£300 bike advice

Marius2012

I'm looking for two new bike for the Mrs and myself. We have £300 budget per bike and I have narrowed it down to the ones listed below. Would like to hear your opinions which one is regarded as the best or better and why please. Neither of us is a hardcore rider but I would like to think of myself as enthusiastic rider We plan to do a mix of road and off-road riding. Easy forest trails et al.

Carrerra Valour (men and women version) - £270

Decathlon Rockrider 5.2 - £200

Merida Matts Pro-D Bike 2011 - £277 (RRP £600 - seems like a huge saving)

Merida Matts 20-MD Bike 2011 Model - £282

Giant Revel 3 2012 - £300

Obviously open to any other suggestions.

Satchm00

I shouldn't worry to much if your just riding easy forest trails and roads. They all look like the will do the job you want them to do.

The decathlon had some good owner reviews looking at the website they do have some stores you might be able to visit to check it out,

http://www.decathlon.co.uk/rockrider-53 ... 06682.html

Whilst its £30 more out of your budget range there is always this Carrerra from Halfords, friend of mine just brought one to ride to work on/lazy slow day at Cannock Chase.

http://www.halfords.com/webapp/wcs/stor ... yId_165499

chez_m356

the 5.3 2011 on sale here http://www.decathlon.co.uk/rockrider-53 ... 68118.html

Marius2012

chez_m356 wrote:

the 5.3 2011 on sale here http://www.decathlon.co.uk/rockrider-53 ... 68118.html

The website doesn't allow me to check the availability. Probably will give them a call to check if they have it.

mountaingoatimnot

For wet weather on or off orad riding i'd stay clear of V (rim) brakes. Most bikes at this price point will be either rim brakes of mechanical (cable operated discs). Hydrualic disc (like the Merida Pro you linked to) are better still, and that bike has reasonable mid range Alivio gearset and a decent frame.

You really need to try bikes out for size - different makers use different geometry and frame sizes (one companies small might be a 16", anothers 15" for example). Lots of ladies buy mens bikes because of the greater choice, but geometry of ladies bikes might favour shorter girls. Look at ashcycles for deals on giant Revel 1W for instance.

At this price point there will be lots of choices and all will be compromised in some respect - whether a cheap gearset, or a poor quality fork. Carrera bikes benefit from the buying power of Halfords, as do Rockrider, both offering slightly above the norm spec for the money compared to bigger brands.

The Merida Pro has a decent gearset, a good frame and hydraulic brakes - the fork is OK for light trail use and similar to anything else at this money.

But do try bikes out for fit (buying froma shop often means paying more but they will swap heandlebar stems to smaller/bigger ones to improve the fit and set the bike up for you, buying mailorder is fine, but you need an hour or so per bike to fit pedals, handlesbars, seat and make adjustments to get comfortable.

supersonic

The Rockrider 5.3 is an absolute steal at that price.

lighty89

That Merida Pro-D is amazing for the price.

mountaingoatimnot

You might also want to check eBay - the people i bought my son's Merida from also had Merida Matts Trial 300-D in small frame (15") for £300. Might be a suitable size for the wife , but again try out different bikes before hitting the buy button.

Marius2012

supersonic wrote:

The Rockrider 5.3 is an absolute steal at that price.

Sorry that was my mistake. It's 5.2 and not 5.3. Is it still an absolute steal?