Used MTB - £300 Budget?

JamJay

Good morning all,

Quick intro. I'm a new member, or a member of any cycle forum for that matter but, not new to cycling and have enjoyed it for years, albeit for recreation/tooling around rather than for sport or to be serious.

Over the past 12mths I've really started enjoying some trail riding and some moderate mountain biking and I am looking for a dedicated bike to enjoy doing it with. My rides consist of sand, mud, gravel and shingle trails, a few hills clad with the same stuff but also some pretty rugged, rock, boulder, tree root and hole ridden green lanes with a few ford's and places to lauch myself off of. I haven't been deterred by the weather and as I'm a bit of a fit freak, I don't see the hobby dying anytime soon.

My bike at the moment is (whispered under my breath) a Dawes Shuniah, which I inherited for free. It is a solid fork hard-tail bike, nothing special at all really however, it is bullet proof. Aside from the gearing which isn't suited to real off-road stuff, meaning my legs need to make up the shortfall and, jarring my wrists on really bumper bits it's coped with everything, and I've landed hard on that thing countless times. It has an aluminum frame as most do now but it's not the lightest thing going and I feel it needs a major update. I have therefore demoted it to my commuter bike and it is now fitted with Armadillo tyres; it does the job superbly albeit nothing like a road bike (but, it was free ).
I was cosidering throwing some decent RockShox on it, some lighter Mavic rims and lighter tyres, maybe a different crank but, is there any point?

I am looking for a hard-tail MTB but my budget isn't huge, that's for sure, and I have quickly realised that for £300 I am not likely to get anything brand new that will take much abuse however, I have been watching some eBay auctions lately and I can see that I can get a lot of bike for my money, second hand. I don't have a problem with this as most seem to have been well cared for and serviced. For my budget, could you recommend any MTB's that I should look out for?

I have been offered a 6mth old (2014) Trek 3500 Disc for £200. It's been ridden once so I have no issue with its condition however, before pouncing on it I read some reviews online and they mostly seem negative. At this price, would you pass it up or would you buy it and upgrade it? It does at least seem better than my Shuniah.

cooldad

Difficult to say with second hand bikes, but that Trek is terrible. Nasty undamped for that will be no better than a rigid, but heavier.

Antm81

I picked up a second hand voodoo hoodoo (link in my sig) for around £200, great bike for the money. If you fancy something with bigger wheels you may be able to pick up a bizango in your budget.

JamJay

Thanks guys and oxoman, I would be very interested except I'm a Southerner (boo, I know ).

How do you regard the Specialized Hardrock Disc?

cooldad

Without a link to the spec, can't say, but still likely a nasty fork - the most important part of the bike.
Make sure the fork is hydraulicly damped, or just go rigid.
Best to avoid big brands - you pay for the name, not decent bits.

Antm81

Poorer spec than the likes of voodoo and carrera. Big name brands usually are at this price. Don't worry about buying a bike with what seems like a lesser name, most of the frames were probably made in the same factory and they have better components, most notably the fork. A bad fork could well ruin your ride compared to you current bike.

The Rookie

They briefly did the Hardrock sport disc which wasn't too bad, but mostly the Lardrocks are poor.

If you know your way round a bike, buying one that needs some small repairs can save you a fortune.

mxp27824

If you take a look at the recommended bikes at the bottom of this page there are quite a few to choose from. Then, like you've been doing, keep your eyes peeled on eBay. I'm another one who managed to pick up a Voodoo Hoodoo for a bargain price, there are a lot of quality bikes out there going cheaply if you're patient enough to wait.

wmorgs

If You Can Collect In South Wales, Could Also Visit Afan Trials Same Time
viewtopic.php?f=40089&t=13011115

JamJay

Thank you, everyone. You've all been really helpful so I'm defintely going to stick around and pick your brains in future. Who knows, maybe one day i'll be knowledgeable enough to offer advice.

I just made a purchase . It's a Speciaized Hardrock Sport Disc which has been stored for a little while. Condition is very good and it has a few lightweight upgrades, albeit the forks aren't one so that's something to address when I get comfortable with it.
I chose this, in the absence of the VooDoo HooDoo or some Carrera's (which to be fair for the cash looked amazing) in my area or budget but, more so because it would appear that there's nothing inherently wrong with the Hardrock, it just needs upgrades for the more serious rider and, I love mechanics so maybe that's a nice project. That's what the reviews have me believe anyway but, it rides nicely and it feels lighter than the Dawes.

I'll see how I get on with it but for under £200, I doubt I'll lose much on it if after some serious stuff I decide to move on, maybe with some more disposable money at that time.