Which Mountain Bike?

[ChrisKH]

I had a phone call from a close friend who has been attending a number of social mountain bike rides and wants to replace his old hard tail MTB with something a bit better. Problem is, I'm clueless not having a MTB myself. He has been told that Specialized are a good brand and the local bike shop are pushing something in the £950 price range. Given the time of year, I think he might possibly be able to pick up last year's version more cheaply. He has requested something with Shocks but if people think these are a waste of money below a certain price range I need to tell him that. Budget is £450-£1,000 but probably towards the lower end or middle of that bracket rather than the top end. I have of course told him you get what you pay for (generally) and to spend as much as you can afford for quality.

So, the question is, what's out there and what would people recommend? I have also said it's a personal choice and he should try 2-3 different types and pick what's best for him not by a specific brand. Is second hand a good idea?

 

[Panter]

Your first port of call needs to be to find out what type of riding he's into.
My first thought would be a decent hardtail with 100m travel if it's general XC, although I have to begrudgingly admit that the new generation of short travel, lightweight XC full sussers are probably superior (but not as much fun IMO)

If he's just wanting it for downhill runs in the mountains then he'll want a very different steed.

2nd hand can be a minefield exactly as per road bikes. Although, of course, even more so as they're generally subjected to far more abuse.

EDIT: Sorry, just read the thread properly
So, he does want a hardtail. For £950.00 pretty much any new hardtail will have decent components and very effective forks.
Sorry, I can't really recommend anything, my Trek 6700 is in about that ballpark but I couldn't really recommend it as some of the components are decidedly at the low budget end considering the cost of the bike.
Unless he specifically wants a fully rigid, I'd definately recommend one with suspension forks (for that budget)

 

[Panter]

actually the Carrera Fury comes in at about £600.00-ish (IIRC)
A friend has just bought one, it's a lot of bike for the money and rides beautifully

 

[RedBike]

As panter pointed out the ideal bike depends alot upon what sort of riding he is doing.

Ideally for most types of ride he wants a full suspension carbon rig; but the likely hood of finding one of these for £1000 is slightly remote. So obviously comprimises have got to be made.

If he can live without the rear suspension then he should get a significantly lighter bike for his money. Not only will a hartail not have the weight of the rear suspension but at any given price point a hardtail should have lighter better quality parts too.

The more suspension travel the bike has the stronger the frame needs to be. He could buy a hardtail with 150mm front forks but if he's only riding cross country then he might find a bike thats only got 80/100mm travel (but is significantly lighter) would suit him better. It all depends on where / how he's riding.

If you go to any trail center you'll see the vast majority of people riding full suspension bikes with 5"/6" travel front and rear. These beasts of a bike either cost a ton or weigh a ton. The reason most people ride them is you can just point the bike towards the bottom of the hill then just sit there like a sack of potattos letting the bike do the work. Whereas, with a short traveled hardtail bike you'd need to pick your line down the hill far more carefully and then move your weight around to help the bike flow over the bumps.

 

[jayonabike]

I can recommend the Specialized Rockhopper, i have one. The range starts at £700 up to £1100. Mine is the Rockhopper comp @ £800. A great hardtail MTB for the money.

http://www.specialized.com/gb/en/bc/SBCBkModel.jsp?sid=10RockhopperSL&eid=4340&menuItemId=9335

jay

 

[Cyclist33]

Evans Cycles and Wiggle for some incredible bargains on Pinnacle and Focus mountain bikes at the mo...

Stu