Mountain bikes

[tribal_tiger]

Right,

Finall got my money through for a new bike, I'm just not sure which one to get.

I've £300 to spend and I've found a web site that seems to be well priced.

The 3 that have caught my eye are:

A) Claude Butler Rock

Key features include:

RockShox Judy J1 alloy suspension forks with 100mm travel
Alloy 6061 series frame with custom profile tubing
Shimano Deore 24 speed gears with E.Z.Fire shifters
Weinmann double wall aero profile quick release wheels
Truvativ chainset fitted to a sealed cartridge bottom bracket
£244.99

B) Schwinn Mesa GS Disc

Key features include:

N'Litened Gold Label custom drawn aluminium frame
Front & rear Hayes MX-2 mechanical disc brakes
Manitou suspension forks with preload & 100mm travel
Shimano Deore 24 speed gears with E.Z.Fire shifters
Truvativ chainset fitted to a sealed cartridge bottom bracket
£249.99

or C) Saracen Dirtrax 1

Key features include:

Rockshox J1 alloy suspension forks with 100mm travel
Hi-performance profiled 7005 T6 aluminium frame
Shimano Alivio 24 speed gears system with trigger shifters
Truvativ X-Flow chainset fitted to a sealed cartridge B/B
Full alloy disc hub fit quick release wheels with Tioga tyres
£269.99

I know some of your are right into mountain bikes on here so I though I'd get a general feeling. I'm only really going to be using it for travling to work and back, nothing really to heavy going.

Let me know!
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How much wood would a woodchuck chuck if a woodchuck could Chuck Norris?

All of it.

[G]

Considered looking second hand?

https://www.bikemagic.com/ is a good start.

Should be able to get a pretty decent spec from a couple of years ago with, I would expect, relativelty much better components.

[tribal_tiger]

Damn it G!!!

I finally get it down to 3 bikes and you open up a whole new can of worms!!!!

Now I've seen this!

Giant XTC 4 - large frame.
Rock Shock 'Duke' forks.
New FSA headset.
MPH Hydrolic brakes.
Shimano DEORE rapid fire shifters.
Shimano DEORE bottom braket.
Shimano DEORE front mech.
Shimano DEORE LX rear mech.
Front and back Shimano hubs.
New tyres.
All round excellent condition. All viewers welcome, can deliver.


No idea what any of it means, but it seems nice!! £300.

Worth it or not? I've sent the guy an email and will wait to hear back.
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How much wood would a woodchuck chuck if a woodchuck could Chuck Norris?

All of it.

[Louise]

300 quid you can get a half decent bike. Depends what you will use it for.
Paid 500 for my TREK 4500 last year, still the same price now. They do some nice looking bikes for 300 also, worth a look.

[tribal_tiger]

Can you remember where that was from?
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All of it.

[feef]

Out of those, I'd look at the Claude Butler.. but Kona and Trek do some good ones at that price too..

a
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[Louise]

C/Butler have some nice models. Kat has one, but dosnt ride it
Got mine off a shop In Brighton

[Irezumi aka Reuben]

Claud Butler frame's are pretty decent and solid nowadays. If you intened to ride the thing alot I'd consider picking up a 2006 bike from somewhere though, or going second hand.

Specialized, Kona, Trek and Marin spring to mind as good solid entry level hard-tails. I like the look of Marin's personally but found they felt too bulky and heavy for my build compared to other's.

[tribal_tiger]

I'll just need to check at work that I'm OK to get a 2nd hand one. The money is a work bike loan, so I'm meant to provide them with receipts, so they know the money went on a bike!

I've just seen a Trek 8000 for £175. Only trouble is that it's quite far away. It's in one of the free ad papers so I'm a bit wary of sending them money and trusting them to post it out.

I've not been able to find much Kona or Trek stuff in my price range after that.
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How much wood would a woodchuck chuck if a woodchuck could Chuck Norris?

All of it.

[EuropeanNC30R...]

For that budget I would first try to find a discounted 2006 bike in your size, or go for a 2007 GT Avalanche or Specialized Hardrock.

https://www.evanscycles.com/product.jsp?style=70060
https://www.evanscycles.com/product.jsp?style=70222

The entry level Kona hardtails are not good value for money IMO, same for the cheaper Marin's. (I own two Kona's so not biased)

[G]

Ah, if it's a work bike loan done through the company scheme, it makes sense for it to be new - as you get VAT off etc.

I got a top of the Range GT Avalanche through that with a load of bits (total RRP spent £1250, paying back about £550) and generally like it, a few niggling bits, but that's with components that are used on other similar bikes (ie shimano gears, etc).

[tribal_tiger]

I've been eyeing up that Hardrock already!! They have one in a shop down the road for the same price as Evans.

Am i right in thinking that in my price range I'm probably better to go for V rather than disc brakes?
____________________
How much wood would a woodchuck chuck if a woodchuck could Chuck Norris?

All of it.

[EuropeanNC30R...]

Depends, good Mechanical disk brakes will be better than V's, crap ones won't. The brakes on the GT I suspect are probably better than the Hardrock's.

If you use your bike off-road lots in crap weather or on muddy trails the disks will be give a good advantage in terms of mud clearance and the brakes will work properly for longer.

If you don't the Hardrock does look good and buying from a local bike shop can often be very handy.

[cagiva gezzer]

As said, go for a 2006 bike and stay away from cheap discs. Nothing much between the three bikes you've chosen.
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"because one stroke isnt enough and four strokes waste two"

[Tarmacsurfer]

It amazes me. I downhilled using an extremely bastardised Raleigh "mustang" (brown and tan frame) with a set of Eclipse forks and an old (third or fourth hand off a pushbike courier I rode with) set of Biopace rings on an early shimano derailleur (no, it was the end of the eighties, I have no idea what the hell it was or what the back mech was). Heavy as hell, but a good turn of speed once she got going. I wanted a Muddy Fox so badly, and even now find myself gazing longingly at the "Specialized" site.

Looking at the stuff that's raced now and it's like watching DT125s being run downhill without an engine

How good is this for road work and commuting though? I assume you'll be putting a set of narrow tyres on whatever you end up with?

TS
Wandering off to look longingly at pushbikes
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[EuropeanNC30R...]

You mean like one of these?

https://www.vorb.org.nz/images/attach/pbpic138183.jpg

Think the production ones actually had forks off an 80cc MX bike.

[G]

Dusty has a 2006 Carrera Fury (Yes halfords ) - generally been pretty good and he paid rrp of £500 (well, got a bit off as it was display), so might be a bit cheaper now for a 2006 model.

The disc brakes work pretty well and adjustable front suspension with lock out is useful and works decently when not locked (85-130mm of travel, iirc).

[tribal_tiger]

Well I've made my mind up and am going for the hardrock


Until i saw the Saracan Dirtrax 2 2006 model for the same price so I think i might now go for that! It seems to have better componants and from what I've read should be a fair bit lighter!
____________________
How much wood would a woodchuck chuck if a woodchuck could Chuck Norris?

All of it.

[primalcarl]

Ask this same question on www.singletrackworld.co.uk and you should get a good response, someone may even point you to an even better bargain they know of

[Racheldawn]

They all look like good bikes, so I've got no advice on those. I had a Saracen Awol with full suspension and it was way too heavy.

[colin1]

i wish ppl selling their bikes on ebay would list the bikes weight, as its seems quite important to me

[Teaman]

well I guess that unless people are going to be more profesional at there bikes I doubt they would be doing a full description with weight , what rims, spokes, who built it and so on, on ebay
I think they would leave all that lot out unless you sent them a pm asking all the relivant info.
I also presume that if you know what your looking for the weight think will be second as you have a rough idea in the first place.

Ive become somewhat out of touch as to the new bits and bobs but I can still tell that cheep will no doubt doubt be heavy and also carp in the long run

Its not only a case of buying a bike you think looks nice, tehres no point in buying one without some time sitting on it, possibly a short test ride. Like I found out with my gt avalanche, its not bad but a short top tube gives it very twitchy handling, good for technical stuff but a harsh ride.

but yeah. look for a second hand bike, check the conditions of the wheels and rims and also check that the brakes pull even if there v brakes, if disk, check the pads and if there hydrolic check the whole system if you can
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Someone stupid does not realise they r stupid.stupidity is indistinguishable from malice U just have to accept that some people are thick as p1gsh1t and work around them.

[G]

[primalcarl]

All of those above bikes will be 30lbs and over. Cheap bikes have heavy frames and wheels. You'd be suprised, even spending a few hundred quid above your budget doesnt make much difference with weight.

If you're bothered about weight, focus on a bike with a better quality frame but poorer components which you can upgrade in time.

Merlin do some very good value and reasonably light bikes

www.merlincycles.com