Newbe needs advice

[v8nrg]

Hi all,

I’m thinking of getting a MTB for general off road / some road riding. I just want to improve my fitness without being stuck in the gym.

I have been told I want a hard tail and that a "GT Avalanche 3.0 disk" is worth looking at.
My budget is a maximum of £300, but I’d prefer to spend less.

Are there any alternatives to this bike? (or is this a good one ?)

Is there anything else worth getting at the same time? I.E. I thought I may as well get a new backpack with a hydration pack in it.

[mcgus]

well without going into longwinded detail - the answer could be "yes" good bike. You're not going to spend much less and still get anything reasonable though.

worth having a look round sites like Evans, Bonthrone Bikes and Cycling Plus - google em all! have fun.

[joesnow]

Good value bikes at Halfords....

no...really! I have a Carrera Kraken hardtail that is made by one of the largest frame suppliers in UK (I forget the name) and the bike is loaded with good Shimano Deore components. It's at home on trails and on the commute which I use it for. Tektro disk brakes bite hard and the bike runs straight and smooth. It was £350. Looks graet too with grey and black fram and black rims.

I have taken a hairdrier to the carrera decals though!

Edited by joesnow on Friday 1st September 15:12

[Focus2.0Zetec]

joesnow said:

Good value bikes at Halfords....

no...really! I have a Carrera Kraken hardtail that is made by one of the largest frame suppliers in UK (I forget the name) and the bike is loaded with good Shimano Deore components. It's at home on trails and on the commute which I use it for. Tektro disk brakes bite hard and the bike runs straight and smooth. It was £350. Looks graet too with grey and black fram and black rims.

I have taken a hairdrier to the carrera decals though!

Edited by joesnow on Friday 1st September 15:12

Seconded, bought same bike from Halfords about 2 years ago, don't konow how they make them for the money, i only paid £300 cos it was ex display (Very samll scratch near crank), mines blue and yellow and looks great when covered in mud!

[8portchris]

Make sure you get yourself a good helmet as well .

Edited by 8portchris on Sunday 3rd September 11:03

[pappa lurve]

Picked up a Ridgeback Cyclone from Evans a couple of weeks back. £250 made it the cheapeast I had seen that bike for. Well impressed. No suspension so might not be the best thing for you but as a total newbie myself I would suggest you get yourself down to Evans, explain what you want and how much you want to spend. Great service, great prices and they seem to know their stuff.

[Locoblade]

I know its not everyone's favourite (and for good reason a lot of the time), but I agree with the other comments about Halfords, they do have some reasonable bikes and they started a sale on their Carrera bikes today, which a lot of (non badge snob) people seem to really rave about on various MTB forums, particularly the Fury which is often recommended as the best £500 buy (now £400 in the sale), and the above mentioned Kraken which seems a good buy with half decent damped fork, 27spd and cable discs for £265.
Just take a spanner to it to make sure the monkey has built it up properly and you should be fine

Edited by Locoblade on Tuesday 5th September 19:17

[alfaman]

this months "What mountain bike" mag. says : The GT Aggressor is the best £200 bike they have ever ridden - awarded best sub £300 bike.


IMHO - you will get a much better bike for £500 than £300 - and the extra £200 opens up a lot of pretty respectable bikes to choose from (e.g Merlin Malt 1 )


I would not recommend buying a cheap bike from Halfords ....PM me if you want to know why .

If I were spending £300 - I would buy 2nd hand , or a demo bike from a shop .

[coopers]

alfaman said:

this months "What mountain bike" mag. says : The GT Aggressor is the best £200 bike they have ever ridden - awarded best sub £300 bike.


IMHO - you will get a much better bike for £500 than £300 - and the extra £200 opens up a lot of pretty respectable bikes to choose from (e.g Merlin Malt 1 )


I would not recommend buying a cheap bike from Halfords ....PM me if you want to know why .

If I were spending £300 - I would buy 2nd hand , or a demo bike from a shop .

LOL i use to work for Halfords (while at uni) and may know why Alfaman may have his reservations, however they are hard wearing and for the money well spec'd

On the issue of how hard wearing these bikes are, if you saw the way they are handled before they hit the shop floor i.e. delivered and stored, you would realise that whatever you throw at it after you bought the bike, it can be no be worse than what its just been put through especailly at the busier times of the year like Christmas things do become a bit laughable... but i probably shouldnt say that on an open forum... ,

Just make sure you get a lad who knows what he's doing to build it, i.e. not an sunday p/t lad as otherwise you maybe doing some tinkering at home which is not acceptable whatever price you paid... (sorry another bug bear with halfords i have...)

[Locoblade]

Alfaman, I totally agree on not buying a CHEAP bike from Halfords (or Argos, or Littlewoods catalogue etc etc) because they are generally very heavy and fall to bits at first sight of a trail, but the Carreras do seem to be on a par with most of the other bikes in those price ranges, with good spec kit fitted. Indeed both the Kraken and Fury are rated 8/10 in the same What MTB mag you mentioned, and thats at their full RRP price tag so would likely score better still at their current prices. At £400, the Fury with Hydraulic brakes and a Rockshocks Tora U Turn fork (a £150 fork in its own right) looks a steal.

As mentioned previously, so long as its been built up properly there's no reason not to take them into consideration, you could always take it to a local bike shop for a once over service if you were worried about how well it had been assembled, or just do it yourself.

Edited by Locoblade on Wednesday 6th September 19:44

[orgasmicliving!!]

8portchris said:

Make sure you get yourself a good helmet as well .

Edited by 8portchris on Sunday 3rd September 11:03

And gloves. You will thank me the first time you fall.

[joesnow]

Locoblade said:

stuff about Carreras

I agree on the cheap thing. I'm not really a brand man, so picking up a Carrera worked out very well for me - good value and good quality through a nationwide distributor. After all, the only thing Halfords related is the brand, components are popular reliable items. I service the bike myself, it rides well and feel taught and smooth. I changed the tyres from the nobblys to a treaded DMR tarmac and hardpack tyre, and the bike is even better. May add some better brakes at some point.

Edited by joesnow on Thursday 7th September 14:21

[thegreatsoprendo]

Along similar lines (sorry for the hijack!), I've been seriously considering a 2006 Kona Fire Mountain since seeing them in the sale in Halfords on the weekend.



I saw this bike earlier in the year at £400, but managed to talk myself out of shelling out for it. I thought it looked lovely, and to my untrained eyes it seemed to have a decent spec with disc brakes, front suspension, and so on. So, now that it's come down to £330, I'm struggling to resist the temptation. I probably wouldn't buy from Halfords, but it looks like "proper" bike shops are doing it for similar prices:

www.evanscycles.com/product.jsp?style=60207

My current bike (hardly ever used now) is actually a 1994 Fire Mountain, but the latest model obviously moves the game on massively. Like the original poster, I would use the bike for general (mostly road-based) riding with a bit of light-moderate off roading.

So, any thoughts from those with a bit more knowledge than I?

[rlk500]

Once you have absorbed all the excellent advice on here and read the magazine reviews, do once last thing. Go and ride all the bikes you are considering. What may be the greatest bike at your price bracket may be a nightmare for you to ride as it doesn't fit. I can't stress this enough, you must ride the bikes then select the one that feels right, MTB is very much about feel. Once you are on the trail you are going to get along much better with something that feels like it is working in unison with yourself than against you.