£300 bike, this worth a punt?

£300 bike, this worth a punt?

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Nicko_12345

Original Poster:

1,154 posts

199 months

Friday 30th March 2012
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Kermit power

28,634 posts

212 months

Friday 30th March 2012
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No, it's not worth a punt, sorry!

If you're working to a budget of £300 and you specifically want a mountain bike, then pretty much anyone on here is going to make two recommendations:

1. Buy something second hand. You will get vastly more bike for your money, just as you would with buying a car. For some reason, people who would quite happily buy a second hand car tend to get really nervous about buying a second hand bike, despite it being a far, far simpler mechanism.

2. Don't get full suspension. At that price level, it's impossible to build a full suspension bike where the rear suspension is there for anything other than visual effect. If you're only going to use the bike on roads or tow paths, then you'll just bounce up and down feeling faintly seasick. If, on the other hand, you want to do some proper offroad riding, then you'll get far better performance for your budget out of a (preferably) second hand hardtail, as it won't suffer from poorly designed rear suspension, plus there's more budget to spend on front forks and the rest of the bike.

Just one example of Ebay that looks a much better bet for your money - A Specialized Hardrock for £280. I am in no way affiliated to the seller, btw! hehe

MadDad

3,834 posts

260 months

Friday 30th March 2012
quotequote all
Kermit power said:
No, it's not worth a punt, sorry!

If you're working to a budget of £300 and you specifically want a mountain bike, then pretty much anyone on here is going to make two recommendations:

1. Buy something second hand. You will get vastly more bike for your money, just as you would with buying a car. For some reason, people who would quite happily buy a second hand car tend to get really nervous about buying a second hand bike, despite it being a far, far simpler mechanism.

2. Don't get full suspension. At that price level, it's impossible to build a full suspension bike where the rear suspension is there for anything other than visual effect. If you're only going to use the bike on roads or tow paths, then you'll just bounce up and down feeling faintly seasick. If, on the other hand, you want to do some proper offroad riding, then you'll get far better performance for your budget out of a (preferably) second hand hardtail, as it won't suffer from poorly designed rear suspension, plus there's more budget to spend on front forks and the rest of the bike.

Just one example of Ebay that looks a much better bet for your money - A Specialized Hardrock for £280. I am in no way affiliated to the seller, btw! hehe
+1

2nd hand hardtail, and if you are hell bent on a new full susser then you are going to need to spend 1k+ to get a decent entry level one new.

Rolls

1,502 posts

176 months

Saturday 31st March 2012
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+1 too - second hand at that price point IMO!

Animal101

218 posts

151 months

Saturday 31st March 2012
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I had a Carrera Vengeance hardtail which was a surprisingly good bike. That being said stay well away from that and either go secondhand or hardtail. What sort of riding will do you plan on doing?

I have noticed Halfords tend to sell a lot of bikes at the full price for maybe a month or 2 then the rest of the year it's "on sale" to fool you into getting a bargain.

Bacon Is Proof

5,740 posts

230 months

Saturday 31st March 2012
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I'll second all of the above.
I'm not keen on second hand though, so personally I'd have a look for any of last year's or the year before's bikes on sale.
I've heard many people say not to buy an older model as the technology is moving so fast, but as someone who thrashes a 12yr old hardtail on a daily basis I can assure you that's rubbish!

(Comparing my bike to my friend's brand new steed of similar price, the only technological advance I could see was that the little gear lever now changes when depressed, rather than when pressed and then released.)

Bacon Is Proof

5,740 posts

230 months

Saturday 31st March 2012
quotequote all
Kermit power said:
For some reason, people who would quite happily buy a second hand car tend to get really nervous about buying a second hand bike, despite it being a far, far simpler mechanism.
I've fallen off a lot of bikes, and have sometimes done structural damage to the frame in the process.
I've never fallen off a car, and structural damage is normally easily spotted, so that's my take.

A friend did pick up a used Jekyll with Lefty fork recently (complete bike, but can't remember what spec comp's it had) for £400, and we haven't found anything untoward yet so there are real bargins to be had.

anonymous-user

53 months

Saturday 31st March 2012
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Nicko_12345 said:
I'd say its a lot if bike for the money. Unfortunately cycling is surrounded by a lot of badge snobbery. Big brands would charge double for similar spec. You may get lucky buying secondhand. But the chances of finding a decent 2nd hand bike, locally, for sale by the rightful owner with proof, are slim. The reviews are goid, I'd say go for it.

Kermit power

28,634 posts

212 months

Saturday 31st March 2012
quotequote all
Bacon Is Proof said:
Kermit power said:
For some reason, people who would quite happily buy a second hand car tend to get really nervous about buying a second hand bike, despite it being a far, far simpler mechanism.
I've fallen off a lot of bikes, and have sometimes done structural damage to the frame in the process.
I've never fallen off a car, and structural damage is normally easily spotted, so that's my take.
True, but structural damage is about the only possible problem you might fail to spot on a second hand bike with a 2 minute ride round the block. Compare that to the myriad of possible things to go pop on a second hand car as a result of it being poorly serviced or constantly thrashed. Even if it hasn't been crashed, there's far more to worry about in my view.

Kermit power

28,634 posts

212 months

Saturday 31st March 2012
quotequote all
Jimboka said:
I'd say its a lot if bike for the money. Unfortunately cycling is surrounded by a lot of badge snobbery. Big brands would charge double for similar spec. You may get lucky buying secondhand. But the chances of finding a decent 2nd hand bike, locally, for sale by the rightful owner with proof, are slim. The reviews are goid, I'd say go for it.
A lot of bike for the money to do what, exactly?

If the OP wants to do the sort of riding that actually benefits from full suspension, then this bike isn't going to be up to the job.

If he doesn't, then what's the point in buying it when almost any hardtail would be a better bike for the same money?

Badge snobbery doesn't come in to it.

Gizmo!

18,150 posts

208 months

Saturday 31st March 2012
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Kermit power said:
Jimboka said:
I'd say its a lot if bike for the money. Unfortunately cycling is surrounded by a lot of badge snobbery. Big brands would charge double for similar spec. You may get lucky buying secondhand. But the chances of finding a decent 2nd hand bike, locally, for sale by the rightful owner with proof, are slim. The reviews are goid, I'd say go for it.
A lot of bike for the money to do what, exactly?

If the OP wants to do the sort of riding that actually benefits from full suspension, then this bike isn't going to be up to the job.

If he doesn't, then what's the point in buying it when almost any hardtail would be a better bike for the same money?

Badge snobbery doesn't come in to it.
It is a lot of bike. I expect it's 20% more bike than what I'd buy for the same money. In weight terms, anyway.

Out of amusement I looked on Ebay for completed auctions of bikes like mine (three year old 700C Scott hybrid, about 13kgs, front suspension that's probably mostly decorative, but bloody fast and so far bombproof). £200 for this one: http://www.ebay.co.uk/itm/Scott-Sportster-Hybrid-B... Why pay more?

anonymous-user

53 months

Saturday 31st March 2012
quotequote all
Kermit power said:
A lot of bike for the money to do what, exactly?

If the OP wants to do the sort of riding that actually benefits from full suspension, then this bike isn't going to be up to the job.

If he doesn't, then what's the point in buying it when almost any hardtail would be a better bike for the same money?

Badge snobbery doesn't come in to it.
I find there is little badge snobbery at this end of the market. The problem with the bike is that if you really push it can you count on it.

If you hit a rebound will the forks chuck you off the bike. Will the components work under pressure, probably no. If you are using it for around town etc, then fair enough but this bike isn't a mountain bike, more a leisure bike.

deadtom

2,550 posts

164 months

Saturday 31st March 2012
quotequote all
Jimboka said:
I'd say its a lot if bike for the money. Unfortunately cycling is surrounded by a lot of badge snobbery. Big brands would charge double for similar spec. You may get lucky buying secondhand. But the chances of finding a decent 2nd hand bike, locally, for sale by the rightful owner with proof, are slim. The reviews are goid, I'd say go for it.
have to disagree im afraid.

im a big fan of carrera bikes as they offer excellent value for money, but while it is true that this could well be the best £300 full suspension bike on the market, at this price rather than being a good bike, it'll just be a bit less bad than everything else.

like others have said, look second hand, increase your budget, or decrease your expectations. And whichever of these you choose, avoid full suspension.

Nicko_12345

Original Poster:

1,154 posts

199 months

Sunday 1st April 2012
quotequote all
Thanks for all the replies, I have though about what kind of riding I am going to be doing and I cannot see a need for a full suspension bike.

I want to buy new just for peace of mind really and I purchased my last bike second hand and its always had a few annoying little problems, I have narrowed it down to these two hard tails:

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

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

Thanks again

Nick

HereBeMonsters

14,180 posts

181 months

Sunday 1st April 2012
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No no no.

Seriously, I know some Carreras can be vfm, but most are utter crap. Go to a few proper bike shops and ask around.

Nicko_12345

Original Poster:

1,154 posts

199 months

Sunday 1st April 2012
quotequote all
HereBeMonsters said:
No no no.

Seriously, I know some Carreras can be vfm, but most are utter crap. Go to a few proper bike shops and ask around.
I dont think there are any in Stoke, apart from Swinertons that seem very very expensive.

HereBeMonsters

14,180 posts

181 months

Sunday 1st April 2012
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Anything you like the look of on Chain Reaction or Wiggle?

Nicko_12345

Original Poster:

1,154 posts

199 months

Sunday 1st April 2012
quotequote all
HereBeMonsters said:
Anything you like the look of on Chain Reaction or Wiggle?
http://www.wiggle.co.uk/gt-aggressor-10-2012/

That looks OK, I dont know if its worth the £100 over the Carrera bikes though?

deadtom

2,550 posts

164 months

Sunday 1st April 2012
quotequote all
Nicko_12345 said:
http://www.wiggle.co.uk/gt-aggressor-10-2012/

That looks OK, I dont know if its worth the £100 over the Carrera bikes though?
probably not, judging by the spec.

if you have to buy new and want front suspension then those two carreras you linked to earlier are probably your best bet.


Animal101

218 posts

151 months

Sunday 1st April 2012
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I think those Carrera hardtails are ok for starter bikes. I used to ride a Vengeance and it didn't explode or anything. Once I set it up properly it seemed fine out on the trails at Thetford forest. My brother is commuting on a Carrera Vulcan at the moment and that's still working fine after a year.