Which bike for about £200?

ESSEXMIRAGE

Hi guys, ???
This is my first post and probably heard this question a hundred times but here goes.......
I want to get a half decent 1st bike and only have about £200 to spend, so have looked at the Carrera Vulcan and read the review of the Decathlon 5.2 on here, leaning toward the Vulcan but are there any other suggestions for this money ???
I am 6'3" tall so need a big frame i.e. 21/22" and want to ride soft trails as well as roads recreation really to start with, also may fit a child seat to the back for my 2 year old daughter for road use, and may be able to upgrade the bike as time goes on .....
So there goes any help will be much appreciated

Thanks in advance, look forward to any suggestions

Cheers
ESSEXMIRAGE :roll: :?:

supersonic

These are the best two bikes available for this cash. GT Avalanche 3.0 worth a llok too. Go and have a sit on them first, and decide which feels best.

jacktheoc

try them first but a friend of mine has a carrera vulcan and its a nice bike for the money...

ESSEXMIRAGE

Cheers for the advice guys, i'm thinking of going to the Bike show at earls Court, so maybe get tempted there who knows ????
I am going to ask the local Halfords to get a 22" Vulcan in to try and was wondering if anyone out there has a Decathlon that could give me some feedback on it, and from their site its only available in a Medium or Large frame ?? any ideas what size these are ???

Cheers
Iain

supersonic

Size... try it. Numbers are too vague, more than one measuremnet involved. Only way.

Down the Road

CANNOT buy a soft tail for that price. At £200 you can only JUST get a Rigid bike that is reliable.

Save up more and get a decent bike or ride a rigid hardtail

Dan.hkr

he said soft TRAIL not soft tail.
he is after a hardtail by the sound of things.

Down the Road

Still can't get anything decent for his budget.

What after sales support will you get at a sports supermarket or the car parts place?

Yes this is important.

Big n Daft

Not if he has a decent local bike shop it isn't.

Or if he knows enough to do it himself. Or even if he's very lucky and his local Halford's bike mechanic is a good one.


Facts:

He has a budget.

He wants to spend £200.

Saying 'save up more and get a better bike' doesn't help him a whole lot does it? Now yes something at this price point isn't going to be a world beater, but it might just be enough to hook him into the enjoyment of cycling.

Something that will fit into your budget, suit the type of riding you are going to do and is pretty damn bombproof, is a Carrera Subway 1. It's rigid so no suspension forks, but for light trails and road use it's fine, 26" wheels, components are ok for the price, it will take wider tyres if you really want to get a bit further off road, but comes with thinnish tyres for commuting, however if it absolutely has to have suspension forks, at this price the three bikes already mentioned are the best three available.

http://www.bikeradar.com/gear/category/ ... way-1-8831

If you could possibly stretch another 40 quid, the Subway 2, more bike for the buck.

http://tinyurl.com/yyyh6m

Dan.hkr

im with big and daft on that one, beat me to the reply!
good luck with your search! im sure in a few months time we will hear what can i get for £800 once the biking bug kicks in!

supersonic

The Rockrider is a superb bike for that money!

Giant Boulder is too:

http://www.cyclesportsuk.co.uk/product_ ... ts_id=4447

fabienno1

I'm 6'3 and found my kona hoss 20inch frame to be a little on the large side, mainly cause I was off the back riding steep sections but still, definitely try it.
If you can get to a demo day perhaps they will have some there.

dombo6

Try the Specialized Hardrock with a rigid fork. Should be able to get that for 200 quid.
I used to ride for years on a rigid steel Trek 950 - absolutely loved it. You just stand up in the rough stuff and ride easy, let the bike float under you.

ESSEXMIRAGE

Thanks for all the responses guys n gals, well I have not had much time to check other bikes out yet, so am leaning towards the HALFORDS route (ahhhghhh I hear all the harcore of you scream) I agree with Big n Daft as I have got a decent local shop, and will press the mechanic to run through the prep and pdi he did on the bike with me, otherwise NO SALE, I like the look of the Subways but wanted a suspension front end on my bike The Carrera looks a decent buy and although truth be known I could prob afford more this whole thing started as me and the wife picking up a couple of cheap bikes from e-bay to try to get into it......... so as you can see I moved on a bit and feel £200 is a good cut off for a first bike, and its upgradable and as I can no longer persue my passion of modifying cars (2 yr old daughter means little time or money for this) this could easily become that new BAD thing and Dan.hkr is prob right will be asking the £500 question myself soon enough, already scanned Wiggle for a hydraulic brake upgrade and looking at forks on ebay ................ see I need all that help ....... already got the bug and I aint pushed a pedal yet :roll:

Dan.hkr

hi again dude,
just a thought though, if you are already looking to upgrade fork and disks now maybe save that money for a better bike to start with, you will get more bang for your buck that way.
obviously im not saying go crazy and get a top spec bike but maybey just a little up the price bracket? i understand money mayb tight but if you can push a little more dosh now it will spread further than doing the big upgrades later on! you can enjoy riding on any bike though so get out there and enjoy yourself!
Good luck
let us know what you decide to do!!!!

steve100

I bought a muddyfox for just over £200 may have been £250 about 18months ago, the spec is pretty poor compared with what is available for the same price now but I love the bike I have had a great time on it and have done rides like jacobs ladder and the such and it has held out well. OK the odd things have broken on it and have had to be replaced but that is mainly due to falls rather than wear and tear. My point being is you don't need to spend shed loads of cash on a mountain bike to have fun on it.

When I was 15 I did jacobs ladder on a raleigh Maranda, which was one of the worst bike they had ever made, it had suspension of any kind no fancy tires, 15 gears, steel frame basically it was dog compared with todays bikes (even the budget ones) but I still had loads of fun on it.

ESSEXMIRAGE

Got my Vulcan 07 model at last today, and rode it straight to Mums to put safely in her garage, until i clear the shed, and have to say it fab havn't been on a bike for over 15 yrs and felt great to be back in the saddle even if it was only on the road, the bike was constructed well and the 22" is right I think cos i'm lanky and really enjoyed the short blast through the estates and along the cycly paths, had to wait till after xmas to buy it and thanks to all who have replyed but can't wait to get out for a longer blast
Cheers
essexmirage