Been looking around for a bike for a co worker but their budget is £300 and they want it to be new.

Is it possible to get something half decent?

Do decathlon have anything they like?

https://www.chainreactioncycles.com/mountain-bikes?sort=pricelow

https://www.paulscycles.co.uk/bikes/mountain-bikes/male/instock/onsale/adult

Someone posted one from halfords the other day that looked ok.

halfords carreras. theres a decent one with 30 percent off at 360 and cheaper ones too. have a look at there website as they will not all be in store.

Merlin has a Bianchi that looks reasonable for the money (about £50 over budget though).

Might be an ok Go Outdoors one plus Winstanley Bikes can have much reduced and there was the bike shop that was closing down and he was selling off stock cheaply.

https://m.startfitness.co.uk/scott-2018-aspect-750-mens-hardtail-mountain-bike-yellow-265305.html

Slightly over budget but good deal.

300 quid new? Would you ride a bike that cost that much?

As the friend of your co-worker, and as someone they’ve come to for advice, you really should be telling them to look for something second hand.
There’s a charity near me that does up old bikes and sells them for great prices. You never know what they’ll have in at any time but there are some real bargains there. Do you not have anything similar near you?

Thanks for the help, some options but as expected the budget is realistically not enough unless your looking at the 2nd hand market!

Out of interest how much notice should I be taking of the suntour forks with the little yellow sticker stating not to be used for offroad riding? I’m assuming they would be ok for most simple singletrack and smaller rollable drops?

Does your employer do the cycle to work scheme?

300 quid new? Would you ride a bike that cost that much?

Absolutely, don’t be such a snob.

The Carrera Kraken in Halfords with £90 off at £360 is far better than the 1992 GT Timberline I started on, and that cost £300. I’d happily ride that – in fact, a colleague has the £240 Vengeance as an off-road commuter and he’s absolutely abused it and it’s still going strong. Nothing wrong with either of those as a budget entry-level MTB. Not everyone thinks a £1500 bike is cheap..

Calibre rake looks a bit better spec than the carerra kraken IMO

300 quid new? Would you ride a bike that cost that much?

Depends what you want it for. If your a commited mtb rider then there’d be to many compromises. But for a casual rider who might go of road occasionally, as the links show there’s plenty of bikes at that price point that are up to the job.

easily

Member
300 quid new? Would you ride a bike that cost that much?

Yup. My first proper mtb was a carrera fury in about 2002, absolutely rode it into the ground over about 3 years and thousands of miles. Nothing at all inherently wrong with the spec on it and Deore has only got better since!

Depends what you want it for. If your a commited mtb rider then there’d be to many compromises.

With the utmost respect, you’re talking bollocks. Qr forks might not win world cups anymore, and 10 speed 11-36 isn’t going to make an appearance in singletrack’s fresh goods Friday. But it’ll still be the squishy meaty bit on top’s lacking commitment that keeps it off the podium. Not delusions that ‘committed’ means opening the chequebook.

Depends what you want it for. If your a commited mtb rider then there’d be to many compromises.

With the utmost respect, you’re talking bollocks……..

Tinas, can you let us know which £300 bikes you’d recommend for our local black runs? 😂

Tinas, can you let us know which £300 bikes you’d recommend for our local black runs?

This $180 bike?

Dang, beaten to posting the Sam Pilgrim vid by mere minutes

#greatminds

I’d still buy used tho. (Jumps on £120 Orange P7 w lockout 130mm forks and hydros – cackles off unto the woods singing the virtues of STW classifieds/community)

300 quid new? Would you ride a bike that cost that much?

Absolutely yes if I was just playing around taking the kids to the park or going along canal tow paths.

If the guy wants a bike for black runs then, of course, £300 isn’t enough. But if he is just going to pootle then there are some great options around for £300ish

Carrera Subway 1 or 2?

Got the cheaper 1 for my boy on the weekend. It’s billed as an urban city bike but should be okay for light trails, no suspension but 2″ tyres and he’s loving it. Seems pretty decent components too for just over £200 with 10% discount.

Tinas, can you let us know which £300 bikes you’d recommend for our local black runs?

Are you serious?

Pretty

Much

Any

Of

Them

And that’s not just because my local black run is at Swinley 😂

Ok so they only have 27 (or even 24) gears, the forks have elastomers in them and the tyres are harder compound than Jean-Claude Van Damme. But let’s be honest, the OP’s co-worker isn’t Sam Pligrim and isn’t going to be taking it off any sweet jumps, they probably just want a mountain bike because they don’t like the idea of drop bars.

A £300 bike will do tens of thousands of mile of cycle path bimbling, and probably a good few months/years of trail centers.

For reference, my most expensive bike cost about £650 new, my two most used cost me £120 and £100 each s/h! So I can say with reasonable certainty that cheap bikes are in fact not shit, the good ones are just good value.

Well that’s me told then.

I’d hardly call myself a snob – every bike I’ve owned has been mid range and second hand.

I’ve seen too many 300 quid bikes that are just junk though. If I was to buy new I’d be looking at 400 minimum.
And 300 quid would get you something decent second hand.

There’s a lot to be said for buying new though with the warranty and the support of your local bike shop, especially for someone new to cycling who doesn’t know the first thing about bike maintenance.

I’ve seen too many 300 quid bikes that are just junk though. If I was to buy new I’d be looking at 400 minimum.

Conformational bias? If a set of 36’s wears out its stanchions it’s because it’s fox, if a set of Lyric’s steerer comes loose from the crown it’s because they’re RockShox, if a £300 bike breaks it’s because it’s a £300 bike, stuff breaks. Cheap bikes might not last as long, but I don’t think that really makes them unfit for purpose.

I agree that bikes get better at that price point for what appears to be not much more, but comparing a £300 bike to a £400 bike is like comparing a £2000 bike to a £2660 bike. If you haven’t got £400/£2660 the fact that you can get a better bike for that money is an irrelevance.

Tell most people that the components on a £300 bike will probably only last 5000 miles or so and they’ll look at you like you’re crazy for having ridden 5000 miles, the idea that that might be a year’s use makes them wonder why you’re not riding the TdF!

Tell most people that the components on a £300 bike will probably only last 5000 miles or so

Good grief, I really should go back to buying cheap bikes. They’ve got a lot better since I spent £400 on a Marin, 25 years ago. I don’t think there’s anything left as standard after 5000 miles on any of the bikes I’ve had in the last decade.

Cheap bikes might not last as long, but I don’t think that really makes them unfit for purpose.

Hold on, does that mean that I should be getting significantly over 5000 miles on my components at the moment? 🤔 Or are we talking about single-speeds?

300 quid new? Would you ride a bike that cost that much?

As the friend of your co-worker, and as someone they’ve come to for advice, you really should be telling them to look for something second hand.

I bought a mountain bike from Halfords 10 years ago this year. It was £400 in the sale. And it was so good, in all that time I never once actually felt the need to replace it. It’s taken a hammering on the trails, been crashed countless times, undertaken multi-day adventures and it rides as well as the day I bought it.

Recently I swapped out the frame for something else, only because I had a frame there originally intended for another project. All of the components, aside from consumable items remain. It’s been a great bike.

That was pre-recession, before price hikes and all the rest of it. But with trickle down technology on a mature market, there’s still some very capable bikes available. I did see a very good deal at Halfords someone highlighted recently, but I think it might have ended now looking at the website.

There and Decathlon are the obvious places to look.

As for durability. Expensive bikes are generally built for performance which in many cases will compromise durability. Cheap bikes (of a good pedigree) last forever in my experience.

I don’t think there’s anything left as standard after 5000 miles on any of the bikes I’ve had in the last decade.

And how many of those changes were because components had actually worn out, not because you wanted and upgrade?

Hold on, does that mean that I should be getting significantly over 5000 miles on my components at the moment? 🤔 Or are we talking about single-speeds?

Either/or, even when I was at uni which meant 75% of my riding was off road the Peak district September-April (i.e the gritstone grinding paste months) I was on a £275 Carrera and getting ~2500miles to a chain and cassette. I think I’ve still got the deore cup and cone hubs in a box somewhere as “they’ll be useful some day” spares!

I dread to think how many miles pass by before I change singlespeed components 🤣😂🤣, the the chain was running on the body of the freewheel on my commuter!

As I posted a couple of days ago,

A mate of mine bought a couple of Halfords bikes last summer. My reaction was “WTF, are you mad?” until I actually saw them. They’re astonishingly good for the money, if I had a £300 budget then it’s where my money would go.

Second hand is all well and good if you’re a seasoned biker, handy with maintenance and can spot a bargain from a pup. But someone spending sub-300 quid on a bike probably doesn’t fall into that category and is going to value things like warranties and servicing.

And how many of those changes were because components had actually worn out, not because you wanted and upgrade?

I rarely upgrade my bikes, so it would be wear and tear. My Vagabond is over 2000 miles and needs new drivetrain, my big bike is 1250 miles and is starting to show signs of it. Neither are desperate, but neither has 3000 miles left in them. Your last sentence gives away how you treat your bikes. What are they btw? You’ve proudly told us how much they cost – it would be interesting to know what they are.

They’re astonishingly good for the money, if I had a £300 budget then it’s where my money would go.

Slightly OT, but when people talk about the direct brands causing LBSs to shut down they happily forget that it’s more likely to be Halfords that is the reason. Not much wrong with the bikes, but it’s the rest of the package that is the problem.

Go outdoors have a sale on too. There’s a 350 pounds mtb for 200 and this for 350 from 450

bike

Grizedale had their ex-hire Saracen Mantra Trail bikes on sale for £375 (down from £900 RRP)

Your last sentence gives away how you treat your bikes.

It’s a singlespeed (Charge Plug if you’re interested), I was miffed that being a freewheel I couldn’t just turn it round and get more miles out of the teeth! It’s now got a fixed gear to solve that little problem.

The rest of my off road shed:
On one Fatty – £650new
Charge Cooker 29er – £120 s/h

My original <£300 bike was one of these:

I rarely upgrade my bikes, so it would be wear and tear. My Vagabond is over 2000 miles and needs new drivetrain, my big bike is 1250 miles and is starting to show signs of it. Neither are desperate, but neither has 3000 miles left in them.

That’s kinda the point though, 2500-3000 miles of Peak District winter filth each year took a chain and cassette to the point of skipping, then £35 sometime after easter got it back to being as good as new. Just because ‘we’ as a forum all like n+1 bikes for every eventuality and wouldn’t dream of running a cassette to that point because it messes with our OCD/Zen that our 6″ travel enduro bikes shifting doesn’t go clunk-click like a rifle loading. Doesn’t mean there aren’t other ways to measure component lifespans!

And the op didn’t actually say they wanted an MTB for actually shredding the gnarr or to survive a winter in the Peak district. Can’t for the life of me find the thread now, but someone on STW’s daughter took a cheap halfords bike on an intecontinental bikepacking trip, probably a lot more than 5000 miles!

And the points moot, alivo 8-speed seems to last forever anyway.

Well, Tinas, I was replying after you made this rather aggressive reply to someone else:

Depends what you want it for. If your a commited mtb rider then there’d be to many compromises.

With the utmost respect, you’re talking bollocks.

And then you claimed that any £300 bike would be fine for black trails.

Most of us have owned/still own cheap bikes. Most of us are well aware of their capabilities, and don’t pretend otherwise. Other than that, we’re both in agreement that a £300 bike would be fine for someone pootling around.

Yes, you can buy a mtb for under £300 but that doesn’t mean you should.

Thing is, cycling goes 1 of 2 ways when people are new to it.

1) they buy a bike, it comes out in the summer for the odd day, then lives in the shed and is forgotten about,

2) they get addicted, replace everything on it with xt then in a years time they go out and but a new bike and spend at least their original budget on upgrading the wheels,

Why spend £1000 if you fall into catogory 1?

Problem is, but a terrible bike and cycling is hard work and no fun at all and you will never fall into catogory 2.

Look, it’s not your money, let him spend it how he wants. You have given him your advice, he either listens to it or he doesn’t.

You can still have fun at a trail centre with a £300 bike. The one I mentioned was 450 at full price. That’s quite a decent starter bike and a lot more capable than an expensive at the time retro bike.

That Calibre Rake looks good for the money I reckon.

https://www.bikeradar.com/reviews/bikes/mountain-bikes/calibre-rake-review/

I don’t have any experience of buying new in this price bracket (all my bikes are s/h), but looking at the links above I’d be choosing primarily based on geometry. You know the fork will have its limits, it’ll be a 3xN drivetrain, and it’ll be heavy. But none of that will stop it being fun. Just make sure the geometry looks ‘reet for the sort of thing you want to ride, the cockpit looks more or less sane, and it has hydraulic disc brakes.

As above. The rake was the one I posted too. Already discounted with now an extra 15 percent off go outdoors too. see the psa thread.

As above. The rake was the one I posted too.

@trumpton sorry, I was trying to say “yes, what he said” 🙂

Quite a few of the other bikes linked seem to have quite “old school” (for want of a better phrase) geometry. 70+ degree head angles, short reach, etc. And while of course you can ride anything on anything*, there’s no harm getting more friendly and confidence-inspiring geometry if you can.

* See Also: BITD Proper Riders did full-on downhill runs on XC bikes which were basically road bikes with flat bars and wider tyres; Sam Pilgrim backflipping bikes he finds in Walmart and/or a skip

That Go-Outdoors bike looks brilliant for the money.

That Go-Outdoors bike looks brilliant for the money.

I’d happily ride this anywhere! As bikeradar say, “Forget the price and just ride flat out!”

£350, blimey.