Another mountain biking newbie in need of a bike..

chris7789

Hi, I Have been looking around for a budget mountain bike, am a recently graduated student so have got to put a limit on the spend, but also want something thats going to last a bit of road riding, but also some 'light' off-roading around the surrey downs..

I have looked at the following
Specialized hardrock disc @ £350
Specialized hardrock sport disc @ £500
Kona Lanai 2012 @ £350
Decathlon Rockrider 5.3 2012 @£300

In terms of spend to quality ratio, taking into account i can get the first three from evans cycles on the highstreet and get after sales servicing from a dedicated bike retailer, which i am guessing with not come with the rockrider ( or maybe servicing will be not be needed?), could i get any advice on what would be my best option. I know that the sport disc comes with better brakes for example, but what i save there i could use on getting some decent accessories/ save for future upgrades, but on the other hand it may be worth just getting the bet specced one for now, hence the spend to quality/ best value decision. Sorry for the novice questions, many thanks for the advice in advance

cooldad

Hard to be specific without ESP (or links) but almost certainly the Rockrider.
And bikes are quite simple - don't need servicing, just a little bit of ongoing TLC.

Mtaylor2012

Again its been said alot before....

But have a look at the Voodoo range at Halfords. Voodoo Bantu @ 399 and the Hoodoo at £529 are very good value for money

The Rookie

By comparison to a Rockrider or Carrera/Voodoo from Halfrds most the named brands are poor value, the Lardrock being especially bad.

specialeyes

If your willing to spend 500 on a sport disc then you should look at the rockrider 8.1 also.

mcnultycop

If you are willing to pay £500 you should read the sticky at the top of this section with advice if you are buying a bike for about £500.