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What's the best "cheap" bike - considering all of the expensive bikes people buy who are on here, what's the best modestly priced bike you've owned. I've had a Carerra Kraken for the past year and it's been ace for everything including commuting. It cost £320, so something in that price range is what I'm thinking of. 🙂
Dawes Tamarak. £275 all in. No pics at the mo but a fantastic starter bike.
Also the first brand new bike I'd ever owned. I was about 36 and felt like a kid when I picked it up.
I had a specialized rockhopper, i bought it for £130, there are not many items on my other bike, that cheap
GF rig - ss and big wheels, never looked back
Genesis iO bought second hand for £250
Thinking about it, my cheap roadbike (thanks oldgit) is also excellent bang for buck (£275 IIRC).
Ah, good examples people, proper bikes at proper prices.
My SS Inbred. I love it.
is 500 cheap? If yes then my merida, perfect size for me and stock components have all been very reliable. Love it.
The original pompino. The actual first one. Bought it for two hundred quid and rode a million happy miles on it. I must have been insane to sell it but thankfully a sane person bought it off me and made it look good again.
I've got another pompino now which cost me a lot more than the original but it'll never be the bike I rode a double century on nor will it be the bike I rode from one side of the country to the other on.
Plus the one I have now is the right size so it rarely slaps me in the sack when I'm riding fast over the sketchy stuff.
is 500 cheap?
I wouldn't say so, no.
£500 = great BMX or decent roadbike IMO.. if buying new you still can't get a decent MTB that's upto the job for £500
Forks were the only let down on my mtb, the dont work when it's cold, event though they aren't elastomer.
My Globe San Fransisco, which I paid £100 for as new from the classifieds. It's a hoot to commute on, looks cool (IMO) and is good for my fitness now it has a bigger gear.
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Well, my Carrera has done everything for £320 and hasn't put a foot wrong. More than decent in fact. Guess it's horses for courses.
500 quid on a BMX? Unless you race, completely unnecassary. Just my opinion of course.
That globe looks top.
if buying new you still can't get a decent MTB that's upto the job for £500
Yes you can!
My GT 29er was brand new and £250. A fantastic bargain and still my main bike of choice.
And as it stands, I quite fancy this:
Bargain! And super-niche!
My (Mick/firestarter's old) SS Inbred. Wish I'd never sold it - soo much fun. Wavey bars, rigid, 1 gear etc.
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£500 = great BMX or decent roadbike IMO.. if buying new you still can't get a decent MTB that's upto the job for £500
This is not the thread you are looking for.
Cool OnOne DavyBoyWonder.
the GF Rig's they sold off for <£400
the hubs were the only really dodgy item (and the avids were a bit marmite) great bike, even better warranty
MrGlitter - £500 would only buy an entry level racing BMX for an adult.
anyone else - show me a £500(rrp) mtb that's upto the job
[i]£500 = great BMX or decent roadbike IMO.. if buying new you still can't get a decent MTB that's upto the job for £500 [/i]
Planet GW is a very long way from where I live.
I've been riding my Carrera Kraken a lot lately... Cost me £200 used, rode it for a bit and it got me back into riding then it became a parts mule for my Scandal, and finally when I built the Soul the last of the bits was retired. Forks and cranks died. So, now it's got Exotic rigid forks in it and it went 1x9. Total spend is probably around £350 and it's a total blast to ride.
GW - Member
"£500 = great BMX or decent roadbike IMO.. if buying new you still can't get a decent MTB that's upto the job for £500"
With all due respect- balls. Carrera Furys often drop below £500 (£600 currently though). Boardman Sport too. Rockrider's B'twin 8.1 is £500 and other than a fairly nasty wheelset is a solid performer. Not one of these that isn't up to the task. And there's plenty more.
My carrera subway cost 200 quid (120 really thro' c2w) and it does the most miles of the3 bikes i have.
My SS Inbred.
Its just ace.
I love it.
My steel HT. Paid £120 for it & it turned out the frame cost about £300 alone. (No evidence of it being nicked either) Just a lucky buy from Asda's customers ads.
this is when I bought it in about 95/96
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this is it now, it's a 'Triggers Brush' bike!
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My RM Element? Well, I got the frame on here for £60 and loved it before it eventually broke.
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sorry, depends what job you want it to do I suppose. 😳
Northwind - just googled that rockrider you mentioned and yes it does seem to be a bargain, my biggest gripe with sub £500 mtbs is usually the cheap/weak/flexy cranksets they fit but that seems reasonably sorted with a deore HTII.. but it still wouldn't be upto what I'd want to do with it without spending quite a bit more on it and switching parts (rims, bar/stem etc).
So maybe the question should be more along the lines of:
"What's the best "cheap" bike you've done the Red Bull Rampage on? Pictures and experiences please."
My XTC4 that I bought for £375 five years ago. It's my only bike and it does quite nicely thanks. I'm told that I'm seriously underbiked by a riding pal (who I introduced to biking after I'd bought it and has owned about fifteen bikes in that time).
I have replaced all the weary-outy bits and fitted rebas but it's still got original wheels and brakes, only replaced the pedals a year ago (in fairness, it would have been much improved had I done that sooner).
It's seen a hell of a lot of use - even been up a few munros. It was end of year and I got a good deal on the bike - I think it was selling for about £500 a few months earlier and the forks are a major upgrade on the awful suntours that it came with but for a few years it was all I knew.
I had a trek 4100 once 200 odd quid and it was fine for cannock and afan and trail centers in the early days.
My SS Inbred, doubt more than £200 in bits off here, don't worry about it, great fun to ride, I have a few and its my most ridden! Good in the summer, pretty useful on the more gentle DH tracks, just right at this time of year in the mud.
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£90 for a mint '98 Cinder cone off ebay. Was nicked though 😥
EDIT: Oh and a giant XTC fixie of ebay for £120. WI ENO rear wheel & cog, middleburn cranks, thomson seatpost and stem, pace RC31 forks, BB7 front brake 8) But that in no way was the BEST bike I have owned. Possibly the worst....
Trek 1.2, £200. First proper road bike for a very long time. Been good to me so far and helped me set a sub 26min 10m TT on my first attempt.
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one of these, cost £140 brand new ... taught me more about how to ride a bike than I had learned in the previous 7
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Think it was £210 posted and my first "proper" mountain bike. 1x9 in 2007 as well, I was way ahead of the trend 8) 😆
GW - Member
"sorry, depends what job you want it to do I suppose."
OK then, let's say they're fit for the mountain biking most people people do 😉 I don't own a Fury but it's a lovely bike, I'd happily stick better tyres and pedals on it and bigger rotors then take it up the gondola or sling it in the back of a cattle truck. Wouldn't be fast on the way back down but it'd do it no bother.
raleigh boxer?
carera kraken is a fab bike for that cash and a grreat frame to build on. just ride it more and have fun. put better tyres/bits on it. forget about all the other bikes in the trail centre car park, just get fitter and kick their ass! make it lighter with nice bits as they wear out, then if you really care, get a nicer frame/fork. More than anything, enjoy yourself!
ok.. what really got me into it:
1. £70 2nd hand rocky mountain vertex frame that fitted me perfectly light n strong no disc mounts
2. transferring all the bits from my stupidly large rockhopper to 1. with help from 3.
3. riding with someone that knows about this stuff.
4. enjoying myself and not getting too preoccupied with all this crap.
Cheap Trek roadbike £350 half price sale from Pauls cycles.
Commuted, shops, road rides and some training in winter.
Bloody awesome considering how little I payed for a Tiagra spec'd road bike.
On One SS £300 a good number of years ago. It's still my favourite despite the other exotic SS I've owned / own
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I regret selling that bike Daveyboywonder 🙁
this:
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(it's a Redline mx24 cruiser BMX)
cost me £200 and has tought me more riding technique in 1 year, than i managed in the previous 30.
it's ace! every mountain biker needs a bmx...
Spesh Langster, £450 new.
Only had to replace the brake pads, and it's done a fair few miles.
I love the simplicity of it.
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Genesis io, simple and a great ride!
Bought for £25 off ebay
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Threw on a few bits from the garage, now ride to work on it. Super light 🙂
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WANT!! Where did you get it from Retrodirect?
here's a pic of my tricross mentioned before:-
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I do too Mick if its any consolation! Going to build another sometime...
Nice red Trek road bike for £250 (should have been £400). Had it 10 years and had lots of great rides on it. With the exception of a new set of wheels (I "accidently" ended up off road and wrecked the original wheels) I've done little more than fix punctures on it. In effortless smile-per-pound terms it is way better than my expensive full susser, although by modern standards my full susser seems mid-range 😯
It was from an online place on offer.
[url] http://www.winstanleysbmx.com/product/19082/DK_Sentry_24Inch_Bike_2009 [/url]
This is the current equivalent model though it has lots of small niggles sorted. This one has a euro Sealed Bottombracket (well worth the extra money).
If you want one, BMX Cruisers come up on ebay for dirtcheap. There's currently a REALLY nice haro x24 sitting wih no bids a £150
For basic and cheap, this is my favourite
[url= http://farm5.static.flickr.com/4009/4574919768_b08d73340f_z.jp g" target="_blank">
I bought it 9 years ago new for peanuts - it was a cancelled order and it has served for centuries, tours, mountainbiking, and very rarely what it was intended for, commuting.
Otherwise I would say any On-One SS.
I bought a Specialized Hardrock new in 2003,I think it cost £375,best value for money bike I've had
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It's in rigid full mudguard commuter mode here,but I've also ran it with discs/100mm Marzochis,it's the bike that got me into proper mountain biking.
I've done a couple of IOM E2E's on it,Calderdale mtb marathons a few loops of the marin trail etc,gets used in all weathers.
Definitley the best vfm bike I've bought
This cost less than £500 to build, all 2nd hand parts off various classifieds. And yes you may laugh at a tripple ring Coiler 😳
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It's gonna be my Charge Plug Freestyler, paid £25o delivered off the 'bay and it was brand new, saved me a fortune in tube fairs over the last 10 months, way more than it cost
a triple ring coiler makes perfect sense to me.
they're ace bikes, they just appreciate a nice granny gear.
My £240 Diamondback Mojito SS 29er. Best cheap bike I've ever bought and a great introduction to the world of 29ers.
An STW classifieds mongrel of a Stumpjumper Comp frame, Reba forks, Hope/Mavic 717 wheels, xt gears, Juicy 7 brakes. Total less that £500. I've ridden it more last year than my Flux or 5 Spot.
A customer kindly gave this to me (without wheels, but we had some lying around the back of the workshop). I swapped the saddle and put a newer 105 rear mech, a chain and 39 ring and the grand total is.....free!
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Specialized Epic carbon road bike.
[url= http://newimages.fotopic.net/?iid=y22eby&outx=600&quality=70 ]Bugaboo on the Spink[/url]This Carrera Bugaboo, my first full suss - frame was £150 and then parts off ebay brought it up to about £350. I cracked the chainstay (well known design flaw) and brant sold me an on-one for warrenty price as he was pissed and felt sorry for me (i later found out I could get the upgraded replacement for £50 and it started me on the slippery slope of owning more than one bike).
[img] http://newimages.fotopic.net/?iid=y22eby&outx=600&quality=70 [/img]
(fotopic.net being crap at hotlinking still [url= http://newimages.fotopic.net/?iid=y22eby&outx=600&quality=70 ]Bugaboo on the Spink[/url]
Loved that bike loads but had my head turned by a cheap SC Blur, so i swoped it for a set of deore disc brakes. 3 years later I get rid of the blur and I got a Merida Transmission Speed - the expensive grown up version... I still have a hankering for the original though as it's hung up in my mates garage looking unused.