Getting a new bike... €300-500 range

Davste

Could anyone be so kind as to help me choose a nice mountain bike? I'm going to be on gravel, country roads, all in all not extremely rough though. I'm looking for a solid and efficient bike. Nice suspension would be a bonus. Unfortunately, where I live (Malta) there isn't that much of a choice.

The local bike dealer gets Orbea bikes only. He showed me an Orbea Sate and it looks nice, has suspension which you can turn on/off, switching between gears looks good, and it has hydraulic breaks. I also lifted it, doesn't feel too heavy. It's at €450 - that's £362 or $562.

There's also another dealer at this site: http://www.magricycles.com/ ... But there aren't any prices. Keep in mind that they may be more expensive here than at your bike store, so try not to aim too high for me

Any suggestions (from either Orbea bikes or magricycles)? If there's anyone that has any experience with that bike it would be awesome. Thanks!

Here are the specs for the Orbea bike: http://mountain-bikes.findthebest.com/l ... Orbea-Sate

hainman

a lot of ppl on here usualy point in the direction of the decathlon range rockrider's....the 8.1 seems to be great value with excellant kit on it for 500

Davste

I've read about that, but it's not available here... It is neither an Orbea bike and nor is it at magricycles. Maybe I'll look around for more shops, but I doubt I'll find it.

swelsbyuk

The Orbea website covering the UK lists the Sate as being £495. http://www.orbea.com/gb-en/bicis/modelo ... ficaciones

If you can get it for 25% less than this then I would say you've got a pretty decent deal (although others will be much more knowledgeable about the spec).

For the price you are willing to pay (and especially if there are no Decathlon stores on Malta), you aren't going to get a great bike, but you will get a reasonable introductory one.

However, if you only have a limited choice I would just get the Orbea and get out riding - I'm sure the conditions there are much better than they are here at the moment!

supersonic

The specs seem fine for the money, but the geometry is odd - very short top tubes, even with the slackish seat angle.

Davste

Are the specs of this any better? http://www.bicyclestore.com.au/bottecchia-fx-520.html
I can get it at the same price. Thanks!

cooldad

That's an Australian site (and the spec doesn't look much good - V brakes etc) - if you can order from there why not look at something from Decathlon or Halfords. You'll get more for your money.