What are good & bad brands?

[mobi]

Hi Experts

Can you please provide a list of good & bad MTB manufacturers?

Is there any bad brand at all? I mean which I should really avoid.

Where do you actually buy bike from? In my place, there's one Cycle king and a Halford. Are these enough to get good MTB [within £200]?

Thanx

 

[Mr Pig]

The real question is, can you get a good mountain bike for £200 'anywhere' ? The answer is, not really. If I had to buy a MTB for £200 I'd look for a good condition used one. Lots of people buy bikes with the best intentions then never use them, that's what you want. Not some hack that's been hammered every weekend and is worn to within an inch of its life.

The most common bike that would fit the bill for you is the Specialized Hardrock. There are zillions of them out there and they are solid, workmanlike bikes from a reputable maker. You should get a clean one of those for £200 easy. I'd go for an older one, with the round tubing, as they are lighter and the components are better.

 

[AndyM78]

The only thing i'd add is not to be won over by lots of gadgets like full suspension and disc brakes as you're likely to end up with a very heavy and poorly made bike. Much better to by a fully ridged budget bike and up grade as and when you can. But for my money i'd be looking for a used bike of higher spec like the specialised (my old Team Marin cost £1500 when it was new and the spec is similar to todays bikes but i'd be lucky to get £100 for it).
As far as brands go just buy a copy of a MTB mag and have a look through, you dont tend to find rubbish brands being advertised in them so if your in a bike shop and see something you've not heard of you know to aviod it!

 

[mobi]

What exactly differentiates a good MTB from a bad MTB?

Is it ever possible to judge the quality of a MTB from short test ride?

 

[ufkacbln]

One over-rated, over-hyped, over-priced and , totally ueless brand - to be avoided at all cots!

 

[Steve Austin]

One bike at that price point i would recommend is the GT aggressor.

Keep away from full suspension as they are always very heavy. LOTS of brands i wouldn't go near, but i think its easier to suggest some i would ride. Giant, GT, specialzed and Kona are all brand i would ride at that price point. And i reckon if you look for one of them you will get a decent enough bike.

 

[Radius]

No-one ever mentions Ridgeback, but their bikes are sturdy and seem to be popular with Mr Public (although is that a good thing?)
Got mine second hand for £120, think it's £240 ish new.

 

[ufkacbln]

Ridgeback are fine......

When my Airnimal broke outside Glasgow I totted up my Finances and decided that afte balancing losses of deposits and train fares - buying a cheap bike would be affordable and I could continue the tour, so I bought a Ridgeback Speed.

Nice machine, I intended to sell it when i returned, but I have kept it as a runaround when I don't want to use one ofthe better bikes.

 

[snapper_37]

One bike at that price point i would recommend is the GT aggressor.

+ 1. Had the GT Aggessor 1.0 for about 3 years. It managed everything from single track to commuting. Great little bike and kept most of it's value when I flogged it on ebay.

Agree with everyone else, get a decent second hand bike. Better value for money.

 

[Mr Pig]

What differentiates a good MTB from bad? Is it possible to judge the quality from short test ride?

Sorry to take so long to reply, when I went to do it the forum was out to lunch.

The simplest way to look at a bike is to see it as two parts. The frame, and everything else! The frame will largely dictate how the bike fits you and the quality of the ride, how stiff, comfortable, etc the bike feels. The component choice and quality will dictate how well the moving parts all work and how long they will last. Basically, better parts will be smoother and should last longer. They may well be lighter too.

Just about everybody uses components from the same, relatively small, group of manufacturers, Shimano, SRAM etc, and most bikes in a particular price bracket will have similar quality parts. What sets the better manufacturers apart is that their frames are better and they get the balance of components right. Poorer manufacturers often try to make their bikes look good in the showroom by fitting flashy looking parts on pig-heavy frames. If you go to Halfords you will see full-suspension, disk brake, bikes costing £200. The truth is that a decent entry-level front suspension fork alone costs half that and so do disk brakes that will do more than give you nothing but trouble. The cheap forks on these bikes do nothing except add weight and take away control. You're far better off with a simpler, lighter bike with better quality parts.

Yes, you can tell a lot about a bike on a short ride. I would say that you want the bike to feel good straight away. Before riding the bike make sure the seat is at the right hight. When you're sitting on the bike with your heel on the pedal, with the pedal right at the bottom, there should only be a very slight bend in your knee. If you feel at home and the bike feels comfortable as soon as you start to ride it there's a good chance you'll enjoy it. Try a few different sizes too. Should you buy a bike and find that it's not quite right remember that you can change things like the saddle, handlebar stem and grips to help it fit you better. These things cost money though so you're better trying to get it as close as you can out of the box.

Look closely for bargains in the sales. For instance this bike cost £500 a few months ago, it's pretty good quality for £350:

http://www.edinburghbicycle.com/ebw...QRY=C106&f_SortOrderID=1&f_bct=c003155c002909

I'm not saying you should buy it, just an example of what you can find. There are lots of similar bargains to be had, let us know what you find :0)

 

[Warren]

Hi,
Well I bought a mountain bike for £292.00 off the net, here is link:
http://www.holcroscycles.com/produc...ush-Dual-Suspension-Mountain-Bike-(2008).html
As far as i see it, it has lots off stuff on it like full suss and hydraulic disc brakes so i bought it. I havent cycled in a while but i used to cycle alot and quite enjoyed mountain biking. This may not be the best quality one but its just to get started into cycling agian so ill see how it goes, should be getting it tomorrow cant wait. Also apparently it comes 85% built, i think i need to put on handlebars and wheel. Is that easy? (it doesnt sound to hard)
Please tell me what you think off it and any potential probs it may have.

 

[e-rider]

You can get a Specialized Hardrock 'New' for £299 and if you go for a 2008 model I've seen them for £240 - that's a bargain cheapo bike!

 

[e-rider]

Warren - to be brutal, your choice of bike is very poor - I'd leave it in it's packaging and return it for a refund. For £292 you can get a much better bike such as the Specialized Hardrock or Kona Lanai to name just two. Most of the big names such as Trek, Giant etc. all makes bikes for £300. Not that I'm saying you should get one of the big names just because it's a big name, rather that they tend to make decent, value for money bikes at this price point.

 

[e-rider]

Warren, I don't want to spoil your fun and excitment, I just think your cycling enjoyment will be enhanced on a different, more suitable machine - sorry!

 

[e-rider]

Anyway, that's just my opinion - hope you enjoy the cycling.