Buying a mountain bike on a budget

[stuartw101]

I was wondering if anyone could suggest any bikes for me for a budget of £170? I will be using the bike mainly to cycle to work, and occasionaly off road.

Im not really sure what sort of size bike i should get, im 6ft 3. I was told not to get full suspension on my budget as it will likely be lower quality.

I have seen the GT Aggressor 07 and Univega Alpina HT Sport that seem to be any good for the price. I don't know much about bikes so if you could help suggest a few that would be great. I have asked on a couple of biking forums but want to get as many suggestions as possible.

Thanks

[JPreston]

That's a very tight budget but the GT Aggressor is pretty highly regarded for the price. If you can find one on sale, look at the Carrera Vulcan at Halfords. It doesn't sound as though you want it for anything too hardcore so either one of those will do. Get some slick or semi-slick tyres for road use and you'll be away. Don't consider anything by Apollo, or Saracen, or any full suspension bikes (as you've been told correct ).

You need to ride it before buying really, but I'm 5'10" with a medium GT frame which comes up smallish so you will want the large in all likelihood. If you could spend an extra £100 you'd get a much better bike.....but that's pretty much the case all the way up to about £1200

EDIT: oh if you can get to a Decathlon their bikes are phenomenally good value.

[moogle]

get a large frame if your getting a gt, large = 20" to their specs. if its just for work and you go on the road all the time. aggressors not bad for that price, dunno if the seat is good but when i bike for long i prefer those big bum seats that are nice and cushiony, they make riding so easy.

[wither2000]

Go secondhand with that budget and you can get something much better value. Lots of people buy bikes ride them twice then leave them in the shed for a year before selling for half price they paid. Check your local free adds paper.

[moogle]

Go secondhand with that budget and you can get something much better value. Lots of people buy bikes ride them twice then leave them in the shed for a year before selling for half price they paid. Check your local free adds paper.

gumtree.com is a good place to get some.

[Lowe]

Yup, defo go second hand.

I got a Claud Butler Ravana for 75 quid, then spent about the same in upgrades - the bike itself has a half decent frame, but the bits and bobs were a bit naff. After a few upgrades it's now half decent, and I've got a lot more bike for buck than if I'd spent the same on a new bike. Oh and, after you've had a couple of prangs (and you will on the trails) a new bike will look like a 2nd hand bike anyway!

[Dorza]

Being into my bikes and knowing what kind of junk you would typically get for less than £200 I would have said go the second hand route. You can easily pick up a specialized rockhopper for £155 and it would be MILES better than any new bike for that sort of price. But then if you want it new, which is understandable and are on a budget, just stay the hell away from Apollo. I have to be honest though, if your going to be using it a lot on the road, it is worth the investment in a decent bike.

You mentioned cycling to work, well take a look here. Not sure how it works but it might be worth a look in because you could get a much better bike and pay much less for it than what you would normally have to pay.

[stuartw101]

Thanks for the replies so far

Im kind of in a hurry to get this bike really, im having to walk for 40mins to work at the moment and with the awful weather i dont fancy getting soaked every day lol

I have had a brief look at some second hand bikes, but as i dont know much about them i dont wanna take the chance of getting a bike which is crap.

I may stretch to £200 for a new bike if its really good.

[JPreston]

Here's a very very good deal indeed:

http://www.bikescene.co.uk/moreinfo....on=1190&sale=1

The frame has to be worth at least £90 alone, it is normally built up into a £350+ bike (not a particularly good bike for £350 IMO, but it has plenty of fans). What this place seem to have done is build up the frame with the absolute cheapest components but hey, it's still a full working bike that would be absolutely fine for commuting and some off-road and one which you could upgrade as you like later on. You could stick a cheap but OK suspension fork like this on it (note, you'll need v-brake mounts unless you want to buy new hubs too) and still have change out of your £170!

[Dorza]

Thats actually quite a bargain for £170 @ £90 minus the suspension its a bargain, pretty much all aluminum too which is good. The Dart forks aren't all that bad either, they're fitted to quite a lot of bikes. I beleive that would be quite a nice bike for the work run, since it would be light and reasonably strong.

[JPreston]

Crazy crazy price isn't it? As it happens I'm still using the Dart 2s that came on my £400 GT, yeah they're OK.

As Hardrocks are sold everywhere, the OP can try one out for size at his local bike shop and then order up that deal

[herulach]

If you have one near you, Edinburgh Bike Coops cheap hybrids are very good value, panniers, full guards, perfect for commuting & light off road (although obviously not with slicks on) imo youre better off with a rigid fork than a cheap suspension one, especially over such a short distance.

[Tumble]

Personally I don't think budget bikes are worth it... I spent £1000 on mine 7 years ago, and bar some maintenance items like new cranks and stuff it's still as good as when I bought it - and it's had some horrific abuse in it's life too (snapped a handlebar in one crash). Get the most expensive one you can afford and it'll last you for ever(ish)

[JPreston]

Ha ha ha they'e changed my link to just the frame, not a complete bike now. Someone obviously made a boo-boo before...wonder if they'll honour any sales. Oh well...

[Dorza]

Personally I don't think budget bikes are worth it...

I agree. I have a very rare Kona Koa, which I had as a present literally 10 years ago this month. I must have done somewhere in the region of 700-900 miles on the thing and it is still going strong. I haven't used it much in recent years due to me having a couple of newer bikes, but its still a fantastic little bike. I'll never get rid of it now.

It really isn't worth getting a crap bike, and for informations sake you will be hard pushed to get a good bike for less than £280.

... and it's had some horrific abuse in it's life too (snapped a handlebar in one crash).

Explains your screen name ....

[arbitor]

As said, its not worth it.

I have always been into bikes, not anymore as i cba with them.

But in short, if you buy a new bike at anything less than 4/500 quid its going to be built with cheap shimano gear components which will break, probablt half plstic cranks and a choclate bottom bracket, then theres the rims if your anything over 12 stone then cheap rims buckle on anything and eventually the wheels will be way out of sync.
Also you may get drawn to buying a cheap bike as they have put disc brakes on it, do not. My disc brakes cost 250 quid, and they are not top of the range. Any thing less than about 70 quid a break and a brand name isnt worth it, as decent Vs are as good.

Also I would deffo buy second hand, i got my latest bike from gumtree, for 310, and as i said theres 250 quids worth of brakes, another 300 ish on the forks, then about the same again for the frame, and this isnt to mention the race face cranks and headset and the hope hubs laced onto mavic rims....

And all that for 310 quid......

And at the end of the day, what does a new bike do better than an old bike? not a vast amount, mine is based around a planet x frame that is probably 8 years old but its still one of the best for what its built for out there imo.