Hey everyone
I am new here and so very sorry if I have put this post in the wrong place.
I am looking into starting mountain biking, my only previous mountain biking is a woodland area I go to often with a cheapy £250 (although it is cheap it has served me very well)
So now I am looking to upgrade and start seriously mountain biking, mostly downhill biking with the ability to go up some hills.
What is the minimum priced bike you can recommend, I have heard the price for a bike like this would be £2000-£3000.
Thanks for any help

Sorry i forgot to mention am 5ft3 but growing, so will need a 16″ frame

Have a look in the classifieds for something a few years old, values plummet with age. There’s a small patriot frame for unde £200 in there for example.

Look 2nd hand rather than buying new. You can get some pretty good bargains with DH bikes, as it’s quite a fashion led sport, so the cool kids all want the latest gear each year meaning that if you find a 3/4 year old bike in good condition, it could be yours for a fraction of the new price!

Where do you plan on riding normally? Depending where you ride, a full on DH bike may or may not be the most suitable thing. Don’t let me stop you from buying one, more a word that if you’re not riding proper DH trails all the time you might be better served by something lighter weight and with less suspension travel.

something like £400-700 S/H should do you fine. (a lot less if you go for a hardtail)

Look for something a bit older and 2nd hand, some great full sus or hardtails can be had for really cheap as people buy the latest bling 🙂 For instance I got a 2003 dh frame + fork (plus some extras) for £395 and its still going strong after being heavily abused!

You will probably learn better skills on a hardtail so you could go for a really agro hardtail or something. You probably have all the skills already though.

buy my giant dh frame…im open to offers!

Alpine Bikes in Innerleithen have an ex-demo Saracen Myst for £1300, looks in good nick and they have a good write-up.

something like £400-700 S/H should do you fine. (a lot less if you go for a hardtail)

If you take a look on ebay, you’ll see the prices are a fair bit higher than that.

Isnt the first DH bike du jour always a Kona Stinky? Cheap n cheerful

Although I am thinking downhill riding, there will be a decent amount of uphill, where I ride now is not anything exceptionally difficult, it is a woodland area with various trekking paths, but I use it for my bike.
My riding style I am working towards is similar to this vid:
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=0zLuqKNKOqs
But it wont be quite so smooth
thanks for the suggestions so far

How about this? Orange 222 15″ £150 posted needs a spring but they are cheap enough second hand.

http://singletrackworld.com/forum/topic/early-orange-222-frame-with-push-tuned-fox-shock-150-posted

with these Boxxer race Uturns and Hope direct mount stem for another £150

BR – who mentioned Ebay?

I have a DH bike he could buy in the price range I suggested (you’d need to be a beast to ride it uphill tho)

ferit- it looks good but I have absolutely no previous experience in bike making/fixing or building so I would not be able to buy a frame and components etc

fair enough youngun. Bike building isnt rocket science and picking the bits is half the fun. It is a good learning curve building it up from scratch as you learn how to maintain it as well at the same time. But if you arent sure probably better getting something ready built.

Are you absolutely sure you want a downhill bike? They’re quite job-specific, you mentioned riding up hills and well, they’ll do that, some better than others but none very well. And the vid you posted, nobody’s on a dh bike…

Northwind- thanks for that, that video is the kinda trails I want to ride except it may be slightly faster, rockier and steeper.
As I said I am use to a £250 bike so I need some expert advice, what bike should I look at similar to the video?

And again thanks everyone, I would have made a lot of mistakes if I did not come here.
So clearing up what kind of bike i am looking for what would you recommend.

Buy some sort of 4x bike/dirt jumpy style hardtail with a longish seatpost. It should be strong enough to ride downhill, light enough to ride uphill and cheap enough to buy.

Like Northwind said – no ones riding a DH bike in the vid.
If that’s what you want to do look at something like a Scott Voltage fr30. Not light mind. DMR trailstar as a hardtail alternative

Trailstar, Surge or BFe would be a good hardtail for that sort of thing. If you want a full sus I’d look for something with about 160mm travel and “freeride” biased but with an uninterrupted seat tube so you can run a full length post.

you really don’t need to spend much to get something very capable, I built up an 07 patriot at the end of last season to do a few races and uplifts and it really got me back into DH. I stuck it on ebay cos I really have no idea what its worth. Its very much built with bits, so not exactly pretty, but I suspect it’ll be a bargain for someone.

If you’re interest just search for Orange Patriot 888 on ebay and I’m sure it’ll come up. This wasn’t supposed to be an ad for it, more an ad for the fact you don’t really need to spend £2000+ to race or even compete for podiums at most UK DH tracks.

I am finding it hard to comprehend using a Hardtail for rides like shown in the video.
And now I have myself a little confused on what bike to get.
So just a little update:
I am now looking for a full suspension mountain bike suitable for rough downhill riding, light and able to be rode uphill decently.
Sorry for being so difficult ha ha
The helps appreciated

You should give up riding and go fishing instead.

I am not sure but does this bike look good for the job?
http://www.evanscycles.com/products/bmc/speedfox-sf02-2011-mountain-bike-ec025533

Hardtail would be fine for that kind of riding. It looks pretty smooth and generally ht’s are easier to jump on.

mattamomo it looks like you’re knowledge of bikes is pretty limited
from what you’re telling us. There are a few different categories of bikes to choose from. There are pro’s and con’s to each. Which you should learn about before splashing all your money. You want to get the right tool from the job afterall.

so have a read of these sites.

There are many,many,many bikes out there to choose from so you really need to understand what your buying.

The riders in the video you posted well…are pretty good .it takes years of practise to get to that level,tho i do admire you’re enthusiasm. Its not something you just buy a bike and do , but with practise there is no reason why you cant get to that level.They make it look easy but it really does take ballz to do jumps like that.

The bike you posted is a 120mm trail bike meaning its got 120mm suspension travel front and rear and would be adequate for some ruff stuff and climbing. The spec is decent but if you shop around you might find something with a better spec for the same or cheaper price.

Do you REALLY want to ride like in the vid you posted? If so, you need some kind of 4x / jump bike I guess. If you want to just ride some challenging trails with out all the fancy flipping about, then anything from a long travel hardtail (Ragley mmmBop or On-One 456) to a 140/150mm trail bike (say Specialized Pitch) should do the job nicely second hand and in good nick for £500-£700 depending on build. Less if you build it up from bits.

i think the speedfox would be fine though personally id probably go for something like this……..
http://www.paulscycles.co.uk/products.php?plid=m1b0s1p3506
(which is quite similar to the speedfox really
or maybe one of these
http://www.mcconveycycles.com/store/product/12658/specialized-stumpjumper-fsr-comp-medium-2011/

the only thing id say is that if you buy a bike with fox forks id clean the stanchions after each ride and squirt some teflon lube bounce them up and down a few times and wipe away any gunk that appers from the seals!

After giving it some thought it looks like I would be best of with a freeride.
would a free ride be ok for trails like this
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=5uslwIp48Bw
And if so, should i look at getting a used free ride like many have said, is it worth the risk that it may be faulty?

That’s the Swinley (the trail is in an area called the labrynth), you really don’t need a DH or FR bike to ride there, infact I’d advise against it as they’d be utterly painfull riding up all the short steep hills.

Best bike for Swinley would be something like an On-One 456, anything bigger would become hard work. I’ve got a Specialized Pitch and only ride it there once in a blue moon as it’s too big a bike and saps all the fun out of the trails and is actualy slower than my hardtails. You really don’t need such a big bike, it’s not the bike it’s the rider that goes fast, buying a freeride bike wont get you over big jumps you need to build upto them. Infact I’d say a freeride bike makes jumping harder as it takes more effort to get it up off the ground (heavier, with energy sapping suspension), they’re just easier to land 😛

Someone up there linked to a Specialized stumpjumper which would be ideal for those trails if you really are set on full suspension (although I still think a a hardtail would be faster).

P.s. if you’re near Swiley give me a shout and I’ll show you round.

p.p.s what’s your budget? If it’s £900 then I doub’t there’s anything anywhere near as good as this will be http://www.on-one.co.uk/i/q/FBOO4561X5/on_one_456_evo_x5_sektor_bike for riding that trail in the video.

My budget is whatever it takes to get a good bike, as I would rather spend the big money once rather than keep buying new and better bikes.
I don’t live near the bike park but as soon as I can drive I will likely take some time off to travel around. So should I go for the specialized stumpjumper? also shall i look for a new one or second hand

My budget is whatever it takes to get a good bike

I’d spend £900 on that On-one (you’ll learn far more on a hardtail than on a FS bike). Then if you want to upgrade in a few years buy something then. Spend the change on the two most important things……..

a) a skills course (Jedi on here has a good rep and will probably have you riding stuff like the video in a day rather than years of trial and error)
b) petrol to drive places to ride. I had a realisation the other day that it cost’s me £35 (petrol, not including the post ride curry and the rear shock I blew up) to ride in the Peaks for a day, which is a far better use of £35 than some piece of anodised bling.

[edit] just re-read your OP, you have £2000-£3000 to spend, and I’m guessing your 16? I rode a £300 halfords hardtail from 16 to 20, nearly everything broke and had to be upgraded, but it was still an ace bike. The best bike you own (to borrow a phsase from photography) is the one you’re currently riding.

This is not a spoon- I dont have the money, but I am getting a job that will earn me £300 a month, and I have saved quite a bit of money from previous jobs. As for now I am riding a £250 Halfords bike 🙁 It as I said has faired me well though. so shall i go for the £900 hardtail. Also who is this Jedi?

petrol to drive places to ride.

Quoted for truth. I have friends with bikes that cost a fortune who never ride them ‘cos they’re always skint and never have time.

Jedi – http://www.ukbikeskills.co.uk/

I keep meaning to book a day but I’m always either too broken, my bikes too broken or I’m just enjoying riding in the sunshine too much.

[edit]and yes I would go for a £900 hardtail, I find I progress much quicker just going to the park on the BMX or taking the rigid 29er out on an XC ride than days spent on the Pitch (which is all mountain/freeride), so a day spent learning new skills on a bike that requires them to make it go fast is much more productive than weeks spent repeating the same mistakes on the big bike.

£300 A MONTH! And you want to spend 3K on a bike, it’ll take you 10 months to save up 3K, assuming you don’t spend anything in that time.

Seriously, get on ebay and buy something for £5/600 rag it around until you brake it, then learn to fix it, then when you’ve done this a few times and you know how stuff works and what bike you actually want, spend the big money then.

I kind of disagree with a lot of people up the thread.
For just dicking about in the woods, I wouldn’t recommend a stumpjumper or a trance.
Nor would I recommend a hardtail if your instinct says that a full sus is required. The last thing you want it to be wondering all the time what it would be like on a different bike once you’ve splurged the cash.

I would look at jumpy full sus bikes like the DMR Bolt, Saracen Ariel, Nukeproof Mega, Orange Blood, Transition, devinci, etc, etc.

But… For heaven’s sake – go and test ride some bikes. I know finding small sizes will be tough. But it’s £2000+!

buy cheap, learn, break, upgrade. then you’ll get it more in your head where you need to spend the money, and what sort of riding you want to do. if you want to emulate the guys in the first video, then i would say you would want to be learning on a hardtail anyway.

I have £1300 saved up already, so it will only be 3-6 months depending on what bike I get. Also is this Jedi good? how do you decide what to do there or what course to take.