Its N+1 time and im looking to buy a new mountain bike to join my cycling club on a few trail runs. Looking to spend under £500 as its my first foray infto the MTB world(and having to justify to the missus the need for another bike!). I was about to press the button on a GT avalanche expert for £450 (rrp over £700) as the spec looks great on paper (rockshox, deore throughout and hydraulic brakes) as well as being a nice looking bike. Now ive found a Genesis Latitude 10 on offer for £499 (rrp over £800) which i absolutely love the look of with Raidon air forks but only alivio gearing. The GT is 27.5 and the genesis is a 29er.
Any advice on my predicament would be very much appreciated.
Thanks in advance
Does it have to be new? Some great s/h bargains on the forum classifieds and ebay.
If new try Pauls Cycles. They stock lots of last years models etc..
I would prefer new but have been trawling through ebay, just finding something that fits the bill in my size (shortarse). Will have a look at pauls cycles.
Cheers
The Voodoo range at Halfords have always had good reviews. Maybe worth a look at if you have one local. You may even get some bits (Helmet, lock etc) thrown in if you haggle. 🙂
don't worry too much about alivio vs deore gearing, whilst deore is a lot better it's also cheaper to upgrade a couple of bits of drive train vs a whole fork. Getting the best frame, fork and wheels is important at your pricepoint.
I think 29er is a little bit friendlier wheel size for new MTBers as it allows you to roll over things that may bog down 26/27.5
I can highly recommend the Voodoo Bizango
This review hits the nail on the head http://www.mbr.co.uk/reviews/hardtail/voodoo-bizango-29er-review-2013
How tall are you? Don't get too hung up on getting what is perceived to be an incredible bargain, some bikes are overpriced in the first place and some represent brilliant value... Riding a bike that fits you is far more important than bagging a bargain anyway.
If it's your first foray, you may well be best served popping down your local bike shop as you're inevitably going to have some teething troubles getting used to the bike etc. and the fact that they're local will pay dividends! Also, nows the time of year when pretty much every shop is selling off its existing 2015 stock quite cheaply anyway, so you're still likely to bag a bargain...
At your budget, even in the sales, you're not likely to score an incredible suspension fork sadly, but should be looking for a good quality frame that is worth upgrading in the long run, good hydraulic disc brakes and probably 3x8 or 3x9 gears (either is fine). I'm biased, but we sell a lot of Whyte 603's at this price point as it's an excellent first mountain bike, but there are literally hundreds of others out there.
Great advice all thanks, will take a good look into voodoo and whyte. Im 5ft6 and big boned?. Think i might drop the wife off at trafford centre and take a stroll round evans. Thanks all
Another vote for Pauls cycles here. They're mail order but I wouldn't worry about that,I've used them twice and would use them again.
http://www.paulscycles.co.uk/offers.php?cat=1
This looks a bargain, again Mail Order, but Merlin have a great reputation
http://www.merlincycles.com/sensa-livigno-sfb-sport-mountain-bike-2015-75659.html
Think i might drop the wife off at trafford centre and take a stroll round evans.
LOTS of very good independent bike shops round that way to avoid you the drudgery of having to deal with Evans!
At 5ft6 you're probably on a small or 16-17" sized frame in most manufacturers language, though there will of course be exceptions. Should give you a reasonable starting point though.
Voodoo or something that's not been mentioned.. The btwinn bikes from decathlon are pretty crazy specs for the money, best deals are actually limited to smaller frame sizes.. Well worth a look.