Wanted...New MTB on budget

[RecordAceFromNew]

The Lanai has got a cheap screw on freewheel rear wheel - thats never a good start.

Untrue. Both Angelfish's link and Kona's official link indicate it has the HG30, which is an 8 speed cassette. 8 speed freewheels have gone the way of the dinosaurs for nearly 10 years for good reasons, I can't imagine any major manufacturer offering one today.

But back to the OP it seems of all the bikes mentioned perhaps only some have the lockout feature that he said he wanted. They include the Rockrider 5.3 with the XCR, the Kraken and the Vengeance with RS Dart 1 but only if it is a recent vintage. I would certainly recommend the OP committing only after test riding.

 

[Peter88]

2 more that fit your budget but a lower spec than the Rockrider. I have a Nevada 1.0 and am very happy with it .

Fuji Nevada 4.0

Trek 3500

 

[e-rider]

I wouldn't touch one with yours.

They offer the worst value in MTB spec level out of nearly all the manufacturers at the moment.

Kona have gone down the pan since Joe Murray left about 5 or 6 years ago, and I agree that their current range offers very little across the board. I was a big fan of Kona bikes from the early 90s until about 2002/03 - would never buy one these days.

The Specialized hard rock basic model is about £300 and pretty decent.

 

[DrDre2010]

Wow! Cheers guys, well I'm going to at least have a look at the two Carreras from Halfords tomorrow, although the vengeance does sound tempting. I think the extra for the hydro brakes is worth it but the rockrider has the lockout feature which will be useful for my on road experience.
The specialized also looks pretty good, I don't mind V brakes but just seems disc brakes can be better and have practical advantages as well.

I'll check them out tomorrow and see what is what!

Thanks again.

 

[e-rider]

Wow! Cheers guys, well I'm going to at least have a look at the two Carreras from Halfords tomorrow, although the vengeance does sound tempting. I think the extra for the hydro brakes is worth it but the rockrider has the lockout feature which will be useful for my on road experience.
The specialized also looks pretty good, I don't mind V brakes but just seems disc brakes can be better and have practical advantages as well.

I'll check them out tomorrow and see what is what!

Thanks again.

if the manufacturer has speced discs then they've made cuts elsewhere - and cheap discs are not the same as expensive discs (and at this price the discs will be a cheap model)

The Specialized hardrock is a solid well made bike by a world leading manufacturer - it might have V-brakes but it wont dissappoint!!!

My MTB has full Shimano XT, Mavic factory wheels and Marzocchi forks (worth about £1500) and I have put XT V-brakes on it - they are light, work well enough and are easy to maintain and adjust! Now, perhaps second time around on a bike worth £1500 I might (I would) choose discs, but my point is that if you spend £300 I wouldn't base my decision on what brakes the bike has!

 

[Angelfishsolo]

OK well thanks for letting me know. You live and learn

Kona have gone down the pan since Joe Murray left about 5 or 6 years ago, and I agree that their current range offers very little across the board. I was a big fan of Kona bikes from the early 90s until about 2002/03 - would never buy one these days.

The Specialized hard rock basic model is about £300 and pretty decent.

 

[billflat12]

at £300 your only going to get low spec components , especially with the high end manufacturers, hopefully if you choose carefully an accept older technology with better known brands you may get a reasonable spec. , If you only intend riding on the road & well serviced paths then v-brakes are fine but hydro discs maybe a bit too sharp , but get your wheel rims wet an clogged with mud then there,s no question that discs are loads more efficient.

The biggest advantage i find with good hydraulic brakes is the ability to brake heavily with one finger while gripping the bars on extreme terrain.
Also with some cheap lockout forks if you forget to unlock an hit a bump you just blow the fork seals
on another note the 2 kona,s i have owned since 2005 have both been great bikes and more importantly kona,s Kona Clump frame geometry has been spot on. , I did notice in the link to the 2011 v- braked kona lani already Has disc ready wheels fitted ?
(Has the cheaper integrated brake levers though, so a hydro disc conversion would also require upgrading the gear levers ) also evans cycle stores have now reduced their last few 2010 gt avalanche,s with lockout forks & cable discs to £279
If possible without dismissing Halfords bikes/offers etc. , i would recommend any newbie to visit a more dedicated cyclestore like evans,s before buying from just any local halfrauds store.

 

[Angelfishsolo]

+1

at £300 your only going to get low spec components , especially with the high end manufacturers, hopefully if you choose carefully an accept older technology with well known brands you may get a reasonable spec. , If you only intend riding on the road & well serviced paths then v-brakes are fine but hydro discs maybe a bit too sharp , but get your wheels clogged with mud there,s no question that discs are loads more efficient.

 

[Makins]

I completely agree with the points above, although alternatively you could increase your budget a bit more and get the hardrock disc? That way a conversion to hydraulic disc brakes would be easy and fairly cheap to do, if you really felt the need. Also I can vouch for the hardrock (v-brake version) being a good bike, I've just got back from a 35 mile ride on one with no problems what-so-ever Not only that I was comfortable for the entire ride, which IMO is the most important thing

Also I would say don't waste your money on cheap shocks with fancy features, they always make sacrifices elsewhere. I wouldn't be surprised if riding with the rockriders forks felt like riding rigid forks! You would be better of deciding if you definitely want to do mountain biking then investing in better forks such as rockshox tora or dart, both of which come with lockout but aren't too expensive.

Having said that, most of the specs on the rockrider 5.3 do look good - Whatever you decide make sure you try before you buy

 

[Makins]

Sorry, I forgot to say that there is a chance they might be fine I wouldn't actually know without having tried them before

 

[Zoiders]

Untrue. Both Angelfish's link and Kona's official link indicate it has the HG30, which is an 8 speed cassette. 8 speed freewheels have gone the way of the dinosaurs for nearly 10 years for good reasons, I can't imagine any major manufacturer offering one today.

But back to the OP it seems of all the bikes mentioned perhaps only some have the lockout feature that he said he wanted. They include the Rockrider 5.3 with the XCR, the Kraken and the Vengeance with RS Dart 1 but only if it is a recent vintage. I would certainly recommend the OP committing only after test riding.

Screw on freewheels are still availiable and I have seen plenty of manufacturers use them, Raleigh for one were still knocking out 8 speed screw on freewheel bikes until recently, I have seen Diamondbacks with the same arrangement and few Scotts as well.

Kona may have switched over to a cassette for this years model but the Lanai was still equipped with a screw on freewheel a year or two back.

 

[DrDre2010]

Well all sounds like great advice guys but didnt get a chance to read it before I made my purchase this morning of the Carrera Vengeance Ltd Ed with a kryponite lock, mud guards and Giro indicator helmet too.

I will be using it off road as well thus ideally why I wanted discs, well we will see how I get on with it but the ride home it seems alright but will have to try and get out on it now properly!

Is there any good sites to find all the good ride areas? As I'm fairly new to this area.

Thanks once again for all the advice.

 

[jethro10]

Well all sounds like great advice guys but didnt get a chance to read it before I made my purchase this morning of the Carrera Vengeance Ltd Ed with a kryponite lock, mud guards and Giro indicator helmet too.

I will be using it off road as well thus ideally why I wanted discs, well we will see how I get on with it but the ride home it seems alright but will have to try and get out on it now properly!

Is there any good sites to find all the good ride areas? As I'm fairly new to this area.

Thanks once again for all the advice.

Hope you enjoy it, I've seen a few of these out and about and they look great.

for routes, I use http://connect.garmin.com , select Explore and zoom into the area your after.
click show filters, and choose Activity -> Mountain biking.
When you find the ride you want, you can export the KMZ file and import it into google maps to explore it on a bigger map.
No need for the Garmin GPS unit to do this!

Jeff

 

[Cubist]

Well all sounds like great advice guys but didnt get a chance to read it before I made my purchase this morning of the Carrera Vengeance Ltd Ed with a kryponite lock, mud guards and Giro indicator helmet too.

I will be using it off road as well thus ideally why I wanted discs, well we will see how I get on with it but the ride home it seems alright but will have to try and get out on it now properly!

Is there any good sites to find all the good ride areas? As I'm fairly new to this area.

Thanks once again for all the advice.

Sound purchase, looks to be a good bike for the money.

Whereabouts do you live... one of teh best ways is to explore using an OS map, heading for bridleways and BOAT's, using Mapmyride or walkly or whatever, to confirm the routes are passable. Another option would be to go to a trail centre and ride the blues until you're confident, then up to some reds or beyond.....

 

[DrDre2010]

Hope you enjoy it, I've seen a few of these out and about and they look great.

for routes, I use http://connect.garmin.com , select Explore and zoom into the area your after.
click show filters, and choose Activity -> Mountain biking.
When you find the ride you want, you can export the KMZ file and import it into google maps to explore it on a bigger map.
No need for the Garmin GPS unit to do this!

Jeff

Excellent sounds good cheers, I've got 48hours off work from 6pm, tomorrow so looking forward to giving it a go!

Sound purchase, looks to be a good bike for the money.

Whereabouts do you live... one of teh best ways is to explore using an OS map, heading for bridleways and BOAT's, using Mapmyride or walkly or whatever, to confirm the routes are passable. Another option would be to go to a trail centre and ride the blues until you're confident, then up to some reds or beyond.....

I live in SE London next to the Thames. Cheers as I have no idea!