# New bike advice please



## rich p (13 Mar 2015)

I'm an occasional mtb-er but I like doing one ride a week during the drier months.
My son rides on the road with me and I'd like to buy him an mtb for his upcoming birthday so he can join me. The budget is up to £500 for a hardtail.
Any recommendations?


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## JohnClimber (13 Mar 2015)

If you can find another couple of hundred quid you get a lot of bike for your money here
http://www.on-one.co.uk/i/q/CBOOPWX5/on-one-parkwood-sram-x5-mountain-bike

If you can't then this should do the job
http://www.halfords.com/cycling/bikes/mountain-bikes/carrera-kraken-mountain-bike-2015


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## rich p (14 Mar 2015)

JohnClimber said:


> If you can find another couple of hundred quid you get a lot of bike for your money here
> http://www.on-one.co.uk/i/q/CBOOPWX5/on-one-parkwood-sram-x5-mountain-bike
> 
> If you can't then this should do the job
> http://www.halfords.com/cycling/bikes/mountain-bikes/carrera-kraken-mountain-bike-2015


That on-one bike looks sexy!
Do I need to get into a debate about 29ers?


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## rich p (14 Mar 2015)

I've browsed the Evans website and there is a huge choice under £500.
Is 100mm or 120mm of travel an important issue for riding on grass and chalk downland?
I know so little.


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## Pale Rider (14 Mar 2015)

rich p said:


> I've browsed the Evans website and there is a huge choice under £500.
> Is 100mm or 120mm of travel an important issue for riding on grass and chalk downland?
> I know so little.



No.

Longer travel forks are used by more extreme or downhill mountain bikers.


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## rich p (14 Mar 2015)

Pale Rider said:


> No.
> 
> Longer travel forks are used by more extreme or downhill mountain bikers.


Just seen the other thread in the correct 'What Bike' section!
Any views on this cheapo Boardman?
http://www.halfords.com/cycling/bik...-bike-sport-ht-650b-limited-edition-2014#tab1


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## Pale Rider (14 Mar 2015)

rich p said:


> Just seen the other thread in the correct 'What Bike' section!
> Any views on this cheapo Boardman?
> http://www.halfords.com/cycling/bik...-bike-sport-ht-650b-limited-edition-2014#tab1



It's a general cross country mountain bike which I think is what you want.

Nothing wrong with a Boardman.

The spec and weight is nothing special, but it's probably on a par for £500.

I think the Voodoo Bizango, subject of other recent threads, is well worth the extra £100.

Better fork, more Shimano finishing kit.

The manager of my local bike shop is not keen on SRAM gears on mountain bikes. 

"SRAM keeps us busy." he told me. "Shimano just tends to work and keep on working."

But, of course, you could keep on stretching the budget until you reach thousands of pounds. 

http://www.halfords.com/cycling/bikes/mountain-bikes/voodoo-bizango-29er-mountain-bike-18#tab2


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## Cubist (14 Mar 2015)

rich p said:


> I'm an occasional mtb-er but I like doing one ride a week during the drier months.
> My son rides on the road with me and I'd like to buy him an mtb for his upcoming birthday so he can join me. The budget is up to £500 for a hardtail.
> Any recommendations?





rich p said:


> I've browsed the Evans website and there is a huge choice under £500.
> Is 100mm or 120mm of travel an important issue for riding on grass and chalk downland?
> I know so little.


not much difference between 100 and 120... Especially as you'll see a lot of 29ers with100s, the frame geometry means they don't have such long forks as 26ers or 650b 
How old is your lad? Or I suppose the proper question is how big is he?


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## rich p (14 Mar 2015)

Cubist said:


> not much difference between 100 and 120... Especially as you'll see a lot of 29ers with100s, the frame geometry means they don't have such long forks as 26ers or 650b
> How old is your lad? Or I suppose the proper question is how big is he?


5'9" and 31 - quite old  but never had an mtb


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## Cubist (14 Mar 2015)

So no islabikes recommendations needed then?


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## Cubist (14 Mar 2015)

Bang for buck it's gotta be something from Decathlon, or a calibre from Go Outdoors, or a good trawl of some classifieds. You'd get a decent hard tail for £500 used, with proper components and everything. Have a look on Singeltrackworld or even post a wanted ad. You could try pink bike or eBay, it ain't rocket science, but the old buyer beware, it's easy to get stung. 
Thing is, I hear you say, what is good componentry?
As a rule of thumb, for that money, used, I'd be looking for a hard tail, alloy or steel, with Rockshox, Fox or Xfusion fork, Shimano or SRAM chainset, (most likely Deore, Slx or xt cranks) pref Shimano brakes, and you'll find a mix of 9 or 10 speed at that budget. Don't get hung up on cassette or chainring wear, it's cheap enough to swap it for new, and you may even find some decent wheel sets on bikes at that budget. 

I'll go and have a browse.


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## rich p (14 Mar 2015)

Cubist said:


> Bang for buck it's gotta be something from Decathlon, or a calibre from Go Outdoors, or a good trawl of some classifieds. You'd get a decent hard tail for £500 used, with proper components and everything. Have a look on Singeltrackworld or even post a wanted ad. You could try pink bike or eBay, it ain't rocket science, but the old buyer beware, it's easy to get stung.
> Thing is, I hear you say, what is good componentry?
> As a rule of thumb, for that money, used, I'd be looking for a hard tail, alloy or steel, with Rockshox, Fox or Xfusion fork, Shimano or SRAM chainset, (most likely Deore, Slx or xt cranks) pref Shimano brakes, and you'll find a mix of 9 or 10 speed at that budget. Don't get hung up on cassette or chainring wear, it's cheap enough to swap it for new, and you may even find some decent wheel sets on bikes at that budget.
> 
> I'll go and have a browse.


Cheers!


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## Crackle (14 Mar 2015)

The only thing I'd say about the Go Outdoors one is it's an uninspiring looking bike in the flesh but spec is good and those Rockshock forks are OK, springy but better than crap Suntour's.

27.5" replacement forks still command a premium over 26" forks which makes a fork swop uneconomical if you bought new and upgraded as opposed to just paying a bit more for the bike.


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## rich p (14 Mar 2015)

Crackle said:


> 27.5" replacement forks still command a premium over 26" forks which makes a fork swop uneconomical if you bought new and upgraded as opposed to just paying a bit more for the bike.


Errrm, eh?


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## Crackle (14 Mar 2015)

rich p said:


> Errrm, eh?



 I said the forks are going to be the weakpoint for 500 squid and it's probably not cost effective to change them.


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## JohnClimber (14 Mar 2015)

rich p said:


> I know so little.



Just, test ride, test ride and test ride until you find the one you want and not just around the shops car park.


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## Pale Rider (14 Mar 2015)

JohnClimber said:


> Just, test ride, test ride and test ride until you find the one you want and not just around the shops car park.



The bike is a birthday present for the OP's adult son.


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## Crackle (14 Mar 2015)

Found the ideal bike for him, Rich


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## ccolin120 (25 Mar 2015)

I bought the Boardman Sport four or five weeks ago. It seems fairly decent, been out on it at the local trail centre a couple of times. I'm very much a mtb beginner though, so nothing to compare it against. I did get an extra 15% off rrp, as Halfords were doing a promotion on Boardman at the time.

I went to pick it up on a Friday morning that was extremely wet. I got a taxi to Halfords, so needed to ride it home. This involves a fairly steep short climb. I'm a regular road rider though, so fairly fit, and its a climb I would have breezed up on my road bike. About half way up the climb I was absolutely gasping for air, my legs felt like I had just run a marathon.

I had to get off and walk. I knew MTBs were a bit harder to ride on the road, but this was ridiculous. My primary thought was that I had just wasted a lot of money as I obviously wasn't anywhere near fit enough to ride a MTB.

I pushed up the hill, and got back on the bike on the flat. Again, it was a major struggle. I arrived home completely knackered after a two mile ride, totally devastated at my introduction to mountain biking.

It was about 15 minutes later when I got my breath back, and noticed there was virtually no air in the rear tyre.......

D'oh

As above, however, once I put some air in the tyre, it seems a fairly decent bike for the money


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## Motozulu (26 Mar 2015)

The Boardy will do you fine - and yes, get used to being knackered for a bit. Please don't take this as a knock at roadies, certainly not meant to be, but I would guess that hard MTB miles are going to be a fair bit harder than hard road miles - if that makes sense?

there is nothing more knackering than a technical climb involving loose surface, steps, rocks and big roots.


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## ccolin120 (26 Mar 2015)

Motozulu said:


> The Boardy will do you fine - and yes, get used to being knackered for a bit. Please don't take this as a knock at roadies, certainly not meant to be, but I would guess that hard MTB miles are going to be a fair bit harder than hard road miles - if that makes sense?
> 
> There is nothing more knackering than a technical climb involving loose surface, steps, rocks and big roots.




Definitely makes sense, and I have already experienced it. After a couple of outings I also think its more enjoyable than ploughing the furrow on the road, certainly a lot more thought and planning goes into your riding. I guess a healthy mix of both will be ideal.

Problem was my first couple of miles were definitely made far harder by the non inflation of the back tyre by the shop ! I didn't notice it because I was so annoyed at the weather that day.


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## Motozulu (26 Mar 2015)

Yes ha ha that wouldn't help! I admire you lads who can do the long miles on a road bike - I just can't hack the (to me) boredom of it and it's why my roadie/MTB mates are all much fitter than me.


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