Hard tail mtb £350 slightly flexible

kixx

Looking to get back into mountain biking after a long time away, budget I'd say is around the 350 mark though I not limited by that and can be slightly flexible if needs must. Hard tail is a must also. Planning on going out looking around a few places on Saturday, is there anything anyone can recommend looking for? Also if I am looking out and about what sort of things should I be looking for and what should I be avoiding?

photonic69

Meant to be very good.

http://m.gooutdoors.co.uk/calibre-two-t ... ke-p275612

Saw one in store today. Seemed quite a decent build. Lots of good reviews. Lot of bike for the dosh. If I was looking for a bike I'd definitely consider one.

kajjal

That is currently the best new bike in that price range. Second hand if you are confident and careful some real bargains out there.

supersonic

That or the Decathlon Rockrider 520.

kixx

What makes that bike the best? Excuse my ignorance but is it what's on the bike? How it rides? Or I'm guessing a combination of the two

The Rookie

It's how the bike rides that matters, but at this price point it's mostly about having the right components at a level which is 'good enough'.

For example many bikes at this price have no damping in the forks, so the front of the bike will pogo around, it removes grip, control and comfort, so we only recommend bikes with a damped fork - which the two above have, even a basic hydraulic damper is much much better than no damper at all.

kixx

Okay cool thanks, I'm going to have a shop around tomorrow and see what I can find. How do you know if the forks are dampened? Is there anything else I should look out for?

benpinnick

You need to check the specs. Rebound damping is what you are looking for. If you can find the model name on the spec list then google should tell you the details. If they have adjustable rebound as a feature then thats a giveaway. Bikes in this price range may well have Suntour forks - as a rule Suntour puts an 'R' on the end of the name which indicates rebound damping is present. Such as 'Suntour XCR'

chrisw333

kixx wrote:

Okay cool thanks, I'm going to have a shop around tomorrow and see what I can find. How do you know if the forks are dampened? Is there anything else I should look out for?

At the price point you are looking at you are really unlikely to do better than the two mentioned if buying new. The bigger brands will invariably be significantly worse spec, no matter what the guys in the local shop may tell you. Look at the reviews on the Calibre 2.2!

The Rookie

Sorry Ben, not quite right, the lower level XCM gets damping if it's got hydraulic lockout (mechanical lockout is no damping), the XCR is probably for Race, it has magnesium lowers and weighs a lot less, most XCR have damping but not all, again you need to check.

kixx

Went to go outdoors and they didn't have the bike mentioned so have to find another store that has it as I want to see it in person. Also went to Partridge cycles but they didn't have any thing that took my fancy sub 12000 unfortunately lol

passout

As above really but I'd look at ebay & the classifieds on here.

AndyPatio

I bought the Carrera Vulcan for £360 the other day and I enjoy it. I'm just getting back into biking as well. Like you I went to go outdoors and they didn't have any in, the nearest store was 180 mile away Maybe look at the Carrera Vulcan?

kixx

What if I was to up my budget to say 500 how much of a better bike can I get for that price range

The Rookie

For that bit more you will get something with better forks and brakes (the two key components) and possibly a few other bits being a bit better as well, have a look at the Voodoo Hoodoo at Halfords at that price.

kixx

personally dont like the look of the voodoo bikes. What about the scott aspect 740? seen one today and it looked quite smart but dont know much and them tech wise

The Rookie

Looked at the 740, I wouldn't pay £550 for a bike with the same fork as fitted to £350 bikes.

You can't see a bike when riding it, and they all look the same when muddy, looks is a very poor reason to choose a bike at this price point, although the big name brands are good at making their overpriced junk look pretty.

kixx

that's very true, though you don't choose partner just for the way she rides so personally I think both play a part. Are there any others out there that would be worth considering? what about the saracen mantra 650b? had a ride on that today and felt good, especially the wheel size. 26 i feel is too small wheras 29 is a little cumbersome so the 27.5 was ideal

cooldad

It's a bike, not your girlfriend, and by ride I'm sure he meant ride.
You can get arrested for doing what you are thinking about.

kixx

cooldad wrote:

It's a bike, not your girlfriend, and by ride I'm sure he meant ride.
You can get arrested for doing what you are thinking about.

it's a play on words my friend, but regardless both should look nice (imo)

cooldad

Er yeah, I'm not that stupid

The Rookie wrote:

Looked at the 740, I wouldn't pay £550 for a bike with the same fork as fitted to £350 bikes.

You can't see a bike when riding it, and they all look the same when muddy, looks is a very poor reason to choose a bike at this price point, although the big name brands are good at making their overpriced junk look pretty.

kixx

cooldad wrote:

Er yeah, I'm not that stupid

Well thanks for the positive input

snowster

Worth a look if you can up your budget £60 off at mo http://www.halfords.com/webapp/wcs/stor ... yId_165499

The Rookie

Your downfall..... You have the choices at the prices you've asked about, if you prefer a bike that looks pretty but is shoot to ride it will put you off faster than one that may not be such a stunner but will blew you away on the trails.

photonic69

The £360 quid jobbie from Go will probably be every bit as good, if not better than a known brand selling an overprice frame with a name for £500.

Depends if you are a brand snob or prefer to ride a bike. Personally I don't do brands. I do what does the job best.

kixx

Brands don't mean a great deal to me I've been out of the game long enough to not know the difference so it is a lot about how it rides however if I can purchase a bike that is good looking too then ideal. The one mentioned previous from gooutdoors do you know if they come with the 27.5 wheel?

snowster

http://www.gooutdoors.co.uk/calibre-two ... ke-p275612 it states 26, that's if you can get your hands on one...

kixx

Ah that's a bummer, may have to try find one in order to see how it fits as I find they're a bit small. How come they're so hard to come by?

cooldad

26" wheels have been around for decades and ridden by everyone from tiny to giant. The frame size makes a bike fit, not the wheels.

snowster

I would say price and the great reviews the bike has received but good luck trying may be worth speaking to your local store..

kixx

cooldad wrote:

26" wheels have been around for decades and ridden by everyone from tiny to giant. The frame size makes a bike fit, not the wheels.

Yeah there is that my old bike used to be 26 however after trialing a few out I much prefer the larger size. Though again I wouldn't not buy a bike purely on that alone