntour fork, which I will be upgrading soon. Apart from that its been great for the money I paid for it

[nw36984]

Not sure it was ever worth £875 but certainly worth £385, full Deore Groupset