milo

yeah.. im sort of semi-bike snobby too, and i TOTALLY agree with whats been said here. if u buy a new mtb for circa £200, it is highly likely that you WILL be put off mountain biking (been there, done that).

go used at that money.

anc-sti

Defo agree with moose and milo, for that amount 2nd hand is the best option, look in the classifieds in the mtb press or bikemagic.
Another good source is ex-hire bikes, they are rarely kept more than six months because the shops use them to reduce their tax bill, they are well maintained usually, one thing to watch for are hubs without and grease because of pressure washing but apart from that they are cracking value for money are most have rarely gone offroad.

Also some shops do trade-in nowadays and often have a little book with the second hand stuff in.

Brother_Will

What i do take um-bridge at is your over generalizing both about halfords and about local bike shops, just because its local and has been around for years doesn't mean its better. I've been in local shops where mountain bike is a dirty word, likewise I've been in halfords where the only thing they know about is £99 full suss bikes.

Both can be staffed by numpties both can be staffed by people with a wealth of knowledge with years of experience. While i agree it is better to support your local business men, few can offer the competative pricing and large range that a halfords bikehut can offer.

imlach

See my thread about this from the other day....

http://bbs.scoobynet.co.uk/showthread.php?t=367001

You could get your £450 bike for under £300 by a clever little tax wheeze WELL worth a look.

r32

Tis true I'm afraid, there are quite a few roadie type shops that dont have anything to do with mountain bikes at all. Thats their choice. There are good and bad amongst any trade. So a good idea is to get some personal recommendations. I remember seeing some young lad that came along to our MB club where the local Halfrauds bike hut people had mangled his hyd brakes up with mole grips cause they didnt know what they were doing. Most couldnt build a wheel....... Its easy to be a bike snob, just like watches and cameras I suppose. At the end of the day buy something you are happy with and that feels comfortable. If you're not doing radical things with it most bikes will do.
Good luck.....

Dream Weaver

My first ever mountain bike was a Diamond Back Ascent. I was 16 and worked all summer to save up the £400 for it, which back in '89 was a lot of money.

I bought it from the local "specialist" bike shop and it fell to bits after a week.

Turned out that a mate worked there and he told me the boss just paid kids to build any bikes that came in cos he couldnt be bothered, needless to say I never went there again.

However, our current local bike shop is very good and knowledgable. ALmost bought a Scott Elite Racing from them last year.

anc-sti

Well lets face it, if Halfords are that great the the small bike shops of the UK would be extinct as they would struggle to compete. BUT, in fact small independent bike shops are very prosperious, doing so on sound advise and quality product. Halfords have there place and there market share selling the vast majority of the lower end of the market, however the mid to high end of the market comes from the network of good bike shops we have in the UK.

I know if I went to a Halfords and asked about my next race bike, that I would know more about the bike industry than the person serving me, this doesn't fill me with confidence. Thats just me and my opinion after biking for 20years and racing mtbs for 15 years, hay ho..

As has been said before not all shops are equal find a good one you can't go wrong. I use Biketrek's in Ambleside but live in Cockermouth(30miles away) there are many shops closer but I trust the guy's they don't sell crap, there knowledge is second to none and they have a discount system if you are loyal. An example of the way they work is; They used to be one of the main dealers of pace forks which were very good 5 years ago, recently the new generation have been plagued to reliablity issue's because of this and negative feedback from customers they stopped dealing pace and started pushing other forks which work. This results in more satisfied customers.

Guess it's all about what you want and what your priorities are.

MarkO

Maybe too late, but The Hub at Glentress are doing Giant XTC3s, brand new, for £500. They're also doing ex-hire ones (about 3 months old) for £400. They're cracking bikes - Alu frames, Manitou Axel forks, mostly XT groupsets, and hydraulic discs.

If anyone's interested, drop me a line (or call them direct). They'll post the bikes to you if you can't get up to Scotland.

Oh, and re: Halfords, having worked in the workshop at the Hub for 9 months last year, and having seen the sheds that came in that people had bought from Halfords (inappropriate to their needs, badly built-up, and in some cases plain dangerous to the customer) I would recommend that people steer clear of Halfords and go to their local bike shop every time.

MarkO

Oh, and while I'm at it, anyone interested in buying a classic '96 CinderCone ?

Brit_in_Japan

You could buy British and get an Orange Gringo Disc. You might well be able to get an '04 model for 450, though they are priced at 650 usually. Good bits, Deore all round, and a strong frame worth upgrading with hydraulics later if required.

Dream Weaver

Thats one of my faves the Orange - do you know if its any good?

MarkO

Don't like the Gringo much myself. Seems expensive too, if it really is £650, considering it's mostly Deore kit on it.

Andy Hall

A mate has just bought the Gringo non disk and is chuffed to nuts with it. I notice that the disk version is cable rather than hydraulic.
I have the Giant XTC4 with hydraulic disk which I much prefer, it means that you don't get the same stretch as with a cable and you have a lot more control near the limit (the experts call it modulation i think!!) Guys I have met with cable disks have all said they wish they gad gone for the hydros.
I'm no expert, but i have had the bike about 7 months and love it. Having had an early no sus bike for the previous 10 years and hardly used it I now get out at least twice a week for 2-3 hours (which is about the maximum I can fit in between family and work)If you can get one cheap in the sales, I strongly recommend it.

Cheers
Andy

anc-sti

Hmmm, Orange british company so I was keen to support them in a mainly American Industry. Had two nice bikes but both broke, my P7 snapped the down tude and my E3 fractured the chain stay. Both bikes were under warranty so no problem there. But after two failures I decided to get a more durable machine, a Fat Chance Yo Eddy this bike has done 5 hard years on the lakeland fells and is as good as the day I bought it. Its been superseeded by a S-Works Epic but thats just I'm getting soft and wanted a full susser.

Not sure how durable the current models are but it put me off ever buying from them.

anc-sti

Nice bike fella, always liked the steel cindercone my mate had one, the frames are pretty much bomb proof and ride really well. This is a excellent buy for someone.

imlach

MarkO - need a new bike as snapped my Rockhopper Comp frame last week - may be interested in the CinderCone, or perhaps one of the XTC3s.

pbee

I test rode the gringo disk and hated it, And ive always wanted a orange felt heavy and unbalanced, brakes were next to useles and exspensive.

I went for the giant xtc 3 from pauls cycles, excellent frame and xt components, not 100% sure about the integrated headset but its holding up so far. And the forks are pretty good for this price range too.

MarkO

Fat Chance Yo-Eddy. One of my dream frames. Always used to look longingly at that when I used to hang around at Cycology in Crowthorne in the mid-90s.

Andy, you're right - mechanical discs are pointless; most of the advantages of disc brakes are lost if you still have the problems associated with cables. I'd always recommend hydraulic. That's why the XTC3s are such a bargain (particularly at £500 new; I gather it's 'cos the Hub overstocked and then didn't need as many for hire bikes).

Imlach - if you're interested in the CinderCone, let me know. It's a 16", but quite large relative to 16" bikes these days (I'm 6ft...). Bear in mind the frame doesn't have disc mounts on it though.

I'm selling just the frame and forks (80mm Duke Races), 'cos the groupset's going on my new frame:

imlach

MarkO - I don't need discs for now, so no disc mounts would be fine on the CinderCone.
I'm 6'2", so 16" should JUST be ok I think......

(edited - Oops - are you just selling the frame? Ah well...maybe a XTC3 then...)

Saying that, I'm may be tempted by a XTC3! I have sent you PM and email about this....

ozzy

I can vouch for the Giant XTC's that are on hire at Glentress. Cracking bikes and well up to the job of any of the routes in Glentress. We've hired about 6 of their bikes when I've been too lazy to take me own

Stefan

MarkO

So, when are we going to have a SN MTB outing at Glentress or Traquair, then?

ozzy

Antime's fine with me. Just need a few days notice to keep a day free.

My bikes getting rebuilt just now, but it's just as easy hiring one of the Giant bikes from the Hub.

Stefan

MarkO

Well, if my frame ever turns up, we could do one in the next 2-3 weekends.

ozzy

cool; I'm up for it

ChrisB

Let me consulate the calendar at home - November is looking busy for me.

NeilT

had a trip round the bike shops this PM, and found a Kona Explosif & Cinder Cone for £700 - brand new. But whats the better of the 2?

Looks a beauty - worth it? Would be a stretch £££ but maybe worth it?

Neil

anc-sti

The Explosif used to be a model up from the Cindercone, unless things have changed recently the Explosif is the better bargain.

Both these frames used to be steel, I know Kona changed the cindercone to Alloy, don't know about the Explosif, is it Steel or Alloy?

Edit:

The Explosif is still steel, excellent bike. Steel is more forgiving than alloy but weighs more. Therefore if you are going for steel you have to go for a quality frame of which the Explosif is one, because they have been manufactured as light as possible. Keith Bontrager once said if steel cost as much as titanium all high end bikes would be made of it!! Steel is also more durable than alloy and the tudes aren't critically damaged if they are dented.
I may be biased is I rode a steel Fat Chance Yo Eddy for many years.

http://www.konaworld.com/kw_index.cfm

http://www.konaworld.com/2k3/bikes_m...if_300x4in.jpg

MarkO

The Explosif is the frame I wanted but couldn't afford in 1996.

Steel frames are fantastic. Get yerself an explosif - you'll love it.

NeilT

well, bit the bullet today and bought the Explosiv and just gotten back from an off road run - including a fast downhill section.....and wow - what a bike - very very impressed by it!!.

I used to go biking with a mate who had a Trek 8000 ( I think) and he used to leave me for dead on the downhills - will certainly give him a run for his money now!

Excellent bike well worth the money (£720) chuffed to bits

Thanks for all those who replied with advice

cheers

Neil

Brother_Will

Mmmm steel is real, i fully expect to see hanging out on www.singletrackworld.co.uk now