MTB on a very low budget!!

JayX2A

Hi everyone, I'm new from South East and after some advice on a new MTB!

Firstly I Know you can get 2nd hand and I am looking in to that, but this is purely about what I can buy new.

Budget is a mere £250.

Current bike - a borrowed 'Townsend' mountain bike - circa 15 years old (lol).

Use - my other halfs horse is afraid of bikes which is a small issue when up the south downs! So I borrowed my father in laws bike to get him used to them and go out up over the downs with them both. The trouble is, this bike is too small, has very unforgiving ride and its stopping power is rubbish.

So on a very tight budget I want to get a new bike that will be used for going up and down and along the downs. Nothing too heavy, no jumping or super serious off roading. Just a bike that is fairly comfortable and a little bit more fun than the current alternative!

I have stumbled across 2 bikes which fit my budget and I know they are not great, but for my needs they will probably be ok. Any alternatives or opinions on the below greatly received. And as mentioned earlier I am also looking 2nd hand.

Firstly....

Saracen Tufftrax at £239.99

http://www.bikes2udirect.com/B3782.html

This particular model does get a steller write up on Bike Radar.

Secondly...

Carrera Valour at £249.99

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

Thank you!

kajjal

You may do better if you are confident buying second hand. Quite a few people buy bikes , barely use them and resell them on. Look at bikes in the £400-£500 range that get good reviews and see what is available second hand. Just be careful as specs vary over the years for the same bike. If in doubt don't buy it.

Martin19681968

Look for a voodoo hoodoo(last years model).I got 1 last year for £275 second hand,but it was like new. I've been round Dalby Forest red route a couple of times on it and had no problem with the bike. I really enjoy riding the bike. http://www.bikeradar.com/mtb/gear/categ ... -12-46194/

BLW

Another Voodoo Hoodo owner here, really enjoy the bike both off and on the road.

Initialised

Same, I picked up a Hoodoo last Summer for £300.

With the HooDoo avoid the 2014 model, they down specced it after the 2012 version got great reviews, if it has different graphics it's the wrong model year.

BLW

Initialised wrote:

Same, I picked up a Hoodoo last Summer for £300.

With the HooDoo avoid the 2014 model, they down specced it after the 2012 version got great reviews, if it has different graphics it's the wrong model year.

Oh, that will be the model I have then, reason I bought it was because of the reviews, that will teach me for not doing my homework properly!

Initialised

Check the top of the fork without the lockout, unscrew the cap and you'll see a schrader valve on the bikes with air forks, if it doesn't have that it's a coil.

spring3r

Hi All,

I recently picked up a Carrera Kraken 2013 that was literally in brand new / out of the box condition for only £250.

For the money I consider this to be pretty good value given that I was considering spending £500 to £600 on a similar bike.

So, buy carefully, and look for purchase history if possible, or risk falling foul of the bike thieves.

Cheers,

Spring.

Kajjal wrote:

You may do better if you are confident buying second hand. Quite a few people buy bikes , barely use them and resell them on. Look at bikes in the £400-£500 range that get good reviews and see what is available second hand. Just be careful as specs vary over the years for the same bike. If in doubt don't buy it.