# £700 budget what to get



## Gazza1591 (31 Dec 2013)

Well i thought i would start a thread that will just be about advice on new bike and not a welcome post.

SO i have a budget of around £700 and after a hard tail. it will be used around the forest of dean, and malvern hills mainly. im newish to MTB XC so need a capable bike for a newbie and one i could possibly upgrade the more i get into it. i currently have a GT agressor but its an 09 and showing its age and i want a new bike.

so if you had a budget of £700 what would you go out and buy ? 

i have been looking at the cube range as well as newer GT models


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## Cubist (1 Jan 2014)

I'll say  anyway!

Your budget puts you in reasonable entry level territory, and will get you a decent bike with some compromised components that you'll want to upgrade as you progress. For me, the single biggest compromise will be the fork. Forget the Chainset, derailleurs or even wheelset, all of those can be upgraded relatively cheaply, but a decent fork aftermarket costs a fortune. For that reason I'd be looking at the big retailers like Halfords, Decathlon, or mail order stuff like Canyon, some of the German big turnover stuff from HiBike or BikeDiscount, Roseversand and so on. 

So, if you want an opinion, it'd be look at the spec list first. You are looking to buy a bike with Rockshox XC forks at that price, unless you can drop on Recon or ( unlikely ) Reba or Sektor forks. Avoid the cheaper sprung forks like RS, or Suntour XC versions. Suntour epicon or any of their air sprung forks are decent quality, it's their coil forks that are shockingly bad. 

Once I'm back on the PC rather than the tablet ill have a look round for some suggestions, but in the meantime have a look to see whether Canyon do a hardtail at that budget.


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## Firestorm (1 Jan 2014)

Mtb-directshop on ebay is selling KTM 29ers for 700 item no 321235391491

Its not a dodgy outfit, its my brother and he is using ebay whilst the main website is overhauled


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## Cubist (1 Jan 2014)

Just had a look at Canyon website. Te Yellowstone or Grand Canyon AL both within budget, the Grand Canyon is a thing of wonder for the price. 

That KTM looks OK by the way, but the named kit on the Canyons, and the 1.5kg weight difference would swing it for me.


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## Gazza1591 (1 Jan 2014)

what are the cube bikes like ?

was looking at this one ? 
http://www.tredz.co.uk/.Cube-Attention-29-Mountain-Bike-2014-Hardtail-Race-MTB_66705.htm 
will check the canyon out know


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## Gazza1591 (1 Jan 2014)

and this one any good ?

http://www.tredz.co.uk/.Giant-Talon-2-Mountain-Bike-2013-Hardtail-Race-MTB_56321.htm


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## tigger (1 Jan 2014)

I've broken your ceiling but I thought this was amazing value, these frames have a great reputation...

http://www.winstanleysbikes.co.uk/p...13_Bike_C004?gclid=CIDxgpPa3bsCFeLHtAodph8AHA

I think all the bikes mentioned so far would do the job, and 2013 models seem the way to go for value, a lot of them seem to have better spec than 2014 models.


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## choplee (1 Jan 2014)

I have a friend that is cube mad ... you do seem to get good value for money with them and they get good write ups, so i'm looking at prizing one of his cube mtb''s from him when he upgrades with another cube ....


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## Gregcycle (1 Jan 2014)

http://www.halfords.com/webapp/wcs/...uctId_777757_langId_-1_categoryId_289005#tab2 

Can't really go wrong with this. Do you have a preferred wheel size?


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## Gazza1591 (1 Jan 2014)

Link just goes to the main website? But if it's t boardman it's to small tried it and can only go up to a 19'' I need 21


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## Cubist (1 Jan 2014)

A 21" MTB frame is pretty big. How tall are you, what's your inside leg?




Gazza1591 said:


> what are the cube bikes like ?
> 
> was looking at this one ?
> http://www.tredz.co.uk/.Cube-Attention-29-Mountain-Bike-2014-Hardtail-Race-MTB_66705.htm
> will check the canyon out know



Not bad at all. It'll be pretty weighty though. 

As will the Giant, but that said both are good bikes.


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## Gregcycle (1 Jan 2014)

Thought it might of aha, my iPads a bit buggered. Was meant to lead to the 2013 team for 679.99 can't really get much better value new, having said that there may be some offers worth checking at Paulcycles.co.uk. And about the sizing I'm 6'1 and a 19" full sus is fine for me.


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## Gazza1591 (1 Jan 2014)

I'm 6,2 and leg is around a 37 

What make of cube was it you were referring to? I did short list a cube and the giant linked above.


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## Gazza1591 (1 Jan 2014)

Also am I right in thinking that the 2 bikes I have linked above the giant and the cube the giant has rhe better forks on it


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## tigger (1 Jan 2014)

Gazza1591 said:


> Also am I right in thinking that the 2 bikes I have linked above the giant and the cube the giant has rhe better forks on it



Yes it is I think, according to reviews etc. Looks like you're reducing your buget a bit? As Cubist said, this Canyon is astonishing value if you still want to spend your original limit.
https://www.canyon.com/_en/mountainbikes/bike.html?b=3206


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## Cubist (2 Jan 2014)

At 6'2" you could ride a large. Halfords and others seem to insist on sizing MTBs like Roadbikes. I am 5'11" with a 34 inside leg and ride a 17.5 inch hardtail, and a 19 inch full suss. As long as you aren't cramped, you can run a hardtail with loads of seatpost showing.


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## Gazza1591 (2 Jan 2014)

I have tried the boardman in the 19'' frame and was to small, it just felt all wrong being on it. Or I would of had it for sure, and as for the canyon I'm not a fan of the looks of it. I like the look of the giant, and as you say it's now under budget, but if I can find better that will come in an xl frame and I like to look of it. I have no worries about going up to my original budget


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## Gazza1591 (2 Jan 2014)

s this any good ?

http://www.paulscycles.co.uk/m1b1s2p3845/GT-ZASKAR-COMP-2012


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## tigger (2 Jan 2014)

Gazza1591 said:


> s this any good ?
> 
> http://www.paulscycles.co.uk/m1b1s2p3845/GT-ZASKAR-COMP-2012


 
Looks pretty well specced for the money... would a 29er suit you better though?


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## Gazza1591 (2 Jan 2014)

it may do but hard to find one i like in my budget that is not to bad spec wise aswell ?

im torn so far between the GT and the Giant


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## tigger (2 Jan 2014)

Found a Cube for you, need to add about £20 for shipping...

This one has to be a winner! 21 inch in stock, don't delay! Air forks the works...
http://www.bike-discount.de/shop/k1275/a78788/cube-ltd-29-black-anodized.html?mfid=41


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## Gregcycle (2 Jan 2014)

tigger said:


> Found a Cube for you, need to add about £20 for shipping...
> 
> This one has to be a winner! 21 inch in stock, don't delay! Air forks the works...
> http://www.bike-discount.de/shop/k1275/a78788/cube-ltd-29-black-anodized.html?mfid=41


 

I would go with this one gazza, it's good value and quite sexy actually!


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## Hudsy86astley (3 Jan 2014)

I bought this specialized 6 months ago 29er don't think the spec is amazing but I think it's a great all rounder n worth the money


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## I like Skol (3 Jan 2014)

If you like the GT you already have why not do something like THIS? For less than you are going to spend on a mid-range specced bike you could transform your current steed into an XT* equipped range-topper.

* Other groupset providers exist. Past performance is no indication of future potential... Blah, Blah, Blah!


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## BigCam (3 Jan 2014)

I'd look at Merlin's own brand...
http://www.merlincycles.com/merlin-malt-26-mountain-bike-65355.html
£25 over budget and out of stock, but an excellent spec.


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## AndyRM (4 Jan 2014)

What @I like Skol said. You've a decent frame there, and even if you don't have the knowledge you could factor in the cost of getting it stripped and rebuilt in a shop.


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## tigger (8 Jan 2014)

*@Gazza1591 . So what did you get?*


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## KierenT (16 Jan 2014)

Bought my son a Matts 500 (http://merida-bikes.com/en_gb/bike/2012/13/MTB Hardtails/Matts TFS 500-D ) last week - pretty well specced, and got it discounted down to £475 due to it being last seasons stock. Had a good plug through the mud, very quick on the steering; bit too quick for me, I'm used to a 29'er.


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## Psyclist (22 Jan 2014)

I like Skol said:


> If you like the GT you already have why not do something like THIS? For less than you are going to spend on a mid-range specced bike you could transform your current steed into an XT* equipped range-topper.
> 
> * Other groupset providers exist. Past performance is no indication of future potential... Blah, Blah, Blah!



I was reading through not expecting anyone to have the same idea as me, until then.

I have an Aggressor frame which I'm going to build to a decent spec. You'd be able to upgrade the Aggressor to a nice sepc with £700. I'm getting a used Reba fork in vgc and drivetrain, hydraulic brakes etc. for mine and I have a smaller budget than £700. 

So, +1 to Skol. Just upgrade the GT you have.


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