I’m looking to get into mountain biking, but don’t want to spend a fortune. I’d be doing some longish rides in northern Scotland and maybe a bit of camping. I’ve managed to ride a few bikes now, but I’m now wildly changing my mind every 5 minutes! So far, I’ve come up with the following options:

1)Keep my old 1990s rigid MTB and add a new discounted 80mm suspension fork, V-brakes, and maybe change the stem and bars to bring the olde-worlde XC riding position more up-to-date.

2) Buy a close-out 26″ hard-tail bike – seem to be some good deals on a couple of steel framed bikes from around 2010/2011 with Rock Shox Recon forks etc for around £750 – £900 (original RRP of around £1300 – £1700).

3) Buy a nice quality 26″ close-out hard-tail frame. One I have my eye on might be slightly too big, but I’d probably be using swept-round bars which would reduce the reach and increase the front height. Build it up with some discounted kit.

As an aside, it seems the discounted bikes/frames have 26″ wheels in the main – obviously falling out of favour. I’m not sure about how much of a disadvantage 26″ wheels would be – I’m also wondering if one of those discounted steel frames might be quite nice to ride, or otherwise.

4) The other options mean spending a bit more money. I managed to try out a few Santa Cruz bikes; Chameleon, Highball, Superlight29. I was also given a ride on somebody’s blinged-out Carbon Tallboy. I thought I wouldn’t want suspension, but I certainly noticed a difference between the two hard-tails and the Superlight. My brother was with me and also rode them, and he says he wouldn’t consider anything without suspension, although he’s not a cyclist.

5) …and then there’s the Jones, which is the bike which got me thinking about an MTB. I’d pretty much convinced myself that was the bike (not sure which model, but probably the basic diamond frame and unicrown fork, although I might be persuaded by the steel spaceframe and truss fork). I love the riding position, It steers brilliantly, and some people tell me it’s brilliant and that suspension is not required. However, there is that magic carpet ride of the Superlight29 etc… I’m a sucker for anything unusual, and love the idea of the Jones, but there must be a reason that suspended designs have taken over the world…

I keep thinking I could keep costs down by nicking bits off my other bikes, or buying something for now and transferring the parts to something better later, but the reality is there’s not that much compatibility between bikes – from 26/29″ wheels to different axle types and sizes, thru to disc/rim brakes, etc. There’s always something which means I can’t transfer components.

6) Obviously, there’s the second-hand route, but it could work out quite expensive if a few components need to be replaced, and although I know a little bit about bikes, I could still be taken for a ride. Also, it’s not that easy to find second-hand bikes.

As I say, I’d prefer not to spend a lot, but I wouldn’t mind getting out on the trail quite soon. So, in a nutshell my options seem to be: ugrade what I’ve got, buy a new old model bike or frame, something second-hand, or splash out on a Jones or a FS bike.