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Getting bogged down with decisions. Any recommendations please for the best mountain bike under £600 with hydraulic brakes, for a 5'11" man (partner). Reasonably light. Use is just for fun - riding on roads, gravel paths, light trails in nearby woods. Cheers! Reading reviews just highlights the problems with all of them!
Cube do some great value bikes
https://www.paulscycles.co.uk/m1b0s182p8393/CUBE-ATTENTION-SL-27-5-2017
Or the Voodoo Bizango
Voodoo Bizango or Vitus Nucleus. You'll get decent air forks and 1x for £600 on either of these.
Cheers. Had wondered about the kona fire mountain bike. Had also looked at the 29" Islabike but it doesn't have hydraulic brakes (needed for arthritis).
That Voodoo looks ace for the money.
Vitus Nucleus seems to be out of stock 🙂 Maybe a good recommendation!
Trying to like the Voodoo Bizango (it kind of doesn't look like I think of a bike).
I'd check the Classifieds, there's plenty of folk that chop and change and you'll get more for your money that way.
Voodoo bizango would be my choice. British cycling discount will get you 10% off.
Out of the ones linked so far, that Voodoo looks superb.
29er
Sram NX 1x11
Shimano Deore Brakes
Maxxis Ardent tyres
You really shouldn't be able to get this for £585!
Quite keen on the Vitus Nucleus but confused - the reviewed on is the VR which is out of stock everywhere. Chain Reaction has the VRX - HT - anyone know what the difference is? (Apart from it costing more)
The Voodoo Bizango does look like great value. It was 20%off plus another 10% over the May day bank holiday weekend, I think it worked out around £470. Some of the reviews say the spec didn't match the website listing, so it may be worth viewing instore first.
No one else has mentioned it yet, so Pinnacle Ramin 1 if suspension isn't required?
Cheers. I'm looking more now at the bikes that have a long standing reputation for build etc - still like the Kona Fire Mountain. Yup a few reviews of the Bizango say parts lower spec than advertised but still ok and paint comes off easily. Some build quality comments about the Vitus too (but I guess that can happen with any bike). The Kona Fire costs more but seems to have a long standing reputation. Is it the geometry that is so popular on the Bizango and Vitus?
Probably the last bike we'll buy (being 65!) so want something that will last a long time too.
I would go for the Cube. With what you want the bike for (gravel paths/road/off road) the bar lockout for the fork would be very useful. Good parts, Rockshox Fork, good wheels and tyres.
How about the pinnacle kapur 2 at 475?
The linked Cube above has a pretty good spec for the money. But I’d still take the bizango - certainly over the Kona.
Better gears / better fork are the main things that jump out at me.
Thanks - yes thinking about the Cube - off to do some reading 🙂 The Bizango seems universally popular. Maybe I'm just being pedantic but it sounds a bit too good to be true! Put off a bit by the reviews saying some of the components are cheaper versions than the ones advertised.
Getting keen on the idea of the Cube Attention SL 27.5. Noticed that on the link above though it only goes up to 18" frame size. And that there is a 29 wheel size as well which has the larger frame sizes. Do you reckon the 29 in this bike would be as good as the 27.5? Also - sorry if this is a dumb question - but does the frame size need to alter along with the wheel size? ie assume a 20" frame with 29 wheels would be higher than a 20" frame with 27.5 wheels!
What do you reckon to the B'Twin Rockrider 560? £550
How tall is the rider?
My mistake, saw in the original post 5'11.
The 18" should be plenty big enough. If you have a local cube dealer it may be worth a sit on a Cube Hardtail first. I am 5'10 with a 32" leg an normally ride a medium (17-18) depending on manufacturer.
Thanks. Yes sitting on one sounds good. Current bike is an 18" and too small. 34" inside leg. What do you think of the Btwin Rockrider? Sounded good to me!
Sorry, but no idea what the Btwin is like.
Another to look at is the Boardman Range in Halfords. They have some great offers on these at the moment and if you have one local you could get a feel for the bike size wise..
Not a pink one! 😉
Lots of stuff on Paul's Cycles.
I like the Cannondale Trail range and use one as an alround fun/ off-road commute.
https://www.paulscycles.co.uk/m1b0s182p7400/CANNONDALE-TRAIL-3-2017
They do have lots of offers on
https://www.paulscycles.co.uk/offers/index.php?cat=1
B'Twin (Decathlon) bikes are usually pretty solid.
Definitely worth a look if you've got a Decathlon nearby.
We've got the previous model to this and it's been good. It does look higher spec though - especially the fork.
The current £699 model is nearer what I'd be looking for to be honest.
The Boardman linked above looks good.
Always tricky at this price to balance geometry/gears/fork.
I still don't rate that Kona though.
Biggest question with the VooDoo is probably that Halfords can be a little inconsistent in their store assembly techniques. Pretty well any of the mail order bikes should be checked over prior to use, but I’d make that mandatory for a Halfords bike. Overall it does seem to be an excellent purchase. Ignore the review about brake bedding in - that person doesn’t realise this is their responsibility.
Consider that if collecting from store it is much easier to reject the bike if spec does vary massively from expectation, although tbh at this level a different crank or fork is a bit niggly. I’d only really be concerned if the gearing or brakes wasn’t as described.
...at this level a different crank or fork is a bit niggly. I’d only really be concerned if the gearing or brakes wasn’t as described.
Other way round surely! No way I'd take, (say) a set of Rockshox 30mm legged forks if it was advertised with 32mm ones. Deore shifters and/or derailleurs and not XT wouldn't bother me so much.
Do you reckon the 29 in this bike would be as good as the 27.5?
A lot of people would say better. I don't think you need worry on that score