Best £300 mtb

thelawnet

Surely it is this:

http://www.bikeradar.com/gear/category/ ... e-09-32868

Unless you need a Large frame, is there anything better than this for £300? And I'm talking for adults, the kids already have got one.

supersonic

Depends what you want from the bike. That is good for smaller people, ligher people, and those who ride more on canal paths and not too far off road.

But for a general full fat hardtail, the Decathlon Rockrider 5.3 is a great bike: decent fork, good drivetrain, discs, and is still under 30lbs for the large with pedals.

missmarple

I'd rather have this, better specification for a start: http://www.decathlon.co.uk/EN/rockrider-5-3-34963817/

thelawnet

2kg heavier, but Decathlon do make good bikes, trouble is they aren't accessible to most of the country with only six shops and no mail order.

I think most £300 mountain bikes are probably not used on anything rougher than a path, FWIW.

daniel_owen_uk

Great for kids, I just bought my little girl one.

But it's a kids bike.

Single front chainring, no disk brakes (on hub or frame).

And of course only 20" wheels.

thelawnet

daniel_owen_uk wrote:

Great for kids, I just bought my little girl one.

But it's a kids bike.

Single front chainring, no disk brakes (on hub or frame).

And of course only 20" wheels.

26" wheels.

The bikeradar heading is wrong, read the text or spec: http://www.islabikes.co.uk/bike_pages/p ... _Large.pdf

Most cheap bikes come with v brakes.

daniel_owen_uk

But surely you would want a frame that if you wanted you could upgrade to disk brakes?

thelawnet

daniel_owen_uk wrote:

But surely you would want a frame that if you wanted you could upgrade to disk brakes?

Depends what you're buying for I suppose. Lots of people want a 'mountain bike' and then just use it for going out the shops. No need for upgrades.

daniel_owen_uk

Then surely it wouldn't fall under the "Best £300 Mtb" category? More the "Best £300 nipping to the shops" category

supersonic

thelawnet wrote:

2kg heavier, but Decathlon do make good bikes, trouble is they aren't accessible to most of the country with only six shops and no mail order.

I think most £300 mountain bikes are probably not used on anything rougher than a path, FWIW.

You could say most mountain bikes in general are like this ;-). But I do regularly see riders thrashing budget equipment around the trails.

Nowt wrong with V brakes - light, work well and on a bike designed for smaller people for easier terrain like the Isla, are a decent choice. I'd like to see more bikes in a similar vein designed for taller people, which have a Vs and rigid forks. Gives people a choice.

The Rockrider is heavier, but it is designed to be ridden harder - suspension and bigger tyres add weight, as do the discs (not strictly necessary, but at least ready to upgrade to hydros), triple chainset etc. Most 300 quid bikes are not like this, but worth searching for the good ones.

thelawnet

supersonic wrote:

thelawnet wrote:

2kg heavier, but Decathlon do make good bikes, trouble is they aren't accessible to most of the country with only six shops and no mail order.

I think most £300 mountain bikes are probably not used on anything rougher than a path, FWIW.

You could say most mountain bikes in general are like this ;-). But I do regularly see riders thrashing budget equipment around the trails.

Nowt wrong with V brakes - light, work well and on a bike designed for smaller people for easier terrain like the Isla, are a decent choice. I'd like to see more bikes in a similar vein designed for taller people, which have a Vs and rigid forks. Gives people a choice.

The Rockrider is heavier, but it is designed to be ridden harder - suspension and bigger tyres add weight, as do the discs (not strictly necessary, but at least ready to upgrade to hydros), triple chainset etc.

Isla do do bigger tyres, but I think their point is the one I made - that most bike tyres in this price range are a fashion accessory more than something that will be used and needed.