Advice on buying a budget mountain bike.

astirrup

I'm looking to buy a budget mountain bike. It'll mainly be used for cycle tracks/trails - nothing too intensive.

I've been looking at bikes around the £300 mark, for example, this Dawes bike - http://www.dawescycles.com/p-731-xc21-disc-gents.aspx

However, from what people have told me and from what I've read - people seem to agree that the components of bikes seem to improve around the £500 mark. In what way would you see an improvement - The way the bike rides? How long the components are likely to last?

I've been looking at this Lapierre bike too, which is around the £450 mark - http://www.lapierre-bikes.co.uk/mtb/lei ... 00#onglets

Is there a significant difference in these two bikes to warrant the additional cost? What would you buy with a £400 max budget? (preferably cheaper!)

Thank you in advance, sorry for all the questions! Alex.

cooldad

Have you read this?
viewtopic.php?f=20005&t=12875967
The Dawes is just horrible with a terrible fork and a freewheel.
The LaPierre is just seriously mediocre but a lot better than the Dawes.

astirrup

Thank you cooldad, I had some how missed that topic!

Out of curiosity how do these bikes compare - they're both £360:

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

http://www.halfords.com/webapp/wcs/stor ... -_-TopLink

Thanks.

bartimaeus

Both great bikes at this pricepoint... see the Bikradar review of the Vulcan.

cooldad

Agreed. Either of those would be a decent ride.

astirrup

Thank you for the replies, I guess a trip to Halfords is needed.

astirrup

Apologies for the double post.

I've just spotted this : http://www.halfords.com/webapp/wcs/stor ... yId_165499

How does this compare to the two I linked above? Its £60 cheaper but half price at the moment.

chez_m356

astirrup wrote:

Apologies for the double post.

I've just spotted this : http://www.halfords.com/webapp/wcs/stor ... yId_165499

How does this compare to the two I linked above? Its £60 cheaper but half price at the moment.

it doesn't and it was never worth the rrp that they listed it at, i'd stick with the vulcan or bantu

The Rookie

I'd rate the bantu just ahead of the Vulcan as sold, but the Vulcan has slightly more potential (see link in my sig, Kraken and Vulcan share a frame) as the frame is lighter.

montyburns56

I'd go for the Bantu as the Vulcan has rubbish Clarks brakes fitted to it.

astirrup

Thank you for everyone's responses. I ordered the bantu yesterday, picking it up today.

Is there anything in particular I should check when I pick it up? Although the two young lads seemed competent enough, I've heard some horror stories about Halfords.

I've also made a list of stuff I'll need/eventually get (obviously some is more important that others) :

Bike tools
Tyre slime
Shock pump
Cleaning products
Chain lube
Chain guard
Mud guards

Is there anything obvious I've missed from the list?

Ta

cooldad

Decent multitool, forget tyre slime, useless stuff. Get a couple of tubes.
Mini, track and shock pumps.
Order some Squirt chain lube online.
Helmet.

bartimaeus

Patches

The Rookie

Do a basic bolt tightness check on every bolt you can see EXCEPT the top cap bolt, don't go mad, just make sure they are nipped up at the very least, most bike bolts run a low torque (bear in mind many shouldn't have been touched by Halfords so defects are down to Voodoo!).

As above
Multitool
Reasonable quality mini pump, they are slow to inflate a tyre but easier to carry - later on you'll need a track pump for at home to stop it driving you nuts.
1 or 2 spare tubes (right size and valve!)
Some instant patches to carry, plus I keep a proper puncture repair kit at home for longer term fixes.
Chain lube (Squirt is CD's favourite, it's almost a fetish for him, probably all the fun he gets at his age mind!)
Forget slime
You'll also need a shock pump, but MAKE SURE Halfords set the suspension to 25% Sag with you on the bike (in the standing 'attack' position) before you take the bike so you can delay that purchase a bit!

If we have good weather the tyres will be OK until Autumn (they are no wet weather tyre), if it's like last year you'll want a set of full mud tyres for 'summer'!

cooldad

The Beginner wrote:

Chain lube (Squirt is CD's favourite, it's almost a fetish for him, probably all the fun he gets at his age mind!)

I just hope people will google squirt lube at work and get zapped by the purity police.

cooldad

Mmm you're right, I need to get out more.

astirrup

Haha! Well just got home, I rode home on it (The Voodoo Bantu), first impression is it feels "different" I don't have much to compare it with though, other than riding my dads 7-10 year old GT Palomar. The brakes don't feel overly responsive but have read these have to "bed in"?

One more thing I noticed whilst looking through the vast array of paper work with technical drawings on is one of the leaflets they gave me is a "Tektro" Mechanical Disc Brakes Owner's Manual. I could of course be getting extremely mixed up but the specs for this bike say the brakes are Shimano Hydraulic Disc Brakes? (http://www.halfords.com/webapp/wcs/stor ... pe%7D#tab2)

Thanks again for every bodies help so far!

cooldad

Easy enough to find out - cut the cable - if fluid spurts out they're hydraulic (or were).
Or
If they have reservoirs on the brake levers on the bars they're hydraulic, if you can see a bit of brake cable at the caliper end they're not. Should be, most likely the wrong manual. Not serious - it's all online.

astirrup

Is this the reservoir?



Ta :roll:

cooldad

Yep, that's definitely hydraulic.
Sleep easy.

astirrup

cooldad wrote:

Yep, that's definitely hydraulic.
Sleep easy.

Cheers CD. Gonna take her for a spin in a bit, will report back how it goes.

Edit: Just got back, was fantastic. Just need that wind to get lost.