I borrowed a bike off my dad and stated riding about 3 miles uphill each morning and then 3 miles back down hill at night. It ****ed me at first but now its pretty easy. I went out on it today with some mates who are into biking and enjoyed it untill I fell off it riding down some steps, the handlebars turned 90degrees. I got back on then the chain snapped about a mile further on. The bike is a british eagle riot thats abut 17years old, they laughed when they saw it, its even got white walls and its flouresent orange Now i'm looking for a 1/2 decent one. I saw a Claud Butler for 260quid but they all reckon it will be crap and that I need to spend at least 500quid on a front suspension one or 1000 on a full suspension one. I dont want to spend tha much, i'm not going to be competing or jumping off rocks and stuff. THIS is the one I thought about but maybe i'd get a better second hand one for the same cash??
Looks alright, the lockouts a good idea for uphill riding. If your looking at spending that much don't bother with disc brakes, they'll be more of a gimic at that price. If your mainly going on road get some semi slick tyres - makes it a whole lot easier! Also metal studded pedals will help with power transfer. hth
I want to do road and off road. During the week I ride up to my work partners farm instead of him picking me up in the van, thats 90% on the road. Then at weekend I want to go off road with my mates, they go to wales and cumbria riding on trails they find on the internet.
Ian, claud butlers were cack when i got into riding many years ago, nothing has changed it seems. kona are great bikes, this one looks awesome bargain!
or something from specialised another good brand and model though this has gone above what i'd personally pay for it now.
Plenty 2008 bikes on sale almost at every bike shop. Expect to pay about 300-250 for something that won`t fall to bits. Here is 2009 model so look for similar 2008 for about 100 less. Front suspension and disc brakes will give you an entry level bike that`ll not let you down.
Even though you don't think you 'need' a 500 bike, get one anyway. The difference between a 250 and a 500 bike is massive, especially if you go second hand. I bought a year old specialized stumpjumper pro for 500 off ebay and it was mint not a mark on it they retailed at about 1300 new
Mbr's best bike for 500 this year was a kona blast. My girlfriend bought the deluxe version for 500 when it should have been 550, only difference being it came with hydraulic discs, not cable. Great little bike, chuckable and fun on the off road, and fairly light at 28lbs for the road(my kona stinky weighs 42 ish lbs) Ideally needs better pedals, which can be had for about 25, dmrs or summat similar. Probably be in sales soon too, as the 2009 bikes are not far from hitting the shops.
I bought a Late 90's GT for 20 off ebay the other week.......gotta put about 40 into it for more up to date components, but its gonna be brilliant
So what should I search for on e-bay? I curently have this: (kona,specialized,gt,scott) sorted closest distance first. What about Carrera at Halfords? I got a chain repair there today and liked the Carrea Krakken.
no to carrera kona fire mountain or lava dome are two good models Specialised rockhopper or stumpjumper GT zaskar 1, 2 or 3 ( can't remember which is the better spec)
I'd say what to look for in a mountain bike is "value". And I struggle. For some of the money these dealers have the utter cheek to charge for a bit of Reynolds T45 tubing, and some anodised aluminium, I'd be looking to have a rip snorting engine.
I've got an 07 kracken, never actually built it up and used it because i'm riding my road bike all the time (also a carerra), but it gets a good write up and i liked the look of it. IMO a 500 bike is wasted on 90% of people, its like getting a car with all electric toys - looks great for showing off but ends up a nightmare when things start to break. Just get a solid frame and put the best spec components on you can afford. Bike tecnology has moved on so much since i was young that i dont think there is such a thing as a crap bike now. When i used to bmx if you wanted to have a solid steed you used to have to pay over a grand, i had a s&m next gen dirt bike, with pitch forks, slam bars, redneck stem, profile ss cranks and sealed profile hubs on araya super 7x. It was a fit and forget bike, i dont think i broke a single thing in over 5 years BUT i was riding it hard and every day so it had to be super strong, We used to laugh at the mtb guys who spent several g on a bike which looked gash and broke at the sniff of a dodgy landing. I cycle to work daily, rain hail or shine and see bikes in the work basement that cost more than sum of my cars have that rarely see the light of day (more so the road bikes), thing i dont get is why you would drop that much on a bike if your not a great rider? Dont get me wrong if people want to spend huge sums on bikes thats fine, some may call me a hater, but i'll be the hater with no debt and cash in my pocket and a bike that can easily cope with 99% of what the top spec one can.
I want to spend about 300quid on something that wont end up broken every week. This is mine after it folded up on the steps This is where I end up in the morning, my house is somewhere down in the fog
my Marin Bob Cat Trail '07 with RaceFace stem, Shimano SPD pedals and a LX rear mech ( after I fell off and bent the rear mech and hanger due to those ******* pedals.lol!) Think it was about 470 .
ebay was the way forward for me, for 147 i got a kona "aa" bike, rock shocks forks, alu frame, shimano xt and lx components - well happy with it.
