Well trying to decide on which bike to get, as a relative beginner in the MTB world. I’m looking at a nearly new Pinnacle Iroko One with a RockShox Recon Gold TK and Shimano Deore stuff including brakes! Also seen a new old stock Marin Hawk Hill with a SR Sun Tour Raidan LOD fork, SRAM X5 and Avid Juicy 3 hydraulic brakes. Also a NOS Saracen Mantra Trail with Suntour Radian fork, Shimano Deore gear and Shimano M395 brakes. Finally, could go for a new Voodoo Hoodoo with the Suntour Raidon X3 fork, Shimano Alivio and Tektro Gemini Hydraulic disc brakes. Prices are not much different between all four.

Will mainly be doing light trail riding to begin with but looking to make it longer and more technical over time. All comments/suggestions gratefully received.

going off bikeradar reviews of the bikes…
voodoo is the one to have even though it has the lowest spec transmission wise. next is the saracen, followed by the pinnacle with the marin bringing up the rear.

having said that these reviews are from the perspective of the reviewer. it your money so you should try to test them all if possible to see which one feels best for you.

Why not give us a max budget, and see what we can suggest?

the suggested bikes are around the 500 mark so it would be fair to assume thats the budget?

Budget of around £500 is correct, don’t really want to go far beyond that at this stage.

the suggested bikes are around the 500 mark so it would be fair to assume thats the budget?

Thanks gonzy, nice of you to google that for me, I couldn’t be bothered.

Thanks gonzy, nice of you to google that for me

well what can i say…my curiosity got the better of me… 😆

Would you consider secondhand? You’d get quite a lot of bike for that money?

When I got back into biking my first bike was a Cube. It was brilliant. Good spec for the money, very nice upgrade worthy frame, very well built and it’s still going strong. After a few months, I upgraded the forks on it and as it was so well specced already it was pretty much bob on.

Worth looking for a nice secondhand Cube Acid or similar?

mattig01 – i think your best bet at this moment is either the voodoo or the pinacle. cant see anythng else that comes close to them in terms of spec. you can get something a bit more mainstream i.e. gt, specialized, cannondale etc but you’ll get a really rubbish specced bike at that price as you’ll be paying more for the name.
other than that your other option is go hunting in the classifieds etc for a second hand bargain.

depending on where you’re located and what size you’re looking at something like these might be worth looking at…
http://www.pinkbike.com/buysell/1502812/
http://www.pinkbike.com/buysell/1484375/
http://www.pinkbike.com/buysell/1478474/
http://www.pinkbike.com/buysell/1497333/
http://www.pinkbike.com/buysell/1477450/

Thanks for comments so far. My concern with buying second hand is that I don’t know enough to ensure there are no major issues with the bike

if you take a friend who knows their stuff you should be ok…as a general rule you should look at the points below if buying used…

does it fit?
do the gears work properly?
how worn is the drivetrain and how soon is it likely to need replacing?
do the brakes work and how much pad life is left?
do the wheels spin smoothly?
are the wheels straight?
condition of tyres….might need to kick them!!
does headset and all other bearings (hubs, bottom bracket) run smoothly?
contact points (saddle, grips, pedals) in good nick?
seatpost not seized with smooth action?
do the forks work smoothly? condition of forks? do all the adjustments (rebound, compression, lockout etc) work as they should? if it needs air does it hold air and does it come with a pump?
is the frame straight?
are there any dents/scratches on any of the tubing. check for cracks and crash damage (around headtube mainly but also check all weld areas)

i’m not sure if i’ve missed anything off but if i have i’m sure the STW massive will point that out add to the list

if all the above is good then you need to haggle so long as you like the bike.