What should I be looking at for a max of £500?

One_Job

Hopefully I've not missed a forum sticky with this.
But I'm going to look at some bikes tomorrow, for a maximum of £500, what should I be looking for in a bike? I've already got it noted down as a hardtail, but I don't know what "style" of riding I'm into yet, so I want something I can learn the ropes on, go on long rides off-road, just general mountain biking really.

JamesBrckmn

hydraulic disc brakes, at that price thay'll probably be avid juicy 3's or tektro auriga comps

forks should have good adjustment, lockout, rebound and preload or air pressure adjustment. most will have around 100mm of travel. rockshox suspension is the best you'll get at that price (£500 will probably get you toras or dart 3's), some people prefer fox, but it's too expensive for £500 bikes. some suntour and marzocchi forks are good, ask on here if there good, and look at reviews.

9 speed gears (at the rear) and 2 or 3 chainrings upfront. you should get sram x5/x7, maybe x9 if your lucky, or shimano deore/slx.

a complete bike weight of less than 13kg if it is a hardtail with around 100mm of travel.

NormalD

Print this off and compare the spec of what your shown againt it.

This is a good first bike, easy to handle and well equiped for the price.

http://www.realcycles.com/products.php? ... b58s2p2281

NormalD

This is also excellent value for money.

http://www.decathlon.co.uk/EN/rockrider-8-1-66759353/

symmetree

Personally I'm going to be checking this shortlist for fitting in store:

Specialized Hardrock Pro £550



Rockhopper 8.1 £500


Gary Fisher Marlin £550



Trek 4500 £500



GT Avalanche 2.0

I'll also be checking out the 1.0 for '09 model deals


and finally:
Specialized Rockhopper SL £700
to see if I really love it, then I'd consider forking out the extra dosh.

JamesBrckmn

out of those, judged on spec, the rockrider is best, i have the model below and it's great, the spesh or gary fisher are next best, but that GT and the trek aren't very good. just see what fits best

symmetree

Hi James, out of curiousity, are you basing that on just the spec, or have you ridden the Trek and GTs?

From that list, the Trek is my least favourite, I'll probably knock it off my shortlist unless it fits the best. But I am partial to the GT 1.0 I've read so many good things about the frame.

JamesBrckmn

just based on spec. the GT and trek both have bad suntour forks. the xcr's on the GT came on my rockrider 5 xc (one below the 8.1) and that cost £370, so the Gt should have better forks for £500, and the trek's forks are even worse. the sr suntour xcr's the GT has and my rockrider 5 xc had were terrible, really bad adjusment that had no effect, except the lockout, the damping was rubbish, and they were really heavy, so i replaced them with RS recon races

supersonic

Not all XCR forks are the same.

Check out the Carrera Fury - one of the best bikes available at this money.

JamesBrckmn

+1 for carrera fury.
rockrider 8.1 or carrera fury have the best spec you can get for around £500

markmark.123

i have been looking at the new carrera kraken for £399 and it seems to have a very good spec for the money

symmetree

I went to Evans Cycles today to see about the Spesh, Fisher and GTs. The Spesh is available right now, but they only had a Spesh Comp built and ready to ride in store with a 23" XL frame. I gave it a test ride to see what the fitting would be like for the Pro. and I really liked it. The frame size is perfect, the bike is lighter than I was expecting, I was impressed with the Comp, so I can only imagine the Pro is that much better still. (if I went with the Comp, Evans would do a discount for the XL display bike I test rode because it had a chip in the top tube.


I headed over to Decathalon's London store to see the RockRider 8.1 and I was very tempted to just buy it right there and then. The XL frame again is perfect size, plus it's MUCH prettier up close than the photos on their website. the paintwork is beautiful and the frame tapers really nicely. The spec is the deal clincher here really. But those clipless pedals will take a bit of getting used to, and a new pair of shoes if I can get those in my bigfoot size The gurantee is good, 5 years for the frame, 2 for the components, but the staff didn't feel anywhere near as knowledable as Evans. So I went away wishing Evans were selling the RockRider.





On my way home I stopped by Halfords just to sneak a peek at the Carrera Fury 20" It's definitely a great looking bike. The frame looks quality, no ugly welds, but it is pretty chunky, and felt heavier than the Spesh. Plus I only got to sit on it, and it borderline fits me, I'd need some risers for the handlebars to feel comfortable. But the guy was really helpful, and said when they build up the bike they can add in the risers for an extra £16. He also explained the Halfords service plan for £17 a year. So I left feeling very confused as to which bike is right for me. :shock: