Upto £500 on a MTB for newbie But ...

yoghurt

Hi

I have been lurking on this forum and learnt quite a bit from the many friendly forum responses.

I am after a MTB for a bit of (careful) fun at leigh woods/Ashton court in Bristol and also some road travel

I have read good reviews/comments for the Rockrider 8.1 for £500 but there are no Decathlon stores to try nearby and the only stores that deliver have the Xl size available so I am a bit cautious.

I also visited a local bike shop today and they recommended the Specialised Hardrock disk for £350 (although i have seen online for 319) http://www.cyclestore.co.uk/productDeta ... egoryID=60. It was a size XL and it felt the right dimension for my 6'2ish frame. It seems to have a good review apart from the suspension fork

So I am stuck between spending £500 on a bike I have not tried and £320 for the hard rock. Would people spend the extra on an untested (to me) bike?

I did consider 2nd hand locally as I would not mind it being the latest 'model' but think I do not have the experience to look for anything 'bad'.

Any advice/views gratefully accepted

Cheers

Yoghurt

waby1234

It's another standard answer but what about a Voodoo Hoodoo?

supersonic

The large, or even medium of any bike might fit you. An XL in one brand can be a lot different from another, need to try the individual bike. The Hardrock is a poor bike, I'd avoid it.

As above, the Voodoo is a good option.

yoghurt

Had not considered the Hoodoo but at least I can try it in my local Halfords
- many thanks

yoghurt

Well tried out the Hoodoo as liked it-I have to say the assistant in Halfords Eastville was very helpful and knowledgable and let me ride the bike around the car park no problem (I left my wife as deposit)! He even suggested I wait a few days as he was expecting a price drop.

Sure enough is has dropped from £529 to £475. I know in the past there was an NUS 10% discount online but I think that is not currently available. I also read that you get 10% off if you join the British Cycling Club-has anyone done this? Is it simply a code you get or do you have to get vouchers? I cannot see details on their website.

Many thanks

waby1234

Hope this helps http://www.britishcycling.org.uk/member ... -discounts

yoghurt

Thanks-I had seen that but it does not say how the discount works-however I have since read elsewhere that its either a discount code they send you or maybe a voucher-it was previously a scheme where you paid the organisation for vouchers but got 10% off I think

apreading

They have changed the way it works a few times.

As it stands, the best way is to join as a 'ride' member for £24, use the TForL12 code to get 50% off that, and pay by direct debit for another 10% off. This makes it £10.80 for a years membership and gets you 10% off at Halfords.

The way to get the 10% off at Halfords is that once you are a member, you can download a voucher to print giving the 10% off, but you have to show them your membership card too - so will need to allow a couple of days for it to arrive (mine was very quick). Pop along to halfords show them the voucher and membership card and they will take the 10% off - even if already discounted.