Sub £400 hard tail

mr.scruff

Not owned a bike for a good 10 years or so but my mate dragged me around Llandegla the other weekend and I have decided to get started (mostly to stop me going insane when I can't ski)

I can't see myself being able to get to Llandegla/Coed-y-Brenin etc more than about once a month but within cycling distance of me there is a tiny bit of downhill (nothing too difficult but a few drops) and some jump trails

With this in mind does anyone have any suggestions for a sub-£400 hard tail? I've been looking at an 07 Kona Shred for about the right price, being a jump bike it might be a bit easier to mess about on as a newbie (riding a bit of street too), but would it pack in if I tried to take it downhill?

If you've got something suitable for sale I may well be interested

sparrowlegs78

Look at the range of GT bikes in Halfords.....bloomin good bikes those

mr.scruff

They look pretty good, any particular model? Also looking at the Specialized Hardrock at £300. Unfortunately I don't know enough to determine what is good value for money

supersonic

Hardrocks are better than they were, but still overly heavy and underspecced for the money. have a look at the what bike thread.

mr.scruff

Specialized P.1? Or am I heading in the wrong direction here...

Spotted this on eBay: http://cgi.ebay.co.uk/Specialized-P-1-2 ... dZViewItem

nonnac85

GT avalanche 1.0 reduced to £429

http://www.sunsetmtb.co.uk/shop/index.p ... gory_id=22

yes its £29 over your budget but always gets amazing reviews e.g. mbuk test winner

ljb_home

Try the specialized rockhopper, much lighter than the hardrock and generally better spec. Cost from £400 x

flubbub

im in the same situation, i need a bike not too pricey!
can i please have some advice? are these bikes any good?

http://www.bikeoutlet.co.uk/products/Ha ... 53-12.html

http://www.paulscycles.co.uk/products.p ... 1b2s1p1357

thanks

supersonic

Is it a full suspension bike you want?

The Haro is pretty good at that money, but will be heavier than an equivalent hardtail.

flubbub

thanks, how about the mongoose? or it that too good for the money?
i have got another, sorry

http://www.paulscycles.co.uk/products.p ... 1b0s1p1746

thanks

supersonic

Again, well specced (both of them), but heavy.

Have a read of our What Hardtail and What Full Suss threads for some other options.

Decathlon have a great range at the minute, and if you have a store close by should be able to try one out.

flubbub

ok
unfortunatly i live near chippenham (south west) and nowere near a decathlon!
i would be riding at spirt hill trail, http://spirthilltrail.uk.com/bikers.htm, so not that much of uphill! are there any hardtail mountain bikes you could recomend? (the best you know of)
thanks

supersonic

For 3-400 quid the Carrera Kraken stands out.

flubbub

ok, but do you know if it is easy to upgrade? eg. the forks (as they have a bad review)
or is it better getting a bike with better forks to begin with?
and so i know when i get another bike (or up my budget) is this any good?

http://www.cycleworldshop.co.uk/product ... mbi_S_2007

it certainly looks the part!
thanks alot!

supersonic

Depends how much you have to spend lol - at its price point, the Kraken is about as good as you get.

The Combi S above has the same fork as the Kraken, but of course has rear sus too.

flubbub

ok, so do you think it would be worth getting the haro, getting the mongoose, the giant or the carrera? i think that they all have differant qualities, eg. the mongoose' is the air rear shock, the haro being the forks, the giant is the same as the mongoose but uglier, and the carrera........i dont know!
im i right in saying what i just said, or am i just being a noob? because i like the look of the mongoose, but is it just a try hard, or do you think that if it hade a scott label would it be about £1k?
one more thing, is the mongoose hevier, but worth the heavyness?
thank you sooooo much for your time!

supersonic

I always say it is worth trying them first, but as it stands they are better than many others for the money, ie at least have some damping in the shocks.

If I had to buy blind, it would be the Giant, then the Haro.

flubbub

ok, thanks for your time!!!!!!
i think i'll go for one of them!
thanks alot!

flubbub

sorry i keep wasting your time, but just so im more knowledgeable, why would you have them in that order?
and im verry sorry but i have a few more!!
http://www.paulscycles.co.uk/products.p ... 1b0s2p2439

http://www.paulscycles.co.uk/products.p ... m1b0s1p438

i know that bike radar has a reveiw on both of them, but the reveiws dont help because on the diamondback, it doesnt have the proper forks, and on the mongoose, the reveiws picture shows it with a rear air shock suspension, but this one only has coil i think! (or is it coil over oil?)
thanks again

supersonic

Things is we can keep goping on for a long time lol - there are dozens of bikes at this price, with pros and cons, and you may have different preferences to me.

The giant is aproven machine with well damped forks and shocks. The Haro has a nice frame, and again decent shocks. For full sussers.

You really need to try and narrow down what you want ie full suss, HT, long travel etc, and if you can't, then make a shortlist and test them. Is the only way if you are having difficulties choosing!

flubbub

ok, i know that i want long travel, because right now im in annecy, 30 mins from la clusaz, with my laptop, and i went to la clusaz to check it out, and all the blokes on ht's with about 100mm sus, looked really unstable!
so im looking at a ht or a fs with about 120mm sus minimam, but not agonisingly heavy!
could be up to £500 now!
thanks

supersonic

I'd check out the Carrera Fury at £480 - has a travel adjustable (85-130mm) fork, with adjustable compression and rebound damping, blowoff and lockout. Great value!

flubbub

thanks!

flubbub

i just found this, is it good?

http://www.paulscycles.co.uk/products.php?show=1293

i know its a frame, but would it be very expensive to make this into a bike? eg. buy the wheels brakes ect. separetly
thanks

supersonic

It is an 8 inch travel downhill bike! You don't need that lol. Stick to XC and trail bikes.

flubbub

ok
but would it work?

supersonic

No, not at all.

flubbub

ok, never mind!

flubbub

i have narrowed it down to these

http://www.paulscycles.co.uk/products.p ... 498&z=1719

http://www.paulscycles.co.uk/products.p ... p438&z=512

http://www.paulscycles.co.uk/products.p ... 439&z=2838

which should it be?
cheers