Mountain Bikes

colintdi · Jun 20, 2009

Hi, looking to buy a new bike and have been looking around and seen this bike http://www2.merida-bikes.com/en_INT/Bikes.Detail.96 Seen it in bike in, in belfast for £299.

Is any one on here into there bikes and if so is this a good job or what should I buy? Don't really want to spend any more than this as i'll not be getting into the sport that much.

Really would like to buy one from a bike shop rather than the net, also seen a few other bikes in other shops but the guy in bike it had time to spend and chat with me about the bike and the others didn't which i like. Also need to fit a childs seat onto the bike so the clamp for this needs to be free from cables. Some of the bikes stop me doing this.

Any help would be greatful.

voorhees · Jun 20, 2009

Colin,I am after a bike and the same as you don't wish to shell out loads.I went to my mate for advice as he does a load of riding (sometimes 30 miles!!) and I asked for the best makes and he reckoned even the best makes have sheds so its a wee bit of a minefield.

fingermouse · Jun 20, 2009

30 miles lol thats a average ride

10blazin · Jun 20, 2009

for around 300 you can get a bottom end scott or a specialised mountain bike which are light and really good just go for a 21-24 speed its got to be light and ajustable shocks maybe alot to ask for 300 with the adjustale shocks , but some scotts and other makes do have em.....

go to harry hall online is a good place with bottom end bikes like this to high end bikes for about 3 bags do not go to halfords and by a no namer bag o shyte that weigh's about 20 stone you will be gutted when your out of breath dying after 2 mile

for 300 it would be trek , scott or specialized there your best bet i was a courier for 4 years doing about 40 mile a day so you dont want nothing heavy believe me

this below is a specailized for 300 its about as good as you will get and will fit the job perfect........

NHN · Jun 20, 2009

£300 for a trek, specialised or scott, in your dreams mate & unless they're very very old, seriously if you want a lite weight bike you'll be paying 700 upwards easily & thats not even carbon either, £300 would be heavy as hell *****, my marin is ****** good & thats from 07 bought little while ago & its like £600 & that was cheap from a mate & new they're over 1k, no disrespect but if you want to pay peanuts you'll get a lead weight bike

ian52 · Jun 20, 2009

dont laugh but im sure some of the carrera bikes from halfords are pretty good for the money. got one for my wife(cant remember what model) but it got some awards in one of the bike mags for being very good for the moner etc and a good frame worth upgrading and it was about the £300 mark.

NHN · Jun 20, 2009

Hey I took my 2 carreras back & got full refunds cause they were **** & mostly because they couldnt build a bike to save there lives, they even had the audacity to send me to the other small bike shop to build it properly & then they paid the bill, still the proper bike shop couldnt fix the design faults, so money back & these were £500-£800 bikes so imagine the lower spec ones.

Got my marin in a funny twist of fate with friend & its so much better its unreal & thats before being calibrated or services.

Carrera are halfords just so you know, but hey if its good for you then glad your happy mate, but wouldnt touch halfords for a bike again in a million years.

quattrojames · Jun 21, 2009

Depending on what sort of job you do, look into the 'Cycle to work' Scheme - you generally end up paying a little over half the retail price for them.

10blazin · Jun 21, 2009

NHN said:
£300 for a trek, specialised or scott, in your dreams mate & unless they're very very old, seriously if you want a lite weight bike you'll be paying 700 upwards easily & thats not even carbon either, £300 would be heavy as hell *****, my marin is ****** good & thats from 07 bought little while ago & its like £600 & that was cheap from a mate & new they're over 1k, no disrespect but if you want to pay peanuts you'll get a lead weight bike

in my dreams nige do you even know what your saying the pic i posted is a specialized for 300 quid go look on harry halls website before shooting me down ....and you can get scotts for 300 thar are ok to I KNOW IVE HAD ONE....

the bike isnt carbon what for 300.... its aluminum ... and light enough for what he wants WERE NOT TALKING CANONDALES MATE just something to do the job , thats decent well built......

aluminum is fine but if you wana start jumping of cliffs or training for the olimpics get carbon fibre...

but these bikes for 300 are the best you gona get for 300 check the links above ..... it contains the 3 makes i mentioned and a few others forget anything halford's serious it will be falling to bit's after a month of hard riding i got a cluad butler from there once , bag o shyte fell to bits whilst the scott i had was much lighter and solid build there only thing i ever had to repair on that bike was punctures ....

10blazin · Jun 21, 2009

Les 51 · Jun 21, 2009

How about this?

http://www.wiggle.co.uk/p/cycle/7/GT_Avalanche_30_Disc_2009/5360039139/#more

voorhees · Jun 21, 2009

fingermouse said:
30 miles lol thats a average ride

try doing it at Cannock Chase and come back saying its average

Simon66 · Jun 21, 2009

Loking at that list you can grt some half decent bikes now for £300 to £350 nowdays.

colintdi · Jun 21, 2009

10blazin said:
this below is a specailized for 300 its about as good as you will get and will fit the job perfect........

When to look at the bike above in a bike shop in belfast which most do specialized bike and seen this for £250. http://www.mcconveycycles.com/store/product/8569/SPECIALIZED-HARDROCK-SPORT--WHITE-15-2009/

The only problem was the gear cable ran down the bar where i'm going to clamp the kids seat to. The guy in the shop wasn't to helpful and said most of the specialized bikes are like this. Was on my way back up to the shop on saturday with the clamp to see if i could get it to fit and called into another bike shop which recommed the merida bike to me. Which was £299 down from £360.

What do yo think of that for a bike, http://www2.merida-bikes.com/en_GB/Bikes.Detail.98

The shops i went into seem to specialse in one make of back the ones i went into where specialized, ridgeback and merida. The shop where i seen the merida matt 20d the guy spend time with me to talk about the bike and let me loose on it. Where the other shops didn't seem to care if i got 1 from them or not.

And as for halfords i'm not going near them, i left a bike in there for handyness to get a wheel bearing done and it was more hassle than enough.

Staz · Jun 21, 2009

I had a Carrera Kraken and it was a great bike. Everything was perfect. Got a Saracen now and it's w**k. Rear wheel bearings have gone and it's only done about 20 miles!

colintdi · Jun 21, 2009

Les 51 said:
How about this?

http://www.wiggle.co.uk/p/cycle/7/GT_Avalanche_30_Disc_2009/5360039139/#more

cherrs mate but it's no good as i need to clamp a kids seat to the bar below the seat and don't think it would fit. Also liked the idea of just getting one from a shop and then the check everything out again for ya in about 2 months when its been beded in

A3Tom · Jun 21, 2009

voorhees said:
try doing it at Cannock Chase and come back saying its average

Easy peasy mate, Cannocks TAME!!.

I used to ride bikes for various shops/bike makers, still ride but only for fun these days

As for £300 for a bike, here are the following pointers....

Avoid full suspension
Go for an aluminium frame
Get something that fits
Go to a bike shop and ride everything you can in the price range and find something you get on with
Go home and order it online

There's a lot of out of place advice on this thread.

If you want something to tear down the alps on then you will have to increase your budget to about £2K. If you want something just to get you out there then have a look at a Specialized Rock Hopper, they're fantastic value for the money and far better than the alternates at that price (I worked in a bike shop for years and we NEVER had one come back).

Go for last years model and pick up a bargain.

Dont forget to budget for a helmet and some gloves too.

T

10blazin · Jun 21, 2009

A3Tom said:
Easy peasy mate, Cannocks TAME!!.

I used to ride bikes for various shops/bike makers, still ride but only for fun these days

As for £300 for a bike, here are the following pointers....

Avoid full suspension
Go for an aluminium frame
Get something that fits
Go to a bike shop and ride everything you can in the price range and find something you get on with
Go home and order it online

There's a lot of out of place advice on this thread.

If you want something to tear down the alps on then you will have to increase your budget to about £2K. If you want something just to get you out there then have a look at a Specialized Rock Hopper, they're fantastic value for the money and far better than the alternates at that price (I worked in a bike shop for years and we NEVER had one come back).

Go for last years model and pick up a bargain.

Dont forget to budget for a helmet and some gloves too.

T

i think youve said everything i did tom .....

Les 51 · Jun 21, 2009

I have a diamondback which had a kids bike clamped to the down bar, have you thought about them?

colintdi · Jun 21, 2009

A3Tom said:
Easy peasy mate, Cannocks TAME!!.

I used to ride bikes for various shops/bike makers, still ride but only for fun these days

As for £300 for a bike, here are the following pointers....

Avoid full suspension
Go for an aluminium frame
Get something that fits
Go to a bike shop and ride everything you can in the price range and find something you get on with
Go home and order it online

There's a lot of out of place advice on this thread.

If you want something to tear down the alps on then you will have to increase your budget to about £2K. If you want something just to get you out there then have a look at a Specialized Rock Hopper, they're fantastic value for the money and far better than the alternates at that price (I worked in a bike shop for years and we NEVER had one come back).

Go for last years model and pick up a bargain.

Dont forget to budget for a helmet and some gloves too.

T

Thanks for the tips the bike for the minute is only for in and outta work when its dry about 3-4 miles down the road and a bit of fun when i get the chance. Also to take my son out for a cycle. If i ever get into it more yeah i'll spend a load more.

The bikes i've been looking at are aluminium frame and ones that only have front suspension and the merida I had a ride on I thought it was a good job and i'm looking at the 22" frame as i'm 6 2". As for the online thing the Merida matts 20-md and the hard rock specialized i look at where cheaper in the shops. I hear what you say about last years models but the 2 above I mentioned where both about £50 off as they where on offer and didn't really see any last year models on offer.

Thanks for every one's help but just realy want some to say that merida matts 20-md i look at was ok for the money or a pile of ****.

colintdi · Jun 21, 2009

ae tom you ever heard of the merida range? are they any good? the guy in the shop recommed the matts 20-md. When to a shop which had a load of specialized bikes and had a hardrock on offer for £250 which i liked but don't think the clamp for the kids seat would fit and they wheren't to helpful

A3Tom · Jun 21, 2009

colintdi said:
ae tom you ever heard of the merida range? are they any good? the guy in the shop recommed the matts 20-md. When to a shop which had a load of specialized bikes and had a hardrock on offer for £250 which i liked but don't think the clamp for the kids seat would fit and they wheren't to helpful

I've never heard of them mate.

You can get trailers for the kids etc that clamp around the seat post under the saddle, might be worth having a look at some of those.

Try to stick to a big known brand matey.

colintdi · Jun 21, 2009

Ok cherrs mate, alread have the kids seat bought so just looking for a half decided bike for the money i wanna spend. Need to do a bit more searching

Caesium · Jun 21, 2009

I have a Specialized RockHopper 2009 Expert, its a bit more than you're looking to pay but its a fantastic bike, done 120 miles off road on it, no problems at all.

One piece of advice I'd like to give is make sure you get it serviced by a proper bike shop (not halfords or evans) and never jetwash it.

Look after it and it will look after you.

Oh, and carry a spare tube and a pump.

10blazin · Jun 21, 2009

every one of them bikes in them links i put below are known makes why dont you check em out ....

colintdi · Jun 21, 2009

a4 quattro I that found out the hard why with leaving my bike wheel in to halfords for bearings. More hassle that it was worth ending up just getting my money back and getting a new wheel from a proper bike shop.

Might ring up about that specialized hardrock bike i look at to see if i can fit the clamp for my kids bike on to.

10blazin- going to spend a bit of time tomo looking at them links but as a4 quatto said about using a proper bike shop to get it serviced etc I'm wanting to get the bike from a proper bike shop so it prob limits me to what I can get.

10blazin · Jun 21, 2009

harry halls is one of the best bike shops out there see if theres one where you at

Caesium · Jun 22, 2009

Try a lower end specialized, if you look over on MTBR you'll see that lots of people have them, I just cleaned mine and adjusted the gears today, so much better than last time it was serviced.

My girlfriend has an apollo, not expensive but I checked the wheel bearings and the clown that must have put it together in the shop tightened them up far too much.

colintdi · Jun 22, 2009

A4Quattro said:
Try a lower end specialized

When to a bike shop which mostly just sold specialized and seen a nice hardrock sspecialized down from £300 to £250 but the gear cable would get in the way with the kids seat and the guy in the shop wasn't to helpfull and told me all specialized bike where like this?

colintdi · Jun 22, 2009

I spoke to a few people to day and they've heard of merida bikes and i think the spec is ok for all i'm wanting it for
Description

SPEEDS

24

SIZES

14.5-16-18-20-22

COLOR

Deep orange

FRAME

Matts Taper-D

FORK

SR XCT V2 MLO 100

BB SET

Cartridge Bearing

BRAKE LEVERS

Shimano attached

BRAKES F/R

Hayes MX4 160/160 mm

CHAIN

Shimano CN-HG40

CHAINGUARD

attached

CHAINWHEEL

SR 42-34-24 CG

DERAILLEURS F/R

Shimano M190/Shimano Acera-X

FREEWHEEL

Shimano CS-HG30-8 11-32

GRIP

Merida New

HANDLEBAR

XM Speed CEN Rise

STEM

XM Speed CEN

HEADSET

A-head OS

HUBS F/R

Disc Alloy

PEDALS

XC Steel

RIMS

Disc Alloy

SADDLE

XM Sport

SEAT CLAMP

QR

SEATPOST

Alloy CEN 27.2

SHIFTER F/R

Shimano EF50

TIRE F/R

CST 2.1

BELL

attached

SPEEDS

SIZES

14.5-16-18-20-22

COLOR

Deep orange

FRAME

Matts Taper-D

FORK

SR XCT V2 MLO 100

BB SET

Cartridge Bearing

BRAKE LEVERS

Shimano attached

BRAKES F/R

Hayes MX4 160/160 mm

CHAIN

Shimano CN-HG40

CHAINGUARD

attached

CHAINWHEEL

SR 42-34-24 CG

DERAILLEURS F/R

Shimano M190/Shimano Acera-X

FREEWHEEL

Shimano CS-HG30-8 11-32

GRIP

Merida New

HANDLEBAR

XM Speed CEN Rise

STEM

XM Speed CEN

HEADSET

A-head OS

HUBS F/R

Disc Alloy

PEDALS

XC Steel

RIMS

Disc Alloy

SADDLE

XM Sport

SEAT CLAMP

QR

SEATPOST

Alloy CEN 27.2

SHIFTER F/R

Shimano EF50

TIRE F/R

CST 2.1

BELL

attached

t2myd · Jun 23, 2009

ive got a 08 model kona dawg for sale ? mint

Caesium · Jun 23, 2009

Colin, what's the issue with the gearcable?

That bike you specced, what's the frame made from?

joshxs · Jun 23, 2009

ian52 said:
dont laugh but im sure some of the carrera bikes from halfords are pretty good for the money. got one for my wife(cant remember what model) but it got some awards in one of the bike mags for being very good for the moner etc and a good frame worth upgrading and it was about the £300 mark.

My GF bought a Carrea Kraken from Halfords, they had 20% off at the time. I have to say they are not bad, a little heavy, but what can you expect for the money. If you start using it a little more, I would reccommend upgrading the wheels, I gave her my old XT/Mavic XC717's and it saved loads of weight!

I'm quite fussy about bikes, and I was suprised by the carrera range. I ride a 'dale with mainly XTR, carbon bits, american classic wheels etc and mine needs more fettling than hers!

Caesium · Jun 24, 2009

t2myd said:
ive got a 08 model kona dawg for sale ? mint

give ya 300 quid for it....

NHN · Jun 24, 2009

LMFAO nice one chris

RosMc · Jul 4, 2009

fingermouse said:
30 miles lol thats a average ride

Yup - i lol'd too. :salute:

benr · Jul 4, 2009

have you looked at any hybrid bikes? i used to have till recently a Specialized sirrus which was good enough for most park/pathways/trails/etc and was light and easy to ride.

I would also recommend a Kona, i used to have a Kona Shred which was bulletproof, but it was heavy with tractor tyres. But definalty a bike you can really trust on rough terrain.

Im now into road biking and have a cannondale but being strictly for roads i guess its not for you as you want to go riding with the kids.

But i would recommend spending more now then spending shedloads modding/upgrading or replacing it in the future. Also look after it and dont use WD40

matt a · Jul 4, 2009

I'd go for a Specialized, if it accomodates the child seat?

The problem with mountain biking, is that you don't get a whole lot for your money, a £300 bike will be fine for road, bridle ways and fire trials, and will last a good few years, if its maintaned well, but wouldn't cope with much abuse on difficult terrain.

mitch78 · Jul 4, 2009

I think any child seat on a bike is downright dangerous. At least the rider can jump off the bike if they lose stability, but the kid would be strapped into the seat unable to do anything other than hit the ground with their head.

I've been mountain biking for almost 20 years now (no, I'm not past it, I started young!) and although I'd love my daughter to get into it too, there's no way she'll be going anywhere near a bike child seat! She can wait until she's big enough to ride her own bike.

benr · Jul 5, 2009

mitch78 said:
I think any child seat on a bike is downright dangerous. At least the rider can jump off the bike if they lose stability, but the kid would be strapped into the seat unable to do anything other than hit the ground with their head.

I've been mountain biking for almost 20 years now (no, I'm not past it, I started young!) and although I'd love my daughter to get into it too, there's no way she'll be going anywhere near a bike child seat! She can wait until she's big enough to ride her own bike.

I would definatly agree with this. I dont have any kids but if i were you id look at the type which is like a trailer, this means if you lose balance and fall off that the trailer stays the right way up.

I would never ride on the roads with a child in tow though

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