Hey guys.
I have been biking off road a few times in a local forest (black and red runs). Each time I have hired a bike from the centre. I am now looking to buy one of my own, (obviously got the bug!) The last two times I went i had a KONA BLAST which i really liked, and then a GT……something which looked the part but was really disappointing, even for an amateur like me!! I have been looking online for ideas, my budget is around 400 pounds and all I have really picked up so far is that Rock Shox seem to be the forks to go for.
Any advice for a decent starter bike would be really appreciated.
Cheers all.

second hand will get you more for your money.

Grab yourself a Specialized Hardrock if you can for the following reasons:

1. It’s actually a good frame, you can hang some really good kit off it later and it still won’t let you down. Punches well above it’s price tag!

2. They’re virtually indestructible! I’ve had mine for nearly 3 hard years doing virtually everything and it just brushes it off!

3. Providing you buy the one with disc brakes they’re relatively cheap to upgrade later. The cable discs are actually pretty good and have same power as the hydraulics you can upgrade to. The headsets and BBs last quite a while as well. The ISIS BB lasted a good two years before conking out (ISIS BBs normally have a life you can measure with a stopwatch)

Downside:
The fork. Most are specced with Suntours, and even the top end model only has a Rockshox Dart. However with a price tag like that new I’d be surprised if they didn’t come with Suntours. However, someone on here will probably be able to flog you a much better fork for £100-150 (we’re talking Rockshox Pikes, Revelations, etc.) which will be night-and-day compared to any fork you can get in your budget.

You could get a good secondhand hardtail for £400. Do you have any pals into MTB who could help you look on eBay?

If you want new, this looks pretty good value…

http://www.halfords.com/webapp/wcs/stores/servlet/product_storeId_10001_catalogId_10151_productId_561395_langId_-1_categoryId_165499#dtab

My suggestion would be get to a shop and try a few bikes, figure out what size is right for you, and what style seems to suit. Some frames are designed with longer top tubes which can srtetch you out others with slightly shorter so you are a little more upright. It is one of these things that will just feel right when you sit on it.

I think the Kona blast is priced closer to the £600 mark than the £400 so bare that in mind when you get your bike, it may not be quite as good as the kona but you should get something pretty close.

After having a quick look i think the bordman sport hard tail could be hard to beat.

http://www.halfords.com/webapp/wcs/stores/servlet/product_storeId_10001_catalogId_10151_productId_561395_langId_-1_categoryId_165499#dtab

The halfords range can be a little hit or miss as you found with the GT but the bordman range is definately hit.

Good luck, come back to us when you narrowed your search down.

[EDIT]6 minutes too slow with the link [/EDIT]

yeah i got a mate who has just bought himself a specialized….something! looks nice, just heard from a few people that with specialized you may well be paying more for the name and would probaly get a better spec on something else.
Not too proud to go second hand if i can find something worth having.
didnt realise that you could get good or bad rock shox!!! seems i have much to learn!!

just heard from a few people that with specialized you may well be paying more for the name

I’m surprised to read this comment, I’ve always found Spesh bikes to be very well spec’d for their price. They do tend to use a lot of own brand kit, but usually this is pretty decent quality stuff (not complete cheap tat) and their warrenty rep is 2nd to none.

didnt realise that you could get good or bad rock shox!!!

Every company turns out products for high & low price ranges, and everyone has a basic fork in their range. Most things above the RS Dart (RS’s base model), which is reportedly quite good compared to it rivals, are what your looking for, though try and avoid the Turn Key damped models (more info to add confusion?)

seems i have much to learn!!

It’s all good.

just heard from a few people that with specialized you may well be paying more for the name

Quite true for Kona who make a good frame and hang low end components off it and charge a premium.

If you have a Decathlon near you they are worth looking at, some of there bikes are stonking good value. If you have any bikey mates then take them with you and they may be able to offer some advice, if not then post up on here and someone locally will help out.