Hi,

My mate is after a bike for general xc riding, predominantly around the lakes district.

What would you recommend new for £500?

Ive been looking on the classifieds for a bike 2nd hand but I havent found one that quite fits the bill yet

Ta

David

Theres a group test in MBUK this month, I think an Iron Horse won it for £399
Personally I would look through the shop ads in MBUK or Singletrack ahem, I saw a full suss Giant Yukon for £500 down from £899 that looked ok for a brand new bike.

Sorry, forgot to say, hardtail only. Ill have a look through a magazine this week.

Any other suggestions?

commencal combi disc 09.

check out the commencal normal, never ridden one socould be a dog, but the v-‘d one is £250 at Woolyhatshop, so leaving £250 to spend on forks/brakes/wheels depending on what he brakes or needs first.

try pauls cycles i got a cheap bike off there a few years back, they always have some deals on old stock

The commencal normal is indeed a nice looking bike, I was in Merlin few days ago and was surprised at the price!

I bought my Genesis Core 10 for £500, very happy with, though did upgrade forks quickly to RS Reba Team 09’s, XT shadow rear mech.

Depends on your idea of general XC, the Carrera Fury’s absolutely untouchable for value (£400 currently, comes with £250 worth of Tora 318 fork! Better’n you find on some bikes costing twice as much. Named parts pretty much all the way through (either 317s or Singletrack rims ferinstance) but it’s more a trail bike than pure XC, it carries a bit of extra pie because of its stronger build and 130mm fork. But if that’s not a worry it can’t be beat. TBH it’s a bit ridiculous that it wasn’t in the MBUK test, they’ve gone away and recommended a far inferior bike as a result.

i work at a bike hire centre and the boss has let me use one of the in fleet gt avalanche 3.0’s whilst i get the money together to get a charge duster frame, i was dubious as im a bit of a snob when it comes to bikes and didnt think much of the offer, but especially compared to the other bikes in fleet (cube aim’s, trek 3900’s and our competitors giant boulders) they ride beautifully. nice width bars, shortish stem, good standover and sorted geometry, i think anyway. taking a look at the higher price points they get a better spec and it would be a great upgrade base if your friend gets into it. what’s more the charge duster’s geometry is exactly the same….

Northwind your right! How could I forget I had a Carrera Fury bought it for £400 from Halfords It had a Tora fork, X7 rear mech, hydraulic disk brakes, Ritchey rims, nice fast bike it was. I sold it to my mate, he still rides it and loves it, he’s spent 55 quid servicing and replacing worn parts in all the time hes had it.
Great value.

Have a look at edinburgh cycle co ops own brand stuff – seems to be serious value for money. the hub at glentress sells of their ex hire bikes – fully serviced and bargainacious