Mountain bike advice please

[John]

Hi peeps, i'm aware quite a few of you on here are keen mtb'ers. After getting on a bike for the first time in a very long time today, i think i'd like to but another bike.
I had a few bikes when i was younger (al carter, kona) but have completely lost touch with what is what.
I have a limited budget, say £350, what sort of bike can i expect to get for this? suspension? disc brakes? what sort of gear set up? I have tried googling but the mind boggles at the stuff on tinterweb!
Any helpful advice or tips, links to bikes appreciated! :):thumb:

[Nick J]

I would advise you buy something 3-4 year old John as oppose to brand new. You will get a lot more for your money then fella. :)

Nick.

[John]

Cool, i was wondering to buy new or s/h :)

[Edd]

Or look for last years models, always bargains to be had doing that

[John]

softail or not? too much maintanence?

[Edd]

Depends what you will use it for tbh

Me being a old school mtb'er I hate rear suspension lol plus unless you spend a bit your not going to be able to lock it out making uphill very hard

In the price range your looking at a full suspension bike is going to be very very heavy as well

[TeddyThom]

I used to own a Marin B17. Beautiful bike it was. Blue and white one.

Used to run that anywhere and everywhere, took everything I threw it at it. Which was a lot. Barely got a puncture everything. Trouble is, even though I had the '98 model, they still commanded about £600 last I looked for one.

But definately worth it if you decide to go for a rear sus bike.

[Spudly]

Go on ebay John, look for 'vintage' 'retro' or 'old school' and you will see all the unaffordable bikes we all drooled over when younger, suddenly affordable:d

[John]

Depends what you will use it for tbh

Me being a old school mtb'er I hate rear suspension lol plus unless you spend a bit your not going to be able to lock it out making uphill very hard

In the price range your looking at a full suspension bike is going to be very very heavy as well

Ok cool. think i'll just stick to a hardtail for now. It'll only be used for days out with the family and the odd blast off the beaten track.

[John]

Link me up spudders! Not sure to go this route or not, or like Nick said, go for one a couple of years old.

[Spudly]

Link me up spudders! Not sure to go this route or not, or like Nick said, go for one a couple of years old.




I have this in my watch list............



http://cgi.ebay.co.uk/Kona-Ui-Retro-Old-School-Full-suspension-Mountain-Bike-/280707510922?pt=UK_Bikes_GL&hash=item415b78b28a

[John]

nice! :)

[Spudly]

Trust me you can fiind all the stuff we dribbled over when we were younger and into biking, and you know exactly where you are as you know whats good and whats not, retro biking is the future dude:thumb:

[John]

quite like the look of this, although i'm guessing with 0 feedback it's been borrowed out of someones shed and not returned lol

http://cgi.ebay.co.uk/ws/eBayISAPI.dll?ViewItem&item=330587787756&category=33503&_trksid=p5197.c0.m619

[Spudly]

Worth a squirt, just keep all your email correspondance just in case, although its too new skool for my liking lol

[John]

how about this then spud lol

http://cgi.ebay.co.uk/ws/eBayISAPI.dll?ViewItem&item=330587211160&ssPageName=STRK:MEWAX:IT

[Spudly]

Worth a bid, forks look too long as the head angle looks too steep, but definately worth purchasing:d

[Connor]

I sold this, this morning for £350 exactly, which is a bargain as it originally cost (previous owner to me payed) 1500 to custom build
http://a7.sphotos.ak.fbcdn.net/hphotos-ak-ash4/253746_10150202031969926_637964925_7308111_7710450 _n.jpg

[Edd]

^^ is that actually ride-able tho ?

Looks like a glorified BMX not a mountain bike lol

[ryansnova]

i have also been looking into geting a new bike (a kona stinky) wich is about £1000 that i think is very pricey but i will just go to the "b.o.d" (bank of dady) lol

[Connor]

^^ is that actually ride-able tho ?

Looks like a glorified BMX not a mountain bike lol

lol, it looks smaller in the pics, the forks are hight adjustable and adjust to 150mm travel (on 110 in the pic)
But it is a small frame

[Jim]

For your budget, stick with a hardtail.

[John]

Cheers Jim, looking at the options i think you're right.

Is an alloy frame in my price range?

[Jim]

It depends. There is so much choice. I'd be looking at the overall package rather than aiming for an aluminium framed bike or one with disc brakes, etc. When I was looking at buying a bike I tested several before making a decision. I found that even though a bike may have been better on paper, if I didn't feel comfortable on it, I wasn't interested. It might be worth going to Halfords and any other local bike shops and trying a few bikes out in your price range, see which one feels good to ride. Then, you might find by looking at second hand/last years model bikes you might be able to afford the next model up which (in theory) should come with better components. Also, ask at local bike shops if they have any ex-staff/ex-demo bikes coming up for sale. You can sometimes pick up a bargain. I bought an ex-staff bike for £1k which on paper should have been worth over double that!

Apologies if I've over-complicated matters, lol.

[pikey1986]

is this any good for you john

http://www.migweb.co.uk/forums/items-sale/475836-carrera-lrs%B2-mountain-bike.html