lowest level groupset that won’t fall to pieces? Wife wants to look at a bike for her (rather than use my lovely mid nineties fsr :roll:), doesn’t want to spend much money. I’m thinking alivio is the lowest that’s worth having (given that at the moment the bike is stx-rc and lx). I’d rather just get a lighter frame second hand as it’s the weight she objects to and all the old groupset works fine but she thinks she wants a new bike.

Deore or slx full group sets can be had for barginiferass prices and work perfectly

Deore is great balance of longevity and performance for great price.

Definitely Deore.
Try Merlin, Ribble, etc for some oem bargains.

I’m sure on the right bike Alivio would be just fine. If she’s still riding when that wears out, then splash the cash on Deore

I think I’ve got alivio on my bizango, it’s fine and dandy.

Deore… Looking at the same for my Pantera rebuild.

Ah sorry, think I’ve not been clear, she’s decided she wants a complete new bike and a women’s specific one at that (I tried to explain a mans bike would be fine but hey-Ho), not to replace the groupset. My initial thought was Deore groupset, but actually women’s specific bikes seem more expensive than male bikes so you have to pay a fair bit to get Deore. Which is why I was wondering how low you can go on groupset so these days. She’s got roughly £450 to spend plus whatever we get for selling the fsr. At that price most seem Altus with alivio if you are lucky. I remember having Altus on my first proper mtb back in the day and it lasted no time at all. Key thing is to get something lighter as hills are a drag for her. I’d be inclined to go rigid but I can’t find any ‘proper’ women’s mtb that are rigid.

At that price I’d worry more about the frame and fork. You can replace drivetrain components as they wear out with higher speced items. Dunno what speed alvio/altus stuff is so may have bit of a jump to 10/11 speed but that’s only rear derailleur, cassette, chain and shifter.

http://www.paulscycles.co.uk/m1b0s184p0/Mountain-Bikes/Front-Suspension-27-5-Womens

You don’t mention her size but the Giant Tempt bikes here look alright with Deore close to budget.

I have Alivio on my Genesis TDF. Rear mech and chainset (octalink?). Was going to swap them when I got the bike due my long standing snobbery but found that they both worked just as well as the XT stuff on my MTB. The rear mech looks like an old XT one I think.
Apart from weight I can’t see any reason to go higher!

I was in Velocity44 in Stirling this week – ther had a Saracen HT for £250 down from £475. Damped forks, hydro brakes, alivio/acera/cheap Shimano. It looked a daft steal, and you could factor in all sorts of upgrades such a lighter tyres and women’s saddle….

For £450 they also had a Whyte, again Acera/Alivio kit that looked the business….

Halfords have similar deals on at the moment.

Does it *have* to be women’s? For your budget you should get a cracking bike, albeit a tad heavier than a more expensive one.

I’d agree that Alivio rather than Deore with the difference spent on better/lighter tyres, a suitable saddle etc, is the way to go. Current Alivio is at least as good as 9-speed Deore was. In fact you could probably go down to the newish 9-speed Acera, although don’t expect it to last as well.

Mens or womens bikes are marketing BS for the most part. Find one that fits rather than going by the label, particularly as womens bikes seem to have a premium pricing scheme compared to the equivalent “mens” model.

If uphill weight is the issue then some spangly lighter wheels may do the job? These are unlikely to be found on a brand new £450 bike…..

But to answer your original question current Deore is superb. No experience with alivio but it looks the part from seeing it on bikes.

I’ve got acera with a alivio rear mech on my fatbike it works faultlessly

Agree with Chakaping – giant liv tempt with deore seems to be your best bet.
http://www.rutlandcycling.com/285077/products/2015-giant-liv-tempt-2-womens-hardtail-mountain-bike.aspx

Cheers all, those giant liv ones definately look good.

I agree it’s silly to be fixated on a women’s bike, but she is. Still if it means she’s keener to get out on the bike then so be it.

Deore. I found the lower stuff “looks” cheaper. Deore stuff is great. Moving up stuff just gets lighter, alloy cages rather than pressed steel, maybe boron coating on mech pivots and guff like that.

If I were getting a replacement for the wife I’d be much more worried about reasonably well damped and decent forks and half decent wheels. The Suntour XCR forks on almost all budget bikes are not all that TBH and pretty heavy (except the Radon airs). Drive parts are consumables AFAIC and easily replaced.

Say you get 150 for your FSR which seems a reasonable guess your budget is approx £600. I’d be looking at something like a

https://www.canyon.com/en-gb/mtb/grand-canyon/grand-canyon-al-3-9-wmn.html

or this if you get a result on the FSR

https://www.canyon.com/en-gb/mtb/grand-canyon/grand-canyon-al-5-9-wmn.html

None of it will fall to pieces. The entry level stuff is plenty capable. I hear a lot of people saying cheap stuff won’t last but I think it often lasts longer than much more expensive stuff which is built primarily for performance. Deore might seem entry level to many of us, but it’s still premium kit. You can easily go a couple of steps lower and have something that’s perfectly functional and will be reliable for years to come.

Think frame is important and less decent choices when you go women specific the whyte 804 compact and 604 compact look good.

Yup Deore. As above the Deore on my 10 year old Rockhopper has proven MORE durable than the expensive stuff on my other bikes. I confess last time a bought a groupset I went XT as the payup was quite small.

Ended up persuading her a mans bike would be fine. Took a punt and ordered a diamondback ascent (deore and suntour) in clearance on CRC, came to £315 with BC discount so a bit of money to switch bits if necessary once I’ve sold her(my) old bike.