Best bike for £500?????????

[Alex12]

Hi all,
I have a budget of around £500ish to spend on a new mountain bike, i do mainly trail riding so need something a little more rugged than a XC bike but nothing as heavy as a mountain bike,
What would be the best bike for my budget? I feel second hand would be a good way to go as you can get twice the bike for the same sort of money, am i right?

Thanks in advance i really appreciate any help.

Edited by Alex12 on Monday 14th April 17:11

[rhinochopig]

Your best bet is to buy all the MTB mags for a couple of months and see what they suggest.

By the way an XC bike is a mountain bike.

Don't fall into the trap of thinking that you need a 6inch + travel bike just because the trails you ride are rocky and/or steep.

You will become a better rider if you buy a hard tail as your first MT bike. You will not get a good suspension bike for that kind of money.

Second hand I would look for the following.

Newish or recently serviced forks and a drive train that is relatively new or has seen little action. The reason being that these are the two areas that are costly to service. Do not buy without having sat on the bike first though. It needs to fit you as having to buy a new stem and bars will add £100 to the cost of the bike if you buy one that is too small/short or too big/long.

Good luck

Edited by rhinochopig on Monday 14th April 17:34

[WildCards]

A few of many choices:

http://www.wiggle.co.uk/ProductDetail.aspx?Cat=cyc...

http://www.wiggle.co.uk/ProductDetail.aspx?Cat=cyc...

Edited by WildCards on Monday 14th April 17:36

[Alex12]

cheers guys, looks like i would be better off buying a higher quality hardtail rather than a cheaper quality FS then, iv had bad experiances with cheaper FS whch i purchased from halfords (yes i know, wasnt a good idea)i ended up taking it back because it kept breaking everytime i went on it.

cheers for the comments

[dubbs]

To get a good choice and know you're buying decent look on ebay for Specialized Rockhopper.

Hardtail, probably XT kit so reasonable and you'll get a year old one for that price. Means the kit you buy won't be shagged out (unlike getting a better 2-3 year bike that'll need replacement kit by now)

http://cgi.ebay.co.uk/Specialized-RockHopper-Pro-D...

There's a bargain.

[TedMaul]

You can look at getting 2007 model year bikes at a discount. The spec may only be slightly inferior to a 2008MY bike, but you will save a good wedge. For example... 2007 Kona Cinder Cone for less than 500 squids has to be worth a look

http://www.evanscycles.com/product.jsp?style=70184