Amateur Advice

kevinscott

First off, please don't hurt me....feel free to spit at my following question and suggestions, but I don't really go for the pain thing.

Firstly, the story. Bought a Carrera Kraken a couple of years ago but only used it twice and kinda miss the whole off roading mountain biking thing. So I want to get back into it. Sadly, finances are abit tight so my options are rather limited. Im wanting a larger wheeled bike so 29er/650b. Naturally as I want this this narrows my options further...
So here are my options, please dont look at these if you have had a large meal...you might be seeing it again. First off:-

Falcon Radon
http://www.halfords.com/webapp/wcs/stores/servlet/product_storeId_10001_catalogId_10151_productId_1031978_langId_-1_categoryId_165499
I know nothing of this bike or components but seems the safest bet.

Mtrax Graben
http://direct.asda.com/MTrax-Graben-Unisex-Mountain-Bike---29-inch-Wheels-18-inch-Frame/000974432,default,pd.html
States it is 20kg which is a tank which kind of rules this out but very little detail of parts are on the asda website

Lastely

Muddyfox Raze650
http://www.sportsdirect.com/muddyfox-raze650-mtb-932114?colcode=93211426
Everything tells me not to even consider this.... but a 650b at this price, only one that comes close....despite it probably rusting as soon as it comes out the box.

Naturally I have seen on Ebay/Amazon of the "Coyote" Brand but have kinda of written them off, just have a bad feeling.

Sorry again for offending everyone's eyes. Not done intentionally.

BTW, wanting a bigger wheeled bike, as they seem to be more forgiving and I am quite terrible at riding.

Thanks for the help in advance

Kevin

Chunkers1980

Forget bigger wheels. Give your budget in £ and someone will tell you the best limited options

felix.london

what he said ^^

Wheel size should be pretty much last on your list of requirements

kevinscott

Sadly at my budget is tight, all those bikes come at the £250 mark, so in and around that really....

cooldad

This as cheap as you're going to get a decent new bike,
http://www.gooutdoors.co.uk/calibre-two ... ke-p275612

I'd look second hand.

kevinscott

Seen the Calibre bike, but isnt available anywhere...nearest store apparantly is 220 miles away. However when it comes to second hand, I have no idea what to go for :S

cooldad

Those Coyotes are no worse than the others you are looking at, and probably better at the price.

Apart from the fork (I can't tell the model) this one has hydraulic brakes and decent Shimano parts - 27 speed modern stuff.

A fork upgrade later and you'd have a decent bike.

http://www.ebay.co.uk/itm/Coyote-Wyomin ... 58afc619ac

kevinscott

And my bike building skills arent all that good.....As proved by the 1993 Specialized Hardrock that I tried to put back together in my Garage lol

IDave

The best advice would be - don't buy a cheap bike.

It's false economy - if you buy a cheap bike you will either hate it and never use it, or enjoy cycling and crave a better bike and end up spending more on a proper bike. So buying a cheap bike is a waste of money either way.

Spend at least £500 and do it properly, or don't do it at all.

cooldad

That's rubbish. I have a few basic MTB's - old Rockhopper and others, that cost me less than £50 on Ebay (£20) in one case. They are rigid, rim brakes etc, but can still be a lot of fun, and certainly a lot more fun than not having something to ride.
They might not hammer down rock gardens, or manage massive gap jumps but perfectly adequate for most XC type trails.

When I was a lad etc bah bloody humbug.

kevinscott

What are peoples thoughts on the Carrera Vulcan

http://www.halfords.com/webapp/wcs/stores/servlet/product_storeId_10001_catalogId_10151_productId_810619_langId_-1_categoryId_165499#tab2
As I had a Carrera Kraken, quite like the brand

Also been offered a 2 year old Carrera Vulcan for £200. Only difference is the Vulcan has Hydraulic disc breaks instead of Mechnical ones. Will that just cause issues?

http://www.halfords.com/webapp/wcs/stores/servlet/product_storeId_10001_catalogId_10151_productId_810649_langId_-1_categoryId_165499#tab2

Any thoughts?

The Rookie

The Vulcan was the recommended entry bike at about that time, hydraulic discs and a damped fork, good option and very modifiable (see links in sig).