Sub £550 - help a n00b

slideordie

First post 8)

Havent ridden in about 8 years and as such I am totally bewildered trying to make a choice for a new bike, I'm just not familiar with brands etc anymore.

Looking for an XC bike mainly, with road riding to get where I'm going.

Shortlist so far is:

Kona Cinder Cone 07

http://www.konabikes.co.uk/2k7bikes/cinder_cone_2k7.php

Cube Acid 08

http://www.chainreactioncycles.com/Mode ... elID=23672

Specialized Rockhopper Disc 07

http://www.cyclestore.co.uk/productDeta ... uctID=8399

If either of the 08 Kona or Spec bikes are REALLY worth paying the extra £100 for then I'd stretch to them but...

Any advice is appreciated here guys, need to get something ordered up asap.

Thanks in advance

The Big Cheese

First of all welcome to the forum!

This is something that you should seriously consider - an excellent setup for the money.

Merlin are renowned for their frames/bikes and commitment to good quality...

http://www.merlincycles.co.uk/?fn=produ ... goryId=100

and this:

http://www.merlincycles.co.uk/?fn=produ ... goryId=100

BlackSpur

Try looking in the WHAT BIKE thread at the top

spongtastic

Second vote for the Merlin. They've got a few bikes on offer at the moment.

Nice wheels, decent kit and a good frame.

Or if you're totally bonkers get an Inbred.

The Spiderman

My shortlist would be:

Giant XTC 4.5
GT Avalanche 1.0
Specialized Rockhopper
Merlin Malt 1
Carrera Fury

Any of the above are good first timers bikes.

Try them for size,ride them, and see what feels best to you.If you still can't choose,choose the one which comes from a good local shop,that is going to help you,with the sorts of little niggles that beginners,need sorted and is offering the best deal.

Don't be afraid to haggle.You should at least aim for a helmet,or some accesories to be thrown in.

strodey

Had similar problem a month ago, things have moved on loads since i started and after 10 years out i was clueless!
I decided on a Giant xtc 3.5, little over you budget but they do a 4.5 which is a bit cheaper.
I'm well chuffed with it and have not had any problems thus far apart from a nasty fall, but the bike was ok!
The guy in the local bike shop explained about giant being a good solid brand, may not be the most fashionable but it does what it says on the tin and as Giant make most bike frames due to buying power etc you tend to get more for he money!
i bought from aw cyclyes www.awcycles.co.uk and they were a brilliant help, went through loads of different bikes and after a test drive this was the one!
good luck with your search! you'll be glad your back into mtb ing!

pittpony

strodey wrote:

The guy in the local bike shop explained about giant being a good solid brand, may not be the most fashionable but it does what it says on the tin and as Giant make most bike frames due to buying power etc you tend to get more for he money!

Lol thought that sounded familiar - got my bike from there too They are a good shop and were very helpful. The one thing i would stress is to go for a local shop. AW are in Reading and i live in Canterbury (i was passing through when i bought my bike). I had a couple of teething problems that would have been MUCH easier to sort out at a local shop :roll: Also looking back i regret not supporting my local shop as i spent a lot of money there which i'd rather had gone into the till of somewhere local! OK so one bike isn't going to keep a shop open but it all helps

strodey

what were the teething problems?

Torres

Of the three you've picked out the Spesh looks the best equiped, but you probably could get a better deal elsewhere, you'll be paying for the label with all three of those. Have you looked at the GT avelanche 1.0 or the Carrera Fury?

pittpony

strodey wrote:

what were the teething problems?

Problems with the brakes making a horrific noise and vibrating the entire bike, often even in the dry Also it was a pain to get back there for the 6 week service, thankfully a business trip nearby doubled up nicely!

I ended up sorting the problem out for myself I now have a much better knowledge of brakes so i guess its not all bad

slideordie

Thanks for the advice folks. I am keen to purchase from a local shop, for both of the reasons stated above.

Was up last nite at two and got chatting for ages with one of the guys, he steered me away from buying a Kona/Spec/etc and showed me a Genesis Core 20....

http://www.genesisbikes.co.uk/index.php ... _bike=TRUE

As I said I'm totally out of touch with what spec things are but he told me its better specced overall than almost anything else for the same money, its made by Rockhopper, has a lifetime guarantee on the frame, and by golly it looks IMMENSE in the flesh!

Going to mull it over for a week but I really like this bike

wesd

I was in the same position earlier this year and eventually decided on the genesis core 1.0 which is the cheaper and lower specced version. It's a long time since I owned a bike so I didn't have much to compare it to but I can highly recommend the genesis core 1.0 at £450. (which is made by ridgeback, not rockhopper). Decent transmission/decent fork/hydraulic brakes for £450 was the best bang for the bucks that I could find.

I see you're from Bangor - I'm from Belfast so I was getting the bike from Bikedock on the ravenhill road. The core 2.0 was the higher specced bike but was out of my price range. In any case, it was all but impossible to get one as almost all their core 2.0s were reserved for the police - if you're in the city centre, all the mounted police patrols are riding core 2.0s.

Both bikes have been tested and highly rated by WMB. The core 1.0 was rated as "One of the best put together £450 hard riding trail bikes we've ever tested". The 08 version seems to be mostly the same as mine with the Hope Sole brakes replaced by shimano M485, still for £450. If they have any 07 core 1.0s left, maybe you can get a discount - I got mine for £400 in August and I would expect a bigger discount now that the 08 is in stock.

The Spiderman

If you are after a bargain,take a look here:http://www.ashcycles.com/power/index.php?main_page=product_info&cPath=88_102_105_10&products_id=529
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partyboy1101

slideordie wrote:

First post 8)
.

Shortlist so far is:

Kona Cinder Cone 07

Cube Acid 08

Specialized Rockhopper Disc 07

I had exactly the same dilema about two months ago, narrowed it down to the same bikes plus the Merlin Malt 1and was all set to buy the Merlin, but wanted to see before I bought. In the end went to a LBS and looked at the Kona next to the Cube - no contest!!! Got a Cube Acid in the garage and am sooooo pleased with my purchase - spec is so much better than the oppo (I got an 07 for £480, with Hayes HFX 9 brakes).

There's not a bad one there but if I bought again it would be between the Merlin and the Cube.

limb0

Personally, I think you should get a Giant XTC SX (my bike =]) and for only £469 it's a real bargain! I've has it since that start of january this year and it's never let me down and I use it every day of the week for commuting to college and work and also give it a good run in every sunday up my local common. I promise you this bike won't let you down. You can get it from http://www.paulscycles.co.uk/products.php?plid=m1b0s2p394.
The sx has better tspecs han this years 4.5 which is around the same price.
Good luck with the search mate.

ride_whenever

pittpony wrote:

in Canterbury (i was passing through when i bought my bike). I had a couple of teething problems that would have been MUCH easier to sort out at a local shop

Oh really, as far as i can tell there is nowhere in canterbury that will ever give me the time of day, even when I'm obviously itching to spend money for no particular reason!

janwal

Have a good look at the CUBE ACID.Better spec'd gears than most mentioned here.Good frame and really nice to ride.Have had mine 4 months and has been excellent so far.Forks work fine and the poploc control on the handlebars works well.Smart Sam tyres are big but the centre nobbles are flat so give less rolling resistance on roads so are a good all round choice.2008 bikes have changed to shimano brakes so can't comment on them.Importers sold all last years stock so that must say something.

pittpony

ride_whenever wrote:

pittpony wrote:

in Canterbury (i was passing through when i bought my bike). I had a couple of teething problems that would have been MUCH easier to sort out at a local shop

Oh really, as far as i can tell there is nowhere in canterbury that will ever give me the time of day, even when I'm obviously itching to spend money for no particular reason!

I bought my bike from AW in Reading and live in Canterbury. UK cycles in Canterbury are fairly knowledgable and helpful but tend to mainly focus on lower end / mid range bikes. So far i've been very impressed with Downland cycles who really seem to know their stuff. They also run courses which i'm interested in having a look at. I'd definitely recommend them as a LBS