Halfords Bike?

danyolb

Hi Looking to buy a first bike, done plenty dirt jumping till I was 16 years old, I'm now 25. I'll probably begin with a few trails local to me (red routes) and lots of fells in the lake district. Looking for a bike to do trails/cross-country style I think.

Are there any decent ones at halfords I was hoping not to spend too much... Is the following any good?

https://www.halfords.com/cycling/bikes/ ... bestseller

Thank, any recommendations appreciated.

lemonenema

If you aren't looking to spend much I would get a decent hardtail rather than a full suspension, you'll get much better components for the same price and a lighter bike.

mattyfez

If you have to have a full suspension bike, the calibre boss nut from go-outdoors is about as cheap as you should go.

That voodoo doesn't have great components on it.

larkim

Others might disagree, but at the cheaper end of the market it seems to me that the front fork is the component to get right. It's an expensive item, if you get the wrong one on a cheap bike it will be disproportionately expensive to upgrade (in relation to the price of the rest of the bike) and you'll have a poor riding experience.

So whether you fork out the cash for a FS or take the advice on your other thread to consider a well specced hard tail, don't compromise on the front fork if you can help it. And by that, broadly that means making sure you get an air fork up front, whether that is the basic Suntour XCR air, or something a little nicer like the Raidon or one of RS's offerings.

On that basis alone, I'd rule out the bike linked here.

You'd be buying a FS bike which would most likely perform worse than a HT for £200 less like the Bizango, whcih is 3kg lighter and with a far better fork and other components.

If you really want a FS, in the face of advice contrary to what you want to hear based on your budget, no-one's going to stop you. But equally I doubt you'll get agreement that for £750 you can get a FS which is better VFM and fun than a HT at the same price (short of a 2nd hand bargain).

Plenty of people ride fun and fast at the sorts of trail places you're looking at riding on well equipped hard tails.

Bumo_b

My son picked up a Giant Trance 3 on ebay for £130 (needed new tyres etc) but was also looking at the higher end Decathlon Rockriders on ebay for about £150. Go into the stores though to check your sizing first. A lot of bike for little money (and normally some tidying up)

billycool

Larkim makes some very valid points.

For me, I'd rather have a decent HT than an entry level FS. £1000 would be the minimum with Calibre or maybe Vitus (maybe more £'s) or 2018 bike discounted (try Pauls Cycles).

You could buy the bike and chuck some better forks on. There are plenty of people always upgrading and selling on sensible stuff at good prices.

You can get a decent 2nd hand deal but you can also buy a complete dog.

Maybe get a HT or spend more and get a `better` FS?