Les H

OK, I know there are some serious mountain bikers on her so this should be the right place to ask the question. I'm looking for a bike to hopefully get a bit of excercise on the local common land, nothing too extreme and no downhill stuff. I don't want to spend a fortune, so any suggestions as to what sort of budget I should put aside and what should I look for. I am thinking about a full suspension model at the moment and have seen a few for under £200 or if anyone has somthing suitable for sale in the London area let me know.
Cheers
Les H

Ian E

iTrader: (1)

Unless you're spending £500+ I wouldn't go for full suspension.

Buy a copy of MBR or MBUK for reviews etc.

This company sometime have some good deals:-

http://www.bonthronebikes.com

Luke

£200.00 bikes are Krap. But you could get a good secondhand one for under £300.00.

Les H

Yes, I think a couple of magazines are in order to get a bit more info, I dont have a problem with buying secondhand if the bikes good value for money. I have seen plenty of new bikes in the sub £300 bracket that certainly look the part, whats likely to be the problem with these.

unclebuck

Agree with Luke. Second hand or end of season sales (not till Sept) is the way to go. The chances are there are thousands who bought a quality bike, but never used it, and now want to sell while 'it's still worth something'. Not sure where to look for second hand bargins though... Luke??

ub

Crapaud62

Don't buy a cheapo bike.

All that will happen is that you will get the bug and then want to buy a better one so the money spent on the first one is effectively wasted. Alternatively if you use it hard it will fail.

Cheap bikes are only OK if you only want to ride a few miles on very mild tracks.

Go to a local moutain bike race and ask some of the riders for recommendations of local dealers. Good dealers will be genuine enthusiasts and will sort you out the right bike for your budget and not just sell you most expensive bike.

I originally want full suspension but at the time couldn't afford the best so I was better off getting a hardtail (front suspension only and solid back end).

eddie h

Just to reiterate what others have already said --don't buy a cheap bike.

I've spent more than that on a crank.

In a nut shell you get what you pay for:

cheap = heavy, weak, unreliable = ex biker

expensive = light, strong, reliable = happy biker

unclebuck

= secondhand bargin...

[Edited by unclebuck - 4/26/2003 11:45:30 PM]

super slider

I've just got a Specailised Hardrock mountain bike for £275. Its a good bike (compared to my £700 Trek 7000 which was stolen), a very good bike on its own and brilliant value for money. It got a very good review in a bike mag and I think it is quite light especially for its price. Yet to go on a proper trail with it though.

IWatkins

Is this the time to mention single speeds ?
No, OK, thought not .......

MarkO

Agree with Luke et al here. Don't buy a new £200 bike - it's just not worth it. When I first started riding 5-6 years ago I went to Halfords and spent £200 on what I thought was the dogs' bo11ocks bike (I knew nothing back then). It weighed about 45lbs, and bits started falling off it as soon as it was off tarmac. [img]images/smilies/mad.gif[/img]

If I were you, I'd find a second-hand Kona or something similar (hardtail definitely, and to start with you won't even need suspension forks either). You could get a superb bike 2nd-hand for that money, and it'll give you a real feel for what MTB is all about.

If you enjoy it, and do it regularly, adding suspension forks on isn't expensive (you can get good ones for £150 these days) and you can just build up the componentry on the bike as & when you wear it out or break it.

My first proper bike was a £600 Kona Cinder cone. I still have it today (rode it in a Scottish XC race this morning ). Okay, so by the time I'd added some Judy XC forks, SPDs, and other bits and bobs, plus stuff I've replaced after wearing it out or breaking it, the whole bike would probably cost £1200 to rebuild new now. But I've ended up with a sub-26lb excellent XC bike, and enjoyed every minute riding it, and have had superb value for money.

MTB bikes are like everything else - start with a decent basic frame, and you've got a good foundation to build on, and you won't regret spending that bit extra later on.

ozzy

Agree with MarkO. Get a decent frame and it'll last you a lifetime, unless your a nutcase or just unlucky.

I bought my GT Karakoram about 6 years ago and it's still going strong today as it did back then. The gears, sprockets and chain will get worn, but the core of the bike will last decades.

One of the contractors at work bought a cheap Halfords bike to get him to/from work while he's working up here in Edinburgh. Within a week the front wheel collapsed on him. Would have been serious if he was trying some DH, but since it was on his way in to work, it was the funniest thing I've seen in ages

Stefan

Les H

Thanks Guys, lots of valid points and good advice here, I will give Halfords a miss!. Super Slider was that a new bike or second hand

Les H

MarkO

Les: Go on, you know you want to.

super slider

it was a new bike, front suspension only. The same frame is used on bikes up to £500, the mag said it has got a very good light frame, with good forks and gears. It won a group test. In my opinion this is an ideal bike to start on. At least check it out at your local Specialised dealer. retails at £299.

Franx

Might do quite well by looking in the ads in the back of Mountain Biking UK or something. For that kind of price, you'd probably be best getting a good second hand one - Kona, Specialised etc. I really wouldn't get a new £200ish bike though. I have a Trek 800 off the insurance, as my old one was nicked, and had to replace every component. In fact, it's been a right pain in the ****. Won't get a decent frame on new bikes of that price either.

Chris.

Dream Weaver

Hmmm, dont quite agree with some of the posts here.

I bought a Carrera bike from Halfords 7 years ago for £280. Nothing fancy, no suspension, but it has been a great bike.

Just come back from 3 days riding it in the lakes, and once again it hasnt faltered in anyway. And i weigh 17 stone, so my bikes have a lot to put up with.

Use it mostly on road, but take to a few dirt paths every now and then.

Faultless so far, but I do agree that once you get into it, you will start looking higher. I am after a new bike after Sept, for about £500-600.

But as a starter, my Halfords bike has been spot on.

MATTeL

That will be the only one then!

I used to help out on Sundays at a mountain bike shop. The number of people scrapping Halford bikes for Specilized and Main was amazing.

Like MarkO says start with a good, light but strong frame that suits you then you have the foundations established if you want to change bits later on.

I love my Marin Alpine Trail with Easton monkey bars, Hope XC discs, Easton seat post, Race face Next LP cranks... you thought modding a car took time!

MarkO

Fair enough, DW, but what sort of surfaces have you been riding on? Tarmac, or fire-roads? And how often have you ridden it in the 7 years?

Have to say, I'm surprised though. My experience of Halfords was not good (although I was doing a bit more than riding on the flat with my bike).

Dream Weaver

I only use it in the summer now, but about 5 years back I used to ride out 4 nights a week, 10-13 miles per journey (helped me to lose 4 stone in 12 monts ). Back then it was 80% normal road, 20% dirt tracks - nothing major, just canal routes, a few fields etc. Nowadays, mostly road, with the odd field/track thrown in.

The only major off road I did was about 10 miles of track/field/dirt route which was extreme for me, only problem was a bent reflector from a rock, bottom of the toe clip

Before that bike i bought a Diamond Back MTB from a specialist shop. It cost me £400, and that was back in 1990. The thing fell to pieces on the first ride as the young lad that built it didnt tighten anything up properly. The crank fell to bits, saddle was loose etc.

I would defo buy a bike from Halfords again.

MarkO

Presumably you'd also buy a PC from Dixons?

Halfords = overpriced sh1te

MattPiece

Halfords are OK regarding wiper blades! Got the Bosch ones for the STi. However, they offered a fitting service for £2.50 !

super slider

As i said, i think my Specialised Hardrock at £275 is ideal for a starter bike. i have looked at Halfords which are okay but i consider this bike to be a definate step up. It has taken me a year to find a bike i was happy with at this price. After all, Les H is only using it for general riding, nothing serious, but i am confident the Specialised will stand up to the once a week off road biking i do and more.
Michael

Dream Weaver

Built the PC myself

I dont see the problem with Halfords.

People that shun Halfords are the same sorts of people that dont like America, Microsoft, or any other "trendy to be disliked" organisation.

Pure band wagon jumping IMHO.

I'm not saying they are the worlds leading bike retailer, or car part retailer for that matter, but I have never had a problem with any of the stuff they sell, and I have spent a good few quid there over the years.

I also find there prices to be fairly competitive.

Luke

Halfords

Yes they can be cheap on new bikes.........but look at what makes they sell "Saracen"!!!!!!! "Kona" !!! why do I laugh ??? well as they are the biggest retailers of Kona in the Uk .they are selling them cheap. But dont think you are getting the quality you have always heard about............. An old kona is fantastic. but the stuff sold by halfords has very cheap group/wheels sets etc.This is how the price is so low. You see the name and go all soft!!

Also they are very expensive for parts. servicing!!!!!! you will be lucky!!!

Kona is a name that will live in Mountain bikers hearts. But not the new generation.

unclebuck

Never rated either TBH A 'proper' mountain bike has to be designed and manufactured in the West Coast of America (where it all started) IMO, not the UK or Canada!! Or worse still Tiwan... (where the majority of frames come from)

[Edited by unclebuck - 4/28/2003 8:33:18 PM]

MarkO

DW, I'm not bandwagon-jumping. For a start, I love Microsoft - their technology is what's been indirectly related to all the money I've made out of development in the last 10 years.

But seriously, if you'd actually read my post earlier, you'd have seen that I wasn't just quoting chapter & verse, I was giving you my opinion having 'done' Halfords before. I bought a bike which I was told was quality, and watched it fall apart the second I took it off tarmac - despite the fact that the bike was sold as being capable of 'hardcore' off-road riding.

For car stuff, Halfords is getting better - the prices aren't so bad these days, and their range of stuff is good too. But when it comes to bikes, the biggest problem with Halfords is the sales people. [img]images/smilies/mad.gif[/img] They tell you that what you're buying is value-for-money, well-built, and top-of-the-range, when in actual fact what you're buying is adequate mediocrity which could easily be bettered by talking to a an expert at a decent local bike shop. If Halfords didn't try to make out that their bikes were quality, and actually sold them for what they are, it might not be so bad.

The Halfords/PC World/Dixons/etc of this world are handy for when you need standard stuff at short notice. But if you want decent advice, good quality bikes, and fair prices, it's not the place to go.

Besides, DW, if your bike is so good, how come you're about to spend £500 on another one, despite the fact that you've only done a bit of riding on the road? Surely you should just be able to upgrade a few worn out components, and keep riding the same frame and basic groupset?

In the last 5-6 years, my Kona's seen the best part of 6,000 miles off-road - and not just a few gradually-sloped fire-roads, but real hard-core (mostly near-vertical ) XC riding. If your Halfords bike can manage that, I'll be very surprised.

MooseRacer

I'd kind of go along with the posts already here - £200 is not going to get you an even half decent MTB. 300 to 400 will however get you something that is good enough for starting out on.
Like someone said earlier, Specialised HardRocks are an excellent first buy. If after time you want to upgrade, then it will make an ideal 2nd winter training bike.

You may get a 2nd hand bike for £200, but are you going to know what you're looking for/at?

I would not recommend going out and spending a grand or more on your first bike - that could be an awful lot of money spent on something that gets used once or twice and then shoved in the back of the garage if you don't like your new hobby!


If I was you I'd get myself a HardRock and get out and ride the thing, leave the obsessive cleaning to the badge junkies

Dream Weaver

Mark - not disagreeing with you, better more expensive bikes are just that...better. But for someone starting out a cheap Halfords bike will do.

Reason for me buying something better is that I want a suspension bike, as my **** hurts far too much on mine (I know, just buy a better seat).

I agree that bikes such as Orange, Marin etc are the best you can get, but my point is a cheap bike is OK for starters.

6,000 miles?

You must have **** cheeks of stone

MarkO

Nah, you're missing the point, DW. I'm not saying that Halfords is crap 'cos you can't buy top quality, ultra-expensive bikes there. That wouldn't be relevant to this thread - since the aim is to get a starter bike costing around £200.

The point I'm making, as are many others, is that if you go to Halfords, take their advice, and spend your £200, you'll walk out of the shop with something you think is a decent bike for the money but is actually not. They'll try and sell you a full-sus bike (despite the fact that spending less than £600-odd on one is pointless), or sell you a bike with suspension forks which will fall apart after 2 minute, and componentry that's just a waste of money.

Go to a specialist shop, and they'll sell you a decent (if basic) frame, with whatever componentry you can afford that compliments the frame. That will leave you with a bike which you can upgrade and take forward, rather than having to throw the whole thing away (like you're about to do) and start again.

For example, the type of riding you're doing means that buying a full-suspension bike would be a complete waste of money, but I bet your Halfords sales guy won't baulk at talking you into buying one. If you'd bought a decent frame (for the same money you paid) in the first place, your new requirements now (i.e, to get something with suspension) could be satisfied by sticking a pair of decent (i.e., £150) suspension forks onto your existing bike.

You don't have to spend a fortune to get a decent bike which you can improve/upgrade when time/funds permit. The problem with Halfords is that they'll sell you something which, in terms of upgrades, effectively paints you into a corner - meaning your only option is to buy a brand new bike. Trust me - I've been there, done it, and wasted the £200.

Oh, and I don't have an ar$e made of stone - 'cos most of the 6,000 miles was spent out of the saddle.