Mountain Bike

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Mushroomhead

Mushroomhead

I'm so sorry I made a mistake!!
Feb 1, 2004
5,922
113
Behind You
Ohh yes, I'm making another thread re: bikes! After all of the other threads, I still haven't managed to buy one, but given my new surroundings at uni, I would really benefit from having a bike that doesn't make riding torture.

I've just had a look around a few websites, and shocked myself at how little I actually know. And when comparing bikes, I'm struggling to see where the difference in cost comes in.

So, if anyone is still alive out there with an interest in bikes, who isn't bored from replying to all my other threads, here goes...

I would like to acquire a...
- Mountain Bike
- Hard Tail
- Adjustable F/S
- Disc Brakes
- Gears (21 is plenty)

The makes I prefer through hearsay and friends are: Giant and Kona. Though Specialised have appeared from nowhere and seem to be pretty popular. Other brands I'm not against but know little about, GT, Trek, Scott.

I've had a few £250 and cheaper MTBs which just seem to fallapart. Main problems Wheels, Brakes and Gears.
- Wheels buckle very easily.
- Gears become unresponsive
- Brakes are a pain in the neck to adjust and become unresponsive

I had a figure in my head of around £500, but like I say, I don't know why I'm paying that much, more just hoping for a better bike. Can I get a decent bike for less than that inline with the above specs?

If anyone reads this and helps me out, thanks very much :kiss:
 
hehe the bikes i buy get cheaper and cheaper as they are stolen every fucking time... i wouldnt pay too much money tbh

i just bought a new one which was i got for 220€ instead of 450€, i usually buy bikes above 500€ but... (see above)
made good experience with those - last 2 were from bergamont (a rather small brand)

i d go with a model from last season as they re like 20% cheaper and they just as good as the new ones because nothing really changes on the specs

disc-brakes... quality disc brakes are good but i dont think u get those for 500ish, i guess i love just my v-brakes

i myself got 21gears but i wish i had more as i run out of gears rather quickly, using only that last 2 gears which is actually not a good idea

if u want ur bike last a little longer u need to clean it once in a while :P
 
the main question is.. what do you want to do with your bike?
 
Mainly will be for riding for fun/fitness. But I'm also going to be taking it off road, not to an extreme level, again for fun. But I want it to be able to cope with off road terrain.
 
personally, i would deffo try and find a last season bike, you get em cheaper, coz they aint this season's colour or whatever, but usually the technology on them is almost identical. I've been looking for myself lately (more dreaming that actually being able to buy tbh) and there are a few good options out there. Any idea what size you gonna need so I can look at some options for ya?

and what do you mean by adjustable front suspension? do you want to be able to lock it out for commuting? or just be able to change the bounciness of it?

Oh, and how knarly you think the offroad shizzle your going to do will be? or will it be a case of as you get better at it, the knarlier it will be...?
 
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a couple to get some ideas going... I'm using evans online to look as they are all over the place and hopefully there is one not too far from you :)

Scott Aspect 45. My Mrs has a Scott Contessa 30 which, tbh for the £250 we paid for it (last season's stock/paint job) is a pretty awesome bike. Pretty good forks, excellent build quality and no problems with it at all since bought in Aug 2006. Admittedly it hasnt been ridden every weekend and the stuff she does on it is fairly basic off road wise, but has been a really good buy. I've always liked Scott bikes, i think they look the biz usually and the bits that come on em are pretty good.

Incidentally, if you're going for disc brakes, I would suggest paying the extra few quid and getting Hydrolics (as this Scott has).

Kona Blast. Decent bike, nice make, decent forks, Mechanical discs...

Saracen Trace 2 (2008). Saracen wouldnt be my 1st choice, but the spec on this one is pretty good, and £200 off list price for a 2008 bike cant be bad... on the other side of this tho, you have to wonder why they have them still available - not popular for a reason maybe? I should note, i havent read reviews to check it out...

And of course, you could always opt for the old faithful of the Specialised Hardrock. Specialised have always had a good name, and have the history of quality bikes etc. Another one to consider anyway.

The only other one I would pick out of the bunch at that kinda price range would be the Kona Fire Mountain that you already posted. That looks like a proper ride, and at good money too :nod:

P.S. You better buy one this time ya loser :p:

Thing is, only you are going to know what feels right to you as a rider. What I would be doing is going to your local dealer, and test riding as many as they let you to help you make your decision. There will undoubtedly be something that works for you better than another.
 
Hey man, cheers for all those! I had already considered most of them :)

Saracen would be nice but as its 2008, they only have silly sizes left! I've been using Evans and Wiggle to look, but I've narrowed it down to two bikes now which neither have! (Evans isn't very close to Kent or Dorset!)

I'm looking at the...
Trek 4300 Disc
Giant Talon 3

I prefer the paint job of the Trek, but its quite hard to track one down at the moment, my local dealer is expecting the next shipment in January :o Bizarely, my dealer did have both of these on display to look at which was a nice suprise cos hardly anywhere has what I wanted, let alone both, next to each other!
 
of the 2 i would go for the trek, on looks, but the giant on package overall. they fairly similar to one another tbh in terms of the spec. but the giant edges it in that department imo.

Have you looked for any reviews @ MTBUK or any other bike mag online? they sometimes do a best of the £xxx price bracket type thing.
 
I've had a general look, but the MTB market seems the most indecisive of all. For everything one person says, another disagrees, almost in perfect symmetry. So I've tried to go on major things like, brands that have been bought out/gone bankrupt and other major things rather than just oppinion. Main 3 names that come out shining seems to be Giant, Trek and Specialised, and Specialised seem to be the more expensive.
 
Found the last Trek 4300 Disc in all of Kent and Dorset :D

There we go all, I shall finally stop pestering you all about which bike to buy. I feel abit like channel 4 must have felt when they aired the last episode of Friends.... well, what now? !
 
erm, well, if by near u mean just less than 2 hours, then yes :P but i'm 40 mins from hamsterley forest, and 90 mins or so from Kielder. Both pretty good for off road trails :nod:
 
Mushroomhead said:
Don't you worry I will :) Is sand particularly bad for MTBs?!
Click to expand...

yes, it can be... its a bit abraisive on the bearings and all moving parts (thinking suspension forks there)... bit like SAND paper if u like...

If you go on sand tho, just give it a good wash down when your done and it shouldnt cause too much of a problem... oh, and avoid the sea as well... i had a rather funny, but expensive experience with the sea... my gear mechs both either snapped or completely died after an afternoon playing in the sea... the back one snapped into my wheel, while still attached to the bike, meaning it locked the back up at speed, and promptly knacked the wheel as well... not cheap!
 
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