Noob looking for MTB

zag

I want to get into Mountain Biking, and I am looking for recommendations for a decent entry level mountain bike.

I'll be doing a little of everything, cross-country, road cycling, light down-hill stuff, so I'm looking for an all-rounder.

My budget is less than €500.

An

fergalr

You'll probably get more advice in the cycling forum...

Around 500 is the lower end of what you can expect to spend on a decent entry level MTB - much less than that and you start to get bikes which won't really hold up to real riding in the mountains.

If you are buying new, you might want to check out online dealers like Canyon.com, or maybe check out the Focus bikes sold on wiggle.co.uk

If you aren't planning on learning much about bike maintenance, you might be better off buying from a local bike shop, but be aware you might get a fair bit less for your money. Lots of people start out on bikes like a Specialized Hardrock - I had one in the past, was grand to start on. There's also more people buying various lapierres from cyclesuperstore in tallaght.

It's worth pointing out that there's a few hidden extras that you'll have to buy at some stage that will also push your budget up (helmet, repair kit, spare tubes, maybe cycling shoes and pedals, maybe cycling shorts) so bear this in mind; it's not a cheap sport unfortunately.


If your willing to go second hand, you can get some pretty good deals, as bikes depreciate a lot with a little use. If you go down this route, be very careful getting something that fits you properly and so on, or ideally get advice from a friend that knows something about bikes (bike fit is crucial).


There's a few for sale on the adverts section of this site, including mine:
http://www.adverts.ie/showproduct.php?product=51769&cat=52
which you might consider if you are tall.

There's also another one being sold by a guy called Kona here:
http://www.adverts.ie/showproduct.php?product=48188&cat=52
which might be more suitable if you are medium/short; it looks like a pretty good deal to me.

There's also a few others, I'd ask for advice on each of them from a third party that knows stuff about bikes (try the cycling forum) before you buy.


I'd definitely buy second hand at your price range, but again, you need to be careful to make sure you buy something that won't fall apart, and not something designed for city use.

zag

Thanks for your help. I had not considered buying a second-hand bike until you mentioned it. It never dawned on me. I had a look at the adverts and there seems to be some good deals(as well as your own). I'm going to do some more research, and get back to you, and let you know what I buy, that is of course, if you are interested!!

fergalr

Cool, good for you - I'd definitely buy second hand if I was buying in that price range.
Again, you've got to be a bit careful so the more you know about bikes, and the more research you do, the better. (That said, it's not as hard as it should be to find shops that'll sell you a new bike that doesn't really suit you either, unfortunately).
Check out websites like mtbr.com for good collections of bike reviews before you buy anything.

When buying 2nd hand, you also need to bear in mind that with mountain biking, most components wear out over time (chainrings and rear cassettes, for example), and need to be replaced which can be expensive, so take into account how worn a particular bike is when you are valuing it.

Overall though, if you can get a 2nd hand bike that suits your needs you can usually get much better components for your money - it's not unusual to find a reduction of 50% of the new price - if you pay more than that for a 2nd hand bike, make sure you are getting something that's in great condition, or got lots of upgrades etc.

I've seen people put up threads on the cycling forum asking for advice on a specific bike they're thinking of buying, and get solid feedback - obviously you get some brand loyalty and bias in any opinion, but there's a lot of knowledge and helpful posters there.