Mountain Bike advice wanted

robc11

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Hi guys i know a few people on here know their stuff about bikes, well im after a new mountain bike, looking at sub £300 and im just after a bit of advice on what to get.Ive been looking at this one Barracuda Colt Arctic White Mountain Bike but was wondering if people have any recommendations for anything better. Im not fussed about a full suspension bike just front will do but preferably wish disc brakes. Also not sure what size frame to get a 6 foot 1, not sure whether the barracuda colt with 18" frame would be too small but 22" mat be too big.
I was also considering stumping up a bit more for this one but didnt really want to spend this much as its my first bike for a few year, id be interested to hear some peoples opinions :)
 
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Personally I would not buy that, there are better biked for a similar price.

Spend a bit more and you could have this for £320
or this or

The 1st one has better disc brakes but the second one is the better bike :)

Size wise you want either a large or 19"

:)
 
You could also do worse than this.

Can get disc brakes but will cost more...
 
Two people at the same height don't necessarily have same length legs so it's best to stand over the bike & get about a two inch clearance from your private parts if which I believe you are a man if not don't worry about the two inch clearance.
 
I'd give disc brakes a miss on a budget bike. Buy the best possible frame and wheels and upgrade from there. Disc brakes are a luxury and you'd be better off spending your money elsewhere, they weigh a fair bit too.
 
I'd give disc brakes a miss on a budget bike. Buy the best possible frame and wheels and upgrade from there. Disc brakes are a luxury and you'd be better off spending your money elsewhere, they weigh a fair bit too.

What he said :)

Decent disc brakes start at about 200 notes anyway. Like my Magura Louise, with 203mm rotors :)

You can spend silly money on bikes you are better of getting one with a good frame and then you can upgrade as you can afford it :)

You will not go wrong with Cube, GT or the Spesh :)

I have 2 spesh's a hardtail (Hardrock Pro) and a full suss (FSR S-Works). Get a slightly smaller frame and it will be more nimble. Get a larger frame if you want an easy lazy to control bike. I am 6' and a 19" is fine :) And once on the bike and clipped in I cant touch the ground unless I stand over. Going downhill fast is arse off the back of the seat :)
 
Cheers for all the replies guys really grateful for the input, im considering the Specialized Hardrock Disc for £350 but should i just get the v type brake edition for 50 notes less, i am willing to go up to the £350 for the discs but will they be any good. I like the look of it here in white but the non disc i cant see in white lol. I dunno why i want white though it will only end up pitted in mud lol. Im mainly going to be using it for going to the gym on but taking the off road routes lol, but once i get one i will start to do a bit of general mountain biking too like downhill etc.
 
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Rob, I'd give the disc brakes a miss. Unless you're really thinking of flying downhill off road you don't need them, even then if you plan on doing that you would be best advised on buying full suspension bike. For a hardtail good v-brakes are more than adequate.

I think the more seasoned riders are gram watchers and we really don't like any extra weight at all, to a point where it can become a fetish. Newer younger riders want all the gadgets as they think it will make them a better rider, I do not believe this to be the case though as carrying extra weight will make you a slower unable to get airborne rider.

I've ridden a hardtail and a full susser on world cup downhill tracks and managed to get to the bottom in one piece and have never had disc brakes. I've wanted them on particular occasions as it would have meant a much faster ride but 95% of my cycling is on bridleways and mountain singletrack so they are not needed.

TBH I am being a little hypocritical as my next upgrade will probably be disc brakes but I still wouldn't recommend them in your situation. I haven't bought any major new hardware since 2001 so I could be a bit behind the times, Mairyhinge is the man to help you with components.

Oh and when going uphill don't grind those big gears too much, spin spin spin!
 
I got the spesh hardrock sport 08 after advice on here about 18 months ago-ish, and didn't opt for disc. I have loved the thing, and it's still going strong!

Although I agree it was the right idea, I had a right time trying to do the marin trail last july.

Granted, It was pissing it down all day. But my v brakes just could not handle the mud, and water.

Perhaps I overdid it with my kit, and that is the lesson learned. If you are wanting to try serious mountain biking out, you can't go wrong with a good entry level hardtail, that FITS.

If you want to go throwing yourself off the 'dragons tail' in the pissing rain, perhaps you need a better bike.
 
Cannondale are pretty good too but tend to go for a bit more in price. You seem to have a likeness to the disc breaks but remember they are only the mechanical type & not the hydraulic ones. But then if you want to upgrade in the future, like the guys have said they are expensive. You could go for that Specialized bike which is £50 cheaper & then at a later date go for for some Magura hydraulic rim brakes if they are still available, I've put some on a Kona & they are flipping good, nice smooth & great stopping power.

I like discs as well so I know how you feel because when I bought my first real proper bike I bought a Cannondale & stuck Hope hydraulic disc breaks on them straight away.

What I'd like to point out as well is a lot of these disc breaks with there rotor tend to be slightly warped so when riding there is a slight rub against the disc pad, yes as you wear the bike in this rubbing will fade but then you will feel the need to to tighten the pads response thus giving you that rubbing sound again. Hey you might be lucky not to get this problem.

Do go down to a few shops & try out some bikes as all these bikes have a triangular frame the geometry of them will be different & you will find some manufactures bikes more suited to you. There are lots of good bike manufactures out there & some really good ones mentioned in this thread but you are the only one at the end of the day going to know what's going to feel right for you.:)
 
I had a look round the bike shops online and they just cost a bomb and you don't get any real good deal, well at the time i didn't.
I then came across, homebase and that they sell mountian bikes and pretty good ones as well, as they are part of the argos group.
What is even better is that homebase are always doing offers, like 15% off everythink in store and if you hunt about on the moneysavingforum you can find other codes that will bring the price down even more.

When i got this bike:
http://www.homebase.co.uk/webapp/wcs/stores/servlet/ProductDisplay?langId=-1&storeId=20001&partNumber=3322039&Trail=searchtext>BIKE

It was £249, they then had an 15% off everythink instore and online, plus i found an online code which took another £30 off as it was a promotional discount. got the bike for £175
 
With regards to disc brakes at that price range, i'd go for V brakes. At that price range anything with discs brakes will not be that great. I'd sooner go for V brakes in that price range.


Totally agree about the V Brakes, You wont go far wrong with this for your money far better ride than a spesh Hardtail

Volkl Skis, K2 Skis, Nordica Skis, Scott Bikes, Ray-ban Sunglasses,Lib Tech snowboards,Spyder clothing

And because its a 2009 model [END OF LINE] you will pick one up for about £300

So thats a £450 Bike for 300 bar...............
 
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