£500 to spend at halfords

Gdclay

Right so my conpanys doing this cycle to work scheme and ive got £500 to spend at halfords, im new to mountain biking but from what ive read of peoples opinions halfords arnt much cop, is their anything worth buying there? Ive looked at the voodoo hoodoo but cant find many reviews on them, also they have some carreras there very cheap but unsure on them either, im after a hardtail any suggestions or just not bother! Cheers

GPierotti

It all depends on the type of riding you are going to do. The voodoo doesnt look bad, best bet is to see the bike in person have a feel of them and see what suits you best.
A lot of people on here seem to use carrera bikes and seem to enjoy them. if its for british trail centers then most hardtails with disc brakes are a good starting point.

shm_uk

Might be worth reading this for an overview of some sub-£500 mountain bikes:
http://www.bikeradar.com/gear/article/best-mountain-bikes-under-500-29451/

I wouldn't necessarily be put off buying a bike from Halfords BUT be aware that they have a very hit-and-miss track record regarding technical knowledge/abilities regarding bikes.... i.e. some are pretty dire if you have questions or need the bike setting up properly...

If you let us know where you're located somebody on the forum may be able to tell you if there's a local Halfords's that's one of the good ones.

shm_uk

... forgot to say: I'd avoid the VooDoo & Apollo branded bikes in Halfords

Gdclay

Thanks for the replys both, im in solihull, birmingham, ive just been told halfords will get me any bike do you know if this is true, i hope it is as i had been eyeing up a specialized hardrock disc as ive been told by many people this is a great bike to start?

piker

shm_uk wrote:

... forgot to say: I'd avoid the VooDoo & Apollo branded bikes in Halfords

Can understand avoiding apollo bikes but why Voodoo?

Kidge004

Get the Voodoo Hoodoo - great bike for the money (air fork etc). The best carrera hardtail is the Kraken however it is not as good as the hoodoo!!!

shm_uk

The Specialized would be a great MTB to kick off with.

I don't know about Halfords sourcing Specialized's though... quote from another forum: "if you have a preferred brand that Halfords don’t ordinarily stock you should contact Halfords cycle2work team .. who will, subject to availability, source your bicycle"

As an alternative, I've heard that there are other bike shops that accept Halfords vouchers - if so, this may broaden your options, or at least make Specialized bikes accessible if Halfords can't get them.

Apparently Leisure Lakes accept Halfords vouchers; they've got a store in Wolverhampton (http://www.leisurelakesbikes.com/article/leisurelakesbikestorewolverhampton.aspx?&id=392)

shm_uk

piker wrote:

shm_uk wrote:

... forgot to say: I'd avoid the VooDoo & Apollo branded bikes in Halfords

Can understand avoiding apollo bikes but why Voodoo?

Just my (possibly unfair) opinion, in relation to Carrera & others at the OP's budget...


EDIT: just looked at the HooDoo on the Halfords website... doesn't look too bad to be honest...

Salsa

I'd take the Hoodoo over a Hardrock Sport anyday, air fork, 27 speed & hydro disks versus the Hardrocks coil fork, mechanical disks & 24 speed.

bails87

Voodoo are excellent for the money. The Carerra Fury is the standard ~£500 recommendation.

And not all Halfords are bad, my local one is very good actually.

sc999cs

shm_uk wrote:

I don't know about Halfords sourcing Specialized's though... quote from another forum: "if you have a preferred brand that Halfords don’t ordinarily stock you should contact Halfords cycle2work team .. who will, subject to availability, source your bicycle"

As an alternative, I've heard that there are other bike shops that accept Halfords vouchers - if so, this may broaden your options, or at least make Specialized bikes accessible if Halfords can't get them.

I've heard the same about Halfords' being unable to source Specialized bikes. If you can get as far west as Shrewsbury there is a Specialized dealer who takes the Halfords' Letter of Collection. PM me if you want to know who they are.

On The Halfords front - my local branch is a 'BikeHut' and they actually seem really clued up. The staff seem to be bike enthusiasts, as well as employees, which I think makes a difference.

Gdclay

Thanks for the advice, think ill save the hassle and get the hoodoo then, looked at the carrera fury but its £550

kaytronika

I'm finding the worst problem with them is none-existent after sales care, shortage of replacement parts for their own bikes, difficulty in ordering replacement parts for their own bikes, inability to keep me update to date on ordering replacement parts for their own bikes.... Possible theme developing here?

waby1234

I've found my local Halfords to be pretty good - when I got my bike home found one of the gear shifters had snapped. Halfords ordered the part and fitted it within 4 working days - none of my other local bike shops could source a shifter that quickly.

kaytronika

I suspect, in my case, it's because the Truvativ Powerspline bottom brackets aren't the most common.
That's for another thread anyway.. I'm just grumpy

iain1775

Well I own the very first Voodoo Hoodoo that was imported to the UK
I bought it in 1995/6, frame number 37 and its stioll going strong, has gone though various guises rigid, cantilever brakes, V brakes, Girvin flexstem suspension forks 30mm travel, 100mm travel 140mm travel and now 80mm travel and is still one of the best hardtails Ive ever ridden it just adapts to anything I put on it
Ok its pre Halfords and its steel not Aluminium so bears no resemblance to the modern bike of the same name but its a great spec for the money and you are investing in a bit of MTB history, designed by Joe Murray that you can garantee will last you and be reasonably future proof as much as a £500 bike can be
Worlds apart from any Apollo or Carrera bikes halfords might sell

Shm_uk, your comment is one of the stupidist things Ive read on here, if you have no experience of the brand or bikes you shouldnt make such sweeping statements

(review of Voodoo bike in this months MBR - it scores a 9 and wins the grouptest)

obeytherules

waby1234 wrote:

I've found my local Halfords to be pretty good - when I got my bike home found one of the gear shifters had snapped. Halfords ordered the part and fitted it within 4 working days - none of my other local bike shops could source a shifter that quickly.

where abouts in birmingham are you? i know of 5 shops either in or around the city centre that will always stock x5 shifters (or whatever your running). Failing that next day delivery for most shops too...

supersonic

iain1775 wrote:

Well I own the very first Voodoo Hoodoo that was imported to the UK
I bought it in 1995/6, frame number 37 and its stioll going strong, has gone though various guises rigid, cantilever brakes, V brakes, Girvin flexstem suspension forks 30mm travel, 100mm travel 140mm travel and now 80mm travel and is still one of the best hardtails Ive ever ridden it just adapts to anything I put on it
Ok its pre Halfords and its steel not Aluminium so bears no resemblance to the modern bike of the same name but its a great spec for the money and you are investing in a bit of MTB history, designed by Joe Murray that you can garantee will last you and be reasonably future proof as much as a £500 bike can be
Worlds apart from any Apollo or Carrera bikes halfords might sell

Shm_uk, your comment is one of the stupidist things Ive read on here, if you have no experience of the brand or bikes you shouldnt make such sweeping statements

(review of Voodoo bike in this months MBR - it scores a 9 and wins the grouptest)

Ah, the original Voodoos, those were the days! But lets not get carried away lol. They have nothing to do nowadays with Joe Murray, and the budget alu frames are pretty basic, and not up to the Carreras really.

obeytherules

iain1775 wrote:

designed by Joe Murray

Shm_uk, your comment is one of the stupidist things Ive read on here

and them being designed by Joe Murray isnt one of the stupidest things u've read? the only difference between mine and his involvement is he has a honking big cheque from voodoo/halfords

iain1775

Obeytherules wrote:

iain1775 wrote:

designed by Joe Murray

Shm_uk, your comment is one of the stupidist things Ive read on here

and them being designed by Joe Murray isnt one of the stupidest things u've read? the only difference between mine and his involvement is he has a honking big cheque from voodoo/halfords

And over 20 years in the industry, multiple NORBA champion, design experience for kona merlin and voodoo multiple MTb design awards including 1993 bike of the year and the first ever titanium bike
I know who I would employ given a choice and it wouldn't be you OTR
He has no connection to halfords other than they distribute the bikes, outside UK the range is much bigger and varied and yes supersonic Joe is still heavily involved with Voodoo and does design and test the bikes
Frames may be made in tiawan now rather than handbuilt in USA like mine but most manufacturers are these days, deign wise I would not say they are poor in comparison to Carreras etc

supersonic

Halfords do have some Halfords only models though like the Bantu and Canzo (not a 29er here) - plain gauge alu models.

waby1234

Obeytherules wrote:

waby1234 wrote:

I've found my local Halfords to be pretty good - when I got my bike home found one of the gear shifters had snapped. Halfords ordered the part and fitted it within 4 working days - none of my other local bike shops could source a shifter that quickly.

where abouts in birmingham are you? i know of 5 shops either in or around the city centre that will always stock x5 shifters (or whatever your running). Failing that next day delivery for most shops too...

It was a warranty fix anyway. I'm in kings heath, halfords have been good to me. Funnily enough a broken x5 shifts pretty well...!

Gdclay

Sorry for Causeing arguments! I picked the hoodoo up yesterday and for a first bike for the money im very happy with it, looking for places to ride/people to go out with in the birmingham/solihull area now while ive got the bug!

marcel147

GPierotti wrote:

It all depends on the type of riding you are going to do. The voodoo doesnt look bad, best bet is to see the bike in person have a feel of them and see what suits you best.

Your local halfords must have a better looking member of staff than ours mate!

whitestar1

Everyone is making a fuss over the Halfords bikes, why not take a step back and look at the Decathlon Rockrider 8.1? Its got a good Bikeradar review. Actually said the best sub £500 hardtail on the market. Its got better equipment than the Halfords bike at the same money and you can pick one up for £450. Just think about.

By the way I have bought from bout Halfords and Decathlon off the M6J9. The staff at both are helpful, but the Decathlon store always have a bike mechanic present.

mtb crazy

i havent tried out a voodoo bike yet, but they do look good. oyu should be ok getting it from halfords, though my expereince with them is when you put them in for a service they dont do it up to scratch. my carrera subway has always has a slight problem with the gears and the chain coming off the deralliuer when i want to change the back gears, very annoyiing. just be cautious with halfords.

DuFFs1989

they do some nice GT bikes, they used to do the XC range. but you'll need more then £500 to get the higher spec GT's

Shaggy_Dog

Halfords no longer sell GT bikes, the only ones they have are old stock.

The Vengeance at £330 is stonking VFM

Gdclay

Cheers all for the replys as i said before ive opted for the hoodoo though an apart from some setup issues im really happy with it so far

Mental Mickey

Gdclay wrote:

Cheers all for the replys as i said before ive opted for the hoodoo though an apart from some setup issues im really happy with it so far

That would be the Hoodoo. 8)

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=-Fz85FE0KtQ