Mountain biking

Mephestos four_assed monkey

Hi chaps, i was looking into getting a mountain bike for just doing a few handy trails. i'm more into road cycling myself but wouldn't mind getting a mountain bike for something differant. i have about 700 max to spend and was just wondering what would be the best all round value. I looked on the Canyon website at the Yellowstone's but thats as fair as i have really looked being honest. I don't really know what to be looking for in a mountain bike if i'm being honest and i'd like to get the best deal for the money. Any help would be great thanks.

Whitehawk

Get the Cube 2011 Analog Disc!
Its best selling MTB on chainreactioncycles as a hardtail in that range, its around 650e and you will get some money off it you get it in the right place.

Cube bikes kick ass! I love them, they tell you the weight of the bike they have great kit on them!
for 650e you will get a great bike a frame that you can upgread parts on if you want!
If you in dublin - buildabike.ie will give you the best deal on it!

Whitehawk

Ill also point out the - Cube 2011 Attention this is around 750 but you will get it for 700 no worrys there its same frame just few better bits on it thats about it, really tho front shocks on it are the best improvment on it!

hope that helps

davey101

These are quite good for your price range.
http://www.eurocycles.ie/MTB_Hardtail/Felt_Q620_2011/4225_p.aspx

I am sure if you talk to the lads in the the longmile road shop you will get a bargain

Whitehawk

the frame on that felt(6061 butted aluminum frame) is a down grade to the cube frame (7005 aluminum frame)! for the same price.... After that its has very similar components!

cosman9373

have you thought about getting a cross bike? I'm in the same situation as yourself and a friend of mine mentioned a cross bike. he could do all the trails on it.

C3PO

cosman9373 wrote: »

have you thought about getting a cross bike? I'm in the same situation as yourself and a friend of mine mentioned a cross bike. he could do all the trails on it.

A cross bike is really only suitable for fire roads - there is no way (unless you are Robin Seymour or Joe McCall) that you could use one on any sort of proper offroad trail!

Whitehawk

cosman9373 wrote: »

have you thought about getting a cross bike? I'm in the same situation as yourself and a friend of mine mentioned a cross bike. he could do all the trails on it.

As he has a road bike it would be better to have a MTB as it will deal better off road over all, ya cross bikes are fine but really there just fine! if you really get in to the off raod stuff its nice to have a good frame so you can upgread bits as you go!

btw did the cross bike have disc brakes on it?

cosman9373

Whitehawk wrote: »

As he has a road bike it would be better to have a MTB as it will deal better off road over all, ya cross bikes are fine but really there just fine! if you really get in to the off raod stuff its nice to have a good frame so you can upgread bits as you go!

btw did the cross bike have disc brakes on it?

no but i suppose in my case I just want something to ride in the snow, not proper trails but something that will get me out of the house during the snow.

Whitehawk

ah ok ya, really for trals and all that disc brakes kick ass and osmetimes kick you in the ass if you brake tomuch but still! also tyres on cross bikes dont do so well in mud i find! allways hear poeple geting stuck in something that should not be a prob.
Ya for the ice and snow next year (we all know its going to come again!! ) im thinking about these - http://www.chainreactioncycles.com/Models.aspx?ModelID=24563

tho wont get them through CRC!

cosman9373

some of the guys were flying around the curragh in the snow on both mountain bikes and cross bikes and in their opinion the cross bikes suited it better.

Mephestos four_assed monkey

Thanks for all the info chaps, without harping on about the canyon. I was looking at the yellowstone 4.0 here http://www.canyon.com/_en/mountainbikes/bike.html?b=2051 what's this like to the Cube and felt speck wise??.

Whitehawk

Not bad at all, nice set up that bike would be around same spc as the cube attention around same price too!
Canyon tho you have to buy online, one resion i did not go with them, personly i like to deal with a shop thats why i went with cube! also i got better deal as you get more stuff for free, pumps spare tubes, some clothing etc

fran oconnor

not sure about mountain biking myself, but are the Boardmans any use like this http://www.halfords.ie/webapp/wcs/stores/servlet/product_storeId_11101_catalogId_15551_productId_502037_langId_-1_categoryId_212589

Mephestos four_assed monkey

Whitehawk wrote: »

Not bad at all, nice set up that bike would be around same spc as the cube attention around same price too!
Canyon tho you have to buy online, one resion i did not go with them, personly i like to deal with a shop thats why i went with cube! also i got better deal as you get more stuff for free, pumps spare tubes, some clothing etc

I don't mind bringing it in tbh, the frame on the canyon is 7005 Ultralight Aluminium and the Cube seems the same, they are both very nice looking bikes tbh. I'm kind of in two minds now what to go for really. if anyone has any other ideas feel free to throw the out there .

norris

i would go with canyon all the way. better front shock which is so important in a hard tail. For the same money as the cube its lighter and comes with avid bbrakes. A friend bought a canton online about 6 months ago and still ravs about it. Spec wise, i dont think you will do better for the money unless you go done te second hand route which may be worth looking into. Another friend recently picked up a high spec cannondale full suspension for around the 700 mark

zil

RPL1 wrote: »

A cross bike is really only suitable for fire roads - there is no way (unless you are Robin Seymour or Joe McCall) that you could use one on any sort of proper offroad trail!

As long as your not doing anything too extreme I'd say you could handle a fair few trails on a cross bike. Hell I brought my 15 year old Rayleigh commuter down the new 3rock trails the other week. Slick tyres, rim brakes, mudguards and a rear rack and it managed things fine. Obviously you go a lot slower and your wrists are pretty damn sore for lack of suspension but it is doable - nowhere near as much fun as on a proper bike but definitely doable.

Morgan

zil wrote: »

Obviously you go a lot slower and your wrists are pretty damn sore for lack of suspension

Yeah, that sounds like a load of fun alright. :rolleyes:

To the OP - you won't go wrong with any €700 bike from Cube, Lapierre, Giant, Specialized etc. The Canyon is certainly great value but sometimes it's nice to buy local.

Ah_go_on

Mephestos four_assed monkey wrote: »

Hi chaps, i was looking into getting a mountain bike for just doing a few handy trails. i'm more into road cycling myself but wouldn't mind getting a mountain bike for something differant. i have about 700 max to spend and was just wondering what would be the best all round value. I looked on the Canyon website at the Yellowstone's but thats as fair as i have really looked being honest. I don't really know what to be looking for in a mountain bike if i'm being honest and i'd like to get the best deal for the money. Any help would be great thanks.

Stick with the Canyon, brilliant value and spec for the money. I might pick one up as a winter hardtail myself

Mickeroo

I got GT Avalanche 1.0 Disc(didn't get it in HAlfords) a few years ago and its still going strong. The newer model's specs are probably a good bit better too.

Mephestos four_assed monkey

Thanks very much for all your Replies folks, I'd buy out of my local bike shop if the value for money was there. I have bought my road bikes in my local shop over the years so with this purchase I won't feel to guilty if I don't buy from them again. I'd even be tempted to buy second hand so I might put something up in the adds section, if nothing come of that I'll buy new.

studiorat

Morgan wrote: »

Yeah, that sounds like a load of fun alright. :rolleyes:

You should try riding a rigid bike.
I rode rigid MTB's around there for years.
Brush up on the skills...

ednwireland

Morgan wrote: »

Yeah, that sounds like a load of fun alright. :rolleyes:

try telling some of these guys

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=h19n-5qIp78

i raced a rigid bike !
pah youth of today sean kelley is right !

Morgan

studiorat wrote: »

You should try riding a rigid bike.
I rode rigid MTB's around there for years.
Brush up on the skills...

Been there, done that.

Is having the eyes rattled out of your head a skill?

studiorat

Morgan wrote: »

Been there, done that.

Is having the eyes rattled out of your head a skill?

You were holding the bars too tight! :O)

ednwireland

Morgan wrote: »

Is having the eyes rattled out of your head a skill?

nope but been able to see afterwards is

fran oconnor

doesnt matter.

Mephestos four_assed monkey

Have ran into a dead end with the Canyon yellowstone, to get it in my size it has on the site that it'll be calendar week 32 for delivery, that's something like 16 weeks to go, bummer:-(. Does anyone know if they would maybe still have them in stock or something??.

Mephestos four_assed monkey

I just seen one of them beone bikes on chainreaction there. http://www.chainreactioncycles.com/Models.aspx?ModelID=59243 any ideas what the fork and the wheels are like spec wise??. oh, just found this one also http://www.chainreactioncycles.com/Models.aspx?ModelID=49194

jinghong

never thought I'd say this, but Halfords are probably the best value around now in the boardman range. I got a pro hardtail a year back, nice machine at 10.8kg., to replace my Lapierre soft tail. They do sales every now and then, so you could pick one up for 1k if you could stretch

They're made in Germany, same as focus and some other brands
http://www.halfords.ie/webapp/wcs/stores/servlet/product_storeId_11101_catalogId_15551_productId_502007_langId_-1_categoryId_212589#dtab
avid elixir / sram x9 / reba race shocks

Mephestos four_assed monkey

jinghong wrote: »

never thought I'd say this, but Halfords are probably the best value around now in the boardman range. I got a pro hardtail a year back, nice machine at 10.8kg., to replace my Lapierre soft tail. They do sales every now and then, so you could pick one up for 1k if you could stretch

They're made in Germany, same as focus and some other brands
http://www.halfords.ie/webapp/wcs/stores/servlet/product_storeId_11101_catalogId_15551_productId_502007_langId_-1_categoryId_212589#dtab
avid elixir / sram x9 / reba race shocks

Cheers that, it's a very nice bike alright but a little bit out of my range. I have a habbet of over doing things when it comes to bikes, i just want this for a bit of fun now and again on trails.so I don't want to over spend on my budget. 750 is the max i'll go.

jinghong

you also have the comp 11.4kg, Tora/xram x7/ avid juicy for 700 quid
http://www.halfords.ie/webapp/wcs/stores/servlet/product_storeId_11101_catalogId_15551_productId_502037_langId_-1_categoryId_212589#dtab

Mephestos four_assed monkey

jinghong wrote: »

you also have the comp 11.4kg, Tora/xram x7/ avid juicy for 700 quid
http://www.halfords.ie/webapp/wcs/stores/servlet/product_storeId_11101_catalogId_15551_productId_502037_langId_-1_categoryId_212589#dtab

That looks a nice bike for the money, any ideas how it is spec wise to the Canyon?. If i can't get the Canyon i'll be very interested in one of these.

Whitehawk

Mephestos four_assed monkey wrote: »

That looks a nice bike for the money, any ideas how it is spec wise to the Canyon?. If i can't get the Canyon i'll be very interested in one of these.

I thnk you going to need to go and google some of the parts of the bike your self and get a feel for things, its not that hard, when i started first i felt lost with all the diff makes and all that after a few days spending some time on google i got a good free for what was good and all that!

You need to look at over all weight! Look at getting a good frame so you can upgrade parts as you want! and get disc brakes!
the CRC site has some good bikes to give you a idia from spec and price!

I think your best bet is go have a look and then if you find you have a qus. then come and ask here!

if you ask us what bike we will all say the makes of bikes we like all are around the same thing! some just suit more people then others, personly i like cube cos they give the weights of bikes where some dont, there is a great shop in dublin wherei get on great with the lads that own it so get good deals even better then in crc on kit and so on....

Mephestos four_assed monkey

Whitehawk wrote: »

I thnk you going to need to go and google some of the parts of the bike your self and get a feel for things, its not that hard, when i started first i felt lost with all the diff makes and all that after a few days spending some time on google i got a good free for what was good and all that!

You need to look at over all weight! Look at getting a good frame so you can upgrade parts as you want! and get disc brakes!
the CRC site has some good bikes to give you a idia from spec and price!

I think your best bet is go have a look and then if you find you have a qus. then come and ask here!

if you ask us what bike we will all say the makes of bikes we like all are around the same thing! some just suit more people then others, personly i like cube cos they give the weights of bikes where some dont, there is a great shop in dublin wherei get on great with the lads that own it so get good deals even better then in crc on kit and so on....

I ment to post there today that i tried the Cube Attention out, its a very nice bike alright. they had it marked down for 780 euro. There is just so much choice out there really and i don't want to be buying something over priced with a bad spec.

Whitehawk

Mephestos four_assed monkey wrote: »

I ment to post there today that i tried the Cube Attention out, its a very nice bike alright. they had it marked down for 780 euro. There is just so much choice out there really and i don't want to be buying something over priced with a bad spec.

Ya i fully get you, i had a look over some of the specs and i have to say that boardman bike is not bad at all, Its deffo got a few upgrades the cube dose not have! kinda shocked at that tbh!
going to leave this here for now as its late, ill post back again but in mean time you need to not just think about the bike but the place you get it from! i dont know what kit you have etc but im sure you going to need some new things getting them all at the same time in same place should mean you get a good deal on what ever you go for, where if its in halfords there not the same set up there!
I got a bike for around 2.500e but got just 600 euro for free equment at same time! also since then i got more kit and only paying 1/2 what i would if i was just walking off the street! these kinda things is what peronly i though about then picking my cube bike!

Mephestos four_assed monkey

I ended up going with the Canyon 4.0, just ordered it there, it'll be here during calender week 22. I'm looking forword to heading off on a few trails now:o.

ciarsciars

Good choice, a lot of bike for the money.

Mephestos four_assed monkey

ciarsciars wrote: »

Good choice, a lot of bike for the money.

It seemed the best value for money, not a bad looking bike to I suppose. Canyon where very good to deal with also.

sparrowcar

You have me really interested in the same bike. I went looking in a few LBS yesterday but nothing came close to the boardman or canyon for value for money.

I too have spent by money in LBS back in the day so won't feel so bad buying online.

As a matter of interest what other bikes were you considering?

Mephestos four_assed monkey

I was also looking at the Cube attention, the boardman plus lookingat some second hand. The canyon looks like the best value for money though. The cost including shipping was 754 euro.

Ah_go_on

Mephestos four_assed monkey wrote: »

It seemed the best value for money, not a bad looking bike to I suppose. Canyon where very good to deal with also.

Let us know how much assembly is involved when delivered. I'm about to pull the trigger on a Canyon TT bike and I hope that I dont just receive a box of parts :eek:

Good choice by tha way, canyon are getting some fabulous reviews and they seem to have brilliant specs for the price.

the Lamb Post

Ahhhh man.

Went to the LBS just 2 weeks ago and bought a Lapierre Tecnic 400.
got the bike, helmet, gloves, shorts, spare tube, pump, tyre levers and small ish saddle bag, all for €800.

Was i done????

Tenzor07

the Lamb Post wrote: »

Went to the LBS just 2 weeks ago and bought a Lapierre Tecnic 400.
got the bike, helmet, gloves, shorts, spare tube, pump, tyre levers and small ish saddle bag, all for €800.

Was i done????

That's the correct price and good value to get all the accessories too, as well as the backup and support of your LBS.

Buying a bike from Canyon is like buying a book from Amazon, big online retailer with volume discounts/bulk buying, low overheads..

Mephestos four_assed monkey

Ah_go_on wrote: »

Let us know how much assembly is involved when delivered. I'm about to pull the trigger on a Canyon TT bike and I hope that I dont just receive a box of parts :eek:

Good choice by tha way, canyon are getting some fabulous reviews and they seem to have brilliant specs for the price.

Hi, I dont think you'll have any probs at all tbh. I seen my friends when his came in. All he had to do was put the wheels on, the stem was in place but he just had to mount the handlebars to it, the saddle and seat post where together and he just put that on. It all comes with instructions and a tool for mounting everything. The good service from canyon is also one of the reasons I'm going down this road tbh.

the Lamb Post

Tenzor07 wrote: »

That's the correct price and good value to get all the accessories too, as well as the backup and support of your LBS.

Buying a bike from Canyon is like buying a book from Amazon, big online retailer with volume discounts/bulk buying, low overheads..

Cheers for that.... pretty new to this off-road thing and was just getting worried that I could have got a better deal on everything. I did shop around (but not oto much as there was way too much to take in for someone who knows nothing about it all) and narrowed it down to 3 at the time. Purely based on budget I ended up with....
1) Lapierre Tecnic 400
2) Ghost 2000 SE
3) Orbea Sherpa

Lapierre and Sherpa seemed to have the better kit over Ghost, but the Lapierre shop was giving the better 'add-ons'.

I'll sleep better tonight :):)

Tenzor07

People should not be worried about the little bit extra you pay for your bike at an LBS, you pay for the backup and support you don't get with online retailers.

Canyon is great Value of course, so long as you know exactly what you are looking for with regards to size, spec, purpose(Am, XC, DH)..

If you are a newbie to cycling and have lots of questions are unsure of what exactly you require then your local bike shop should be where you buy your 1st good bike, advise on Internet forums like this are great, though with so many differing opinions it can sometimes just add to the confusion.

There's no subsitute for seeing for yourself, and then when you are an expert like so many on here, you will be confident enough to spec what you need from an online bike store...

Mephestos four_assed monkey

Sometimes i have found with local bike shops when I have went in and I didn't know what I was looking for in terms of spec they have kind of looked down on me. I think at times there is a snobbish feeling from them. I went in to four shops this week looking at bikes and got a bad attitude from them all. I know this isn't always the case but it was enough to make me go some place else.

Tenzor07

Mephestos four_assed monkey wrote: »

Sometimes i have found with local bike shops when I have went in and I didn't know what I was looking for in terms of spec they have kind of looked down on me. I think at times there is a snobbish feeling from them. I went in to four shops this week looking at bikes and got a bad attitude from them all. I know this isn't always the case but it was enough to make me go some place else.

I've only found that with one City centre bike shop, who shall remain nameless, but i would not spend a h'penny there!

I would highly recommend Francis in Cycleways, Richie in Eurocycles(long mile rd), most of the lads in Cyclesuperstore, and Mike in the Cycle Inn...

the Lamb Post

I fully agree.

When looking around for the last few weeks I went into several shops, but basically took the view that if someone was going to give that feeling then I most certainly wasn't going to give them my business. I also found that 1 or 2 places were not exactly being truthful, i.e. saying one model is better than another when it actually wasn't.

But I have to say, in most instances, i found the people in the shops extremely helpful and approachable. They answered all my questions, and gave me what i felt like was advice, not the usual sales pitch.

I feel a lot more confident knowing I can bring the bike just down the road if anything goes wrong, and also knowing if i go and return for future purchases I shall be looked after in the same manner.