Beginners bike £450 ish

chrishill16

Hi

I've been reading these forums for the last few days trying to get an idea of a decent first bike for around the £450 mark. I'm a complete beginner, not too fussed about brands - I just want the best bike I can get for the money. 

I'm not going to be throwing myself down any steep hills just yet so I guess I'm just looking for a 'standard' MTB rather than a DH bike. 

At the moment I'm considering a few models, so it would be great if someone more knowledgable than me could help narrow it down or even suggest a different bike altogether. 

Voodoo Bantu from halfords 
http://bit.ly/opqnd1

Norco Charger 6.3 from Evans
http://www.evanscycles.com/products/norco/charger-63-2012-mountain-bike-ec031667#related

Pinnacle Jarrah 3 also from Evans
http://www.evanscycles.com/products/pinnacle/jarrah-three-mountain-bike-ec027472

I know I'll probably need to try all of them before making a final decision, but it would be handy to know if I'm in the right ballpark in terms of value for money.

Would be great if someone can help, but if not thanks for all the advice that I've picked up so far. 

Cheers

supersonic

They all have their merits, but the Voodoo would be my choicse of the three courtesy of the forks - they are significantly better than the others and will make a difference off road.

Also look at the Carrera Kraken and Decathlon Rockrider.

Craigfssnow

I had the same conundrum and did a lot of research. I ended up getting a rockrider 8.1. I'm a roadie that was looking for a bit of fun so didn't want to spend a lot of money but wanted to get my money's worth. The Rockrider has an excellent spec and a lot of forums say its worth 6-700 pounds with the spec it comes with. It was a gamble but having looked at the known brands, with Decathlon, you get a lot more for than what you pay for. I don't know enou about MTB yet to offer any technical benefits of the bike but am over the moon with the bike and the spd pedals that it comes with saves you twenty quid as well.

chrishill16

Thank you, appreciate the replies. Will checkout the Kraken and the Rockrider.

What's the deal with Decathlon's now being called btwin? I've read a few reviews where the Decathlon bikes have scored higher than the btwin ones, so not sure what to make of that. Can I still get a Decathlon Rockrider or are they all btwin Rockriders now?

MagikPocketz

I bought my first bike a few weeks ago with a similar budget and opted in the end for the VooDoo Bantu, it gets some proper use around local trails (Cannock Chase) and nothing has rattled apart yet. Forks seem decent enough but I am a little disappointed with the performance of the rear brake suppose it could be something or nothing but it's due it's free 6 week service soon so I'll let Halfords have a quick look at it before I tinker myself.
Overall I would recommend it to others if that's your budget, the only other advice I would give is if you think you've a fortune to spend on equipment/clothing you haven't. £100 is more than enough to get you started with essentials, spare tubes, helmet, basic tools, pump etc just buy other stuff when the necessity arises, that might allow a slightly inflated budget for the bike.

supersonic

BTwin is the continental name for Decathlon. Sometimes seen over here.

chrishill16

Popped into my local Evans today and the Norco didn't look great. They pointed me towards a coupleof Treks that look quite nice: a Wahoo 29er disc and a 3900 disc. Are either of these any good?

Thanks again and cheers for the clarification on Decathlon/BTwin.

supersonic

Not really - the Rockrider 8.0 and 8.1 are far better specced.

chez_m356

supersonic wrote:

Not really - the Rockrider 8.0 and 8.1 are far better specced.

would you say the Bantu was better than the Trek's too ? the fork on the bantu looks better imo

supersonic

Yep. Great fork for the money on the Bantu.

chrishill16

I've narrowed it down to the kraken and the voodoo so will take a look at them in Halfords tomorrow.

The kraken is only 50 quid more than the voodoo, so am I getting better value if I go for the kraken?

Thanks again

supersonic

You get a better drivetrain, but not as good fork. I'd take the Bantu if it fits.

chrishill16

Cheers for all the advice. I've reserved the Bantu - picking it up next weekend!

Now to build the shed...

Thanks again

hainman

what about a genesis core20??my mate just got one for £450 and loves it.i had the previous years model and loved it to,great bike and will go anywhere,xc trail centres....