'best mtb up to £250 - find me a deal!!!

chompyrud
chompyrud Posts: 4
edited September 2010 in MTB buying advice
Hello people
I'm totally new here and just thinking about getting my first ever mountain bike - my budget is £250 and i'm looking for something to use on the roads and getting to work and maybe on some bike trails and stuff if i begin to enjoy it all. The bike doesn't have to be amazing as you can only expect so much for the money I have available (and the fact that this would be a bike to see if I enjoyed taking the hobby further or not) but I'd like something with a bit of quality and was just wondering what people might suggest. The one i'm looking at at the mo is the carrera vengeance ltd disc which is £249.99 from Halfords ( I have read that Halfords have a bit of a bad rep of putting bikes together but apart from that seems a good deal) I'm 5ft 11 so was thinking an 18" frame would be what i need? Could anyone comment if thats the case? Any advice would be greatly appreciated as its all a bit of a biking minefield out there!!!

Cheers in advance

Comments

  • I went with the Decathlon Rockrider 5.2. It was £205 delivered and I'm more than happy with it. I'm 5'10 and went with the medium frame. It's great! I have bought some semi-slicks aswell for when I do lighter trails/roads.

    However, the Carrera bikes are pretty good too.
  • cheers for the post diamondbacker. The rockrider looks pretty cool and I like the fact that its a bit cheaper. I can't really decide which one to go for yet so hopefully someone who has experience of both might be able to shed some light on which one is best to go for - but thats a helpful post and has confirmed a couple of my questions - so thanks once again
  • Wappygixer
    Wappygixer Posts: 1,396
    I service the 5.2's on a daily basis (I work as a workshop technician for Decathlon) and I've found them to be one of the most reliable bikes I've come across.They have not changed in years as its a package that works well.All this backed by a good warranty package too, 2 years on parts and 5 years on the frame.
  • sdas777
    sdas777 Posts: 29
    possibly wait a few months and get the spesh hardrock sport for 250? or try to get the 09 now... always a reliable, fun bike with a great frame. it has v brakes but there are the mounts for discs so you can upgrade if and when you wish. plus they are lighter...

    however i have heard great things about the decathlon, so good luck!
    Specialized Stumpjumper HT
    Giant Defy
  • cheers everybody for the feedback - i'm gonna check each of them out and try to make a decision soon! Who'd have thought it could be so difficult!

    Cheers once again