Mountain Bikes

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Hey guys, I am thinking of getting a bike from the ride2work scheme, does anyone have any recommendations on a good bike 300-400 pound from Evans?
 
I assume you will be riding on the road so i will suggest this http://www.evanscycles.com/products/trek/71-fx-2010-hybrid-bike-ec016501

Mountain bikes are not ideal for road riding, so the one i have suggested is a hybrid which basically has the styling of a mountain bike, but is set up with road friendly tyres and are generally lighter. You could go for a full road bike if you wish but its up to you really.
 
I assume you will be riding on the road so i will suggest this http://www.evanscycles.com/products/trek/71-fx-2010-hybrid-bike-ec016501

Mountain bikes are not ideal for road riding, so the one i have suggested is a hybrid which basically has the styling of a mountain bike, but is set up with road friendly tyres and are generally lighter.

Hi,

Well I live in a area by the coast where i could do a lot of off road riding, i havent tried it before but i would like to be able.
 
Loads of threads like this in Sports Arena and ***The Big Bike Thread*** in particular.

Will you be riding on roads or off-road/trails etc. Makes a big difference!
 
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Yep, as above. For entry level, you wont get better than the specialized

Specialised are often overpriced for what you get. Often some of the lesser brands get far better kit for the same price.

I got a mountain bike (A KHS XTC555) on the Cycle2Work scheme recently. It is a fat tyred, full all mountain bike and not suitable for cycling to work but I wanted a full bouncer and the savings have been huge. I sometimes cycle to work on it as I'm supposed to but mostly use my road bike.

OP have a look at GT is Evans stock them.
 
If the budget was stretched to around £550 what sort of bike would you recommend?

I'm also struggling to choose between a proper Hybrid and an MTB with 26" slicks and lockouts (no road bikes), what would you recommend? I'm 6ft4 and 20st if that makes any impact on the selection.
 
Its not the kit I'm bothered about, its the frame. I would take a Specialized bike at this price point over any other brand with 15 years riding experience behind me, their frames are tight and the geometry is near perfect. You can upgrade components but you can't go improving a frame.
 
Should be in the Sports Arena really, you will get responses there.

One thing I'd be mindful of is buying a Mountain Bike you want to use for commuting with the basis that you MIGHT use it off-road a bit. Obviously you can put slicks on it, like a lot of people do, but I also know a lot of people who have done a very similar thing and bought a MTB with the intention to also use it off-road, but to put it bluntly, haven't.

So I'd say be totally honest with yourself. Are you really going to use it off-road, good on you if you do... but if you aren't really, then you are better getting some kind of hybrid which would be much better and more efficient to you as a day to day commuter.
 
If the budget was stretched to around £550 what sort of bike would you recommend?

I'm also struggling to choose between a proper Hybrid and an MTB with 26" slicks and lockouts (no road bikes), what would you recommend? I'm 6ft4 and 20st if that makes any impact on the selection.
I'm a similar size to you and went with a Mongoose Tyax Super and put 1.5" slicks on it. Ithas hydraulic disc brakes and remote lockouts for the front suspension. Just under £400 I think. It's been brilliant.
http://www.evanscycles.com/products/mongoose/tyax-super-2009-mountain-bike-ec017395
 
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Its not the kit I'm bothered about, its the frame. I would take a Specialized bike at this price point over any other brand with 15 years riding experience behind me, their frames are tight and the geometry is near perfect. You can upgrade components but you can't go improving a frame.

I'm going to have to disagree. Specialised are not what they used to be. Sure they make good frames but equally good frames can be found from other bike makers and you can get better kit for your money.

My Focus road bike for example has a very good frame and full Shimano 105 Groupset whereas the equivalent Specialised only has Tigra or even Tigra/Sora combo.

Personally I find GT and their Tripple Triangle frames one of the best hardtail frames going.

Specialised/Trek/Giant all seem to have merged into one generic brand that is more about the name than the fram/kit.

All in my opinion of course and I do freely admit to preferring to own bikes from more obscure brands.
 
i went for the most money i could get on the scheme £1000 and got this, i got it for £1k not £1.2k last year 2009 model.

http://www.evanscycles.com/products/trek/6700-disc-2010-mountain-bike-ec020724?query=6700

I use it for commuting to work (10 min 2 mile cycle) plus its excellent for off road.

£1000 on the scheme for me worked out £72 a month taken from my basic pre tax pay which equated to a change of £-48 a month in my NET pay.

so i paid 12 payments of 48 and i had to pay a fair market value at the end of the term to keep the bike which they worked out as 5% of cost price, so £50.

so i paid £626 in total for the bike. A saving of nearly £400 is awesome if you ask me.
 
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