Spec me a Mountain Bike

Antony101

Antony101

Antony101

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Joined
4 Jul 2011
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England
I need to start exercising more due to bad joints and have trouble walking, I use to ride my bike most places and cycle a few hours a day to keep myself healthy.

I have however not had a bike in a while as the last one I bought from Halfords broke very quickly. I don't have a large amount of money to spend and understand bikes can get very expensive.

Budget would be around £300-£500 and would need to include every part. I'm not very confident on building it myself and don't have a clue what I am doing so any advise is great.

Has to be a mountain bike.
 
 
Some nice looking bikes here, thanks.

I'll save up a tad more as I don't quiet have £500 yet.

Is there anything I need to know for taking care of a bike? Do I need to dry it after riding in the rain or?

I kept my old cheap one in a shed when it wasn't being used but still rusted incredibly quick and the breaks just stopped working properly.
 
If you ride often, no worry about keeping it in a shed.

You will need to look after it though, bikes don't keep themselves :)

Just ask when buying it.
 
Bike Radar recommends a few of the Halfords Carreras. I also had a Carerra for many years and was one of my favourite bikes, it was so solid and took a lot of abuse. Was the Banshee.

These can be had well within your budget. Halfords also have a genuine 20% off their bikes at the moment online only.
 
Halfords always have a 'something%' off.

It is there way of making you think you are getting a good deal for what is usually a terrible bike.
 
Antony101 said:
Some nice looking bikes here, thanks.

I'll save up a tad more as I don't quiet have £500 yet.

Is there anything I need to know for taking care of a bike? Do I need to dry it after riding in the rain or?

I kept my old cheap one in a shed when it wasn't being used but still rusted incredibly quick and the breaks just stopped working properly.
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Make sure you clean the chain, De-reailers, cassettes and lube up everything that is meant to be lubed. Grease everything that is meant to be greased. I normally wash after every ride (most of the time) and re-lube every 3-4 rides though this is probably overkill as the chain always feels nice and sticky.

The chain should be kept clean and dry as much as possible though.

I've just found out so much is wrong with mine and needing replaced, but most of the stuff you can do by yourself. I.E replacing hub bearings, stripping pedals apart and re-greasing etc etc...
 
Antony101 said:
A friend is selling an almost new Specialized Hard Rock 2013 Model for £300, this sound any good if it's the right size?

Anything to look out for?
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If its from a friend and its £300... That's pretty decent.

Just borrow it for half an hour, take it a proper ride and get the feel for it. Try it out and see if you like it. If it performs well, with no clicking or rattles etc I'm sure it'll be absolutely fine. It's a bike remember! Not an old puegeuot.
 
Antony101 said:
A friend is selling an almost new Specialized Hard Rock 2013 Model for £300, this sound any good if it's the right size?

Anything to look out for?
Click to expand...

Sounds like a decent deal, these are normally worth £500~ depending on the model and meant to decent frames.
 
I've had a read of a few sites and they seem to agree it's a great bike however the front forks let it down. However they do say the frame is worth keeping so I can change parts whenever I have the spare cash.
 
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