What beginners bike £200-£250?

tehboo

Hi

I havent ridden a bike for 10+ years but have decided to get back into it for exercise.

Looking to get a beginners bike & got £200-£250 to spend, wont be used much, just sunday riudes over the downs.

im 6'62 so will need either a 22" or 23" frame & Not bothered about new or 2nd hand

Have been looking at:

Mongoose Rockadile ALX disc 2010 - http://www.rutlandcycling.com/26083/Mon ... -Bike.html

Raleigh AT20 - http://www.rutlandcycling.com/29805/Ral ... -Bike.html

or potentially Raleigh AT 30 http://www.rutlandcycling.com/21617/Ral ... -Bike.html

Just wondered what you guys think? or can suggest any other alternatives? I havent got a clue what im looking for

thelawnet

When you say over the downs do you mean off-road?

A true entry-level mountabike is about £400+ unfortunately. I bought a bike similar to those you are looking at and it now sits unloved in the garage, they're worth very little to resell and there's no point buying new parts for them. If possible spend some more £££. This is the sort of starting spec http://www.decathlon.co.uk/EN/8-1-2010-141402412/ Obviously given your budget, you're looking at second-hand, try ebay and look for a branded bike (Trek, Specialized, Giant, etc.) with Shimano Deore components.

If you just want 'exercise', the roads are a bit more suitable IMO, conditions are suitable year-round, whereas off-road after heavy rain might not be what you're after. If that's the case you're probably looking for a bike with no suspension and 700C wheels, but possibly fatter tyres and mountainbike components, which will do roads as well as typical tracks.

Depending on where you live actual 'mountain biking' might not be as useful for regular exercise as having more of a 'utility bike', which you use for going to the shops, down the pub, etc.

tehboo

The downs are mostly off road tracks on hills

I imagine we would only go after fair weather, no need for it to take anything punishing

Will literally be 10-20 mile rides over hilly tracks

tehboo

I guess I can push budget to around £300?

Flyguymyeye

Decathlon 6.3, google it. Got good reviews, perfect beginner bike!

Liam1611

Probably two of the best bikes for your budget

Mongoose Tyax Comp in various sizes

http://cgi.ebay.co.uk/2010-MONGOOSE-TYA ... 7dbc73a407

If you can push your buget to £325 then you could get the Tyax Elite, Medium and Extra Large.

http://cgi.ebay.co.uk/2010-MONGOOSE-TYA ... 7dbc61f26f

http://www.bikeradar.com/gear/category/ ... e-10-36432

Regards

Liam

Rushmore

Get down to your local bike shop and sit on a few... although nothing in that price range will take a pounding, but for very light trail use ( which I suspect is what u will use it for ) there should be quite a few to choose from..

tehboo

The tyax comp & the decathlon look interesting, at the moment im going towards the tyax or a 2nd hand specialised hard rock.

I dont want to spend too much initially in case i dont like it lol

but would be happier spending more money once i decide whether MTB'ing is for me

tehboo

i went to the local bike shop and got put on a full suspension cheapy thing that felt like jelly to ride

diamondbacker

I bought a Decathlon Rockrider 5.2 over a year ago. It was £205 delivered and I'm more than happy with it. For the money I think it's great! It's stood up to pretty much everything I'v chucked at it (alright, it's not as if I do big drop offs or anything but do a fair bit off road). I have bought some semi-slicks aswell for when I do lighter trails/roads.

However, the Carrera bikes are pretty good too.

hd264

Yeah Carrera bikes are pretty good for the money. I got the Carrera Vengeance Ltd last year for £300. If you don't know they are only sold by Halfords who were selling them for £275 only last week but seems to have gone up to £329 now. I've taken it to a couple of trail centres (Thetford forest and Cannock Chase) and it can pretty much handle anything you can throw at it (no large jumps though!). The only slight weakness is the Dart 1 fork, but if like me you decide you really like mountain biking and want to get a bit more serious you can upgrade the fork later. I got a Rockshox Recon Silver for around £100 which has made it a perfect bike for the improving mountain biker on a budget!

supersonic

You can get perfectly reasonable MTBs for £200. Ok, £500 gets you better kit, but only a few of them have damped forks, and most of the bearings are of the same quality anyway.

The Rockrider 5.2 is superb for the money, 8 speed Shimano works very well. Likewise the Mongoose Rockadile is a fantastic buy, as are the Raleighs. You could always upgrade the fork at a later date - it makes more sense to buy a cheaper bike and upgrade the fork than spend more and get a fork that needs upgrading anyway.

That said, the Rockrider 5.3 and Carrera Kraken get some amazing kit for your extra money.

tehboo

have ordered a rockrider 5.3

Rushmore

well done you