New bike from halfords only (cycle2work scheme) about £200
Comments
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I know your going to go mad when I talk about the look of it! but it helped me in choice
Nowt wrong with that! I think most of us if we're honest will buy a bike we like the look of over something we don't. It's your money at the end of the day and hopefully you'll enjoy your new purchase.
Good luck and get out there and ride!
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I don't think anyone here will give the Diamondback the seal of approval. I've taken a brief look at the spec, and it doesn't look too good to be honest.
Were I in your position, I'd have stumped up the extra and bought one of the Carreras, no doubt about it. For a relatively short extra outlay, you'd have got exponentially more bike for your money.
However, for your intended useage, I don't really think it's going to matter to you one way or the other.
Be careful of the build quality and make sure it's properly assembled and safe to ride, be wary of the cheap brakes as they can fail prematurely and keep in mind that this is not a bike to tear down a mountain trail on and I'm sure you'll be fine.
At least you've made an informed decision. It may not be the one we'd all make, but then by the nature of this board we're all bike enthusiasts so our view is biased.Less internal organs, same supertwisted great taste.0 -
thanks guys you really been good to me, and thanks for not shouting! :shock:
I didnt ask about adjustment sorry, it had a little dial thing on top of both forks is that it?
Im getting onto 15st (141/2 at mo), and this is one of reason I want to get on it! to get down a bit!!
i think that comment you madealfablue wrote:. The fact that it may be a bit better than what you are used to may keep you happy. Just don't get on any decent bikes! Let us know how you get on with it.
I think is spot on, it IS a better bike to me, brand new, got a few newer technologies (fair enough not the best quality in world), much lighter than current one.
i think I had decided to get front sus (I was going to get full before advice in here!), defo anyway, so the subway was out. I didnt really like anything else in there, and surely the diamondback is better bike all around than the Apollo I was looking at?
cheers again from everyone, I now got to fill in forms, and choose amount, obviously need £200 for bike but may get extra £20 for a lock, helmet, or lights
thanks0 -
supertwisted wrote:be wary of the cheap brakes as they can fail prematurely
The back brake is a V brake so at least that will be able to stop him if the Disc fails, and by the look of the back of the caliper on the front it is a Pro-Max? The missus had an Argos special Raleigh with Pro-Max discs and they have been more than the hassle stopping is worth :P
But at least you have the V brake mounts on the forks (I replaced the Pro-Max brakes on the Raleigh with cheap Vs and it is now reliable
) so if you decide to 'downgrade' you have the option at least.
I am hating being negative about your new bike as I know how frustrating it can be (trust me) but please try to take this as advice now you have it 0 -
MrMister111 wrote:....
lads at works saying (around my price point) dont get Apollo, and they would have a frnt suspension, much better to have front for the road/communting they say (again at my price point, some sniffed and said get a boardman!)
...
cheers
thats depend. a front suspension only better on the road, if it has lockout which it won't come with bike under £200. the front suspension will slow you down on the road and you will end up wasting your energy when pedalling up hill or standing up.
don't know about recent model of Apollo bikes but my GF has one (10 years old) which i used for commuting to work before i got my bike, and it is not bad for normal cycling around town and stuff.
my advice would be:
don't bother with front suspersion
avoid grip shifters
avoid disk brake
also go into a Halfords and sit on a couple of bike there. a 18" bike might fit you better than a 20" bike."It is not impossible, its just improbable"
Specialized Rockhopper Pro Disc 080 -
supertwisted wrote:I don't think anyone here will give the Diamondback the seal of approval. I've taken a brief look at the spec, and it doesn't look too good to be honest.
Were I in your position, I'd have stumped up the extra and bought one of the Carreras, no doubt about it. For a relatively short extra outlay, you'd have got exponentially more bike for your money.
However, for your intended useage, I don't really think it's going to matter to you one way or the other.
Be careful of the build quality and make sure it's properly assembled and safe to ride, be wary of the cheap brakes as they can fail prematurely and keep in mind that this is not a bike to tear down a mountain trail on and I'm sure you'll be fine.
At least you've made an informed decision. It may not be the one we'd all make, but then by the nature of this board we're all bike enthusiasts so our view is biased.
man this is depressing me now! your comments above scare me a little, surely for my use its not that much of a dud? I agree I would have loved to spend a lot more and to be honest £220 is £10.50 whereas a £300 is £14 I know theres no difference, but Im worried on me not using it thats all.I have reserved it instore with £10, but I suppose I can change my mind?
guys I thought I had made a decision! mmmmm0 -
soy_sauce wrote:
thats depend. a front suspension only better on the road, if it has lockout which it won't come with bike under £200. the front suspension will slow you down on the road and you will end up wasting your energy when pedalling up hill or standing up.
don't know about recent model of Apollo bikes but my GF has one (10 years old) which i used for commuting to work before i got my bike, and it is not bad for normal cycling around town and stuff.
my advice would be:
don't bother with front suspersion
avoid grip shifters
avoid disk brake
also go into a Halfords and sit on a couple of bike there. a 18" bike might fit you better than a 20" bike.
I thought I would have to get a 20" at least as I'm 34" eg and 6'1" ?
also everyone of your advice above, is what I wanted on a bike! :?
I looked at the Vulan V, but preferred disk brakes, and grip shifts which that didnt have!0 -
Halfords had 20% off GT Bikes sat/sun/mon, my brother-in-law got the GT Agressor XCR 3 for £279 yesterday which is 10 x the bike you just bought, hydraulic disk brakes, lock out front forks and better frame and much better components for £70 more than you spent, and that would last you years and is very upgradeable for the future.
And please dont spend the remaining £20 on a helmet, please buy a good one, it is your head and life, it is worth more than that.Full Susser - GT I-Drive XCR 5
Hardtail - GT Aggressor XC 2
Road Bike - GT GTR Series 40 -
Ok before I totally commit to scheme chose me a bike from halfords with this..
Disk brake (at least one)
grip shifts
front sus
for a 6'1" 34" leg, 14.5stone man
cheers0 -
MrMister111 wrote:soy_sauce wrote:
thats depend. a front suspension only better on the road, if it has lockout which it won't come with bike under £200. the front suspension will slow you down on the road and you will end up wasting your energy when pedalling up hill or standing up.
don't know about recent model of Apollo bikes but my GF has one (10 years old) which i used for commuting to work before i got my bike, and it is not bad for normal cycling around town and stuff.
my advice would be:
don't bother with front suspersion
avoid grip shifters
avoid disk brake
also go into a Halfords and sit on a couple of bike there. a 18" bike might fit you better than a 20" bike.
I thought I would have to get a 20" at least as I'm 34" eg and 6'1" ?
also everyone of your advice above, is what I wanted on a bike! :?
I looked at the Vulan V, but preferred disk brakes, and grip shifts which that didnt have!
well, go in to the shop and try it with different size and bike. cos different bike has different riding postion. e.g. some is more up-right than then other.
regarding with my advice of the brakes and suspersion, this is what i would choose a bike in that price range to be as Value For Money."It is not impossible, its just improbable"
Specialized Rockhopper Pro Disc 080 -
Its funny, you're wishlist in a bike is almost exactly what I wouldn't want!
As big shoes says, the GT is an infinitely better bike.
Trigger shifters are much better than grip shifters in most people's opinion.0 -
MrMister111 wrote:Ok before I totally commit to scheme chose me a bike from halfords with this..
Disk brake (at least one)
grip shifts
front sus
for a 6'1" 34" leg, 14.5stone man
cheers
Hydraulic Disk Brakes OR V-Brakes (dont go for mechanical disk brakes)
NO Grip Shift
Front Suspension (only if you can lock it out) or, as others have said, you will just waste energy.Full Susser - GT I-Drive XCR 5
Hardtail - GT Aggressor XC 2
Road Bike - GT GTR Series 40 -
Again, ask yourself why top end mtb's don't come with grip shifts!0
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Phone Halfords (the number is on the reciept for the £10 deposit you put down yesterday) and ask them if they will let you have the 20% discount on a GT today and get this :- http://www.halfords.com/webapp/wcs/stor ... yId_165499
For £279 you cant go wrong, make a fuss and tell them no-one told you about the discount yesterday!Full Susser - GT I-Drive XCR 5
Hardtail - GT Aggressor XC 2
Road Bike - GT GTR Series 40 -
Have been looking and cant find a bike which meets your needs, none of the decent bikes have gripshift gears
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Big Shoes wrote:Phone Halfords (the number is on the reciept for the £10 deposit you put down yesterday) and ask them if they will let you have the 20% discount on a GT today and get this :- http://www.halfords.com/webapp/wcs/stor ... yId_165499
For £279 you cant go wrong, make a fuss and tell them no-one told you about the discount yesterday!
its £350 now.. when was the discount on?0 -
Gripshift is fine for many people - personal preference. Top end ones are the lightest and fastest shifters available, many use them for XC races.
Nothing wrong with mechanical discs either. What you do need is a good damped fork, if you can get one.0 -
well just phoned the Gt offer was only the w/end, and was web based, you could have reserved online got the code and come into store he said, but its finished now.
only thing on halfords website at mo looks like 1/3rd off Apollo!
anything else?
that GT looked good though at that proce! had front sus and diskc brakes!!0 -
ALso check out the beginners guide in the beginners section.
For 200 quid the Decathlon Rockrider 5.2 is unbeatable. there are good 200 quid bikes out there.0 -
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It was an example as many people were saying 200 quid doesn't buy anything good ;-)
From Halfords I'd stick with the Vulcan disc, which will be reduced to 300 very soon. Adjustable damped fork, discs, 8 speed, great frame.0 -
The worst review for that GT was "Good solid bike, ideal first time bike", what are the reviews like for the others?
You're so close to spending the extra couple of quid a month to get something really quality, and brilliant value, but you seem to be stuck right at the threshold and are sticking on the BSO's (as described in the article linked to earlier). Trust me on this, I was in the same postion a year ago, except it was all my own money, not on cyclescheme/bike2work, and I really would have benefitted from spending £50-£100 more, in terms of reliability as much as anything else.
Grip shift aren't the best, but if you've tried a quality alternative and didnt like it then fair enough, thats your preference, and front sus isn't really needed for what you've described, it's a relatively recent luxury, road and cyclo-cross bikes don't have any suspension, and they're designed for exactly the type of riding conditions you want to do. But again, it's your choice. And cheap cable discs, seriously not worth it, I had dual cable discs on my old bike, they were a nightmare; weak, worked themselves loose, the cable filled with grit, and because they seem to work on smaller tolerances than Vs it made them rub and scrape and stick and then it was an almighty effort to get them to actually stop me. Even now, despite trying every trick in the book i can pull the back brake on as much as it'll go and just push the bike backwards without breaking a sweat.
At the end of the day it's your money, but total up the cost of £10.50 per month over 12 months, versus the £14(?) per month for the GT with 20% off. Its £42 difference, imagine how quickly you'll save that by taking the kids out on the bikes instead of buying them a playstation game/taking them to the cinema/zoo/swimming etc etc. If your bikes unsafe, uncomfortable, heavy and no fun to ride then you're less likely to make the effort to go out on it on a lazy sunday afternoon.
Seriously, the GT is a quality bike, the others aren't. You should be able to keep your deposit, just move it to pay for a different bike, I'm sure they won't mind, especially as you'll be spending more.
But again, it's your money, if you really really can't stretch the budget at all, then you've got no choice but to go for something a little cheaper, in which case anyones advice on here won't be any use, because I'm sure everyone on here will suggest stretching the budget a tiny bit.0 -
supersonic wrote:It was an example as many people were saying 200 quid doesn't buy anything good ;-)
From Halfords I'd stick with the Vulcan disc, which will be reduced to 300 very soon. Adjustable damped fork, discs, 8 speed, great frame.
reduced when? i gotta have it posted by Fri at the very latest, tomorrow really
do you know something like?
yes but the GT is not reduced now by 20% its back to £3500 -
The buggers have just raised their prices for the final clearout reduction. Haven't heard when it is though.
I'd email them saying you were just going to buy one and it went up - do you price match yourself lol.0 -
oops, a couple of posts went up while I was writing that essay! Unfortunately it looks like you can't get the 20% off the GT, try ringing halfords business services they might be able to help, phone number might be on the website. But otherwise, I think most of my other points still stand.
EDIT: Halfords Business Services
And 08700 6605110 -
Dont think they will drop now. Listen I got to make a decision by tomorrow as I will have to cancel my diamondback order if so. Theres a sarcacen on there for 229 with v or same version with discs for 279 what they like? And is it worth paying the extra for discs. Thanks0
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Sorry on phone at work! Sarcacen mantra their called I think. Search on halfords mtb. You'll see them. Cheerssupersonic wrote:Links?0 -
the bike has to be from halfords. 
