£800-900 - What hardtail to go for?

saitrix

Hi,

Due to my old On-One 456 being stolen I have now been given the option to have £520 cash (max insurance payout) or £815 if I spend it at Wheelies. So naturally I am looking at what I can get at Wheelies due to the extra money being given.

What are the recommended bikes at this price range? I have only ever ridden 26" (other than 700C on the road bike) so now having the choice of 650B and 29" I am not sure what to go for. I mainly go to trails centres with my bike if that helps, though I am still new to mountain biking.

I imagine full suspension even at £1000 isn't worth looking at if fun is the main thing I am after? I don't care about being the quickest, I just want a laugh whilst doing it.

So far these 3 have caught my eye.

http://bikereplacement.co.uk/p72853/Sar ... -Bike.aspx

http://bikereplacement.co.uk/p73243/Sco ... -Bike.aspx

http://bikereplacement.co.uk/p73255/Sco ... -Bike.aspx

And here is a link with the range of bikes available: http://bikereplacement.co.uk/Catalogue. ... r%20Unisex

The Rookie

What sort of usage? XC or trail.

More trail (centre) orientated would be the Core http://bikereplacement.co.uk/p72791/Gen ... -Bike.aspx

Max budget?

saitrix

For myself I would say mainly trail use and I have a max budget of £900 from the website linked. Does that change the recommendation?

The Rookie

For mainly trail either the Core or latitude (if you want to 'keep it real') stand out http://bikereplacement.co.uk/p72813/Gen ... -Bike.aspx
the rest are racier XC orientated.

kevinharley

I know that most Insurance Companies deal with people like Wheelies, but assuming you want a like for like replacement (and why wouldn't you want another 456?! ), I'd be inclined to go back to them and say that as the bike you had stolen is available new, you would like them to order a new 456 from On One thankyou very much!! They might not agree, but worth asking ...