Im confused.com (Hardtail MTB - £500)

[MTB - Muzzy]

Hello everyone,

I am a freelance photographer looking for an all rounder bike for bimbling about the local area.

Types of use:

Cycle Path / Nature Trail / Town / Some Mild offroad.

Want to get a bike to get from the house to location for say a sunset then back again.

Had a look at hybrid / town and country bikes but they seem to struggle for off road (fair enough) Quite fancy the appeal of just heading out to a local country park and throwing the bike around the area.

Budget is around £500 for the bike.

I am 6 Foot 3" - Around 15 Stone - Approx 35" Inside Leg.

I have been doing reasearch for about two weeks and have found two keen contenders.

GT Avalanche 1.0 Disc (2008) - £410 from Pauls Cycles.

Boardman Mountain Bike Sport - Around £500 from Halfords.

I was thinking about going with a XL (22") GT Avalanche and fitting some road tyre slicks to it for when I know I am going to be using the tarmac.

Halfords Boardman looked good when I visited them on Saturday. They are not available in 22" - Max = 20"? so size may be an issue.

I went to two of my local bike shops - one was not helpful the other was but recommended a Ridgeback Quest 29" MTB which is £700.

Kind of reaching a point where my head has turned to mince - one person says GT Avalanche are pants - other one says they are the greatest thing since sliced bread.

Some input would be most welcomed

Best wishes,

Murray :?:

 

[Radius]

The older Avalanches have always been well regarded, dunno about the newer ones.

 

[jayce]

I had a gt arrowhead years ago never let me down

 

[postman]

You are the same size as me.Well i am an 1" taller. My advice go look at the Trek range.

With £500 you will find a very good bike.

Get onto their web site and look up the bikes.All the best.

 

[Cubist]

Have a look at these. Fantastic value for money, with good brakes and cracking gears.
http://www.simplythebike.co.uk/product_info.php?products_id=3162

Bit more money, but again, excellent spec and good-looking to boot:

http://www.thebicycledoctor.net/cube-acid-2859-p.asp

Don't get too hung up over frame size. The Cube geometry for example is a bit more "cross-country", so you may find you fit a 20".

 

[fray_bentos]

Ridgeback Quest

I just picked up a Ridgeback Quest '08 model from Alpine bikes for £425 in their spring sale.

I intend to use it for exactly the same purpose as you, mostly road riding (with a pair of slicks), but occassional trails, needless to say I'm chuffed!

The RRP for the Quest '09 is actually £599, so if they are asking for £699 then you are in the wrong shop! I've seen the '09 model online for £559, but you can get even better deals on the '08 version, *if* you can find one in your size. I think the '08 model has the same spec, including the hydraulic disk brakes!

This is a good time to be picking up very good deals on last few remaining '08 bikes.

Also, as a previous Trek owner, I'd tend to agree with other posters that the Treks offer good value/quality for money in this price bracket.

Good luck!

 

[fray_bentos]

I stand corrected, according to the Ridgeback site the SRP of the '09 Quest is £699, despite many shops offering it for as little as £539 e.g.
http://www.cyclehouse.net/products.php?plid=m1b0s2p1111

 

[Black Sheep]

any of the bikes you list will do well, some may require a slight upgrade of parts when you've worn them out (the budget parts that shift the chain may wear out quicker than slightly better ones.

in terms of tyres, changing tyres just for road gets to be a pain after a while, i've a set of tyres for when i take my hardtail downhill but i just use it on its cross tyres and also use it on road (less now since i have a road bike as its easier than changing tyres or wheels)

i'd not bother with a second set of wheels either, i found i had to re-adjust my gears each time i changed the wheels, got round the problem in two ways, single speed mountain bike and again, the road bike.


if your not wanting to do the whole second bike thing i'd recomend either halo twin rails or DMR Moto tyres.

the twin rails have a narrow contact area so behave like slicks on road but will dig into dirt to give grip off road in all but the slimeyest of mud

the moto's are similar except not quite as smooth as they don't have a smooth band round the tyres like the twin rails,

i use the moto's on my mountain bike.