Buying two bikes - Mens under £900 and Womens under £400

bison26
bison26 Posts: 5
edited May 2015 in MTB buying advice
Hi Everyone

A bit of assistance would be appreciated!... we are fairly new into MTB and looking to get two bikes to get on the trails. Intending to do Blue/Red routes in Lake District, Wales and Scotland.

For my Fiancee, we are looking to spend £400 max. Will need a 15" frame as she is 5'5''. Looking at the Specialized Jynx Sport which is exactly £400.

- http://www.evanscycles.com/products/spe ... tAodiW4AdQ

Or the B'Twin Rockrider 520 which gets a lot of good feedback in these forums.

http://www.btwin.com/en/mountain-bikes/ ... r-520.html


Need something which will be touch enough for red routes, so if anyone has any thoughts or other options that would be great.

As for me, Im thinking of the Scott Scale 760 which falls within budget but I would be interested to know if anyone has any alternative suggestions. If I could get away with spending less that would be great!

Many thanks! :)

Comments

  • robertpb
    robertpb Posts: 1,866
    If you are looking to get a decent bike for £400 then this is what to go for,http://www.gooutdoors.co.uk/calibre-two-two-alloy-hardtail-mountain-bike-p275612

    There are some pretty good women specific bikes these days but not at this price, there is a lot more choice staying away from them.
    Now where's that "Get Out of Crash Free Card"
  • cooldad
    cooldad Posts: 32,599
    As a matter of interest, why a pretty cr4ppy one for her and a decent one for you?

    That Specialised is a bit rubbish. The Rockrider is better.
    I don't do smileys.

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  • bison26
    bison26 Posts: 5
    cooldad wrote:
    As a matter of interest, why a pretty cr4ppy one for her and a decent one for you?

    That Specialised is a bit rubbish. The Rockrider is better.

    Haha ....well I can get a bike on the Cycle2Work Scheme so might as well get a better one. Plus, I ride the trails a bit harder so probably need something to handle the technical trails a bit

    Thanks - I do like the look of the one from Go Outdoors, particularly as it has RockShox forks on it

    An alternative to the Scott 760 for me is the Saracen Mantra Pro http://www.tredz.co.uk/.Saracen-Mantra- ... _72852.htm

    Or this one from Pauls Cycles (albeit im not sure about the Colour!)

    http://www.paulscycles.co.uk/m1b0s155p5 ... -29-1-2014
  • bison26
    bison26 Posts: 5
    Having thought about this today I think im down to two choices for the £400 one:

    The Calibre Two Two from Go Outdoors £379

    Or

    The Carrera Vulcan 16" from Halfords £323.99 including 10% discount code

    Cant choose between the two so any help appreciated!

    Thanks
  • kajjal
    kajjal Posts: 3,380
    Based on my experience take the mrs to a bike shop and let her decide after test riding. No point buying a good spec bike at a decent price she won't ride.
  • Okarnill
    Okarnill Posts: 20
    Just wanted to say that the Calibre - beautiful bike tho it is will probably be too big. They don't come that small (18 I think) and at 5' 4 it was both too big and with too long a reach for me, and there was barely any standover (or trust me one would have been coming home!) Calibre seriously need to realise that it's not just men who want to ride decent bikes.

    Good luck in the search for both of them :)
  • The Rookie
    The Rookie Posts: 27,812
    The two-two is a much better bike than the Vulcan, but the Vulcan does tick the boxes for having the minimum level of parts needed for proper MTBing these days (Hydraulic brakes and damped forks).

    Calibre=go outdoors - it's their own brand.
    Currently riding a Whyte T130C, X0 drivetrain, Magura Trail brakes converted to mixed wheel size (homebuilt wheels) with 140mm Fox 34 Rhythm and RP23 suspension. 12.2Kg.
  • bison26
    bison26 Posts: 5
    Okarnill wrote:
    Just wanted to say that the Calibre - beautiful bike tho it is will probably be too big. They don't come that small (18 I think) and at 5' 4 it was both too big and with too long a reach for me, and there was barely any standover (or trust me one would have been coming home!) Calibre seriously need to realise that it's not just men who want to ride decent bikes.

    Good luck in the search for both of them :)


    Thanks for your help guys - I did wonder about the sizing of the Calibre - the sizing on the Go Outdoors website is peculiar and is out of sync with other size charts!

    As for me, im going to go with the Voodoo Bizango - it seems to tick all the boxes and is well respected, and is quite a bit less money which is a bonus!

    Cheers 8)
  • Okarnill
    Okarnill Posts: 20
    <<mutters dark comments about voodoo's only coming in 18 or 20 too....> Nice bike! Sure you will really enjoy whatever you get.

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