Getting back into mountain biking, budget 350 max

s1089

Hi all

hope you can bear with a noob asking a common question...

So, 6 years ago I was still in school, living on the downs, loving mountain biking but very skint and unable to afford a proper bike. I was riding a £100 dual suspension horror, and ended up spending more fixing the bike than I bought it for. So in the end I had to give up the biking for a few years...

So, now ive graduated and have a little more dosh, id love to get back into the sport.

Ideally I would love a bike I can do stunts and jumps on - trails and dirt jumps, so Im quite happy to sacrifice weight for strength a bit here (although obviously not to extremes). Im not especially into XC. So from googling, I guess I would be looking at an All Mountain bike?

However, I am a bit worried that this may be unreasonable given my budget. Any advice would be much apprecatied.

In terms of appropriate bike size, im 6'1'', so I need a bike thats not too tiny.

Thanks
Seamus

ginge7289

for a full sus bike which you are talking about you really have to spend about £800 at a minimum to get a half decent one, anything else and your wasting money.

really have a think about what you want to do with your bike. if you wanna do stunts then i would suggest saving up.

dont just buy a bike that will not suit what you want it for, cos you will end up selling it for less than you paid.

ride_whenever

I'd look at a DJ bike to start with, i'm pretty sure DMR do a rigid singlespeed that'd build up beautifully to what you are looking for, albeit starting you in a little brutally.

jpembroke

This looks like a bargain:

http://www.wiggle.co.uk/ProductDetail.a ... lls%202007

But I agree with everything GINGE7289 says. Avoid cheap full suss bikes at all costs - you've learnt your lesson. If you want just ride around the hills and tracks then something like the Focus (see link) will be ideal. However, if you want more from a bike then, as depressing as it sounds, you'll need to wait and save a bit of cash.

s1089

hey thanks for all the advice.

sorry i should have said - i have ZERO interest in a cheap full suss after my experience with the last one - which agrees with what you were all saying. So id be thinking something approaching a hardcore hardtail i guess.

that focus looks quite interesting - ill do a bit of research. do you think it would be strong enough?

it sounds like maybe im going to have trouble finding something nice and durable for my purposes in my price range?

s1089

I thought maybe the saracen mantra 3 looked interesting (RRP £550, but Ive seen a few priced £350 - 400):

http://www.saracencycles.com/index.php? ... Itemid=466

I was thinking a 19" frame?

BlackSpur

The Mantra would suit your needs far better than the Focus. Focus bikes tend to be very XC oriented.

supersonic

Mantras are tough - but you will be getting that extra weight - base model is a whopping 39lbs!

BlackSpur

Ouch!

jeboy

Hello everyone, Is Mongoose Otero Super 2008 any good?? just another noob question, thanks!

Random Vince

trek bruiser

can't remember how much they are, they used to go for £400

specialized hardrocks are great, get a slightly smaller one (17 inch frame) and you'll have enough space to do what you want to do

had one for 4 years and did things on it that people on full sus bikes refused to ride.

BlackSpur

jeboy wrote:

Hello everyone, Is Mongoose Otero Super 2008 any good?? just another noob question, thanks!

For that price you are much better off getting a hardtail. Although that's not a "cheap" full suss, a hardtail will still perform much better.

jeboy

thanks blackspur

Boffington

you should get something a bit more flexable maybe with a front brake and some gears.
more a freeride hardtail than a dirt jumper.

try the giant stp its perfect for your price range and will fall in love with it! there are other bikes like it though so shop around