Looking for a new mountain bike, roughly £400-£600

[AmiableChimp]

I currently have an old Halfords Carrera Gryphon mountain bike which must be around 15 years old.

It has no suspension and is quite heavy, but has stood the test of time well - admittedly it hasn't led a hard life

I also have a Ridgeback Velocity for commuting very sporadically.

Been talking with my new neighbours and we are thinking of having a lads mountain bike excursion, which ties in nicely with me wanting to get back out onto the trails.

I live around 30 mins from Innerleithen so have some good tracks close by, but I am not looking for a top spec mega downhill machine - something basic, but decent quality will do.

I think I can spare between £400-£600 on this, obviously sticking closer to the £400 would make the deal easier to sell to Mrs Chimp.

My local Edinburgh Bike Coop are selling a Specialised Hard Rock for £400 - http://www.edinburghbicycle.com/products/specializ...

which, to my untrained eye, looks a great starter for 10.

I also like the look of Cube bikes, but not sure of best place in Edinburgh to source them.

I am 5'6" so guess a medium would suffice on the Specialised?

Anyone got any recommendations? The choice is almost too much for me to find the right one!

Any hints you seasoned pros can give would also be very much appreciated.

[Kell]

I think you'd be hard pushed to beat the Hardrock at that price. They're all much of a muchness really, and a lot will come down to which bike you feel most comfortable on.

The only other option is to see if anywhere has any close out deals on last year's models.

[Usget]

Given their good reputation for road bikes, I'd have a look at the B-Twin Rockrider 8. The 8.0 looks a decent spec for £429, but the 8.1 looks obscene for £549, if you could spare the extra.

[stoocake]

I picked up a 2012 model Trek 4900 for £400 (RRP was £750 or something) so it's worth asking around. Probably a bit late in the year now to get last years models but it's definitely the way to do it.

I highly rate the bike but as said, they're much of a muchness so buy what you like the look of what what fits you.

[shouldbworking]

stoocake said:

I highly rate the bike but as said, they're much of a muchness

I'd have to disagree on that. The rockrider above has hydraulic discs, a decent weight reduction, and much better gears than for example the hardrock. Those are not small improvements in my view.

[blackburnlad]

I have a rockrider 8.1 and its a great bike nice and light and fun to ride and has best spec you can get in its price range

[stoocake]

shouldbworking said:

I'd have to disagree on that. The rockrider above has hydraulic discs, a decent weight reduction, and much better gears than for example the hardrock. Those are not small improvements in my view.

You're absolutely right - I was more referring to the difference between manufacturers with similar specced bikes rather than the difference between the components themselves.

[alfaman]

I would tend to stick with prior year models [hopefully discounted] from major manufacturers such as Trek, Specialized, Marin, Orange and maybe Giant.

the other options are

1/ getting a hardtail from either Wiggle [online] - who sell Focus bikes which are good ,

2/ or from 'On-one' a UK bike business which makes some good hardtails in either steel / alu alloy, or carbon depending what u want to spend. they have a good reputation.

£400 is very low for a decent hardtail IMO ... for something you may want to keep and not need lot's of upgrading I would look to spend £600+ [e.g: decent forks which aren't too heavy and disk brakes]

I am in a couple of outdoor / mtn bike clubs in the UK .. dont know anyone who rides a B1 bike...virtually everyone rides a Spesh, Trek, Marin, with some riding Orange, Giant and occasionally 1/ or 2/.

[Digga]

Also, don't exclude secondhand bikes from your search - bikes drop a ton of money after even a few months of use and someone's barely used £800+ bike of a few months back could be well within budget. Aside from fleabay, look at the bike ads on mtb related websites.

If you want to go to a 50:50 approach, your LBS may well get the odd, decent part exchange bike that they'd service and set up for you if you're not entirely confident of your own ability to source and service something purely secondhand.

http://singletrackworld.com/forum/forum/classified...
http://www.pinkbike.com/buysell/?region=5

[AmiableChimp]

Thanks guys - thinking about looking closer to my £600 ceiling rather than £400 after some investigation.

Hopefully get some hydraulic disc brakes rather than cable, also hopefully better spec'd components to avoid immediate upgrades should I get right into.

My mate at work who is right into MTB suggested this - http://www.evanscycles.com/products/fuji/nevada-29...

Not sure whether a 29 is the way to go or not? Comments?

Will also look at the other options listed above, thanks again.

[alfaman]

AmiableChimp said:

Thanks guys - thinking about looking closer to my £600 ceiling rather than £400 after some investigation.

Hopefully get some hydraulic disc brakes rather than cable, also hopefully better spec'd components to avoid immediate upgrades should I get right into.

My mate at work who is right into MTB suggested this - http://www.evanscycles.com/products/fuji/nevada-29...

Not sure whether a 29 is the way to go or not? Comments?

Will also look at the other options listed above, thanks again.

re 29ers .. tend to be a bit more pricy :

benefits : easier to ride over very rocky, lumpy terrain
downsides: heavier, pricier and slower acceleration due to higher wheel inertia , and more suited to tall people than medium or shorter height riders.

re the fuji bike : rather crappy fork , gears and crank

..I'd be upgrading that very quickly .... better off spending another £200 and getting a decent Marzocchi fork and components that you'll be happy with for a few years.

About 5 years ago the entry point for a decent spec hardtail was around £600 ... it now seems to be 800++ [£ has devalued, and bikes are made overseas , and materials costs increased in $ terms ..]

[barker22]

I'd try scouring halfords for any leftover 2012 voodoo hoodoo models, brilliant bike for the money, highly rated. I believe the newer ones aren't as well specc'd so look for the older model.

[mike13]

barker22 said:

I'd try scouring halfords for any leftover 2012 voodoo hoodoo models, brilliant bike for the money, highly rated. I believe the newer ones aren't as well specc'd so look for the older model.

Have this very bike,i'm near Hunters Tryst pub if you want a look Steven,i would buy this bike again without hesitation.

[Gizmoish]

barker22 said:

I'd try scouring halfords for any leftover 2012 voodoo hoodoo models, brilliant bike for the money, highly rated. I believe the newer ones aren't as well specc'd so look for the older model.

Yes, they've downgraded the fork to a coil one rather than air.


In that price range I'd be looking at the Rockrider 8.1 above.

[muckymotor]

mike13 said:

barker22 said:

I'd try scouring halfords for any leftover 2012 voodoo hoodoo models, brilliant bike for the money, highly rated. I believe the newer ones aren't as well specc'd so look for the older model.

Have this very bike,i'm near Hunters Tryst pub if you want a look Steven,i would buy this bike again without hesitation.

I also have the Voodoo and in over a year of riding haven't had a single problem. It's highly rated in the magazine tests too. If you don't mind used there are plenty of lightly used ones for sale on ebay & gumtree.

[AmiableChimp]

Thanks guys.

Mike, I may well take you up on that offer when I have the readies available to buy

[daddy cool]

Know anyone local with a British Cycling membership? If so, they get 10% off in Halfords. Meaning this lovely Boardman Team hardtail (which is down to £722 for the next couple of days) ends up as £650.
http://www.halfords.com/webapp/wcs/stores/servlet/...

Ive been using my BC card to exhaustion recently - got a Boardman road bike and a Boardman Full Sus MTB - the latter of which is truly amazing. In one of their regular sales and with the BC discount, it came in around £840, and im as quick now across the Swinley trails as my friend on his Trek Fuel, which cost 3 times as much...