For some stupid reason when my lovely old gt timberline got stolen I replaced if with a rigid hybrid Scott. I thought i’d be doing loads of town riding but now I have a kid I don’t and all I want to do is go to the Forest of Dean every weekend and bomb down trails.
I’d still need it to be able to be a good town bike but off road is most important now. I guess lockout forks would be good and I’m a short ass so 27.5 wheels. Budget around £600 but I think ideal i’m looking for a rrp £800 bike thats been reduced so its got a bit of a better spec.
not sure if I want a ladies fit. I’ve always had guys bikes before and not had a problem but if there was a nice ladies model I might be swayed!
Anyone got ideas? I keep looking and looking but can’t decide! I need to narrow it down so I can go and try a few.

If it were me I’d be looking in Classifieds. What height are you?

+2 on classifieds.

Be fussy, avoid the classifieds only traders…

As per Cinnamon Girl, let people know your dimensions, and they can make some recommendations.

Might be worth going rigid if you’re going to have forks locked most the time, spend the money on better components you’ll be using.

I’m 5.3. I did start look at second hand but I really want to try a couple of different ones for size at least before I decide on what I want. I loved my GT (although I know GT are not what they used to be) and the Schwinn I had around the same time too but its not love with the Scott and I can’t really afford to make a mistake like that again!

I have a rigid now and I hate it. 🙁 really miss my bouncy front end.

Saracen Mantra Trail reduced from £850 to £699 now. If you’re anywhere near Hay on Wye you’re welcome to come and try one.

Look for a small Cotic Soul, they do come up sometimes. Perfect for Verderer’s. 🙂

^^^ got to be pretty lucky to find an XS. Finally got one for my 5’3″ wife today after 3 months searching.

halfords 20% off all bikes

Whyte do some really nice hardtails. Check out the large online retailers such as
http://www.winstanleysbikes.co.uk
http://www.paulscycles.co.uk

You may be able to get a bargain 🙂

it might seem counter intuitive but try the Voodoo Bizango from halfords – Bang on budget and it is a great ride – 29er though. Give it a go!

For the price, those 16″ 13 Incline Alphas left at Halfords are great, but then so is the Bizango at £480 in the 20% off sale.

Maybe price up buying the 13 with some upgrades, such as new wheels, for instance a custom Hope set from Chain Reaction?

http://www.halfords.com/cycling/bikes/mountain-bikes/13-incline-alpha-27-5-mountain-bike-2015

Don’t forget to sign up for British Cycling for 10% off Halfords, CRC and I think Evans these days.

Or Quidco/Topcashback (I’m not sure if there are ways to combine British Cycling with cashback).

A good 2nd hand bike, if you can find one, would be nice but I’d steer clear of anything too old. I had an 08 Meta which has been a great bike for the last few years, but it’s not until you ride something more modern you realise how far bikes have come especially in terms of geometry.
If voodoo do a 27.5 equivalent of the Bizango then you’d struggle to do better than that. I recently bought a Bizango on the C2W scheme as a winter/back up bike and it’s an amazing bike for £480.

I always think the Ragley Marley is a great bike/VFM, 14″ – 20″ sizes
http://ragleybikes.com/products/marley-27-5-complete-bike/

Thank you for all the ideas!
Never heard of Ragley bikes before. It looks like exactly what I’m after.

Deffo a hardtail? http://singletrackworld.com/forum/topic/small-psa-boardman-full-susser-599

Be aware that some (men’s) bikes have a long top tube so check geometry, also weight will be a consideration. Go for a well fitting frame, wheels and forks can always be upgraded in the future.

This months WMB has a big test of reasonably priced bikes, probably worth a read.

That Marley weighs a ton, 29.7 lbs. 😯

Its not the lightest but not the heaviest either. Wonder where the extra weight comes from….
I think its lighter than my last bikes.

I have my Stanton Slackline in the classifieds. It would fit pretty well. 26″ though so I don’t know if thats a big issue.

Whilst it doesn’t state the size, for a hardtail it is heavy and probably from the wheels. You’d do better in the Classifieds, you just need to put the work in to find something such as a Wanted ad as well as daily scouring.

Edit: I wouldn’t discount 26″ wheels either, for your height they’re well worth considering.

Happy to look at 26″ wheels but don’t want 29. I have 29s now and it just feels too big. 27.5 seem more common though so I thought looking at 27.5s would narrow it down a bit. I think my other half runs 27.5s too so we’d only need to take one size of inner tube with us.
Its hard to find weights of all the bikes i’ve been looking at but from what I’ve found they seem to range from 25-31 so 29 isn’t so bad and I guess they’ve weighed the medium. I think I will be limited with the budget i’ve got. I think for me bike fit and how it feels is far more important than weight which is why I want to try a few new ones first then either buy new (in the sale ideally!

https://www.canyon.com/en-gb/mtb/grand-canyon/grand-canyon-al-4-9.html?c=1106
The small is 650b wheel size. In stock so would probably be delivered in 2 weeks.

That Marley weighs a ton, 29.7 lbs

you know the bontrager meme, right?

Whilst it doesn’t state the size, for a hardtail it is heavy and probably from the wheels. You’d do better in the Classifieds, you just need to put the work in to find something such as a Wanted ad as well as daily scouring.

sorry, not trying to pick on you, but the amount of money you’re going to save will be minimal, you’ll wind up with a 26″ soul at best, if you’re lucky with a tapered headtube, and a steel framed hardtail will easily weigh as much as the ragley, IMO.
my mate’s soul feels a very similar weight to my chameleon, and they’re similar spec, though his probably has slightly blinglier wheels and his brakes are definitely more fancy ( though whether they are better is moot – BB7 vs. XT hydro 🙂 ).

that canyon is a similar weight.

Del – I used to have a small Soul and it weighed considerably less than a Marley, probably 25 lbs. Know you’re not picking on me and I only talk rubbish some of the time. 😉

good. 🙂
pre CEN? frame weights went up for steel frames after that came in.
i also note hope brakes, float 32s? and thompson….

Nope, post CEN, Fox’s with remote lockout, Hope hubs with tubes, Hope brakes with carbon levers, carbon bar, Thomson seat post and stem, Straitline pedals, XT groupset 9 speed triple.

And 4 lb of mud 😉

Of course, I was no fair weather rider you know. 😀

I think i’d be best off shaving weight off my waistline than my bike.

The Whyte range of ladies bikes get good reviews. Some are discounted if you look about on the internet

i picked up one of those grand canyons second hand a few months back – really enjoying riding it for local stuff, feels light and quick off the mark, although i did recently succumb to new wheels!

maybe worth a look? no connection BTW
or…. old pikes but i’m still running a set o they

just buy this in XS
https://www.rosebikes.com/bike/rose-count-solo-1-275-2016/aid:816082
you know it makes sense