New Bike Needed, What about these ?

[ads2312]

Hi
Sorry, another new poster asking about the best bikes, Looking for some expert advice!
Want a MTB for light off road, trails etc, bit of road but not much. Don't want to spend more than 350 if poss. Looking on Evans and have seen these, what do you think? Sorry but i know little about bikes but research has guided me to these brands but there are so many 300 to 350 priced bikes I'm not sure where to start.
Any others I should look for ?

cheers

http://www.evanscycles.com/products/trek/3900-2009-mountain-bike-ec016778
http://www.evanscycles.com/products/bianchi/doss-4600-2009-mountain-bike-ec016971
http://www.evanscycles.com/products/trek/4300-2009-mountain-bike-ec016488
http://www.evanscycles.com/products/cannondale/f6-disc-2008-mountain-bike-ec000216 - if in stock
http://www.evanscycles.com/products/specialized/hardrock-sport-disc-2009-mountain-bike-ec016012

 

[Muddyfox]

Mongoose Tyax Super ... Cracking bike for the money

Simon

 

[ads2312]

cheers Simon

Bit over what I want to pay. Want something up to 350 (nearer 300 if poss).

 

[Mr Pig]

Are you planning on mail order? I would very strongly recommend buying from a local shop and trying the bike out before you buy.

 

[ads2312]

yes going to buy from the net but am going to have a look at my local shop first. You never know, they may even match the net price.
A friend has a cannondale and another has a Trek, both think their bike is better than the others so cant really judge from their opinon.
I'm not planning on going up mountains, more easy trails so i think most of the bikes around that price will be ok.
Problem is I dont know anything about bikes, just want something light, not sure about disks (are they worth the extra?), and dont know which shocks, gears etc are best.

Looks like I need help !!!!
cheers

 

[Mr Pig]

I bought a new bike last year. It had to go back to the shop quite a few times to have issues and faults sorted out. Do you want to have to send your bike back to an on-line retailer!?

Also, you will want the help and support of your local bike shops. If we keep buying everything on line soon they won't be there! And trust me, they will be a lot happier to help you if you bought the bike from them.

With a budget of £300 the best idea is to keep it simple and try to get good quality where you can. Yes, you can get disk brakes on bikes costing £100 but they're not very good disk brakes. Better the money is spent on quality where it matters more if possible. Cheap components will be troublesome and not last as long.

 

[RedBike]

A lot depends on what you mean by light off-road. You might be better off with a hybrid?

 

[ads2312]

I know you usually get what you pay for and never buy anything unless i've recearched it before which is why im here. Also as I said before I may buy from a shop.
Anyone got any advice on the bikes i've suggested ?

 

[e-rider]

2 points to add:

1. from those bikes I'd go for the specialized

2. if you buy from internet, when/if the bike needs returning (FOR ANY REASON) other than it arriving damaged, you will nearly always have to pay return postage yourself - that's £25 minimum each time - even if it develops a fault within warranty (read the small print)

So, I would only recommend buying on-line if you save £££s, otherwise find a decent LBS.

 

[ads2312]

cheers

got an Evans up the road so hopefully they will match their internet prices.

Why the Spcialised over the others, any major reason?
thanks again

 

[e-rider]

Specilaized because they offer great value for money, excellent geometry and riding position, they are versitile (pannier mount fittings etc), and they ALWAYS score very highly in magazine reviews, often winning most categories from budget up to top-of-the range.

Whether it is the very best available at this price will always be up for discussion BUT it definitly is one of the best and you will not go far wrong with it. No one will ever say "why did you buy that"; it'll be more like "nice bike mate"

 

[ads2312]

cool thanks
I must admit they also seem to hold their money. Seen quite a few on ebay going for good money concidering they are second hand.
Now just need to decide do I cough up the extra 60 quid and go for disc's or go for 'V'.
Going to go down the shop this week and have a look.

 

[Mr Pig]

Specialized bikes are a safe bet. The Hardrock is the best selling bike in the UK which kind of sums it up, the Mondeo of the cycling world! ;0)

When I was looking at bikes one that was high on my list was the Specialized Rockhopper. The entry bike was £500. It had 'V' brakes. The identical bike with Avid Juicy3 disk brakes was £600.

Basically, all else being equal, you can get better spec for any given amount of money if you don't need disk brakes. The advantages or disk brakes are better stopping power, particularly in the wet and mud, and the fact that they don't wear the wheel rims. However 'V' brakes are fine if you don't need the extra power and it takes years to wear out the rims.

Down sides of disks is that they cost more to buy, are a bit heavier and cheaper ones in particular can be a pest to set up well. Some models tend to need tweaking all the time and squealing is a common problem. I would say that given the choice between disks and rims I would go for disks if A: I planned on doing a lot of wet off road riding and B: they were decent quality ones.

The best idea is to get the spec list for whatever bike you're looking at and search for revues of the components. If you find a lot of people who are unhappy with the brakes on offer then you're in a better position to decide. The bike I bought suffered from exactly the same issues that other people had reported.

 

[ads2312]

cheers
to be honest i'm not going to be doing much major off roading for now so v's may be fine for me.
If I bought one without I guess I could upgrade later ?

The 2009 on evans is less than 300 so looks a good bet. Are the forks/shocks ok or should I look for a special type of shock ? Which shock are the best ? sorry for all the questions ! ;o)
http://www.evanscycles.com/products/specialized/hardrock-sport-2009-mountain-bike-ec016011

 

[Mr Pig]

I guess I could upgrade later?

Yes and no. As well as the brakes you would need to buy new wheels with disk mounts.

Which shock are the best?

At this price point they're all much the same, a basic spring fork with some kind of elastomer damping. Fine for what you'll be doing to be honest. In fact, unless you're doing proper off roading I question whether you need a suspension fork at all.

And don't apologize for asking questions, we're happy to help :0) Heck I'm no expert, still ask lots of questions myself! ;0)