Hello Everyone,
Since my Surly cross check was stolen, I’ve been hardheartedly looking for a new bike, something more off-road/mountain biking than the previous one.

I’ve realized that whilst i would love something from Cotic/Stanton/Genesis, the amount I could spend is somewhere less than £500. The cross check was used for commuting which i’m no longer doing so I can’t spend that amount again, plus a lot of things on it where from previous bikes. I’m now starting from scratch again.

I’d love to avoid Halfords, but second hand never seems to have anything in small or nearby. until I saw this –
https://www.pinkbike.com/buysell/2578050/

What do the people of STW think of it?

OKay the advert is an year old, and has probably gone (I don’t know the Pink bike policy on old adverts), and also the corona issues mean i wouldn’t be able to go over there any way. But I do have a work colleague who lives in Mold who is fanatical about XC mountain biking, so he might be able to have a look.

But I’ve seen some positive mentions about On-one 456’s. Where these bikes any good? I’m assuming that the fork and drivetrain could need a lot of work on them.

It would be my first mountain bike bought for mountain biking/offroading, rather than converting to a commuter.

If the advert says, “forks could do with a service” that usually means they are a write off or close to.

I would assume that a drive train refresh, Chain, cassette, chainring and cables will be required.
Bleed brakes, change pads, possibly grips

The OnOne 456 is a good frame for the money IF you’ve got a good reason to stick with 26” wheels. For example, i’ve Got a bunch of old stuff attached to a 26” jump bike in the garage which i’m unlikely to ride as is, but if I hung them off a 456 then it’d be quite a useful little hard tail.

Personally though, i’d Go for something a bit newer, and that particular example looks (looked) shagged, and overpriced. GoOutdoors have a Kona Fire Mountain on sale for just under £500 that looks quite tempting if the sizing works.

There is a Voodoo something or other in Halfords for £425 – 29er,suntour forks, 2×9 gearing – £425 brand new. Normally I’d look second hand but I’d look past that deal, not because any part of it is necessarily bad, but to have someone to throw it back at if its not working right.. I too would be suspicious of forks ‘needing a serivce’ its a bit of a cop out.. they may just be trying to be super honest but ..
Do an EBay search on distance, the odd decent bike that got bought and garaged immediately does pop up. I got a really nice Whyte for one of my boys this way, it needed some gear fettling and cable changes that were easy for me, but it was 1/3 of rrp but practically brand new.

Do an EBay search on distance, the odd decent bike that got bought and garaged immediately does pop up. I got a really nice Whyte for one of my boys this way, it needed some gear fettling and cable changes that were easy for me, but it was 1/3 of rrp but practically brand new.

This…

Doesn’t happen quite as much now as it did a few years ago, but ebay used to be riddled with £1k Cycle2Work bikes that had been ridden twice then garaged, and now being sold for little more than half their original purchase price.

Also try Gumtree, lots of poeple who bought a mtb and didnt rid it and dont know anything about bikes will sell them there for bugger all money. Bikes just depreciate massively, you can pick up a great bargin thats only been used for a few months. If it looks clean and the pictures look well taken in a nice setting, chances are the bike is well looked after.

Crap picture in a crap setting with crap grammer/spelling usually means its a crap bike (and stolen)

A fork service will set you back a chunk of money, a chain and a set of pads much less.

Thanks for everyone’s advice.
Yes, looking up prices for replacement parts, the on-one doesn’t look a great price.

I’ve seen the voodoo Aizan for £425, and some good reviews for a budget bike.

The other way is to convince myself and Mrs RI that bikes cost more than £500 and it is worth upping my budget, and look at something like a sonder frontier rigid (save up for a suspension fork in the future). My works C2W scheme (Halfords) only goes to £1000.

And then use it, use it, use it, as much as I can, Save, save, Save and one day I may have the money and ability for mulitple Cotics/Stantons

On One bootzipper complete bike new starts at £599 if you can stretch to that. Its rigid but could add suspension forks at a later date.

I think it’s a bargain at that price and has plenty of scope for upgrades.

If I had £1k available on Halfords C2W, I’d have a hard time looking past the Boardman MHT 8.9: https://www.halfords.com/bikes/mountain-bikes/boardman-mht-8.9-mountain-bike-189326.html

Also, nobody really sells privately on eBay anymore tbh – Pinkbike, Facebook marketplace are your best bet, or Gumtree at a push.

If you want to avoid Halfords, it’s worth checking the detail of the C2W scheme – we use the Halfords C2W scheme at work and I was able to transfer the voucher to an independent dealer last year.

For £500 there are a few decent ish entry level mtb’s – think Vitus Nucleus from Chain Reaction Cycle / the Voodoo’s from Halfords (sometimes the bizango is available for that cash) / Calibre bikes from Go Outdoors to name a few.

I think my money (at full rrp) out of those bikes would go in the Nucleus.

Have a look for previous year deals. For future proofing / upgrade purposes it would be great to find a frame with boost rear spacing, but that’s less likely on a cheaper frame/bike. If you are looking at a small frame then you are likely to want 27.5 wheels rather than 29.

If you can up your budget a bit this looks like a good deal and most of it would transfer onto a Cotic soul at a later date 🙂

At the cross country end of the geometry spectrum, but still a decent bike

https://www.paulscycles.co.uk/1140/products/cube-reaction-pro-275-hardtail-mountain-bike-2018-blackred.aspx

I have a 2017 Genesis Core 30 that I’ll need to sell after purchasing a new bike. It is in excellent condition as it hasnt done many rides at all. Depending on where you are and how tall you are, it could be perfect for you!

Whyte 901 are about at a great price second hand.

Whyte 901 (2016) review