What's the best "cheap" bike you've owned – experiences and pictures please!

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.

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:

http://cgi.ebay.co.uk/Mountain-Bike-single-speed-disc-brakes-/170571939186?pt=UK_Bikes_GL&hash=item27b6e13d72

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.

£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

£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

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 1×9. 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

this is it now, it’s a ‘Triggers Brush’ bike!

My RM Element? Well, I got the frame on here for £60 and loved it before it eventually broke.

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.

£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.

one of these, cost £140 brand new … taught me more about how to ride a bike than I had learned in the previous 7

Think it was £210 posted and my first “proper” mountain bike. 1×9 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.