A what mountain bike thread....

[satans worm]

Ok, this is for a friend, he wants to spend no more than GBP400, its for riding the suffolk country lanes and some very very light off road stuff (field style tracks).
Note he is a bit of an overweight old boy, (around mid forties ) and will use it just for cruising with the family, no serious single track will be attempted!


He is looking at this


http://www.halfords.com/webapp/wcs/stores/servlet/...

what do people think, do the job or is their better for the money?

[P-Jay]

Good bike for what he's after, but from a proper Bike Shop (it'll be called something slightly different as Halfraud GT's are different).

I'm really sorry to decent kids / MTB'ers who work in Halfords, but as a rule they're bloody awful. Incorrectly and poorly built and aftersales is a nightmare.

In my experience also the Halfords only models have corners cut to keep the price down, BB's Wheel bearing, no-brand hubs all made out of cheese.

[tommobot]

I got the same one from Halford for £300. Its good and does all I ask of it. Use it for about 70miles a week commuting on crappy b-roads and canal towpath type surface. Only issues with it are that the saddle keeps slipping my a few mill - orignal saddle clamp split - and now have a quick release part which still has the same problem. Other than that, i've put some hybrid tyres on it and its been very good.

[Gooby]

There seem to be some good deals on bike radar "deals of the week".

[Scooby72]

How about one of these ?

I do exactly the kind of riding you describe above, and I'm on my second Specialized Hardrock, can't fault it.

http://www.specializedconceptstore.co.uk/Detail/9/...

[f13ldy]

I bought a Trek 4300 about 3 years back for £400.

Would be ideal for that kind of riding.

[catso]

Scooby72 said:

How about one of these ?

I do exactly the kind of riding you describe above, and I'm on my second Specialized Hardrock, can't fault it.

http://www.specializedconceptstore.co.uk/Detail/9/...

At this price you can't beat the Hardrock, a good solid bike that does what it says on the tin, although I upgraded the brakes to Avid juicy 5 discs on mine so that I can do big stoppies, because I'm a big kid at heart.

[anonymous-user]

P-Jay said:

Good bike for what he's after, but from a proper Bike Shop (it'll be called something slightly different as Halfraud GT's are different).

I'm really sorry to decent kids / MTB'ers who work in Halfords, but as a rule they're bloody awful. Incorrectly and poorly built and aftersales is a nightmare.

In my experience also the Halfords only models have corners cut to keep the price down, BB's Wheel bearing, no-brand hubs all made out of cheese.

the bikes that halfords stick from brands like GT, Kona and Voodoo are EXACTLY THE SAME BIKES as the GT, Kona and Voodoo bikes you buy anywhere else in the world. Same name, same spec, same everything. they come from a factory in taiwan boxed and the box isnt opened until bike builder bob, wherever he may work, sets about it with his spanner for you.

if halfords build quality is an issue, buy it boxed and build it yourself and unless its something really serious, why is aftersales an issue. my boardman is done about 3000 miles without ever once going back to the halfords i bought it from (or any shop for that matter)

Halfords do sell gash bikes like the Apollo brand which we all know are unit shifters but please can we stop this utter bullst about the premium brands they stock unless you know what you are talking about.


i give up. bigots 1 realists 0

[R60EST]

I've got the halfords one in the OP , paid £300 when it was on offer about 2 months ago. I have been very pleased with it, no faults at all doing about 50 miles per week , mainly off road tracks / paths .
Personally speaking I have had no issues with the Halfords assembly and if you read the customer reviews on the link provided by the OP it rates very highly

[anonymous-user]

f13ldy said:

I bought a Trek 4300 about 3 years back for £400.

Would be ideal for that kind of riding.

I just bought a Trek for the missus - great bike!

[tommobot]

tommobot said:

I got the same one from Halford for £300. Its good and does all I ask of it. Use it for about 70miles a week commuting on crappy b-roads and canal towpath type surface. Only issues with it are that the saddle keeps slipping my a few mill - orignal saddle clamp split - and now have a quick release part which still has the same problem. Other than that, i've put some hybrid tyres on it and its been very good.

The gear guider? fell to bits on mine last week. A small little bit holding the chain guide at the back in place had fallen out and hence the gear guide just came off. Had a look for the part but couldn't see it up the road anywhere. Took it back to Halfrauds, and at first they said it wouldn't be covered under warranty (bike is 1 month old) but they eventually backed down. bds. Taking them over a week to sort it aswell. Only had done about 400 miles on it if that?!

[TedMaul]

pablo said:

P-Jay said:

Good bike for what he's after, but from a proper Bike Shop (it'll be called something slightly different as Halfraud GT's are different).

I'm really sorry to decent kids / MTB'ers who work in Halfords, but as a rule they're bloody awful. Incorrectly and poorly built and aftersales is a nightmare.

In my experience also the Halfords only models have corners cut to keep the price down, BB's Wheel bearing, no-brand hubs all made out of cheese.

the bikes that halfords stick from brands like GT, Kona and Voodoo are EXACTLY THE SAME BIKES as the GT, Kona and Voodoo bikes you buy anywhere else in the world. Same name, same spec, same everything. they come from a factory in taiwan boxed and the box isnt opened until bike builder bob, wherever he may work, sets about it with his spanner for you.

if halfords build quality is an issue, buy it boxed and build it yourself and unless its something really serious, why is aftersales an issue. my boardman is done about 3000 miles without ever once going back to the halfords i bought it from (or any shop for that matter)

Halfords do sell gash bikes like the Apollo brand which we all know are unit shifters but please can we stop this utter bullst about the premium brands they stock unless you know what you are talking about.


i give up. bigots 1 realists 0

Halfords are a huge chain, as with any huge chain, some stores are better than others. The large one near work at Dearne Valley is not so good as smaller one in Hillsborough, even though larger one has better stock. Its all about the people.