Advice please for a Newbie

Gazmanclown

Hi, i`m wondering if i can get a quick bit of advice. Pretty sure i know the answer , but as i know nothing thought i`d check.

I`m brand new to Biking and i am thinking of getting a decent starter bike to see if i can get into Mountain biking. I`ve been reading up last few days and am generally under the impression of trying to get a better quality second hand bike at the moment as i only want to spend a few hundred quid for now (don`t wanna spend a boat load of cash if it turns out i don`t enjoy it).
Someone recomended i try a local cycle hire/shop as he said i could possibly get a good deal on fairly new bikes after they have finished their hire term. I went in today and indeed i thought my luck might be in, Talking to the Manager he said he would offload one of the Giant Revels (Revel 3 i think) for about £190 with a good service. However after coming home and checking up, all i can find are fairly poor reviews for it, and it seems there are much better bikes for simialr costs (certainly brand new). I`m not too keen on Ebay as i don`t know enough about bikes to know if it`s a dud, and my local Halfords don`t have any offers going on the decent starter bikes (Vulcan, hoodoos etc)

I`m just curious to see what people who know there stuff think, am i better off ignoring the Hire firms offer, and shop around more?

Oh , and hi btw. First post, first of many hopefully

supersonic

They can be good bikes to get (ex hire) as you will get some limited warranty with it, but the revel 3 is not worth that money second hand, the new ones are hardly any more. Can you stretch to £300?

Gazmanclown

Ye i thought as much, i have seen new ones from various websites for a touch over £200. So i was concerned right off the bat. Yes, i could stretch to £300. Money isnt so much of an issue, it was more the fact i didn`t want to spend too much to find out i don`t enjoy it. But at the same time, i want to get a "good un" in case i love it so i can stick with it, and possibly upgrade parts further down the line.

On a side note, ive noticed this on evans cycles, going for £367, quite expensive, but seems nice http://www.evanscycles.com/products/sco ... e-ec030848

waby1234

I think you'd be better off spending a tad more on a Hoodoo or Rockrider 8.1 if you could. I know it pushes the expenditure up but they're much better bikes (and are likely to retain more of their value if you did want to sell it)

supersonic

Buying a dodgy second hand bike will certainly ruin you experience ;-)

Take a look at this:

viewtopic.php?f=20005&t=12875967

JB69

I'm another newbie and I wondered what peoples views were about this? I've got back into mountain biking (after a 20 year gap) using one of my nephews old bikes. Now I've lost some weight and started to get a level of fitness back I'm gagging for a new bike. I've been saving up and have my heart set on a KHS Alite 2000SL but I wont have the full amount until Jan. The old knacker is getting dodgy as I'm getting a bit faster and its poor at stopping and reacting so I'm wondering whether to get something for 500 now and look to improve in the future. Either a Voodoo Hoodoo or the Alite 2000 which looks like it has the same frame as the SL so maybe I can upgrade forks etc when I have saved up. Any thoughts welcome (particularly if anyone knows re the KHS frame) and hi to everyone.

waby1234

I like both KHS Alite 2000 variants, they look decently specced.

I would personally save for the SL, and put effort in the meantime in using the current bike as a base for learning maintenance and the like (if you need to!)

JB69

Yes - been getting back into the maintenance - You Tube seems to have plenty of great vids for every job although I need to rebuild a decent tool kit (happy to say my spanners from the 80's are still going strong!!). Thanks for the advice - nearly everyone I ask recomends waiting for the better bike so I think thats what i'll do - still building my fitness anyway and probably got another half a stone to shed.