Looking to buy a first mountain bike.

[XitUp]

First since I was a kid anyway.

Was looking at getting something sub £300 but I've seen there are loads of shops that do 0% finance.

Is this a good deal? £600 for a Specialized Hardrock Pro - http://www.hargrovescycles.co.uk/products.asp?cate...

That's about the limit of my budget if I'm paying it off monthly.

If anyone can recommend anything else I'm all ears.

Ta.

[TheGreatSoprendo]

I think you'll struggle to beat this for value at £440 with the current 20% additional discount.

http://www.halfords.com/webapp/wcs/stores/servlet/...

[XitUp]

Yeah, looked at some of the Halfords stuff yesterday. The lad there said they were bringing out a new range soon and they would probably have introductory offers too. Do they do 0% finance on them?

Also, I'd rather support a LBS. The link I posted above isn't one, but a shop near me has the same bike for the same price.

[anonymous-user]

the carrera is a bargain. you have to ask yourself, can you forsee the relationship with your lbs being worth the sum of the discount on the carrera??

[XitUp]

Nope, but is the halfords bike as good as the other one? And do halfords do 0% finance?

[Antony Moxey]

XitUp said:

Nope, but is the halfords bike as good as the other one? And do halfords do 0% finance?

And do the mechanics know how to put one together?

[Garett]

I can recommend the hardrock pro, me and the Mrs picked one up each last week, great bikes so easy to ride and controllable, and they look great in shiny red or matte black.

[Engineer1]

Halfords have an iffy rep for bikes they sell loads but the build and repair skills can be inconsistent, I suspect a real lbs will have a mechanic they can trust who knows exactly what they are doing rather than a team of guys who are reading instructions some of whom are cyclists others are just youngsters earning beer money.

[anonymous-user]

The Halfords offer is unbeatable! Also they are my LBS! If you believe those who always slag off their skills then take it home in the box & build yourself, the gears are indexed at the factory. All you need to do is fit front wheel & saddle + minor adjustment, takes all of 30 mins.

[TheGreatSoprendo]

XitUp said:

Nope, but is the halfords bike as good as the other one?

The Carrera has a much better spec than the Spesh (particularly the fork and the brakes - which IMO are the two most important elements if you plan to do any serious off road riding) and is £160 cheaper. It's a no brainer IMO.

There's always plenty of talk about Halfords aptitude in putting bikes together, but I wonder how much of that is perception versus reality. For my part, I got a Boardman Pro HT from them last year (thru Cycle to Work) and it was built impecably and has survived a year of some pretty punishing off roading (mostly at Afan) without a murmer. If when you get the bike, you think there's some kind of issue, you could always take it to a local bike mechanic and pay them 20 quid (or whatever) to set it up, but the shop doesn't have to do much to set the bike up, so it seems unlikely they'd screw it up that badly.

[Garett]

Halfords don't do 0% finance or finance at all IIRC.

Just because the Halfords bikes are good on paper doesn't mean they are, building bikes to a budget means they have to cut back somewhere so good spec probably means they've cut back on the frame


Best thing to do is ride some bikes and see which one feels right.

[anonymous-user]

Garett said:

Halfords don't do 0% finance or finance at all IIRC.

Just because the Halfords bikes are good on paper doesn't mean they are, building bikes to a budget means they have to cut back somewhere so good spec probably means they've cut back on the frame


Best thing to do is ride some bikes and see which one feels right.

All they have cut back on is paying the middleman. Same sa Decathlon sports Rockrider 8.1 which also is highly praised by bikemagazine reviews. Halfords & Decathlon sell their own branded bikes directly so can offer exceptional value. The forks/gears on the Rockrider 8.1 & Carrera Fury would sell for close to the price of the whole bike...

[Winder]

I'd avoid Halfords. Even the better of their bikes tend to be on the heavy side. Try a Giant or Marin but there's an old adage that you just can't make a decent bike for under $300.

[anonymous-user]

The Carrera Fury is a gnats xxxx lighter than the Specialised Rockhopper - i'm picking mine up later!!

[anonymous-user]

if you dont want a bike from halfrods, just say so, but donot use thier build quality as an excuse. if you have any doubts, buy it boxed off the internet, get it sent to the store, take it home and build it yourself. you know that all the parts are lubed, to the correct torque and its safe to ride. its not hard.

[Sterls]

I've got the Fury and love it! Been Cannock and Chicksands with it, plan on a trip to the Peaks sometime this year.

[One8Two]

Another vote for the Fury here. I'd bought a road bike earlier last year so couldn't justify a big spend on a MB 6 months later. Fortunately there was a similar offer on last October so picked one up for around the same price.

Have to say so far I've been very impressed with the fury, for the price it is by far the best bike you'll get. Try not to be snobbish about the brand!

(oh and if you're waiting for the 2011 bike, i'd say its likely to be worse specced and more expensive...)

Dan