vampire Posted May 11, 2015 Report Share Posted May 11, 2015 (edited) Hi all,have decided to get a mountain bike for road/off road use as part of a get fitter campaign, nothing serious. Have read some stuff about what to get and had advice from friends,from that I have this short list, Marin larkspur,older hybrid bike £60 last choice. Old but nice and the laquer is blistering Schwinn maverick 2.2,new £159......1st choice. New and spec seems good,love the shape/style Vertigo eiger,refurbished new,£90 3rd choice. Tesco direct !!!! Boss black and gold,Halfords£159 !! 2nd choice. Halfords is the worrying bit Oh and a KCP attack 21 in black £199. joint second choice The Schwinn,has what I think is what I am after,ie- alloy frame,hard tail (can add sprung seat post),disc brakes,quality forks,lever gears. Whats the expert verdict from the pigeon wiggins out there. Edited May 11, 2015 by vampire Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
novice cushie shooter Posted May 12, 2015 Report Share Posted May 12, 2015 Get out to bike shops and try some, see what feels best so avoid tesco etc. Theres some good second hand bike shops around. We have soul cycles in edinburgh. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Lloyd90 Posted May 12, 2015 Report Share Posted May 12, 2015 Read up and see what the good makes are ... then get on Gumtree or eBay and look for a second hand bike where someone has upgraded. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
TaxiDriver Posted May 12, 2015 Report Share Posted May 12, 2015 Get the cheapest you can afford, That way once you've tried it around the block/village/end of the street and cannot breathe or barely circulate blood and you throw the bike behind the shed in disgust.....at least you won't have wasted to much money (been there done that twice) Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
vampire Posted May 12, 2015 Author Report Share Posted May 12, 2015 Get the cheapest you can afford, That way once you've tried it around the block/village/end of the street and cannot breathe or barely circulate blood and you throw the bike behind the shed in disgust.....at least you won't have wasted to much money (been there done that twice) So what bikes have you got behind the shed then ! Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
TaxiDriver Posted May 12, 2015 Report Share Posted May 12, 2015 First one was a £99 cheapie from Halfrauds, Rode it once (at the wife's insistence, to get gravy granules from a shop that turned out had shut even before I'd left home) Got home and threw it behind the shed where it rusted away Couple or three years ago I bought a hybrid(?) road / town bike, Spent a bit (£350ish) in the belief that I might be more inclined to ride it rather than leave it sitting idle...........guess what... Didn't work and it's rusting away up the end of the garden and the tyres have perished. Only ridden the damn thing a total of about 2 miles. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Cambsman Posted May 12, 2015 Report Share Posted May 12, 2015 Sit down. Take a deep breath. Get yourself a large glass of decent scotch. Reflect on the fact that you are an adult. All grown up. Bikes belong to your youth. That time before you had a car. Grow up and enjoy the engineering delight that is the internal combustion engine. Nuff said! Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
team tractor Posted May 12, 2015 Report Share Posted May 12, 2015 http://www.2wheelsonly.co.uk/bikes-1044-c.asp This is my best mates shop. Bikes start at 300-5k You get what you pay for . Buy cheap buy twice. I started with a £300 bike and ended up upgrading everything over a few years as it fell apart. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
vampire Posted May 12, 2015 Author Report Share Posted May 12, 2015 Sit down. Take a deep breath. Get yourself a large glass of decent scotch. Reflect on the fact that you are an adult. All grown up. Bikes belong to your youth. That time before you had a car. Grow up and enjoy the engineering delight that is the internal combustion engine. Nuff said! Ha ha,think that's how it all started when I was looking at the Yamaha mt 9,the girls are not happy about me getting another bike and would prefer I get a push bike.... Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
craftycarper Posted May 12, 2015 Report Share Posted May 12, 2015 Son got a nice one from Evans, a trek, mind you not cheap though http://www.evanscycles.com/categories/bikes/mountain-bikes/f/trek#! Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Laird Lugton Posted May 13, 2015 Report Share Posted May 13, 2015 (edited) If your employer does it can you join their bike to work scheme? Depending on the amount of tax you pay you get the same as tax off the bike. So if you are in the 20% tax bracket then 20% off etc. It's a great way to get a better bike for no more money Edited May 13, 2015 by Laird Lugton Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
kernel gadaffi Posted May 13, 2015 Report Share Posted May 13, 2015 Cube, great bikes with very good components. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Les*1066 Posted May 13, 2015 Report Share Posted May 13, 2015 (edited) Get the cheapest you can afford, That way once you've tried it around the block/village/end of the street and cannot breathe or barely circulate blood and you throw the bike behind the shed in disgust.....at least you won't have wasted to much money (been there done that twice) Me too. I had a Raleigh - I can't remember the name of it - and it was an excellent bike. The only problem was the idiot on the seat who thought he was 12 again. Edited May 13, 2015 by Les*1066 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Chris Bb Posted May 13, 2015 Report Share Posted May 13, 2015 Any one that comes complete with an electric motor. You can tell her that the motor is the gearing and the battery is the toolkit. Believe me, it works! Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Deker Posted May 14, 2015 Report Share Posted May 14, 2015 Have a look on facebook for any mountain bike groups near you and join one, you'll probably see guys who are upgrading selling their old bikes off damn cheap and you'll get a better bang for buck than a new one Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
delburt0 Posted May 14, 2015 Report Share Posted May 14, 2015 (edited) Just buy a secondhand cube you will pick one up for £250/350 they are £600 new for the bottom end, I wouldn't waste your money on a cheap new bike. Here's one 151675924278 Edited May 14, 2015 by delburt0 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
vampire Posted May 15, 2015 Author Report Share Posted May 15, 2015 Any one that comes complete with an electric motor. You can tell her that the motor is the gearing and the battery is the toolkit. Believe me, it works! I looked at them and I did think,i could get away with that but then I thought,like Taxi Driver it may just end up behind the garage. I have now won a bike off the bay,the second hand Marin which looks ok ish,so will see if this cycling thing is suited and then get a better one,thats not like me to be sensible.....must be old age creeping in Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
vampire Posted May 21, 2015 Author Report Share Posted May 21, 2015 Read up and see what the good makes are ... then get on Gumtree or eBay and look for a second hand bike where someone has upgraded. So the Marin I won turned out to be not so good,but the guy agreed to cancel the transaction. Bigthug87,did that and ended up between two second hand ones both in top condition,1st was a carrear Vulcan xc and a commental ,I bought the Carrera tonight and am well pleased,writes ups seem to say its a good entry level bike and it has all the good stuff,so begins me being a cyclist,now what colour lycra to get Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Chris Bb Posted May 22, 2015 Report Share Posted May 22, 2015 Anybody know anything about the BT'WIN bikes sold at Decathlon? There's one currently at £289, full suspension, disc brakes, looks good. But, it could be a Halfrauds' Apollo like pile of wombat's droppings. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
novice cushie shooter Posted May 22, 2015 Report Share Posted May 22, 2015 Wont be upto much Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
g1nga Posted May 24, 2015 Report Share Posted May 24, 2015 Anybody know anything about the BT'WIN bikes sold at Decathlon? There's one currently at £289, full suspension, disc brakes, looks good. But, it could be a Halfrauds' Apollo like pile of wombat's droppings. B'twin bikes are generally very good value for money, keep away from anything full suspension at that price though, it will weigh a ton, have more complex parts to fail & if anything put you off using it. Go for a hybrid bike if you're not using it for blasting down the side of a hill. The carrera subway bikes are great & can be found quite cheap on gumtree etc. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Chris Bb Posted May 25, 2015 Report Share Posted May 25, 2015 B'twin bikes are generally very good value for money, keep away from anything full suspension at that price though, it will weigh a ton, have more complex parts to fail & if anything put you off using it. Go for a hybrid bike if you're not using it for blasting down the side of a hill. The carrera subway bikes are great & can be found quite cheap on gumtree etc. Thanks for that. I ride on quite heavily potholed/rutted dirt tracks. I had a non suspension bike that used to end up in tingling in fingers, etc. due to vibration. Now have a Raleigh full suspension which is a more comfortable ride but just doesn't "fit" as well. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Dunkield Posted May 25, 2015 Report Share Posted May 25, 2015 Anybody know anything about the BT'WIN bikes sold at Decathlon? There's one currently at £289, full suspension, disc brakes, looks good. But, it could be a Halfrauds' Apollo like pile of wombat's droppings. I was shocked when I saw the price, but it actually looks a good bike for the money. Of course it isn't going to be fast/light as something more expensive but it reviews well http://www.decathlon.co.uk/rockrider-500-s-full-suspension-mountain-bike-id_8208677.html Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Chris Bb Posted May 25, 2015 Report Share Posted May 25, 2015 Of course it isn't going to be fast/light as something more expensive but it reviews well At 63 & 14 stone, neither am I! Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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