£300 Hardtail?

homerjay

hi all,

i need to purchase a new MTBfor my brother-in-law for about £300 (tight budget in these credit crunch times). his current 2003 kona lanai has seem better days and rather than spend money on resting to former glorys weve decided to buy him new for his 25th birthday.

he a big solid lad, bout 6ft 15st, and we do mostly XC with a few fast rocky decents so it needs to stand up to a battering now and again.

any suggestions welcome.

thanks.

.blitz

Saracen Element 3
Gary Fisher Tarpon
Merida Sub20-D
Felt Q520

or you may be lucky and find an '08 Focus Fat Boy/Scott Aspect 45 etc.

I think there are some honest bikes to be had in this price range that sell on their own merits rather than the bling-tastic appeal of their more expensive peers.

mtbikerboy

I would suggest giving him the money rather than buying it for him. He needs to try out the bikes before making a purchase to make sure it feels and fits right. and also bikes are a thing of taste. what you think is a good bike may not be to him. otherwise, for ideas look at the what hardtail thread. depending on the intended use, a bike like carrera kraken would be good.

homerjay

cheers guys, i'll look into that list...

what are your thoughts on Commencal Normal @ £225 (which seems damn cheap)?

and the specialized Hardrock Sport (08 and 09 versions) £250 and £300 respectively.

damian24

I brought a Giant Yukon for £300 and its a good bike.
http://www.bikeradar.com/gear/category/ ... n-08-28703

I have started to upgrade the componants but for £300 its not a bad buy. Others may think i'm wrong

The Spiderman

homerjay wrote:

cheers guys, i'll look into that list...

what are your thoughts on Commencal Normal @ £225 (which seems damn cheap)?

and the specialized Hardrock Sport (08 and 09 versions) £250 and £300 respectively.

All good budget bikes.The Spesh will be easier to source locally and try though.

homerjay

The Spiderman wrote:

homerjay wrote:

cheers guys, i'll look into that list...

what are your thoughts on Commencal Normal @ £225 (which seems damn cheap)?

and the specialized Hardrock Sport (08 and 09 versions) £250 and £300 respectively.

All good budget bikes.The Spesh will be easier to source locally and try though.

true, im not far from leisurelakes so make have a look over the weekend and merlincylces is less than a mile away, and ive read good things about the commencal.

homerjay

damian24 wrote:

I brought a Giant Yukon for £300 and its a good bike.
http://www.bikeradar.com/gear/category/ ... n-08-28703

I have started to upgrade the componants but for £300 its not a bad buy. Others may think i'm wrong

cheapest i can find a giant yukon 2008 for £265. discs too, which no other options have that i recall...

davlyn

I bought a Carrera Kraken (Halfords) a couple of weeks ago and love it. Just over the £300 when I bought it but with the hydraulic brakes and 100mm travel front shocks its quite a well spec'd bike for the money. I'm also 6ft tall and nearly 14 stone and the bike seems to cope very well with everything I've thrown at it so far.
I also got very good service from both the guys that worked in the bike section, both seemed fairly knowledgeable and took great pride in their work.

Just my two penneth.


Dave.

supersonic

have a read of the what hardtail stickies for more ideas.

Chevie

I've just bought an 08 rockhopper for 340 but i've been told that some sites are selling the disc hopper for 299. Not bad IMO

or the Hardrock for 194 but i was advised to spend what i had on a better bike with better componants

http://www.edinburghbicycle.com/ebwPNLq ... tVersion=1