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Hi all,
so I'm a lycra wearing road rider (sorry) however, I'm not keen on taking my lad out on the roads, just too dangerous and I don't want the risk.
That being said, I do want him to ride and we've loads of trails and suitable outdoor places that we can still go out and enjoy bikes.
That being said, I don't really fancy taking my road bikes on a forest trail - even if they are pretty flat and well kept. Recipe for a sore rear end if nothing else!
Locally there's tonnes of cheap mountain bikes about, but I don't really know what's worth looking at and what I should be skipping.
I don't want to go nuts, we'll not be doing jumps or anything crazy, I might do a 50 mile off road event at the end of the year but other than that it'll be just general riding (i'd guess a decent hybrid would do the job - but that's not quite as fun!)
Soo...
Was thinking:
Disc Brakes, Hardtail, 29er circa £300 - am I in the right ball park? or should I reassess what I want?
I don't know anything about MTB groupsets, so again, bit unsure what's decent and what's just going to be a pain. Would be nice to have a good 1x setup which is what's on my gravel bike (I know I could use that really, but suspension is just appealing for comforts sake, my gravel bike is nice but it's still stiff on the bumps)
any advice would be awesome
Just be aware if buying secondhand that MTB's wear components out at a far greater rate than road bikes, and the likes of suspension benefits from (at least) annual maintenance.
Where in the country are you? What are your mechanical abilities like? Spending more get you closer to peak value for money in my opinion, but you can get something perfectly reasonable for that.
Boardman and Decathlon might both have something around that, but the reason I ask about location and mechanical ability is you might be better off with a supportive local shop rather than just looking at price.
This might help: https://singletrackmag.com/2021/10/how-to-buy-a-second-hand-mountain-bike/
If you've got a local bike recycling project they'd be a great place to go for advice and options.
When I bought for my son, I just went for a big brand hardtail (Specialized in our case) - 2nd hand, was around £400.
Disc brakes are pretty much standard, hardtails are great these days (130mm+ travel would be my choice), 29er yep, though you could probably get him a decent 27.5er for more of a bargain, cos they've gone out of favour (I've even got one hanging in my garage!)
Might be worth a Wanted ad on Singletrack, as you'd get a genuine, decent bike, but I'm not sure how many people actually browse the wanted section on here these days.
How tall is he?
East coast UK, there's bike shops but not many aside from Halfords and Evans. The remainder are really catering for high end bikes or road riding. I'm "ok" with tools, it's more a time issue for me when it comes to maintenance however I've a mechanic I use regularly for my road bikes who also services mountain bikes so i'm not too worried about issues from that point of view as he's always sorted every other bad purchase i've made haha.
That being said, I don't want to buy problems, rather buy something that'll do the job that something that is a job.
I'm not totally against upping the budget, the Cube Aim 2025 seems crazy good value but in all reality, i'll be riding with a 6 year old and MAYBE get the chance to use it on the 50 miler in august, but mainly my riding is road riding and i've several bikes for that anyway, so just keen to not get too carried away.
wouldn't get hung up on 29er.. if you look at 27.5's you may find plenty more options, people are snooty about wheel size nowadays, i'm talking specifically as an entry level bike with a £300 budget, don't let that be a priority IMHO.
that's fair, tbh I'm not sure why I want it anyway, for the type of riding I'll be doing it's not really going to be something to worry too much about.
Marketplace – Cannondale trail | Facebook
I mean this seems ideal. Few rusty bits but nothing that's not easily fixed.
Marketplace – Boardman pro fs size large | Facebook
if I push the budget I could go for this, but I don't think I need full sus and based on the link given, it's probably not worth the hassle at this price point.
Marketplace – Giant talon mountain bike | Facebook
even this is an option really. But again, it's seeing the wood for the trees, i'm not really sure what's a good option and what isn't
Worth having a look in some of the trail centre shops / hire places for ex-demo or ex-hire bikes. They've often been well-maintained and are only a year old (often less). Hire fleets in particular tend to be pretty standard entry level bikes, nothing too flash or with ridiculously proprietary parts.
Paul's Cycles typically have good discounts.
Bit over budget but I do think the discounted Salsa Rangefinder is a bargain:
Salsa Rangefinder Deore 11 | Biketart
Only slight potential issue is the 141 boost QR rear if you ever decide to swap wheels but, aside that, a good entry mtb
Oooh good suggestions, have to swing by Paul’s
spend a bit more and get something like an Orange Clockwork 1x10/11 on 27.5. You wont regret it.
between the two what would you go for? I'm swaying toward the cube but would appreciate more qualified thoughts.
Of the two, I'd pick the Cube for the 1x set-up and better group set. And the colour. TBH, though, I'd look secondhand, especially if it's not a bike that'll get much use.
Can't go far wrong with that Cannondale if you don't want to spend much tbh.
Likely to be used weekly at weekends, nothing too taxing, forest trails with a 6 year old so more a case of having something reliable
beyond that, I would like to do an off road sportive in August, 35 miles (it’s really only just past the point of gravel though)
I'd go for the secondhand Cannondale. See how much you ride it, and if you want more bike you should be able to sell the Cannondale on for what you paid for it. Then you're in the enviable position of needing to buy another bike! Win-win!
ah see i'm in the happy position that the wife chose this for herself:
NS Bikes Eccentric Lite 2 Hardtail Mountain Bike Sharkskin Blue
and also decided that she wanted to buy that and mine as it's a nice hobby for us all to do together, so I'm not committed to a new bike over second hand. She's a funny bugger with things like this, rather have new and feel comfortable it all works as it should - but hey, she wants to pay so who am I to complain.
I've got 3 road bikes, all of which are used but again, she's decided she wants to buy them so it's hard to turn down a new bike. Shiny metal syndrome is strong!
I'd go new, just less faff. That cube looks just the job
Most of the bikes in that bracket from the big brands are much of a muchness and would be fine for what you're after
I’d go for the secondhand Cannondale.
Great bike for the money... Really good frame for the budget! Bought one for my GF recently and stripped it to do a custom build... The frame is only 4lb on its own! Really well made and nicely thought out too, well worthy of upgrading everything on it over time.
She’s a funny bugger with things like this, rather have new and feel comfortable it all works as it should – but hey, she wants to pay so who am I to complain.
£300 really gets you VERY little new, even with the crazy discounts going on right now...
But it can get you a very nice 2nd hand bargain for sure!
Yeah the budget has increased somewhat, the bikes I posted above are £600. I think the Cube is what I'll be going for
Have you had a look at this one from Halfords. Decent air fork and deore group set.
good value if the large suits as it’s less than the other sizes for some reason
chris
Just watch the sizing on the cube, they tend to come up big (obviously disregard if actually buying from a shop rather than mail order)
At the cheapest end of the spectrum, mountain bikes are pretty heavy and slow. There's some genuinely good stuff out there and I've always been a fan of some of the cheaper brands, but coming from a road background, you'll find a big difference between a cheap generic trail bike, and a decently fast XC bike.
If you can find one, and it might be difficult for £300, but a good 29 XC hardtail will be quite spritely and still very capable. I'd be hunting out some secondhand bargains.
If you can find a "Boardman Hardtail Pro" from 2017 second hand, then I'd recommend that.
One of these:
It sounds obscure but I see plenty of them for sale for cheap.
I have one that I got for £280 and it's a *fantastic* bike for what you want - and fantastic in general for the price. I have put a few hundred quid into a dropper, brakes, and tyres and reprayed it (not a lime green fan). Got it set up as quite a racy XC bike and it's very light, very capable too with the 120 fork, and also looks and acts like a posh bike now too.
Semi-modern 1x11 GX groupset which is pretty good. Works for me as either a MTB or a gravel / adventure bike that can take on rowdier stuff.
Finished article below - total cost maybe £550 or so, most of which not really necessary for you:
Im looking for an entry level bike as well. For a friend. Nothing too fancy just strong enough for some light off-roading
Does anyone know of any reasonable second hand bikes for sale at the moment for up to £350? Or if anyone is thinking of selling? We are in the Hebden bridge / Todmorden area, happy to travel. Thanks!
Just watch the sizing on the cube, they tend to come up big (obviously disregard if actually buying from a shop rather than mail order)
Really? Thought both my Cube Attain road bike and C:62 mountain bike came up small tbh. Both XL, both carbon.
Im looking for an entry level bike as well. For a friend. Nothing too fancy just strong enough for some light off-roading
Does anyone know of any reasonable second hand bikes for sale at the moment for up to £350? Or if anyone is thinking of selling? We are in the Hebden bridge / Todmorden area, happy to travel. Thanks!
There was a second hand bike charity around your way a year or two ago so worth seeing if they're still going?
@whyteskye Happy Days in Sowerby Bridge is what @chestrockwell will be referring to, and definitely where you want to go! Go and chat to Dieter. He will make you feel all warm and fuzzy about bikes too, as an added bonus.
Just seen this thread - if the Boardman Pro FS near the top of the thread is well looked after and you could knock them down to £400 I’d go for that over all the other bikes in this thread. It has a decent Pike fork (vs a lot of low end budget forks on all the other bikes), the frame isn’t too heavy, the geometry is trail - not over slack / not twitchy, 1x GX is a decent enough group set etc.
I don’t know anything about MTB groupsets, so again, bit unsure what’s decent and what’s just going to be a pain
Dura Ace - XTR
Ultegra - XT
105 - SLX
Tiagra - Deore
Rough equivalents. Deore stuff is heavy but durable, probably about right for your needs, maybe some better brakes if budget allows.
Not mine, just a random eBay one, decent spec and in budget https://www.ebay.co.uk/itm/176776638205?_skw=xc+bike+29&itmmeta=01JJ5N13ETCCFS8QV63EJJ2VFY&hash=item2928b56efd:g:PecAAOSw~bxnfP10&itmprp=enc%3AAQAJAAAA8HoV3kP08IDx%2BKZ9MfhVJKnu7EVW1nJLy8mwGHIQGfDO9VNz5R%2B%2Bm9wsPrfPOmbJ6Fu0FaCY%2B5GB5E6ukRi6PwbcC02bsdnkn1Uln4uiqASTn74fFEIVDrC5Yij47GMBCCAjL4m5OUrNlNA%2BcWxd8TfU7qelMtKkueSxVRoGsBe1%2Fm1NXPbpgABsToFTDrfySd6YCZtsbWE6l6%2B4fETG1dA4r7opwlR1gbPtNbdk3OfbwpD9aRjq7hgQujZmdhI0m2HE8asnGNyKC2h%2BGW1QfxhAZys4QqDxNebfudoKENQtI%2BmfMzuVNU62zX9PWlD9Vw%3D%3D%7Ctkp%3ABk9SR8q3hLWRZQ