Entry Level MTB £600? Surprise entry!

abyrne.j

Hi All,

My 11 year old son wants to start MTB'ing and obviously cant go on his own so I'm now shopping around for an budget friendly MTB for myself so that I can join him on the trails. I was just about to push the button on a Specialized Rockhopper Sport or Trek Marlin 6 when I stumbled upon the Carrera Sulcata 3.2 in Halfords. Now, I know that Halfords have a reputation for subpar quality and Carrera are not up there with the likes of Specialized or Trek but at £525 this Sulcata 3.2 seems to have a much better spec...

Shimano Deore 1x11 Drivetrain with a 11-51T Casette.
SR Suntour 32 XCR Coil Fork.
Shimano BL -M210 Hydaulic Brakes.
Maxxis Ardent 2.25 Tyres.

Where as both the Specialized and Trek are running..

SR Suntour XCT/XCM Coil Forks.
Tektro HD-M275/6 Hydraulic Brakes.
Shimano Altus 2x8 Drivetrains.
Ground Control or Bontrager Tyres.

Am I right in assuming the Carrera is better spec'd and is coming in cheaper simply because of brand name or am I missing something?

I'd love to know the Geometry figures for the Carrera Sulcata 3.2 but I cant find them anywhere.

Opinions please.

PS. I got my son and Orbea MX XS Dirt, 27.5.

PMark

In my experience there isn't anything wrong with Halfords bikes (they are generally very good value for money), the problems only come if you are unlucky and find a store where the people putting the bike together aren't very good.

My local Halfords is very good for bikes, bent one of my wheels a while back and did a good job of truing it for only £20.

So as long as it fits him and it isn't a lot heavier than the other bikes, I would go for the halfords bike.

gomezz

I recently bought a Polygon Xtrada 5 from Go Outdoors for my granddaughter for Xmas. As yet she hasn't seen it but both her mother and myself have tried it and are very satisfied with it, it has a very good spec for £450.

abyrne.j

Thanks for responses. The bike is actually for me, I've already sorted my sons. I looked at the Polygon Xtrada 5 but this Carrera again seems better equipped with high spec components. I think I'm going to take a punt on it but I'd live to know the Geometry figures for it.

singleton

Did you look at Vitus?
https://vitusbikes.com/collections/nucleus

abyrne.j

oxoman said:

That would be my choice as a starter bike out of your list although this would be my choice for a little more. I had the 26" fury and it was bombproof.
https://www.halfords.com/bikes/mountain-bikes/carrera-fury-mens-mountain-bike-2020---red---s-m-l-frames-340550.html?_gl=1*1cmz9no*_up*MQ..*_ga*NTgzNTQ3OTA5LjE2MzgzOTEyMTg.*_ga_VK44BRER97*MTYzODM5MTIxNy4xLjEuMTYzODM5MTIyMi4w

I have heard really good review about this bike and didn't realise they had any in stock anywhere. Air forks, dropper and a Deore drivetrain for £650! Think I'm going to go for the Sulcata 3.2 though simply because of the amount of "bang for the buck"

abyrne.j

singleton said:

Did you look at Vitus?
https://vitusbikes.com/collections/nucleus

Yeah, I've had a look at them. They have been voted best budget MTB a number of times but when you look past that a lot of reviews claim the components fail very early and chain-reaction aren't very helpful when they do, forcing very early upgrades however, the bike is very upgradable with good Geometry and a Tapered Head set.

dtaylor243

It puzzles me why so many thinking about which bike to buy seem to obsess so much about components and value for money without considering personal bike fit ,you can raise or lower the saddle but reach is pretty much fixed , and rather than ask is this geometry better than that ask what geometry suits your intended use ,one day your 11 year old will be a 14 year old perhaps trying out jumps and riding bike park courses but will you? I recently bought a cheap used mountain bike because the frame and geometry suited me but it weighed over 15 kilos so I rebuilt with quality parts now it weighs 13 kilos but it's not a cheap bike anymore. Most entry level bikes I found were just too short for me, but then I did make life difficult by requiring 27.5 inch wheels.
It's best to narrow down your choices to only the bikes which fit you and geometry and fork travel required by the terrain you expect to ride.

abyrne.j

dtaylor243 said:

It puzzles me why so many thinking about which bike to buy seem to obsess so much about components and value for money without considering personal bike fit ,you can raise or lower the saddle but reach is pretty much fixed , and rather than ask is this geometry better than that ask what geometry suits your intended use ,one day your 11 year old will be a 14 year old perhaps trying out jumps and riding bike park courses but will you? I recently bought a cheap used mountain bike because the frame and geometry suited me but it weighed over 15 kilos so I rebuilt with quality parts now it weighs 13 kilos but it's not a cheap bike anymore. Most entry level bikes I found were just too short for me, but then I did make life difficult by requiring 27.5 inch wheels.
It's best to narrow down your choices to only the bikes which fit you and geometry and fork travel required by the terrain you expect to ride.

I already know what the bike will be used for and the Geometry figures which will suit but these are not listed anywhere for the Sulcata 3.2 hence me asking the question. In regards to components; When spending some of my hard earned cash, I want to get the best bike for the money and that comes down to the quality of the components/manufacturer. This thought process would be applied to any purchase that I make whether it be a bike, car or washing machine. Not only do I need a product which suits my needs but I also need a product which is going to last and be fit for purpose.

pblakeney

My general point when complete bike purchases come up - Buy the best frame.
Components are easily upgraded later. Frame not so much.