Sub £400 Hardtail bike.

plasmahal

plasmahal

plasmahal

Soldato
Joined
5 Feb 2006
Posts
5,474
Hi,

So I'm looking at a £400 spend on a hardtail MTB for light off road/trail use and maybe in the future (once fitness level allows) riding to my local train station.

I don't want a hybrid bike as I like the idea of front suspension but a set I can lock out.

I have not bought a bike for a while so I'm shopping around.

Found these so far:

http://www.halfords.com/webapp/wcs/stores/servlet/product_storeId_10001_catalogId_10151_productId_810709_langId_-1_categoryId_165499

or


http://www.rutlandcycling.com/44899/Diamondback-Response-Men-s-Mountain-Bike-.html

Not familiar with the brands so would appreciate any advice on these or suggestions on other bikes welcome.

Thanks.
 
I don't want a hybrid bike as I like the idea of front suspension but a set I can lock out.
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er my bike is a hybrid with suspension and a lockout (outside your budget by £100 but my suspension isn't anything desirable so I'm sure cheaper hybrids will have the same one)
my bike is http://www.halfords.com/webapp/wcs/..._productId_875983_langId_-1_categoryId_165534 if you are curious I happened to buy it when it was £599.99 at the start of the month :@ then it was on sale at 450 within 2 weeks lol at least it's up to 500 again now and likely won;t be on sale much longer (halfords go through phases where they discount the bikes)
if you start commuting you will wish you got at least a hybrid
 
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Beerbaron said:
But terrible off road :D
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not really depends how off-road you are talking obviously you can't go flying over huge jumps catching 6ft+ air but then again can you do that on a budget mtb anyway? ;)
I've been down some pretty ****** paths that have been so uneven because of tree roots it's like driving over constant potholes I flew down it at 20mph no problem apart from the vibrations coming up the seat :D

any road bike would likely have gone to almost walking speed and a cheap mtb is it really a mtb or hybrid with fat tyres and an overly bulky frame for looks?
Lets face it he's not hitting any extreme trails on a budgte hardtail mtb or a budget mtb with really **** poor rear suspension that will likely snap like a twig anyway

unless he's really fat he should just get a hybrid imo
 
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builder22 said:
is it just the gearing that makes road/hybrid bikes faster ?
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kinda but my hybrid has a mtb drive train. (I think my max speed in the top gear with like 100 rpm is only around 36mph, I'm not sure how much faster road bikes are geared for?)
I think the only road bike about it is really the wheels and seat tbh
the tyres are similar to a crosstrail bike being 700x35c

the wheels are slimmer as are the tyres so there is less rolling resistance meaning you can go much faster for the same power output of your body than you would with really bulky fat mtb tyres which are like 2x+ as wide

It always amazes me when I drive though a puddle and look at the trail I leave behind the wet line is so thin barely any of my tyre must be touching the road even though I'm fairly heavy and the rear tyre looks like it's kinda flattened out by my weight (14st 9 now I was 15.13 when I bought my bike on the 5th of july, I could have lost more but didn't eat very well for the most part)

if you do get a hybrid or a road bike don't get scared if it feels like the back end steps out sometimes :P
even smallish stones will make your wheel feel like it's being knocked to the side as you drive over them :D
You have to take a much straighter angle to get up curbs as well because the tyres are so thing they won't properly grip the curb and the bike will just slide sideways along them.

BTW just because the wheels are thinner does not mean it's puncture heaven with a decent set of tyres with a kevlar guard etc you are pretty much puncture proof. (the tyres that came with my bike are only around 15 a tyre scwalbe tyago )
I've done around 150miles so far and rode over glass etc and still not had a puncture

you can get schwalbe marathon plus that can ride over a drawing pin and not get punctured but they are like 30 a tyre
 
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So here's What I got:

Scott Aspect 650 bike = £330.99
Specialized align helmet = £29.99
Specialized Dirt Saddle bag = £15.99
Gore Power 2.0 gloves = £16.99
Topeak DX II pump = £16.99
Specialized 26x2.2 inner tube = £5.99
Raleigh nylon tyre levers = £2.99


Grand total (inc VAT) = £419.93

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Beerbaron said:
Looks good. Might be worth changing those horrible pedals that come on most new bikes.
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I think they are the same pedals I have welgo? or something like that.

they look pretty crap but I have no issues with them and I've never slipped when pedalling fast.

I'd get rid of the spoke reflectors ASAP tbh and if your leaving the regular reflectors on make sure they are screwed as tight as possible because if not they will vibrate loose and fall off
 
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