Hey guys, looking for new bike less than 200 pounds.

LaurenceGough

Hello there guys and girls, I'm looking to buy a new bike that has to be under around 200 pounds, I've heard that there's no point looking for a dual suspension bike around this price range? I still would like nice comfort.

I have a bike currently that is a dual suspension which I got of my cousin when I was 12 I brought it for 50 pounds but it was 100 new. It seems to be made cheaply and is damn heavy steel.

I need a new bike because I will be starting work in a 2 weeks and I will be traveling there and back 3-4 miles each way 5 days a week.

I will be riding on roads but I like the strength of a MTB and the comfort.


I've heard that the Mongoose Tyax Comp Disc Bike 2007 is a good bike do you think that it's right for me? It's still a little too expensive...

http://www.wiggle.co.uk/ProductDetail.a ... 5360026978

Good bike/place to buy?

Thanks very, very much!

Edit:

Sorry but just a list of things that I would really like, anything else doesn't really matter.

Good front suspension
Front disk brake

-Laurence/Technex

Father Faff

It's worth spending the extra £50.

LaurenceGough

Heheheeh .

The problem is 200 pounds is still very high for me, but do you think it will be comfortable than my dual suspension bike at the moment? It's a very cheap one but I would still think the spring would make it more comfortable?

Just making sure I don't want to have a sore you know what/etc before I get to work .

MarvintheAndroid

Personally I would forget the suspension and go for something with a rigid fork, you are much more likely to get something reasonable. Very cheap suspension is heavy and generally not worth having, and in most cases actually works against you on the road if you can't lock it out. The weight will be much lower without and you are likely to get a better class of kit eg shifters, derailleurs and brakes. All of this should mean that you use less effort going faster on a bike that is much more suited to your purpose.

For under £200 you are definitely in the budget bikes market, but some reasonable MTB offerings are available from the likes of Evans Cycles for example :

Trek 3500 2007 £ 175 reduced from £ 199
Claud Butler Mercury 2007 £ 199

or you could choose a hybrid which has some of the strength of an MTB but with more road-specific equipment and generally larger wheels with slicker tyres :

Claud Butler Urban 100 2007 £ 199
GT Nomad 2007 £ 199

There are many more similar, these are just a few. Also don't be afraid to take advantage of last year's models if they are going cheap, you can expect to get better equipment this way. Happy hunting.

Marv

alfablue

If you don't intend to go off road an MTB will be heavier and less efficient for your main intended use. Get a hybrid (strength and comfort will be just as good, but it will be much faster). Check out the Carrera Subway - it's a superb bike, very highly rated, and will suit your needs very well. It has £50 off at the moment and is £188.

You may be able to use a Kellogs Raisin Wheats 10% off @ Halfords voucher too.

LaurenceGough

Thanks guys! A hybrid does sound like what I'm after but can you get them with a front disk brake and a front suspension?

I'm just remembering the days of my old bike that had no front suspension... Same with my sisters now it's a very rough ride over curbs etc.

I wouldn't mind a little extra weight to allow for a suspension, and the disk brake hardly adds any weight right?

Alfablue that bike looks nice other than the two points above, it's a good price too.

I find it funny how the more you spend the less you get in some cases! :P 50-200 pound range. Well for quality anyway, I understand now I just never used to.

Thanks guys, I'll keep looking for a hybrid with suspension and a front disk brake now.

Any more help would be great, thank you all .

Father Faff

GT Aggressor, Carrera Vulcan & Decathlon Rockrider 5.2 are all £200 front-suspension mountain bikes that got excellent reviews in the bike mags. If you put slick or semi-slick tyres on them they will be practically as fast as a hybrid, more comfortable (bigger tyres & front suspension) & if you want you can use them for more serious off-roading too. If it was me I'd go for the Decathlon.

alfablue

There is a Subway with discs, costs more. Cheap front suspension is heavy bouncy rubbish, if you really need to go up kerbs then you should learn to hop up them. The fattish tyres on the Subway are plenty suspension in other respects. Cheap suspension will weigh maybe 2 kilos, which is the same (or more) weight than a complete bike frame!

As for a front disc, the cheap disc you are likely to get in your price range won't out perform decent V brakes and is likely to be a whole load of trouble to keep fettled.

A bike with acceptable front suspension and discs will cost upwards of £400ish (and at that price I wouldn't be looking for disc, they will be low rent, or sacrifice other components to fit quality ones at that price point).

As your cycling skills improve you will perceive the benefits of a bike that is lighter, simpler and more fit for the purpose.

To be honest, if I was considering a bike for only off road riding, I would still go for rigid forks in that price range, after all, thats how we rode the trails 15 years ago! ()My first MTB - a Marin Palisades Trail, cost me £350 s/h and had rigid forks, and I used it regularly off road for a couple of years).

I am currently using my MTB (a Rock Lobster Team Ti, cost £1500 with Rock Shox SID SL forks, which are very light) as a commuter whilst I save up for a tourer for this job - and I have removed the shocks and fitted rigid forks and fitted skinny tyres to make it faster and more suited to commuting (20 miles) and touring. That in my experience has made it a much better bike for the road, rather than with squidgy (saps pedaling force on the hills)and heavy (albeit only 1.4kilo, but that low weight only comes with a £400 fork) front suss .

My freind bought a Trek 4500 disc for about £400, its a good beginners bike for mtb, but the forks are heavy and poorly damped (yet are far superior to a fork on a £200 bike) and the rear disc is really difficult to keep working. She does 99% road riding and now realises her mistake (had the same thoughts about the implied strength and comfort of an MTB for the road) and is saving up for a hybrid - thats after 1 year use, and perceiving she has to work much harder to do the same speed and distance as me.

I know it's difficult to perceive these things until you try them out, and Halfords don't really let you test ride seriously, but see if you can get a ride on these different styles of bike at these price points and you should see the difference, and think about how the difficulty or ease with which you ride is multiplied over a 10 mile ride.

LaurenceGough

alfablue wrote:

I know it's difficult to perceive these things until you try them out.

Hehehe it sure is .


After reading through your post a few times I've really had a sad thought all that I wanted is bad... I still don't know about having no suspension and no disk brake.

But on a good thought of mine I am planning to keep this bike for at least 3-4 years during that time I would have earned a lot of money so I could upgrade to good suspension forks and also a nice new disk brake?

I'll be going 6-8 miles in total a day, it involves big hills and is pretty much all on road. There are lots of curbs on the way, as it's all through streets. I just don't want to have a sore arm and regret buying the bike / stand up every time I go over a curb because I hate having to do that all the time :P.

About the disk brakes I like them from the technical and the performance point of view but if I can upgrade in the future than I guess I'm okay.

So not this this (nice) bike? http://www.wiggle.co.uk/ProductDetail.a ... 5360026978

And this bike?
Carrera Subway


Humm, I know for sure what I would have went for before I joined here :P.

Just noticed something the bike I have at this time says 26" on the tires so 20" is a lot smaller right? Edit: I just found the Carrera in 22" same price.

And the one I have now is getting small... Or is that not the right way to judge the bike size?

Hummm, I can assure you I haven't been so unsure about something for a long time.[/url]

Thank you .

alfablue

Hi Sup

Yes its difficult.

I can't comment on the Mongoose really, just I would worry about the component quality - also whilst Wiggle are excellent you lose the chance of a 6 week service to fettle things that go out of wack, compared to a LBS.

The 20" or 22" referes to the frame size (usually the length of the seat tube - the one going from the bottom bracket (where the pedal cranks go through) to the top (horizontal) tube. Bear in mind that as the seat tube gets longer, so does the top tube, and the "reach" (length of top tube) is probably the more important dimension regarding bike fit.
The 26" on the tyre refers to wheel size, most MTB's (except 29er's) and maybe 60% of hybrids (except those with 700c) have 26" wheels.

The Subway you link to is the one I recommend in your price range, but the Subway 2 has disc brakes and costs £269 (thats with £30 off) so may suit if you can spend that much.

As for going up kerbs - are you pavement riding? (not always a good thing). On proper pavement cycle paths there are almost always dropped kerbs at junctions. As for standing up, well even with suspension you need to lighten the front end when going up kerbs or you risk a "refusal" and go over the bars, going down them is fine with or without suspension, you would slightly ease the weight off the seat (not standing) but that apples whether you have front suss or not, a hardtail (i.e. front suss) and a rigid (like the hybrid) are all the same at the back - front suss won't make any difference to that.

LaurenceGough

Humm the components look nice from my view (not very good ) it does have everything I need right at the upmost of my price range, I also like the look of it. The only thing I'm worried about is the weight I guess, quality of front suspension (doesn't matter much, better than mine I'm sure :P) and the ability to upgrade it when I get more money.
I do like wiggle's site and I've only been on there for a bit, free delivery and it comes ready assembled. Does sound nice.

As for service I can tell ya if anything goes wrong in 6 weeks they'll hear from me!

Ahh thanks for clearing that up! I have pretty small legs but a medium body (5.9") I'm only just 16 so a little room for growth I guess would be nice, not really worried though.

The Subway 2 I guess I can stretch out for maybe... It does look okay I just don't get that "I want" feeling when I see it, mainly because of that bare skinny front fork, still it's an option.

Yeah I will be using the pavement, the trip to work will involve about 30% bike paths and rest is just pavements, wide ones though. I won't be riding on the roads and I don't care if it's illegal I'm not going to be stupid and get ran over, biking is about being fun and being on the road isn't for me.

Hehe I doubt the "refusal" will ever happen to me, I've been riding bikes for 4-5 years and all with these crappy dual suspension systems! :P

I'm just saying about the curbs + no suspension it isn't comfortable from what I remember, all I'm worried about with no suspension. And no not going over curbs isn't an option! :P

Thank you

Edit:

Next model up for only 2 pounds more and free delivery!

http://www.nationalcycles.co.uk/mongoos ... elite.html

Good?

alfablue

I can vouch for Wiggle being excellent, I would have no worries buying a bike from them. If there is a fault they will collect and return free of charge, the 6 week service thing is usually about adjusting gears when cables stretch, and maybe tightening the headset and sdjusting brakes - if you are at all handy you can do this yourself with just a couple of allen keys, if you are mechanically clueless, then buying from a local bike shop makes more sense.

harryo

get rigids they will make you make faster and common mate its a curb bunny hop it. if u want lighter stuf for u full sus go on crc they are good and cheap

MarvintheAndroid

Nothing wrong with Wiggle, nothing wrong with the Goose. However it is over budget (you said £200 was really too much) and my suggestions have been in line with your budget.

I think you have all the info you need. If in doubt I suggest you look at the bikes "in the flesh" and preferably ride them too if you are able to swing it.

Be careful about assuming that you can buy a cheap non-disc bike and upgrade to discs later, it often isn't possible in this price range. Check with the seller whether it is disc ready or not. However I am not convinced you need discs for purely commuting use.

Marv

LaurenceGough

Well I've been thinking about it and as all members here say 200 pound isn't much for a bike today.

I could do with a little more info actually, these forums have been a great help so far if it wasn't for you guys I would have probably just got a bike from Argos as my parents keep suggesting <_<.

I still wouldn't call 250 pounds cheap but the moongoose has disks anyway, and they look nice but even if they arn't that good I'm sure I can replace disks with another set of upgraded disks.

Thanks still!

Guys/girls what would be the diffrence between

http://www.nationalcycles.co.uk/mongoos ... elite.html

and

http://www.wiggle.co.uk/ProductDetail.a ... 5360026978

The Elite is better right? And the differences that I can see are the different front forks and the different tires, is that all?

The price is good for Elite I think, and is national cycles a good place to buy from? They don't look as nice as Wiggle but if the bike is better it's only a small price difference to pay.

Thank you!

shiftypow19

Have you thought about the giant yukon it has got better disc brakes than the mongoose and is slightly cheaper :

http://www.ashcycles.com/power/index.ph ... cts_id=299

LaurenceGough

Humm, that does look nice.

What other areas are better/worse than the mongoose's?


/sidenote I'm still looking for a good hybrid, I can't seem to find any with front shock/front disk brake...

Thank you .

shiftypow19

Everything except the forks is better on the yukon and in my opinon the forks arent that much worse. I would much rather have shimano alivio than acera and hayes disc brakes.

LaurenceGough

What's different about the forks?

Because I could get this: http://www.nationalcycles.co.uk/mongoos ... elite.html which is the upgraded tyax correct?

I seem to have become attached to the tyax and I'm not sure if that's a good thing .

Yes Shimano do make nice parts I agree, but I still am not sure about the whole bike. Maybe it's just the hi-res pictures that are making me lean towards the tyax...

It's less money which is good, but what about the weight of them both, they around the same?

Thank you very much!

shiftypow19

I would seriously suggest the yukon after looking at them closely, the mongoose has definetley cheaper parts, it has a suntour chainset what it not exactly high specced. I would guess that the weight is the same on both the giant may be slightly lighter but you should be able to find out if you surf around.

LaurenceGough

Alright thanks, I'll keep that in mind.

But is it just me or does it just look like a higher quality bike? I know you shouldn't judge by looks but I mean just look at the chainset guard near the pedals...

Anyway it's a big lot of money for me currently and I just want to make sure.

http://www.nationalcycles.co.uk/imagema ... _elite.jpg

http://www.veloland.com/news/catalogue/ ... ing_(Small).jpg

That is the right Yukon?

Copy and paste all of the above link please.

Just want to clear a few things up if you don't mind.

Thanks for your patience .

supersonic

IMHO the Goose Elite is the better bike, the main reason being it has a damped adjustable fork. The one on the Yukon is just a spring, uncontrolled and bouncy. Head to head in a recent mag test the Goose got 9, the Yukon 7 out of 10. But buying online means you cant test it. No good it being an award winning bike if it doesnt fit, or you don't like the position. You must go and see one in the flesh.

LaurenceGough

I can't see it I'm afraid, it's okay I like the look of it I noticed the mongoose has a lower down seat which I do want to try anyway.

Anything's better than my current bike anyways :P.

And just to clarify what is the diffrence between the Elite and the Comp? Wiggle looks like the better store but there price is a little high for the Elite.

Maybe I could email them I suppose...

Thanks very much you reassured me about the Mongoose . (the name grows on you xD)

supersonic

the comp does not have this fork: the one on the elite transforms it.

LaurenceGough

Hehe, so definitely get the Elite then?

The brakes also look different. Could you list the differences for me without being to bikeexpertish :P. I know about mechanics just I don't know the difference between bike brands etc.

supersonic

Very minor differences in design, thats all, the Elite well worth the extra for that fork.

LaurenceGough

Great I'll go with the Elite then .

http://www.nationalcycles.co.uk/mongoos ... elite.html

Respected dealer ship? And that's the correct bike right? I've seen lots of different versions of the same bike .

Now to try to loan some money of my parents for now :P. (after all things okay with you guys)

So are we sure this is the correct Tyaz Elite that has all the good stuff on?

Thanks!

supersonic

Yep, its the good one! Just remember to keep it clean, adjusted and maintained.

LaurenceGough

delete

LaurenceGough

Okay guys coming tomorrow hopefully .

Brought from Wiggle

Mongoose Tyax Elite Bike 2007
Grey Med

5.10" height
30" inner leg

Muc-Off Bike Spray Lubricant 500ml Aerosol

Muc-Off Re-Hydrating Disc Brake Cleaner 400ml Aerosol

Specialized Chamonix Helmet (Black Large)

LifeLine Hex Key Set comes free with it I think?

Awesome stuff thanks guys. I hope everything fits...