What bike for under £500

[aussieal]

Evening all

I'm planning on taking advantage of the cycle to work scheme with work, albeit I'm obviously WFH and have no intention to use to commute once the current issues have passed.

I'm 39, 6'2", decent level of fitness and haven't owned a bike since my early twenties, so have zero clue on where to start.

WIll be used to get out for some fresh air, mainly flat coastal routes, with some light off road action, will also be out with the kids as they start to grow in confidence on two wheels.

Any suggestions on what to look at would be welcome, I've looked at hybrids and some entry level mountain bikes, either of which I suspect would work. In particular quite like:

GT Transeo Elite
Giant Escape
GT Aggressor Expert
Specialized Crosstrail

Anything I should be looking out for, or particular recommendations for under £500?

Thanks

Alex

[old'uns]

Brave man, well done......coming on here with a £500 budget, no expert but I'm sure any will do the job you need. Try them for size if possible, difficult obviously at this time.
Awaits the 'if you could just stretch your budget....' replies. ☺

[aussieal]

It's my first venture in to this corner of the PH community, but from having a read through the posts I can see there is the usual, no prisoners approach to budget

[SamR380]

I don't have any particular recommendations but in general I'd avoid anything with a suspension fork. A cheap suspension fork doesn't add much value but will mean money hasn't been spent in more important areas (like lighter wheels... they do make a big difference).

Also I'd avoid the big American brands and look at 'own brand' bikes like Pinnacle and Calibre, you'll get better value for money.

[Usget]

A little over budget but Decathlon are a good starting point for good quality bikes at a reasonable price - and they are fine with C2W vouchers.

https://www.decathlon.co.uk/st-900-mountain-bike-g...

This one is a little over £500 but has a good spec for the money and would be more than capable.

Alternatively as mentioned the Pinnacle Ramin is a great bike.

[MockingJay]

Disc brake gravel bike for £600

https://winstanleysbikes.co.uk/raleigh-mustang-spo...

[rockandrollmark]

Good to see the time honoured practice of taking the OP's budget and adding x is still being respected

Assuming the sizing works for you, this Kona is a lot less "budget" than most at this price point, is from a bricks and mortar store, so you can go and have a look at it, and assuming the sizing works for you (...which at 6'2" I expect an XL which they currently have stock of would), this is £3.40 under budget, so you could treat yourself to a Starbucks to celebrate and still have change.

https://www.gooutdoors.co.uk/15910014/kona-fire-mo...

Geo from Kona's website here:
https://www.konaworld.com/fire_mountain.cfm

[Pieman68]

aussieal said:

Evening all

I'm planning on taking advantage of the cycle to work scheme with work, albeit I'm obviously WFH and have no intention to use to commute once the current issues have passed.

I'm 39, 6'2", decent level of fitness and haven't owned a bike since my early twenties, so have zero clue on where to start.

WIll be used to get out for some fresh air, mainly flat coastal routes, with some light off road action, will also be out with the kids as they start to grow in confidence on two wheels.

Any suggestions on what to look at would be welcome, I've looked at hybrids and some entry level mountain bikes, either of which I suspect would work. In particular quite like:

GT Transeo Elite
Giant Escape
GT Aggressor Expert
Specialized Crosstrail

Anything I should be looking out for, or particular recommendations for under £500?

Thanks

Alex

Not much experience across the board but I'm 6'3" and got myself a GT Transeo 3.0 a coupe of years ago in the XL frame size and have to say it's a really nice bike for the money I paid (I believe I got the 2014 model but a coupe of years later so at a reduced price)

[aussieal]

Tanks guys, appreciate the suggestions.

THe Kona looks a good option, might need to get my head around the colour though!

Good to get an opinion on the GT sizing too, thanks.

[lllnorrislll]

Last minute suggestion ...


https://www.rutlandcycling.com/bikes/hybrid-bikes/...

[aussieal]

I’ve just been getting my head around the cycle scheme, as the calculator I was using didn’t seem to be reducing the net monthly if you extended the agreement.

In the meantime, I came across the Boardman MTX 8.8, which seems to be a really good spec for £575. Any views?

[SamR380]

The Deore groupset is nice and it's not mega heavy. I can't beleive it was ever 'worth' £800 quid but at that price it looks alright.

[aussieal]

Yeah, not sure I’d have paid the premium for it at full price, but compares well against other bikes around the £500/600 bracket.

[Kawasicki]

rockandrollmark said:

Good to see the time honoured practice of taking the OP's budget and adding x is still being respected

Assuming the sizing works for you, this Kona is a lot less "budget" than most at this price point, is from a bricks and mortar store, so you can go and have a look at it, and assuming the sizing works for you (...which at 6'2" I expect an XL which they currently have stock of would), this is £3.40 under budget, so you could treat yourself to a Starbucks to celebrate and still have change.

https://www.gooutdoors.co.uk/15910014/kona-fire-mo...

Geo from Kona's website here:
https://www.konaworld.com/fire_mountain.cfm

Nice suggestion. To my eyes that looks excellent vfm!

[loskie]

OP is your budget £500 RRP or after the CTWS Benefits? Is your scheme tied to a particular retailer? I have just ordered one on this scheme for the first time from CycleSolutions who seemed to have a good choice. I am awaiting delivery today as it happens.

https://www.cyclesolutions.co.uk/bikes/hybrid-bike...

so on the scheme a £700 bike would fall into your £500 budget

[aussieal]

The budget was just based on what I thought was a reasonable amount to spend on the bike for what I'll use it for - family bike rides, probably a couple of rides a week on my own, perhaps to the station when commuting again.

[aussieal]

loskie said:

OP is your budget £500 RRP or after the CTWS Benefits? Is your scheme tied to a particular retailer? I have just ordered one on this scheme for the first time from CycleSolutions who seemed to have a good choice. I am awaiting delivery today as it happens.

https://www.cyclesolutions.co.uk/bikes/hybrid-bike...

so on the scheme a £700 bike would fall into your £500 budget

Meant to ask, what did you go for?

[loskie]

I'm always wary to answer such a questions on PH because of all the know alls that respond

HOWEVER


https://www.cyclesolutions.co.uk/60124/products/gi...



it arrived today as I was in a telecon!

[aussieal]

Looks good, probably a bit more focussed than what I'm after.

Enjoy your daily exercise!

[ReverendCounter]

Specialised Sirrus X 2.0 2020 - £550

https://www.evanscycles.com/specialized-sirrus-x-2...