Which mountain bike (from halfords)?

LowOdour

I got a voucher from halfords and am looking to purchase a mountain bike. It will just be for general road use in the country, but i want to get back in to some sort of cycling again.

I need an 18' frame as far as i know, but will need to try them out to be sure. I dont know much about bikes, so my budget dictates it will be one of the following 3 bikes. If anyone could tell me what might be the best one of these i would greatful. ive done the comparison on them but didnt mean much to me.


http://www.halfords.ie/webapp/wcs/stores/servlet/product_storeId_11101_catalogId_15551_productId_770971_langId_-1_categoryId_212589

http://www.halfords.ie/webapp/wcs/stores/servlet/product_storeId_11101_catalogId_15551_productId_732151_langId_-1_categoryId_212589

http://www.halfords.ie/webapp/wcs/stores/servlet/product_storeId_11101_catalogId_15551_productId_770955_langId_-1_categoryId_212589

langdang

Yikes!

This bike from this thread is the best bargain bike for road only use at the mo

LowOdour

thanks for the reply, but as i mentioned my budget restricts me to the 3 bikes Ive linked in my OP. Not looking to do anything more that cycle a few miles to the shop and back again...most id probably be doing is 10 miles round trip. if i had to add an extra 50 on my budget i probably could

kenmc

None of them. They are all BSOs. Buy a new car stereo or something with the voucher instead, and look out for a decent second hand bike.

LowOdour

kenmc wrote: »

None of them. They are all BSOs. Buy a new car stereo or something with the voucher instead, and look out for a decent second hand bike.

BSOs?

TinyExplosions

LowOdour wrote: »

BSOs?

Bike Shaped Object, ie a piece of junk

LowOdour

ok, they are not great bikes so. But, are the people in here very serious about their bicycles and cycling....and so are judging them way beyond the standard I would be looking for?
Will have to look elsewhere for a bike id say

TinyExplosions

LowOdour wrote: »

ok, they are not great bikes so. But, are the people in here very serious about their bicycles and cycling....and so are judging them way beyond the standard I would be looking for?
Will have to look elsewhere for a bike id say

No, we are (mostly) people who know about bikes, and so can spot ones that will fall apart very quickly, and most likely cost more to repair than they cost to buy. It's a false economy to get something like the ones you linked to to be honest

ednwireland

LowOdour wrote: »

ok, they are not great bikes so. But, are the people in here very serious about their bicycles and cycling....and so are judging them way beyond the standard I would be looking for?
Will have to look elsewhere for a bike id say

no most of us have probably owned one (or at least tried to fix one) you may get lucky and it wont have bits falling off it every 5 mins, if you do get one make sure its put together correctly at least with correct tools - that may prolong the life somewhat

LowOdour

TinyExplosions wrote: »

No, we are (mostly) people who know about bikes, and so can spot ones that will fall apart very quickly, and most likely cost more to repair than they cost to buy. It's a false economy to get something like the ones you linked to to be honest

i'l definately take your advice on board. So would it be possible to recommend me a decent bike for under 150e? I wouldnt know where to look.

C3PO

As can be seen from lots of my previous posts I'm no fan of Halfords but if the OP has a budget of €150 and wants to buy a new bike he really doesn't have a whole lot of better choices! At least Halfords are buying in bulk so should be able to provide the best value/quality for his budget?
The 1st bike would probably be grand for trips to the shops and around the local roads! I certainly wouldn't go near anything with a suspension fork at that price!

LowOdour

i have the option of looking at this tomorrow (if it hasnt been sold by then). would it be worth going for?

http://www.adverts.ie/bikes/bike-for-sale-galway/554654

Hail 2 Da Thief

Why are you looking at mountain bikes if you're going to be cycling on roads? It'll be very slow! A hybrid with narrower tyres would be a better option imo.

langdang

Try this,
http://www.halfords.ie/webapp/wcs/stores/servlet/product_storeId_11101_catalogId_15551_productId_768657_langId_-1_categoryId_212377#dtab

All of the Trax bikes are priced "boxed NOT assembled", so it's another 25euro to get it built or you can do it yourself (shouldn't be hard)

LowOdour

langdang wrote: »

Try this,
http://www.halfords.ie/webapp/wcs/stores/servlet/product_storeId_11101_catalogId_15551_productId_768657_langId_-1_categoryId_212377#dtab

All of the Trax bikes are priced "boxed NOT assembled", so it's another 25euro to get it built or you can do it yourself (shouldn't be hard)

cheers langdang, will look at this one

petethedrummer

Keep the bike as simple as possible in this price range. Definitely NO SUSPENSION.

kona

Do not under ANY circumstances touch a trax. Theres a reason halfords are charging to build them.


Spoiler:

They are possibly the worst bikes I have ever ever seen, nothing works on them, not even the frames are straight.

Youd be better off spending your money on a bus ticket then getting a trax, nasty bikes.

LowOdour

kona wrote: »

Do not under ANY circumstances touch a trax. Theres a reason halfords are charging to build them.


Spoiler:

They are possibly the worst bikes I have ever ever seen, nothing works on them, not even the frames are straight.

Youd be better off spending your money on a bus ticket then getting a trax, nasty bikes.

ok, ive been really put off by them Trax bikes now.
what about http://www.halfords.ie/webapp/wcs/stores/servlet/product_storeId_11101_catalogId_15551_productId_744959_langId_-1_categoryId_212589
Its a raleigh....im sure that in itself must make it a decent enough bike

kona

LowOdour wrote: »

ok, ive been really put off by them Trax bikes now.
what about http://www.halfords.ie/webapp/wcs/stores/servlet/product_storeId_11101_catalogId_15551_productId_744959_langId_-1_categoryId_212589
Its a raleigh....im sure that in itself must make it a decent enough bike

Raleigh have gone to ****e, they are built in the far east to questionable standards. It would be better than a trax (crawling is) but its still a BSO.

Id strongley recomend saving up abit longer and getting this:

http://www.halfords.ie/webapp/wcs/stores/servlet/product_storeId_11101_catalogId_15551_productId_551273_langId_-1_categoryId_212377

One of the best value bikes your going to get. Its a standard bike, it will work, its got decent parts.

Generally speaking sub e300 bikes are gick. Thats not being a snob, thats what Ive deduced for 7 years of wasting my life fixing them. They should be banned.

Icyseanfitz

i agree with kona just save up the extra bit of cash (its not much tbh) and go for either that subway or one of the other carrera's, a cheap pos bike will cost you more in the long run with all the running you will be doing to the bike shop to get things repaired

MungoMan

Icyseanfitz wrote: »

i agree with kona just save up the extra bit of cash (its not much tbh) and go for either that subway or one of the other carrera's, a cheap pos bike will cost you more in the long run with all the running you will be doing to the bike shop to get things repaired

i never had one of the BSO Halford entry level bikes

I have looked at them when in Halfords, they dont look too bad, they are fairly heavy because they are steel, and they look basic compared to the Halfords Carerra brand.

What goes wrong with them that wouldn't go wrong with a more expensive bike ?
What about them makes them more difficult to repair ?

Has anyone had one for a few years and done a lot of cycling, whats the verdict ? Also is the ride quality bad ?

For the OP, 120e is a lot of money in the second hand bike market, you can get something really good for that.
Definitely recommend going for a secondhand

As someone who cycles regularly (daily) but has no knowledge or interest in bicycles, I can only tell you my experience with Halfords wasn't a good one.


I bought a Trax Sirocco bike off them. It cost me about €250 I think (it was half price, had full suspension - I thought I was getting the Stallone of bicycles!).

Anyway, the gears kept on giving me issue. I posted here and the general reply from the knowledgeable people was that "the gears were slipping". Pretty much, I'd be cycling up a hill (any ascent at all, when a bit of pressure is needed to be applied to the pedals) and it'd be as though someone took the chain off the bike for a quarter of a second, causing the peddles to slip forward.

I brought it up to Halfords (Drogheda, by the way) and asked them could they look at it (this was within a week of purchasing). They said they were snowed under and took my name and number, said they'd ring me.

Had problems for another week or so, brought it back again. Same as above, took my name/number.


Kept the bike but didn't really use it much. Only randomly about the place when I needed to go somewhere in a rush. Was cycling up the Grove Hill (steep enough hill in Drogheda), was standing up and peddling like a bastard (couldn't go into lower gears, a luxury this bike wasn't aware of!) when the gears slipped again, and the peddles jumped forward, causing my foot to slip off the peddle and me busting my bollocks off the bar.

Swore I'd never go near it again. It's still rusting away in my shed. I've since gotten a €300 bike in Quay Cycles in Drogheda. It's a Raleigh with front suspension (can't think of the name of it) and It's much, much better. I cycle it pretty roughly; on and off paths and such (and I'm a heavy guy!) but it's still going strong almost four months later with no real problems.


The lesson I've learned is that your price range doesn't matter, unless you're spending megabucks, but for a Joe Soap like myself who just wants a random mountain bike, you're generally just better off going to a proper small cycling shop as they generally won't let you cycle off on a deathtrap as quickly as a minimum wage sales assistant who couldn't care less if you get killed going out the door.

petethedrummer

MungoMan wrote: »

What goes wrong with them that wouldn't go wrong with a more expensive bike ?
What about them makes them more difficult to repair ?

http://bicycleshapedobject.wordpress.com/

m.j.w

Yea op dont buy any of them bikes, i never cycle and just bought one of them for getting to and from work (2 mile round trip). After about three weeks 2 or 3 of the spikes on the gear cogs broke of and the gears would slip out of place all the time. Then one day I went down a cerb slow enough and with the impact of hitting the round the front breaks actually fell of the bike. It was a joke!!

kona

MungoMan wrote: »

What goes wrong with them that wouldn't go wrong with a more expensive bike ?
What about them makes them more difficult to repair ?

Its not just Halfords, its generally every bike in the sub 300 range.

Lets start from front to rear.

Forks : Not Seviceable, Nylon bushes, you get about a year from them before they are scrap. That and the fact they are unbelievably crude.

Headset: 1", bearings need constant greasing and adjustment, youl find most are very rough in their movement.

Brakes: Nyloin levers flex too much before they apply force to the brakes, hence very vague crap braking. Also they snap...alot. Brake arms are pressed metal and not forged or cast, what youl find is these are too light, they will flex forward and back under breaking, also the springs are too lightweight, they get knocked out of balance too easy. More often then not the brake pads are warped, and offer poor breaking.

Wheels: Alloy rims, poorly built, broken spokes are common as are buckles(even putting air in tubes can cause a buckle on these heaps of rubbish). Axles are unsealed, so are prone to dirt ingress and premature wear. Generally they are poorly lubed, the lube is sticky. They require constant adjustment.

Actually I dont have all nite for this, I could go on forever and im not even halfway through the bike, maybe somebody else can go over the BB and the frames and seat clamps and gear hangers, mechs, chains, chainsets. They are just poorly built ****e, nothing green about them.

MungoMan wrote: »

For the OP, 120e is a lot of money in the second hand bike market, you can get something really good for that.
Definitely recommend going for a secondhand

Its not really!, you will get a average bike for maybe e150 with no warranty, and probably in need of a service, plus Im of the opinion (and from what ive seen) Buying secondhand is buying somebody elses problem.

CramCycle

Buy a decent second hand roadbike from the likes of rothar and save yourself alot of hassle.

LowOdour

i made the decision last night to try and save up a bit extra for the carrera bike that was mentioned in one of the posts. Hoping to purchase the bike some time in 2014! Thanks for all the advice