New bike under £500

rossib

Hi All,

I am new to biking and want to invest up to £500 on a new bike. Something I can take on the road (doing London to Southend in a couple of weeks) and something I can take off road (live next to Epping Forrest).

Any recommendations will be greatly appreciated as I really don't know where to start.

Thank you!!

beski

What about this...

http://www.bikeradar.com/gear/category/bikes/urban/product/kaitai-31957

Or if you would prefer a 'proper' mountain bike then have a look here...

http://www.bikeradar.com/forums/viewtopic.php?t=12540401

xtreem

GT Avalanche 1.0 2008.............................£400
Cube Acid Disc 2008.................................£450
BeOne Karma 2.0 2007.............................£470

The only dissadvantage I found on the Cube is the 80mm of travel from Dart3,
but the BeOne comes with Recon. See it:
GT
Cube
BeOne

RhysD

^^ none of the bikes you linked to are for sale at these prices on CRC? much more?

xtreem

Weel, I never suggest from where to buy, I just suggest to have a look.
The guy can see the spec from there, then test, and then he can choose from
where to buy.

Prices may be +/- £50. And yes, there are a lot of bikes at those prices.
I just suggested a few.

bluechair84

Check out the remaining 2007 stock in stores that will be reduced from its RRP. You can sometimes get bikes for half the price - so you will get a rig worth double your budget. Advances year to year are minor and having an extra invisible £400 will pass over any 'old stock' blemishes.
Pauls Cycles is a good place to start but ask in your local bike shops too. Check out this page;
http://www.paulscycles.co.uk/offers.php?cat=1
But don't be pulled in by the reduced full suspension bikes, It doesn't sound like you'll get on with em. Bikes with hydraulic discs and short travel suspension will be fine.
Check out the Giant XTC's and GT Avalnache.
Have a think about how much mountain vs road biking you will be doing. These hardtails will be great fun to ride off road but less fancy on road. Don't forget helmet and gloves in your budget! And let us know what you get!

Scorpion

As a newbie I did a lot of research into bikes under £500. The MBR magazine(don't know if I can mention that on here, apologies to mods if not, feel free to remove) top 10 bikes under £500 had the Kona Blast and The GT Avalanche 1.0 in the top 3.

Tried them both and opted for the Avalanche, which for the short time I've had it seems like a great choice.

Managed to get mine in a sale for £449.00

bluechair84

Great choice, I have an avalanche and it's a fab bike - a hell of a lot of fun off road. Enjoy!