Recommendations <£400 HT
Ritchie2
Posts: 6
Hi everyone,
I'm looking for a fairly basic but future proof Hard Tail bike. The main uses would be initially flat trails, then progressing to more off road as my Son gets older. I live quite close to a number of well known trails.
Ive read a lot about this kind of price bracket (max of £400 for me), it would seem there are a lot of heavy turkeys, but some bargain gems.
So far my thinking is this:-
1) Voodoo Bantu, yes its Halfords but seemingly gets rave reviews for the spec and quality.
2) Voodoo Hoodoo, again great reviews - can be within my price bracket if I wait for the right discount voucher to come along although I think the latest version seems to be down-spec from the best reviews.
3) Specialized Hard Rock Pro (2013) - can be had for £400 on a few websites, had a look in our local dealership, looks the part.
4) Saracen Mantra (2013) - found this online for £299, seems to get decent reviews although quite heavy.
5) Calibre two two (Go Outdoors Brand) - Have seen some excellent reviews for this at £369.99 , would be interested to hear if anyone else has this bike as I'm a bit suspicious of there only being one review on the web.
Basically I want to try and get the most for my cash, any advice would be greatly appreciated..
I'm looking for a fairly basic but future proof Hard Tail bike. The main uses would be initially flat trails, then progressing to more off road as my Son gets older. I live quite close to a number of well known trails.
Ive read a lot about this kind of price bracket (max of £400 for me), it would seem there are a lot of heavy turkeys, but some bargain gems.
So far my thinking is this:-
1) Voodoo Bantu, yes its Halfords but seemingly gets rave reviews for the spec and quality.
2) Voodoo Hoodoo, again great reviews - can be within my price bracket if I wait for the right discount voucher to come along although I think the latest version seems to be down-spec from the best reviews.
3) Specialized Hard Rock Pro (2013) - can be had for £400 on a few websites, had a look in our local dealership, looks the part.
4) Saracen Mantra (2013) - found this online for £299, seems to get decent reviews although quite heavy.
5) Calibre two two (Go Outdoors Brand) - Have seen some excellent reviews for this at £369.99 , would be interested to hear if anyone else has this bike as I'm a bit suspicious of there only being one review on the web.
Basically I want to try and get the most for my cash, any advice would be greatly appreciated..
0
Comments
-
The hard rock is a good solid frame and a good starting point but is poorly specked compared to the calibre you wont find a better specked bike at this price range. The voodoo's Sort of sits in the middle of the two, i wouldn't bother with the Saracen.
if you want the most for your money id take a proper look at the two two as this will probably save you money on upgrades with the bike already having rock shock, deore and hydraulic breaks.
just make sure you test ride the bike before you buy which ever one it is.0 -
Calibre 2.2.0
-
I bought a Voodoo Bantu a month or two ago as an in-between bike (frame for new build has been delayed somewhat!)
It's great for the money, but I'd budget for a tyre upgrade. The tyres that came on mine really didn't inspire confidence in muddy conditions - the Hoodoo comes with Maxxis Ardents, which look far better!0
