Mountian bike (£160-170)

Nevakonaza

Hey guys,

Wondering if i could have some advice.

Im looking to get a Mountian Bike to commute back and fourth from work.

However i dont know much about Bikes,So whats the best i could get for my price range of £160-170.

I know its not a huge budget,But i dont need anything special just something to get me to work and back.
I would however like it to have at least front suspension and disk brakes.

Cheers

warpcow

Suspension and disc brakes will add nothing for just commuting (unless you're doing it off-road), and in that price range they are more of a liability than anything. Halfords and Decathlon do some pretty decent hybrid bikes around the £200 price-point.

You could also get a very reasonable bike 2nd-hand bike, but that's obviously more of a gamble if you have less experience of bikes.

cycle monster

Simply put, if you are riding on the road you don't want a mountain bike. If you are not just cycling on the road you want to be spending quite a bit more than £170 new. Do you have a local independent bike shop or cycling club where you could get advice or a reliable 2nd hand bike?

bails87

Look at the Carrera Gryphon or Subways at Halfords. they're probably the best type of bike for you. An upright, mountain bike style posture, but with road tyres, and no suspension.

You really don't need suspension, and don't use the old "but there's lots of potholes" excuse You go around potholes, not through them

Down the Road

Even if just riding to work Look to spend around £00 to get something reliable. This is a bike you rely on (no work - no Pay). A £400 on a 12 month 0% deal is as little as £25 per month. This is a much better bike than a piece of rubbish you will get for around £200.00

cavegiant

+1 on rigid bike without disk brakes.

Bad suspension is worse than no suspension at all (by a long way), bad disks are similar.

Stuff like that put on cheap bikes is for cosmetic appeal, so look good but will ruin the ride.

as mentioned before the subway or griff might be a good option.

freeagent

good carrera subways can be found for £150 on ebay - I know i've been looking

Nevakonaza

Thanks for your replies guys appreciated.

@warpcow,Nope there will be no off roading,Just street use really.

@cavegiant,About disk brakes...are they really much better than the standard pads?

@Down the Road,Yeah makes good sense,although atm i dont have much more than that budget i have set aside,I just thought about getting a "Cheaper" bike for now and then when ive saved up a decent amount THEN buy something better.

Down the Road

False economy.

At £27.00 a month on top of what your expected spend (175) you can be on a new bike with a value of over £500 instead of spending £175 on a bike that is not fit for purpose and then spending another £500 later.

Take advantage of the best deal you can get and getting a £500 on finance is it

diy

I would definitely look at used bikes. You should be able to by a 4-6 year old hard tail for that budget from a decent brand or perhaps a 2-3 year old halfords special such as the carrera range. Avoid any new bike in that price range as they will be made from poo.

It wont take much to convert a mountain bike to road use, some narrow slicks is all you need. But make sure you secure as much quick release components as possible otherwise some t-leaf will strip it.

Look on ebay for specialized hardrock for example - these will go in an 08 or 09 for you kind of budget.

The Rookie

You can just about get a sensible bike in that price range, cheap discs give worse braking than decent V-brakes, and its hard to get V-s wrong.

A second hand Subway would be your best bet, for between £100 and £150, they are pretty bombproof and have components good enough to be reliable.

Simon