Diamondback Sorrento...Any good?

[tvradict]

I need a bike and found one of these on ebay at £200. Ebay Link

Is this any good? Im planning to use it for going back and forth to work (3 miles each way) and for running about off road during the summer. The main intention is to knock a fair amount of weight off. £200 is the top end of my budget.

Any other suggestions? Or good online retailers?

Cheers
Stuart

[AndrewM]

That is not a good bike to buy - full suss for less than £1000 is not going to be good - look for something 2nd hand on bike radar or the classifieds on ph for something more suitable. I reckon a hybrid of some type would be best for you.

You'd do worse than check out your local Sally Army for cheap bikes as they often have stuff that would suit for what you want to start with. Of course, once the bug has bitten, it's a whole different story....

You should be able to buy something for £50 that will get you started.

[waughie]

Spend a bit more and get a carrera Vulcan ot GT Aggressor/avalanch. And as above full suss at cheap price points are compromised. Get a hardtail.

[tvradict]

Cheers.

I've found a GT Aggressor XC3 09 20" (which means diddly squat to me) for £270 on Halfords website, is the bike and price any good?

Are there any others online sites I should try??

[waughie]

I assume you mean this one,

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

If so it is a good starter bike, it will cope with the vast majority of things you can throw at it.

The thing to note is the website is misleading. It a £330 bike at most not £400, however it is still a good price at £280.

If you could spend the extra the vulcan for £300 is a good buy.

Chainreactioncycles, wiggle, leisurelakes, decathlon, merlin etc are all good places to look. You can always check your local bike shop to see if they have any ex demo stuff.

[tvradict]

Yes that one, sorry I thought I had put the link up.

I was looking at the reviews and there are lots with problems after 6 months or so, which is a bit worrying tbh. The reviews were all on the halfords website, so I dont know if its issues with them being built by halfords or issues with GT's build and quality control. The XC2 seems to get much better reviews but of course is £100 or so dearer. I'll see if I can find a Vulcan for comparison.

As you can tell I'm completely out of my depth here, no idea what I'm looking at or for. I was shocked to see DISC BRAKES on them FFS. fking DISC Brakes. ON A PUSH BIKE! WTF?!?! The last bike I rode had those rectangular blocks that gripped the rim, and I'm not talking about what I now know to be called V brakes!

[waughie]

TBH the problem with the bikes are that people don't look after tthem properly, they drop then don't clean them leave them out in the rain etc etc. and expect them to cope with the abuse that even a much more expensive bike won't like

The aggressor is the same bike as the avalanche that you may see elsewhere. The independant gt dealers didn't want to compete with halfords so gt had to make two bikes. Depending on the year either could be better.

Disc brakes are good, especially when going off road through mud as it keeps the braking surface cleaner compared to v brakes.

I won't lie they are a basic bike it will have limits, but it will perform a hell of a lot better than a >£200 bike. It is a good bike to start the sport with, its not too expensive that if you don't enjoy biking you'll feel cheated and its good enough that you may enjoy and want to progress onto more expensive machinery.

I started with a £500 bike and have upgraded over time as i enjoyed it that much, it now stands me at approx £1600 and is a bit like triggers broom!

[tvradict]

Thanks for the advice. I popped into halfords today to have a look at the GT Aggressor and the Carrera Vulcan.

Didn't help me much tbh, I still have no idea what I'm looking at. I also have no idea what size I should be buying.

I thought it would be a case of going to a shop, saying 'that one please' and taking it away. Seems things have moved on lots in the last 15 years.

[waughie]

Size wise you need to stand the bike on the floor, stand over the cross bar, there should be approx 2 inches between 'you' and the frame. you then adjust the seat height so that when the pedal is at the bottom of its stroke your leg is almost straight.

Which one looked best? which one seemed lighter? get the man to get one off the rack and ask him to move the seat for you. Failing that which one looks pretty!?

For reference:
I am 6' and ride a 19"
My friend is 5' 11" and rides an 18"

Although i've ridden his and it doesn't seem too small.

[Simond S]

Regardless of what bike you buy, buy it from a proper shop.The difference between bikes will be smaller than the difference between a bike that you are fitted to, and a bike that is just built.

having all your joints working in the right direction will be better for your health, and make cycling much easier.

[tvradict]

waughie said:

Size wise you need to stand the bike on the floor, stand over the cross bar, there should be approx 2 inches between 'you' and the frame. you then adjust the seat height so that when the pedal is at the bottom of its stroke your leg is almost straight.

Which one looked best? which one seemed lighter? get the man to get one off the rack and ask him to move the seat for you. Failing that which one looks pretty!?

For reference:
I am 6' and ride a 19"
My friend is 5' 11" and rides an 18"

Although i've ridden his and it doesn't seem too small.

Well I'm 6' so I'm guessing 18" - 20" would suit me fine.

I liked the look of the Aggressor, looked more rugged than the Vulcan.

There is a good bike shop local to me so I'll pop in there tomorrow and have a chat with them.

Thanks for all the advice from everyone.