New MTB for female beginner ~£450

TJenkos

Hey Guys and Gals,

Realise this may only be my first post but rest assured I'm gonna be around longer. Recently both myself and partner have decided to hit the cycling band wagon. Both road riding and mountain bikes.

I own a fairly decent MTB myself but am looking to pick one up for her indoors. Its not planned for any heavy downhill or ote, more trails and canal route sort of surfaces but with potential to move on..

Been to Halfords and looked at the Voodoo Hoodoo, she no likey. Carrera Kraken and Vulcan were liked. What else is worth a look? Like Specialized gear but nothing really shining? Is the Hardtail Disc worth a call?

Is Halfords part of the CycleScheme? I know they're not listed on their site but they did have something postered there about Cycle2Work but potentially different??

Budget of around £450 please.

Thanks in advance.

mountaingoatimnot

Have been in a similar postion myself in the last week, but in my case looking at 'ladies' models for my 10yr old son. Ladies models because of different geometry and smaller frame options. In the end , after lots of reading and advice from here (including ladies) I came to the conclusion that at £350 and below the ladies models aren't up to much, and even when you get to the Giant Revel 1W/0W or the Specialized Myka Disc the actual components aren't that great (Giant Revel 0W being the best of them IMO).

There are deals on the Giant Revel 0W at Ashcycles so worth a look - the silver/cyan colour isn;t too girly either, or the 1W version is white with green decals.

After visiting several local bike shops I found the Merida Matts Trail models which offered as good a stand over clearance as the womens curve top tube models (I didn't consider the womens models with the very low top tube due to off-road rigidity).

I then found on eBay some deals on 2009 models (still new in box) so ended up buying a 15" framed Merida Matts Trail 500-D which is more bike than he'll need for the next 4 years at least. Was delivered this morning, perfect condition, well packed and after an hour was fully assembled, checked over and set-up. Very impressed with the bike (if they'd had a larger frame i'd have called them and ordered one for myself as an alternative to my full sussser !!).

The same seller (cycle promotions/alllens cycles) still have 3 of the slightly lesser spec 300-D model at £320 + 10 delivery - thats less than half the original list price. Item number 310407510928 if you want to have a look

Whether its the best buy at £330 i can't honestly say but i couldn;t find anything else new with the same brand pedigree and equipment and a low enough standover height (Carrera Vengeance was too high in smalest 16" frame, as was the Voodoo Bantu).

Ashcyles, Pauls cycles worth a look for older model stock at decent discounts and Winstanley cycles have quite a lot of Marin hardtails at good prices too (dependent upon frame size).

Good luck

I'd also struck a preliminary deal with forum member Chelle on a Cube Attention in the classifieds here - its a great bike for the £400 asking price (if still for sale) but my son preferred the look of the Merida (kids eh !!)

mountaingoatimnot

link to Chelle's for sale..

viewtopic.php?f=40050&t=12859517&hilit=attention

TJenkos

I'll have to look into the Merida when im back on my desktop. Quite hard on the ol phone! Thnks for that response though, useful info..

She really really likes the Cube range.. What are your opinions on these two:

Cube Aim:
http://www.leisurelakesbikes.com/produc ... ?&id=18020

Cube Access Women's:
http://www.leisurelakesbikes.com/produc ... ?&id=17877

Thanks in advance

mountaingoatimnot

Not much to choose between them, if anythign - both use a basic coil Suntour shock and lower end Shimano brakes. At £500 you really should be getting hydraulic disc brakes, even at £400 on a discounted bike.

This for example... http://www.winstanleysbikes.co.uk/produ ... _Bike_2011 gets you hydraulic discs and mid rage Shimano gearset plus a much better (but still coil) fork.

TJenkos

Right okay, I guess a lot of it may come down to which one she prefers, but are these two cubes considerably lower in spec than its competitors? Are we going to tell a massive difference?

How would they compare to the Carrera Kraken?

I'll have a look into that Marin

cooldad

They are rubbish. Why not get her what you have got?

nferrar

I'd go second-hand at that price otherwise she'll end up with a heavier bike with worse suspension than you which won't add to the fun factor if you're actually riding properly off-road

The Rookie

TJenkos wrote:

Is Halfords part of the CycleScheme? I know they're not listed on their site but they did have something postered there about Cycle2Work but potentially different??

Cyclesheme is a specific C2W scheme, Halfords do their own and don't use any other (although the Halfords vouchers are accepted at a few other places), so depends what scheme (or self run) an employer uses.

miss notax

nferrar wrote:

I'd go second-hand at that price otherwise she'll end up with a heavier bike with worse suspension than you which won't add to the fun factor if you're actually riding properly off-road

I have seen so many couples at trail centres where the chap is merrily blasting along on a nice light modern bike and his poor other half is struggling behind on some massively heavy thing that doesn't fit :oops: And then - after the obligatory domestic - he'll probably wonder why she didn't have fun and won't go again

cooldad

miss notax wrote:

nferrar wrote:

I'd go second-hand at that price otherwise she'll end up with a heavier bike with worse suspension than you which won't add to the fun factor if you're actually riding properly off-road

I have seen so many couples at trail centres where the chap is merrily blasting along on a nice light modern bike and his poor other half is struggling behind on some massively heavy thing that doesn't fit :oops: And then - after the obligatory domestic - he'll probably wonder why she didn't have fun and won't go again

This. I always hope they'll withhold marital privileges as a punishment.

Jimx26

Halfords have the 2010 Boardmans on their website for £500

Dandelionclock30

Perhaps pick her indoors something decent up before she picks someone elce up who values her enough to buy her a decent bike!
What about selling yours on Ebay and with the money getting her a nice bike and then get yourself something from Halfords for £100.?

apreading

Its not quite as simple as that though is it? My wife would freak if I bought her a bike costing as much as £450 as she isnt into cycling and doesnt see the point spending that much. If I were not riding often then I probably wouldnt be looking to spend much more than that mylself - so if OP rides every day but his wife will ride once every couple of months and even then might avoid the gnarly stuff, then why would it make sense to spend a grand (or whatever) on a bike for her?

I get what you are saying, and would agree if this were an extreme case (as I have seen on here) of someone only looking to spend £150 on a bike for his missus, but for £450-500 you can get something pretty decent which should not leave her feeling cheated.

Dandelionclock30

Well I've had bikes from £200- £1500 and I much prefered the dearest one because it was so comfortable and light.
With better bikes it makes you want to go out all the time because you get so much pleasure and joy from being on it! Ultimatley it does depend on a few factors really, so I hear what your saying.

TJenkos

Thanks for the helpful comments. I think we're down to Carrera Kraken, RockRider 8.1 and the Cannondale SL5. Cannondale wins it for me in the looks but the components don't quite match the other two. We will have to go to Decathlon at weekend and have a look at the RockRider and try and take the brand snobbery away!

Dandelionclock30 wrote:

Perhaps pick her indoors something decent up before she picks someone elce up who values her enough to buy her a decent bike!
What about selling yours on Ebay and with the money getting her a nice bike and then get yourself something from Halfords for £100.?

I had to LOL here. Jump off your high horse and let me give you the facts you may have missed..

Firstly, the bike payments are coming out of her own salary. My bike is going to be no better than hers. Neither of us are serious mountain bikers. It's new to us. It's her budget, not mine. Neither of us would consider it wise spending £1000's on a MTB at this stage and maybe ever.

Aaand breath!

karlbrewster

450 should get a fairly decent bike. If you find yourself really enjoying it you can always upgrade to higher end bikes & sell the old one on ebay (or you can give it to your little sis/bro/niece/nephew). Nothing much to lose. Happy cycling.

chrisw333

Get the Rockrider. And try to get other looks of the bike when choosing, cycling insnt about aesthetics.