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...for my brother in law who doesn't want to spend more than £500 for a new bike to take on his local (wheels on the ground) trails and probably commute (about 10 mins) on.
He was thinking Voodoo Horde, I was looking at a Calibre Rail or maybe a Decathlon something.
He'd prefer to have 1x, I'd prefer it not to be complete rubbish.
Any suggestions for something good in that budget?
He's 5'8" so probably a medium if anybody has seen some bargains...
I had a go on a Rail, it's really very good. Like people say, good geometry doesn't cost anything so it's frustrating that so few cheaper bikes have decent numbers, but it definitely does. The XCM fork still holds the undesirable title of "absolute worst fork that is any good at all", it just barely does the job but you have to be all over it with maintenance, keep it clean, keep the seals lubed, the internals wear away in seconds if they get dirt in em.
I've not ridden or even seen a Horde in the flesh but tbh it all looks good on paper, the XCR air is pretty useful obviously for weight adjustability though performance wise it's not really any better than the XCM and has the same highly strung "must look after it because it'll just straight up die if you don't" thing. TBH the decathlon doesn't look awful either but it doesn't look to be in the same class and IIRC it has a 27.2 seatpost. Never rode one, but saw it in the shop and it kind of exudes cheapness for some reason.
If the BANK15 code works on the member price at gooutdoors that'd make it a bit of a no brainer though for me, £300 for that bike is a steal. But then I have a soft spot for Calibre, I bloody love my Dune. They are absolutely brilliant at putting the money where it matters and cutting the corners where it doesn't or where it can easily be replaced, that really makes a big difference at the entry level where it's just really hard to put together a bike that's all good.
Can you help him find a good secondhand bike? Bargains aplenty out there at the mo
just been looking secondhand, that would be my route, 500 doesn't get you anything that couldn't be considered disappointing in some way new, plus if it's something that catches his interest, and wants a better bike, the entry level thing he has just bought will have such low resale value
to add, a mate of mine did the same a few years back, budget of 350.. ended up with a voodoo with 2x, spent all the time moaning how crap it was as the chain kept dropping, and aligning the qr wheel in the crap fork was never ideal and the disc would rub all the time. It's also possibly heavier than my lads 26" ebike...at the time a budget of 550 would have given him so many many more options new, and had all usable serviceable entry level equipment
Thanks for replies 🙂
I'm trying on secondhand or maybe cycle to work to get more bang for buck.
The rail could be a bargain if the 15% works...
Second hand Vitus Sentier or Nukeproof Scout is a good shout as they often have decent spec
Of the 2 you mentioned, even though the Rail is a bargain especially discounted I think a 1x drivetrain, maxxis tyres and the more tuneable air fork make Voodoo a better deal- especially if you can get it through c2w
actually the Bizango is an even better spec and on offer too, especially w c2w https://www.halfords.com/bikes/mountain-bikes/voodoo-bizango-mens-mountain-bike---s-m-l-xl-frames-452670.html
yup the Bizango is an excellent deal at 450 IMHO... real tyres, air fork, 1x... could possibly pick up a bargain dropper to round it up to 500 to really finish it off
Blimey, yep that's a great deal - should be perfect for his needs
Looking at the Horde and Rail I reckon the two main differentiators are the fork and drivetrain
Personally I'd take the 1x10 Deore (Simpler and beterer? actually achieves a similar bottom gear ratio for climbing) and an Air-sprung Suntour (lighter? more tunable to rider weight?) on the Horde, over 2x9 CUES and a coil sprung Suntour on the Rail...
Both come with pretty similar specs and look to have similar frame geometry and layout otherwise.
Calibre Rail.
For me, everything about the Voodoo Horde is better than the Calibre, Tektro brakes, Deore drive train, Air forks, Maxxis tyres, maybe frame is about the same but all parts better on the Horde. Says out of stock though.
The Bizango is even more betterer though with shimano brakes and better forks.