advice needed.

jon3619

hey,

im looking at buying a mountain bike with a budget of 250 - 300. i was looking at the carrera valour from halfords for 269. i know people say bad things about halfords but im pretty much using it to go 3 miles a day to work and back and abit of off road leisure cycling once a week. also i am a 32 -34 leg and 6 ft tall. what frame size would i be looking for?

thanks

cooldad

At the price, look at Decathlon as well - Rockrider.
As for size - sit on one.

jon3619

ill have a look at it, so you wouldnt recommend the carrera valour?

cooldad

Just options. Look at a few and decide.

jon3619

ive heard halfords staff aint brilliant when constructing the bikes? is that true

Grisley Paul

For what it's worth.... look second hand for your budget and more ''retro''.....

It's not to everyone's taste but for up to £300 new you're gonna get budget EVERYTHING....

Whereas for £300 second hand with a bit of good fortune you'll get some nice quality retro stuff that was serious money new back in the day...

My personal philosophy is that even if something today is considered ''retro'' and dated people, still had fun on them when they were new, so you can still have fun on them today.....

And IMO quality older (well maintained) gear is still a better buy than cheap budget new gear.....

cooldad

Second hand is great. If you know what to look for. Or it could be an expensive mistake.

jon3619

im not really looking at the second hand route, thanks for the advise tho, so are you saying with 300 it wont get me a half decent new bike that will get me to and from work everyday (3 miles) and maybe abit of leisure cycling? i like the look of the specialized hardrock for 340. is that any good?

andhr

Hey Jon

To be fair to Halfords I think it depends who the employee is, a little more than whether it's a Halfords or not, a lot of these guys are 16-18, some careless and perhaps a little hungover 4 days a week, others are very good! I got my current bike from Halfords for £400 a few years back and it's not been a problem.

Out of interest if you're looking at second hand then give me a shout as I'm looking at upgrading to a semi-pro priced bike very soon.

cooldad

Avoid the Hardrock - heavy, rubbish components, dire fork.

jon3619

I think im gonnna go. For the carrera vulcan, the reviews are half decent and its a good price

Grisley Paul

Up to you regarding second hand etc..... but don't get scare mongered, it's only a pushbike at the end of the day, not an F1 car, even the most expensive poser machines today are not rocket science in their operation.... don't forget a LOT of IT professionals are avid cyclists, creatures who think anything that requires more than a button click is ''technical''.... but for some who use rudimentary tools it's quite possible really to buy a second hand bicycle that's been out of the shop for more than 10 mins without buying a pup.....