Entry Level Hardtails

Can anyone recommend one to me, looking to spend about £400 so I know it won’t be fantastic but do any stand out?
Have looked at Marin Iron Springs, Cannondale Trail SL 5, Giant Talon 3 (2011) and a load more but can’t see a deal between them.
I’m struggling to get to a bike shop and physically try out bikes at the moment so just hoping for some advice before I buy.
Any help and recommendations would be great.
Thanks

second hand or new?

Go second hand, my mate just bought a mint Dialled Bikes Prince Albert for £400.

It cleaned up a treat too.

i was gona say that secondhand for that price is defo better. can you serviec a bike? if so defo second hand!

Have been looking for a couple of weeks at second hand bikes and having not found one, have now resorted to buying new. I think I have been struggling a bit due to needing an XL frame, if not bigger. Will still keep an eye out for any used bikes but it’s looking likely that I will buy a new one

Pop a wanted on here and be patient. Works for us x5 different bikes…

i have a cannondale trail sl. i think it was a 6 to start but i`ve upgraded as i went. forks first as they had no rebound damping (£40 tora 318’s off ebay) then other parts as they came up cheap.

i really like it

I like the looks of the Cannondale trail SL 5 but can get a 2010 SL 4 with better spec (hydrauilic brakes etc) for just over £400, the only problem is I am unsure if it will be big enough as I can only get a Large frame.
If I knew the large frame would be okay then I would just get that but I don’t want it to be too small.
I am 6″3 with annoyingly long legs so was planning to get an XL but then again the only bike I have had recently is a jump bike with 14″ frame which was used for everything so I suppose it would be a fair size increase on that!
I would rather have a better specced 2nd hand bike but have been looking for almost a month now and really want to get riding, so I’ve resorted to probably buying new – are there any considerably better bikes than the SL 4 for the money that I have missed?

And, @Van Halen, out of interest – what size is your Cannondale and how tall are you? Would like to know how they size up (I know a lot of other factors impact this but even a rough idea would be great)

I’ve never tried Cannondales, but in my hard-learned opinion*…

If you’re 6’3″ and it’s all leg, then a Large isn’t going to be big enough.

I’m 6’7″ and all leg, and XLs aren’t big enough.

(*I tried riding bikes that were too small on rides that were too long, and as a result have a lot less meniscus cartilage in my left knee than I should have)

Isla Bikes 29er? Good upgrade potential as and when money allows.

After being recommended by a friend, the current favourite looks to be the Commencal Premier HD 4. Looks a good bike for £380 and is available in XL.
I think I might just bite the bullet and buy this, as I have spent far too long looking and am still partially undecided.
Just before I set on buying this, is there any reason not to – looks good to me and I will have a bit of money to upgrade with when needed.
Link is here if anyone is interested:
http://www.chainreactioncycles.com/Models.aspx?ModelID=66758

You’re in the right spot with their sizing chart: http://www.evanscycles.com/product_document/file/a66/cdd/bb8/73/commencal-normal-sizing-chart.pdf

(thank your lucky stars you didn’t grow another four inches of height like I did!)

Thanks for the link, was struggling to find their sizing chart, seems an XL should be just right then 🙂

“(thank your lucky stars you didn’t grow another four inches of height like I did!)” – I’m only 18 so there is supposedly still time yet, however I seem to have been this height for a while now (touches wood!)

Think I’ll be ordering a commencal tomorrow then (unless someone chips in with a horror story about one in the meantime!)

Thanks for the help
🙂

Try Halfords- not sure where in the endless dance of halfords pricefixing the Carrera Kraken and Fury are right now but when the phases of the moon are right, they’re hard to beat.

Haha I went from 6’4″ to 6’7″ at age 19.

Seriously, though, don’t. Not if you’re leggy too 😀 Or you end up on ridiculous 23.5″ gates like this

Kraken is £449.99 according to the Halfords Website, Fury is six hundred quid.

I reckon the Commencal looks just fine, as long as that RST fork isn’t a complete dog. That’s probably something you’d look to upgrade early on. The only obvious benefit I can see on the Kraken is 9 speed gearing over 8 speed, but that’s probably a marginal benefit really.

You’ve got me worried now, thought I’d safely stopped growing!

And, having looked at the carrera, I think I’ll go for the Commencal and look at upgrading the forks when I get into the swing of things.

I’m also half-tempted to give clipless pedals a go, but that’s a different matter!

Hmm. In that case, Halfords are setting up for a sale- not worth buying at that price for either. You’ll probably find “20% off” in the near future though 😉

Looks like you’d need to buy some sort of pedals with the Commencal, unless I’m reading it wrong. SPDs are great once you get used to them but it’d also mean a shoe purchase of course.

Anyway, looks fine as an entry level bike to my eye, and that part of the European market is full of decent entry level suppliers (they’re competing with Decathlon after all).

On the growing thing, I definitely started most of these things late. I’m barely even shaving at 36. If i’d stopped maybe two inches shorter I’d probably have been fine with the biggest off-the-peg bikes (and good old Surly make bikes big enough for me, so I’ve got a karate monkey). I reckon you’ll probably be fine with most XL MTBs, but like I say, I wouldn’t compromise down a size. The bike that knacked my knee was my absolutely adored Airborne steel Black Widow, a 21″ frame. Cyclefit in London then told me to stop being stupid, I had the longest inside leg they’d ever measured, for gawd’s sakes go custom.

I’m biased but ive got an Trail SL4 and a ’97 Beast of the East ,i love the brand ,the RST forks are fine ,for XC? the brakes awesome ive boiled them but then who hasn’t .Im 5’9″ and 110k and the bike can handle me ,a lot was said when cannondale joined the corparation and (sold out ) but the brand is still trading ,admitetdly with a diffferent ethos ,my 97 is a lot lighter than my 2012 sl4 ,but then a lot of high end bikes from the mid 90’s are ,i reckon if you spend a few weeks going to cycle shops and playing dumb ,playing one model aginst the other and the same with brands ,ask the shop staff what they would buy and why ,also why is x better than y and your knowledge will be fantastic, so you get an informed opinion of a lot of cyclists ,then reasearch on the net you will get an amazing bike for your money (ive even raced my 2012 sl4 for 8 hours )good luck and spend wisely, i love da dale i even named mine?