Mountain bike advice

[PoohBore]

In work we are just launching a cycle to work scheme where it appears I can get a bike from my gross salary rather than paying for it from my net salary. I'm thinking of getting a mountain bike with front suspension only but have approximately 150 to choose from! Now if it was a car no problem I could choose. Any suggestions on a good make or specific bike up to ?1k in value. I'm told marin is the way to go but they aren't on the list. Cyclesolutions.co.uk is the provider.

[watcher-in-the-woods]

if i were you i would buy a huffy! i have one and it is great

[satch]

I've been using a Claude butler for years. No probs other than consumables.

[jibjob79]

You really can't go wrong with any of the major makes such as gt, canondale, scott, specialized or orange. My personal preference is for specialized as it what i have bought several times. Next i would pick a bike on what you are going to use it for. If it is for mainly off road id save up more and get a full suspension bike, mainly road i'd get a hybrid and in between i'd get a front suspension with maybe an upgrade to a suspension seat post if you find off road down hill a little too painful lol. Look at the specs of the components as you want a balanced a bike as possible. The main component you don't want to scrimp on is your rear mech as sloppy tolerances here will cause you no end of problems. Next would be shifters, front mech then brakes. I'd go for disc brakes as they will be the easiest to maintain, v brakes wear out faster and rub with an untrue wheel. You will only be saving weight for your crank the higher spec you go. For ?1000 you will be able to get a high spec front suspension bike, not the lightest but reliable and fun. For off road you wont need more than 4 inches of travel less if you are mainly doing commuting.

If it was my money i would go for the Specialized rockhopper

http://www.cyclesolutions.co.uk/p387...Comp-2011.aspx

[peanutpete]

get a grifter

[ACMCC]

It depends on what you want to do with it, if you are using it on the road with just a bit of light cross country at the weekends then a Boardman Pro HT would be a good choice, the Marin White line is also good, I have a lot of friends over here that do a lot of on and off road cycling, was a big race Sunday just gone (E2E) 1357 entries from all over the world, 45 miles on some steep rough tracks, tough race, I was the support for a few, it was hard work watching! enjoyed a nice HDM EE


One guy I know used a Boardman Pro FS and was pleased with the performance, if you plan to do a fair bit off road with maybe a few technical trails then full suspension is the way to go. Modern bikes have designed out most of the problems early rear suspension bikes had, also most have a front and rear lockout for improved climbing on smooth trails/roads the Giant Anthem series are very good as are Scott spark and Trek ex series. Another friend did the event on a Lapierre zesty 314 and was very impressed.


Unfortunately 1K is considered at the budget end of the full suspension bikes, you have more choice of hard tails at that price...

[ACMCC]

The Scott Scale 50 would also be worth a look.....

[Bwgan]

I bought a cube hybrid through that scheme. They seemed to be well spec'd for the price, maybe worth a look......and the paint job is extremely nice with a few neat teutonic design elements

[PoohBore]

get a grifter

Always wanted a chopper as a kid but made do with a grifter. Thanks for the help guys.

Should be interesting as I haven't ridden a bike in 30 years !

[ctrl]

I agree with jib
I have a specialized bike, top notch bikes

Rockhoppers are v. Good bikes imho