Vulcan or Fire Mountain? or anything else @ £300-£350
nik_c
Posts: 61
Hi,
After about 20 years away from biking I finally can get back to it.
First for getting the bike: I can spend between £300 and £350 on it, and if there is a good reason push it to £370.
Currently this is a play off between the Carrera Vulcan Limited Edition and the Kona Fire Mountain.
Why would I choose the Fire Mountain over the Vulcan LE (still need to find out really what constitutes the limited edition though)?
Thanks for your ideas, and maybe you know of other / better bikes I should look for in this bracket?
NIk C
After about 20 years away from biking I finally can get back to it.
First for getting the bike: I can spend between £300 and £350 on it, and if there is a good reason push it to £370.
Currently this is a play off between the Carrera Vulcan Limited Edition and the Kona Fire Mountain.
Why would I choose the Fire Mountain over the Vulcan LE (still need to find out really what constitutes the limited edition though)?
Thanks for your ideas, and maybe you know of other / better bikes I should look for in this bracket?
NIk C
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Comments
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The LE is a late season spec change, with some upgrades. On paper much better than the Fire Mountain, but I would try them out.0
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i keep looking at these decathlon bikes good spec for the money
try find a better specced bike for the money
http://www.decathlon.co.uk/EN/rockrider ... -34964379/focus superbud0 -
The limited edition has better brakes, I think they are avid brakes over the standard tektro. Better forks, rockshox dart 2 over the standard suntour xcr I think. It also looks better with the white/grey contrast the white rims especially look great.
I think thats all the changes but I believe it is now £20 cheaper for the ltd over the standard disc spec. Halfords employees should be shot if they recommend the standard over the ltd on either the kraken or vulcan tbh.
Only drawback is the exclusion of a 16" frame from the ltd range.
Picking up my ltd kraken tomorrow wooo
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Halfords and their price fixing for the sales lol.0
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Yeah it's really stupid I thought someone had cocked up the sign when I saw it lol.
Remember to claim your free £50 worth of accesories when you buy if you do go for a carrera.0 -
Thanks, guys, for the advice.
I went to my local Halfords in Stevenage and they ran out of my frame size (20") with only one bke each at Welwyn Garden City and Bedford.
Hoping to be able to get one of them in a few days!
Yes, just saw the sign about the £50 of accessories today as well - not a bad deal I think!
Nik C0 -
Go for the Vulcan!
I have an '06 Silver Vulcan, I do quite a bit of XC on it and albeit I have upgraded nearly every part - nothing has gone wrong on it! (touch wood) 0 -
thanks missmarple (just imagining the one from the movie on a MTB
sounds good.
i was a bit worried how the upgrading / replacing was with a Vulcan, but that puts my mind at rest!
NIk C0 -
You should be able to get them to order one from head office for you as thats what my store does.
The £50 worth of free accesroies is a great deal especially if thats a sixth fo the price of the bike lol. Just some stupid workers will neglect to give you a voucher for it so make sure you set them straight 0 -
Ahh, but my stores chap looked it up on the headquarters stock list and the 20" Vulcan limited edition is no more on their stock list (apparently shows up as discontinued)....
I shall not forget about the £50.00 - need a decent helmet anyways,...
NIk C0 -
Thats crap like, could ask them whether they can source one from another shop. I know sometimes we tend to ask other stores if they will send us a bike that a customer wants if they have a lot of them and they usually oblige.
It makes sense that it shows up discontinued because they only made a limited amount and as soon as all head office stock goes it would become discontinued/obsolete.0 -
Yes, I think that is what happened here.
But as I said earlier - the only shops that have the 20" frame Ia after is Bedford and WGC. I hope I can get one of these, might even suggest that the Stevenage shops send their shop / demo bike over to one of them in case that 20" is the last one or their demo bike in their shop...
Nik C0 -
Hi,
Got my new Vulcan LTD EDITION now!
It looks good and rides well. Still neeed to get used to the dimensions and make adjustments here and there but I am happy with it overall.
Bit pieved about Halfords £50.00 voucher, as they only told me after the purchase that I had to spend it right there and then (Had not had time enough to look and decide what to get, so only 'spent' £40 out of the £50, but I am sure I can sort that on my next visit ...)
BTW - the shocks are DART 1, the brakes are AVID.
Nik C0 -
Enjoy the new bike nik_c
My GT came with Dart 1 forks and I've been riding it pretty hard for 12 months including 2 trips to CYB & Llandegla in Wales without any problems.
The Dart 1 might be low in the kudos stakes but I've been pretty impressed with mine and see no reason to change them at present. But then I'm not really into airborne stuff.0 -
Problem with the Dart 1 is no damping, so can get out of control on bumpy stuff.
I had no idea the Kraken LTD had this fork - the XCR is much better.0 -
I've got a firemountain. Was limited by the amount of cash I had when I bought it but I am upgrading bits as I go. Its a really nice bike to ride, Classic kona looks and I'm happy I bought it.0
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How do the brakes feel?
What did you end up getting with the voucher?
Did that not knock the unspent money off the bike then? It did with me.0 -
i've got to decide on a new bike tomorrow.
I've taken my saracen mantis back. i loved the frame, but i've had it 5 months and had to replace 2 crank arms (the same one) as they just seem to crumble, a set of pedals (bearings), rear deraileur (sp?), shifters, front brake cable and brakes.
i know things wear and tear, and i have used it a lot, am a 6 ft 4 bloke of 17 stone, but still. so to make it easy for me and halfords to try and make sure i can return it (it's stil under warranty) they've offered me a vulcan or, when they tell me the price, a ltd edition.
the guy there couldn't tell me a price in the ltd, does anyone know how much it is?0 -
SHould be about 300.
But will have similar parts to the mantra, probably weaker if anything.0 -
cheers.
might have to go for the standard then, haven't got the money!
it's a shame about the saracen, but it was gettin gto the point i'd get two rides a week out of it before having to fix something.0 -
Fixing and maintenance is part of the parcel though ;-) Though I suspect in your case it is more parts failing completely. Depends how they failed too, crashes arent warranty items.0
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oh god yeah, i have no problem with maintanence, makes me feel like a kid again as much as riding it.
just lost confidence in that particular bike though. if that makes sense, i haven't had a bike since i was 16 and was hit broadside by a car who was doing 60 on the wrong side of the road. i started walkin again when i was 21, so i guess confidence is a slight issue on bikes now!0 -
It'll come back ;-)
I think the main problem is that most bikes are designed for riders of 10-12 stone.0 -
supersonic wrote:It'll come back ;-)
I think the main problem is that most bikes are designed for riders of 10-12 stone.
that'll come back too 0 -
Ha! More riding should do it!0
