Budget bike <£300

gamblor08

Im looking at buying a new bike and have a maximum budget of £300, £250 would be better. Have had a look at various sites and forums and the carrera vulcan and treck 4300 seem popular. Thing is im going to be using it mostly on (very steep) roads on my commute with only a bit of off road use at weekends. Reviews suggest these bikes are much more trail oriented, anyone have an suggestions?

supersonic

Hi and welcome,

Well they are mountain bikes! But they do work better off road than say a hybrid. How far are you commuting?

Also have a look at the What Bike thread for other suggestions. Both the bikes you suggest are well received starter MTBs.

masondasyk

go for the vulcan, if price be your worry. But id check out the hybrid range, as supersonic said, you may find a good deal.

wheelbuckler

Next months MBUK is doing a sub-£300 bike test. May be worth waiting to have a look at that as well

riggsy123

IMO cant go wrong with a specialized hardrock comp for £299

BlackSpur

riggsy123 wrote:

IMO cant go wrong with a specialized hardrock comp for £299

But you can do much better e.g. Mongoose Tyax

makavelilegend

I own a GT Avalanche 3.0 with normal v-brakes... RRP £280

All i can say is that i love it... I got it for £200 as my ex girlfriends dad imported them so i got it cheap ... first impressions were very good..bit worried about taking it down some downhill sections in my local tracks as i didnt rate the suspension..but all i can say is that it handled superbly...didnt bottom out and the bike felt comfortable doing some single track and small downhill sections (Ii know its not a downhill bike, but its fun).

I bought it as i was just starting out in the sport and didnt know if i would enjoy it as much!! But as you can tell i love it and im still glad i didnt buy a dearer bike! Cause buying all the other stuff is expensive! (Hlemet, new pedals etc..)

The avalanche 3.0 also has the same frame as the avalanche 1.0..all the other parts are the cheaper and easier things to upgrade!

D4MJT

My GT Avalanche 3.0 with normal V-Brakes should be arriving today, same as above, I got it because I dont have a clear idea of what I want just yet, and it seems a great bike for the money. I'll let you know what I think of it.

schmako

Everyone is going to recommened something different due to their own personal experiences. Just get out there, try and few and see what you like best.

D4MJT

my GT has just arrived, haven't assembled it yet, but I have unpacked it, and I love the finish on it, I have the matt black with grey and white, and it looks great

makavelilegend

Enjoy it big lad!! Looks even better when ya get some dirt on it!!

D4MJT

Just ridden into work on it this morning, i need to tweak my gears as they're not setup right yet and I can't get 8th, 16th or 24th, but it's a really nice ride. The gearing is spot on, I have a up and down ride into work, and I can get away very happily in the 3rd set of gears, and I haven't ridden for a good 3 years and I'm out of shape.

It's lighter than I was expecting too.

makavelilegend

Glad your happy with it! The gears take a wee bit of time to get right but not that hard a problem to fix. I was suprised how light but i suppose it doesnt have heavy disc brakes to weigh it down..My mate bought a £400 claude butler and its weight shocked me...light bike...heavy cheap disc brakes..

deanvw

Look on ebay?