They can be, but it would be like fitting the latest graphics card to the shittest motherboard money can buy. I have a specialized enduro. It's pretty old now, but if you can find a second hand one knocking about they are ace. Low maintenance built like tanks and for what they are, very lightweight. There are newer models, but they will set you back a grand easily. I went to the Alps on mine after I first bought it. My dads Santa Cruz which is a far more expensive bike took an complete beating and almost fell appart on several occasions. The brakes on all the bikes in the group we went with were squealing and getting too hot constantly, but my bike just kept on going. It gave people the illusion that I was uber healthy, but really, I was just getting 5 minute breaks every 20 mins when a bike broke.
By the way, this place: http://www.chainreactioncycles.com/ is absolutely fantastic for parts, spares... everything basically This is also very true. You could upgrade your rims + hubs, mechs, bars, brakes, pedals... and you're still stuck with a 200 quid frame. Everything is centered around the frame (literally!).
I'll second that, another good site is Wiggle, especially as they run plenty of offers throughout the year. Don't worry about the brakes, the difference between v brakes and low end cable disc brakes is hard to tell most of the time. Apart from the fact that the disc brakes tend to need a fair bit more fettling. That said, I'd love a cyclocross bike with Avid cable discs front and rear... Tinkering is a must to be honest with a bike you'll want to use throughout the year. Oil, adjusting brake cables, tweaking the derailleurs to keep gear selection crisp, that sort of thing. It's all necessary but really easy to do. Loads of resources on the web, but Parks Tools have some of the most comprehensive advice you can find.
For £200 you can't afford any suspension thats worth lugging around so stick with the bikes from quality bike manufacturers with solid forks, well mentained V brakes in good conditions have very good stopping power and disc brakes at this price are not going to be good quality. depending on the severity of want to ride you will want different gear ratios so check that they go low/high enough for you. Untill recently I had a giant with a pretty useless front fork that weighed alot but was pretty tough, I didn't find it limmiting rearly and took it up (and down) wallner scar and other rides that are very tough. Another good thing about it was I could fit a pannier rack on it to take lunch with me (you aught to see the looks you get from "serious" mountian bikers with there all mountian bouncey rigs when you ride stuff they couldent with panniers ) I personaly have a 07 model specialized hardrock which is about double your budget which gives you hydralic discs (sick awsome) a decent fork (mazuci) with lock out and nice quality gears. Spending another £500 ontop of this gets you into the low end of the full suspension or a hard tail which is alot lighter and has a better front fork. The differance between the two I have found is the speed at which you can take things, the improved fork makes a big differance and I have alot more confidence in the breaks (the v break cable once suddenly stretched on the giant resulting in the most insane decent I have ever done and a thrankfully only brusing crash at the bottom). anyway whatever bike you get quality is far more important than features as keeping a low quality bike running is a nightmare.
I'm looking to spend around the £260-300 mark now. I've seen a few bikes that look worth further consideration in this bracket, with good reviews and feedback. I know my budget seems small, but this could either work out as a fun way to spend a Sunday for me or a more involved past time. Until I know which it is, I'm gonna be a bit cautious instead.
With that, going for brand new you shouldn't aim any higher than front suspension. A full susser at that price would be built like a really overweight person with glass bones. For £300 though you should be able to get a nice lightweight offering. My advice would be to go for really decent frame (lightweight but tough) at this moment in time. Forget the hydraulic discs and carbon rims for the moment and then as you make your mind up on whether or not this is going to be your new hobby you can decide to add them later. One thing you should definately upgrade straight away though is tyres. Especially with winter about to hit full swing. I can't find these for sale anywhere any more, but if you can find them the Hutchinson Spider's are possibly the best boggy weather tyre you can buy. I have had a pair for a couple of years now and they are great.
I'll second wiggle cos if you spend over a certain amount they send you sweeties! Don't know how far you want to go into this cycling stuff but if you want to go for a bit more than towpaths and designated cycle paths then I'd recommend some clipless pedals.
Specialized Hardrock Silver, now around £299 You get 2 wheels Disks front and rear Front suspension forks Or for a little extra Specilized Hardrock Silver Hydo You get 2 wheels Hydo Disks front and rear Front suspension forks And did come in blue, but for a little extra (Not sure if its about still) Sam
TBH, I'd stay away from the Hardrock because it's more for kids bouncing round a park than for proper riding and its really heavy. At this time of the year, see if your LBS has any '07 stock they're dying to get rid of and you should get a pretty heavy discount.
It's true, if you get a decent bike for £300ish, you'll want another one later on. You'll suddenly start thinking £600 isn't that bad, then more and more. Soon you'll end up like me, spending £230 pounds on nothing more than a light for the bike. Cycling shoes will become something you crave, you'll upgrade your brake pads for that little bit more bite and then eventually.... you'll stack it. But god it's worth it. Anyhow, now you've bumped up the budget, you get more options which will make this a lot more fun. For the money I wouldn't consider disk brakes though, even hydro ones. A well maintained set of V-brakes will haul you to a stop no problem. As for clipless pedals, I love them. I wouldn't feel comfortable riding without them ever again. But they cost. You'll have to get specialised shoes which cost around £40ish, and then pedals which will be about another £35. You're best off sticking to a good set of platform pedals until you know if you want to take it further or not. Edit: Lian Li Lover gives a good bit of advice. 07 stock will soon be getting discounted. Nothing wrong with them, they just tend to have last years colour scheme on. I saved £150 on my bike by going for a 06 instead of an 07 bike.
You think I should wait 'til the Boxing Day sales then? I suppose it's not like I'm gonna be going anywhere on it on Xmas day is it? Heh heh. I'm gonna have a look at a few options, hopefully in person this week. I'll report back and hopefully get some opinions?
Next year's bike stuff comes out from mid september so now is the time to go and buy one if you want last year's model.
Or a decent pair of gloves. Yup! It's much better to have a decent hardtail than a craptastic FS. Most often very cheap FS bikes are toys meant only for very light riding. I'm not sure if Continental's available over across the pond, but their Town & Country tires are speedy and grip well. They're great for both light trail riding and general purpose commuting. Actually, a lot of entry level bikes these days come with forks that can accept disc brakes. What they don't come with, however, are disc brake accepting wheels. For disc brakes, the best thing would be to get a higher level bike. If a better bike is not an option given current finances, then it might be an option to upgrade the brakes one at a time. Since you use the front brake most of the time since it gives the most stopping power, you can upgrade the front wheel and slap on an entry level disc brake. But still, for the price premium for a new wheel and an add-on disc brake, you should just save up a little more for a better bike which has those features included. Also, pick up a copy of Zinn and the Art of Mountain Bike Maintenance. http://www.amazon.co.uk/dp/193138259X/
:/ I have a hard rock and it's not heavy and has nice forks/brakes although mine was built by a cycle shop and components may be different (It was more of a case of I want these features and this frame fits nice how much will that be rather than I wish to purchase the 07 hardrock pro disc jiggermey). I however may be out of touch with the weight of current mountian bikes as lincolnshire isn't exactly mountian biking central (although there is still one amazing decent that makes owning a mountian bike worth it even if you can only accasionaly get out and do some "real" riding ) also decent tires are a must! I once had the misfortune to ride on kona scratch and sniff tires for about 6months and in that time crashed more than I have done in the entirity of the rest of my life. Although strangly I kept the tires as they were awsome in sand. I would still consider not having suspension preferable at the £300 price point as you are learning and therfore not having suspension will force you to pick the best route through things instead of just riding over the bumps.
Kipman, I havn't actually ridden a hardrock, that was just the advice my bike-shop-owning riding buddy gave to me when I bought my first proper bike. I suspect the main gripe he had with it was that the one I was looking at had some awful RST forks and that's probably what made it so heavy. /ot Is it possible for a mod to change my name to LLL?
OK. I've had a look a load of reviews, bought a magazine (rofl) and looked at loads online. Here are some of my thoughts so far (opinions welcome!): Carrera Vulcan 07 - £260-ish - http://www.bikeradar.com/gear/category/bikes/mountain/product/vulcan-07-27707 Mongoose Tyax Elite - £280 - http://www.bikeradar.com/gear/category/bikes/mountain/product/tyax-elite-11009 Decathalon Rockrider 6.3 07 - £300 - http://www.bikeradar.com/gear/category/bikes/mountain/product/rockrider-63-07-20096
ah yeah I tried those RST forks out and they rearly were the pits! mine has the nicer marzuci forks which are very nice particularly in that the lockout is mechanical instead of just a valve and so they got totaly ridgid instead of semi ridgid.
Best to put the money into the frame and then when you get more into the sport you'll be able to upgrade various parts. This is why I recommend any of the three below . I personally ride a GT ruckus and have pervious owner a scott voltage y20 and a Gt Zaskar pro. Barring that Trek are excellent they put the investment into the frames according to mbuk Try these links: Hope you find a good deal! GT http://www.evanscycles.com/product.jsp?style=70221 SCOTT http://www.evanscycles.com/product.jsp?style=70495 TREK http://www.evanscycles.com/product.jsp?style=70062