Good mountain bike under £400?

eggyoke

eggyoke

eggyoke

Soldato
Joined
25 Jun 2005
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On a hill
Well I've decided to dump the car and start biking it to work everyday. I'll be passing across the roads and cutting through a park, field and wood.

I haven't used a bike since I was about 13 and know absolutely nothing about them. Originally I thought I'd buy a decent one for about £80 :p

My budget is under £400 but I would obviously prefer to pay less. I've been scratching my head looking at all the bikes available online. I don't want something that weighs a ton with the chain falling off at every corner, so I'm looking for something that will be quite light and nimble and well made. I'm also interested in taking it to bike runs and trails when the weather is nice, as I find gyms boring and it might be a fun way to get fit.

I'm not sure what my ideal wheel size would be. I'm 5'8 and about 10st, so I'm not the tallest or fattest person.

I've been looking at these:
http://www.paulscycles.co.uk/products.php?plid=m1b0s2p2459

http://www.paulscycles.co.uk/products.php?show=1938

Both at my max budget, but from what reviews I've read they seem to be really good offers. If I could find something similar for cheaper or on 0% finance, it would be ideal.
 
The Kona Caldera is light years ahead of the GT, it is about 3-4lbs lighter iirc and has a much much much better finishing kit and frame.

Only thing I would say is phone to check that it is still new boxed stock with Pauls. It should be, they buy loads at the end of the season and those Calderas were an interesting bike in 2009. Kona's prices had gone up more than the alternatives and their popularity seemed to fall so they didn't sell. They retailed at ~ £899 (which was a lot more than the other brands for the same spec) depending on which shop you went to iirc, I tried one in 09 and they are very nice. So by the time the prices had fallen now to acceptable levels, i.e. now, they are a 4 year old design / bike (remember a 09 spec bike came out anywhere from sept / oct 2008).
 
Thanks for the reply. I'll take your advice and phone them.

I nipped into Halfords earlier today and took a look at some of their bikes. They had a Carrera Centos on offer for £299 and I think the Vulcan was £370 or so. But I'm kind of put off Halfords as I've heard bad things.

Would the Kona be a good frame for upgrading if I start to take this more seriously? Pauls do a 6 month 0% finance on bikes over £527, so I've kinda been getting an itch to go for a more quality frame if I really do take to it.
 
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Have a look 2nd hand before deciding

Bikeradar, gumtree, ebay etc - see what's around - lots more bike for your cash if you get the right one
 
Well turns out a friend of mine had a Giant XTC 09 model buried in his shed, worth over £850 at the time. Few scratches on the frame and damaged chain but gave me it for £250. Couldn't pass it up and saved a lot of money.

I'll take it for a service when the shops open up again.

Thanks for the help guys :)
 
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