best hardtail mountain bike for less than 570

LillySV

Hi,

Im interested in getting mountain bikes for both myself and herself but we are absolutely clueless to whats good and wheres the cheapest/best place to buy them!? (Last time we had bicycles, santa had brought them and we were strangers to each other!:D)

We were thinking of gettin hardtail mountain bikes with disc brakes. Anyone be able to advise us of whats out there for that price or where to find em?what are best websites..etc? A friend was advising us that GTs are good bikes but not finding anyone sellin any?? I have seen felts, treks, giants etc but dont know if theyre good?advice badly needed

shayr

€ 612.75

https://www.cyclesuperstore.ie/shop/pc/viewPrd.asp?idproduct=54799

€ 527.25

https://www.cyclesuperstore.ie/shop/pc/viewPrd.asp?idproduct=45445

Check out cyclesuperstore.ie if you register on site you will see the prices at loyalty price

Also know a guy selling a LaPierre for around 550 - think he spent around 1400 on it new - 2 years old

shayr

JRant

I've been riding a specialized rockerhopper for a couple of years now and have to say they are great bikes. Well worth a look IMO.
If your planning on using it for everyday use i'd recomend getting rid of the nobbly tires MTB's come with and get a good set of road tyres

LillySV

shayr wrote: »

€ 612.75

https://www.cyclesuperstore.ie/shop/pc/viewPrd.asp?idproduct=54799

€ 527.25

https://www.cyclesuperstore.ie/shop/pc/viewPrd.asp?idproduct=45445

Check out cyclesuperstore.ie if you register on site you will see the prices at loyalty price

Also know a guy selling a LaPierre for around 550 - think he spent around 1400 on it new - 2 years old

shayr

Hi,

Whats the difference between the two bikes apart from the year?? (i havent a clue of bikes, sorry)

C3PO

Are you buying bikes to cycle on or off road? If you are not planning on riding offroad than a mountain bike is probably not your best option! Heavy suspension forks and knobbly tyres don't help on tarmac - they will make the bike hard work and thus less likely that yourself and your other half will stick with cycling as a pastime!

LillySV

JRant wrote: »

I've been riding a specialized rockerhopper for a couple of years now and have to say they are great bikes. Well worth a look IMO.
If your planning on using it for everyday use i'd recomend getting rid of the nobbly tires MTB's come with and get a good set of road tyres

Hi where u buy em or you know of best place to buy em?how would that compare to a gt avalanche 3 or avalanche 4? how would it compare to the 2012 raid 200 mentioned above? Im sorry i really am clueless about bicycles

LillySV

C3PO wrote: »

Are you buying bikes to cycle on or off road? If you are not planning on riding offroad than a mountain bike is probably not your best option! Heavy suspension forks and knobbly tyres don't help on tarmac - they will make the bike hard work and thus less likely that yourself and your other half will stick with cycling as a pastime!

haha i hope your wrong! ;p .. ahh its goin to be a mixture of road and off road..i live in city but from country originally and would like to cycle out around town and in forests..etc

Tonyandthewhale

Doesn't sound like you need a mountain bike really. How much time are you actually going to spend riding around forests compared to on the road? And by 'riding around forests do you mean properly technical mountain biking trails or just poorly surfaced fire roads?

And are you going to use the bikes for anything practical such as riding to work and the like?

I'd be looking more closely at some sort of hybrid bike if I was you.

LillySV

Tonyandthewhale wrote: »

Doesn't sound like you need a mountain bike really. How much time are you actually going to spend riding around forests compared to on the road? And by 'riding around forests do you mean properly technical mountain biking trails or just poorly surfaced fire roads?

And are you going to use the bikes for anything practical such as riding to work and the like?

I'd be looking more closely at some sort of hybrid bike if I was you.

i mean proper mountains...middle of actual forests and woods..nothing technical about that

i will be cyclin it in city too but i wouldnt get a hybrid for that as id be too rough...id make sh*te of the wheels ...get a mountain bike with more suitable tyres perhaps

dooverylittle

http://www.canyon.com/_en/mountainbikes/bike.html?b=2538

LillySV

dooverylittle wrote: »

http://www.canyon.com/_en/mountainbikes/bike.html?b=2538

nice lookin machne.what they like??are they well known??whats the spec?

dooverylittle

LillySV wrote: »

nice lookin machne.what they like??are they well known??whats the spec?

Canyon bikes regularly win "Best bike" awards in cycling magazines.
At any price point few other maufacturers can compete in terms of components.

JRant

LillySV wrote: »

JRant wrote: »

I've been riding a specialized rockerhopper for a couple of years now and have to say they are great bikes. Well worth a look IMO.
If your planning on using it for everyday use i'd recomend getting rid of the nobbly tires MTB's come with and get a good set of road tyres

Hi where u buy em or you know of best place to buy em?how would that compare to a gt avalanche 3 or avalanche 4? how would it compare to the 2012 raid 200 mentioned above? Im sorry i really am clueless about bicycles

No worries, we've all been there. It comes with the territory when buying a new bike .
I've not cycled the Avalance but its superior to the LaPierre to be honest. The spec is high quality, including drivetrain and wheel set. Plus it rides like a demon on the road or rough terrian.
I bought mine in England for 550 and it came with disc brakes. I think cycleways sell them here, if not i'm sure there are easy to source.

Tonyandthewhale

I second dooverylittle's suggestion of canyon as a brand to seriously consider if you're buying a mountain bike. I would also suggest joining a club if you want to get into the sport of mountain biking.

LillySV wrote: »

i will be cyclin it in city too but i wouldnt get a hybrid for that as id be too rough...id make sh*te of the wheels ...get a mountain bike with more suitable tyres perhaps

Also, this is crazy talk. Riding around the city won't make ****e of the wheels on any decent hybrid. They only way you'd do that is if you were constantly crashing into stuff and lumping the thing over kerbs and down steps at speed. All things that are pretty dangerous in a traffic heavy environment mountain bike or no.

Anywho, I don't want to seem like I'm pushing the hybrid agenda. In fact, I don't even like hybrids (I use racers for road riding) and I've got two mountain bikes (A giant XTC SE and a heavily modified giant rock) and I love them.
The thing is, I see a lot of people on here and in real life who decide they need a mountain bike because
A) Other kinds of bikes designed for road use aren't sturdy enough (which is nonsense).
They're not too keen on the more extreme* side of mountain biking but they have nice ideas about exploring scenic forest paths and the like even though in reality they hardly ever go to the trouble of seeking out such scenic forest paths and if they do often they're civilised enough so that you can easily traverse them with the slick tyres and rim brakes you'd find on a hybrid or road bike.

So yeah, if you accept the limitations of a mountain bike on-road and really will be using it off-road in places like ballyhoura, ballinastoe, derroura etc and not just in your local park then it's a great investment and a hugely rewarding passtime.

*And I don't mean really extreme, you don't have to jumping canyons and dashing through boulder-fields at 40km to justify owning a decent mountain bike. I just mean real off-road conditions and purpose built mountain biking trails which tend to be very narrow, often quite steep and windy enough to keep your attention focused.

LillySV

JRant wrote: »

No worries, we've all been there. It comes with the territory when buying a new bike .
I've not cycled the Avalance but its superior to the LaPierre to be honest. The spec is high quality, including drivetrain and wheel set. Plus it rides like a demon on the road or rough terrian.
I bought mine in England for 550 and it came with disc brakes. I think cycleways sell them here, if not i'm sure there are easy to source.

i had a quick look for yours and its goin for 750 so above my allowance im afraid

if ya had choice between the avalanche 4, lapierre 200 and a felt q220 which would u choose on spec alone?

LillySV

Tonyandthewhale wrote: »

I second dooverylittle's suggestion of canyon as a brand to seriously consider if you're buying a mountain bike. I would also suggest joining a club if you want to get into the sport of mountain biking.



Also, this is crazy talk. Riding around the city won't make ****e of the wheels on any decent hybrid. They only way you'd do that is if you were constantly crashing into stuff and lumping the thing over kerbs and down steps at speed. All things that are pretty dangerous in a traffic heavy environment mountain bike or no.

Anywho, I don't want to seem like I'm pushing the hybrid agenda. In fact, I don't even like hybrids (I use racers for road riding) and I've got two mountain bikes (A giant XTC SE and a heavily modified giant rock) and I love them.
The thing is, I see a lot of people on here and in real life who decide they need a mountain bike because
A) Other kinds of bikes designed for road use aren't sturdy enough (which is nonsense).
They're not too keen on the more extreme* side of mountain biking but they have nice ideas about exploring scenic forest paths and the like even though in reality they hardly ever go to the trouble of seeking out such scenic forest paths and if they do often they're civilised enough so that you can easily traverse them with the slick tyres and rim brakes you'd find on a hybrid or road bike.

So yeah, if you accept the limitations of a mountain bike on-road and really will be using it off-road in places like ballyhoura, ballinastoe, derroura etc and not just in your local park then it's a great investment and a hugely rewarding passtime.

*And I don't mean really extreme, you don't have to jumping canyons and dashing through boulder-fields at 40km to justify owning a decent mountain bike. I just mean real off-road conditions and purpose built mountain biking trails which tend to be very narrow, often quite steep and windy enough to keep your attention focused.

i meant id be rough on the rough terrain, not the roads... I cant really see myself using it for gettin from a to b as have a sportsbike(motorcycle type) and would probably use that as handy and convenient plus lotsa fun!:)

Im more likely to come along on a sat/sun and go to a forest/wood/wildlife area and trash it out for fitness/fun purposes...i may come along on a good evening and go for a cycle with girlfriend on cycle track in city but considering im in the west its unlikely ill get many good weather days to do that!

Tonyandthewhale

Alright, well in that case I'd say the GT avalanche and Lapierre Raid 200 are very similar in spec (low level 8 speed drivetrain, suntour fork etc). The GT might have slightly better wheels but the claimed weight of the Lapierre is lighter, I personally have a thing for Lapierre frames (although my experience is mostly of their road frames) and as far as I can tell it has hydraullic brakes rather than cable actuated which would swing it for me for the lapierre.

The felt q220 has a crappy 7 speed drivetrain which means the older, weaker, freewheel style hubs which means broken rear axles if you're a big rider or ride it hard. It also has mechanical disc brakes and a crappy suntour fork. I'd stay away.

The canyon, while more expensive, is a real step above the other options mentioned in this thread. The fork is a superior rockshox model, the rear derailleur is deore XT shadow, the brakes are decent hydraullic ones from avid, the wheels are decent, the frame is excellent, the whole package is pretty light for what it is, I like the tyres and the finishing kit is name brand and fairly fancy-looking.

I'm not saying you absolutely have to up your budget and buy a canyon (there are probably delivery charges to consider as well), but I'd definitely consider it if I was in your shoes.

Have a look at the boardman and carrera bikes in halfords as well. I've been awake since Friday so I'm too lazy to do a google and direct you towards a specific model but they've a fair selection of decent bang for buck if you're not too worried about knowledgeable customer service.

Tonyandthewhale

Also, I presume you know what frame-size you need? That's pretty important and can take some figuring out for some people if you're on the border between two sizes or have slightly unusual proportions.

L'Enfer du Nord

I'm not usually a Halfords fan, nor have I ever bought a bike from them, however I think they have fairly good value on Mountain bikes, the carrera ones would mostly be in your price range.

LillySV

Tonyandthewhale wrote: »

Alright, well in that case I'd say the GT avalanche and Lapierre Raid 200 are very similar in spec (low level 8 speed drivetrain, suntour fork etc). The GT might have slightly better wheels but the claimed weight of the Lapierre is lighter, I personally have a thing for Lapierre frames (although my experience is mostly of their road frames) and as far as I can tell it has hydraullic brakes rather than cable actuated which would swing it for me for the lapierre.

The felt q220 has a crappy 7 speed drivetrain which means the older, weaker, freewheel style hubs which means broken rear axles if you're a big rider or ride it hard. It also has mechanical disc brakes and a crappy suntour fork. I'd stay away.

The canyon, while more expensive, is a real step above the other options mentioned in this thread. The fork is a superior rockshox model, the rear derailleur is deore XT shadow, the brakes are decent hydraullic ones from avid, the wheels are decent, the frame is excellent, the whole package is pretty light for what it is, I like the tyres and the finishing kit is name brand and fairly fancy-looking.

I'm not saying you absolutely have to up your budget and buy a canyon (there are probably delivery charges to consider as well), but I'd definitely consider it if I was in your shoes.

Have a look at the boardman and carrera bikes in halfords as well. I've been awake since Friday so I'm too lazy to do a google and direct you towards a specific model but they've a fair selection of decent bang for buck if you're not too worried about knowledgeable customer service.

sound thanks for that..is the canyon website the only place to buy em??im afriad if it is it will be above what i can pay..:(...
as regards the gt or lapierre, i wouldnt mind either although i would prefer the colours of the gt...not that gone on red...whats the nearest giant bike that would compare to that?

LillySV

http://www.cyclesuperstore.ie/shop/pc/viewPrd.asp?idproduct=44390

how would the giant revel1 compare??

Tonyandthewhale

Yeah, canyon are only available from their website, not in shops or anything.

The giant would be better than the felt but a step down from the lapierre or the GT in my opinion. The fork is crap, the brakes are hydraulics (which is good) but I've never heard of tektro dracos so I can't vouch for them.
The finishing kit is also pretty cheapy as is the crankset/bottom bracket.

EDIT: Actually, it describes the brakes as being hydraullic in the spec sheet but looking closely at the picture they appear to be mechanical so I don't know what you're actually getting there.

LillySV

Tonyandthewhale wrote: »

Yeah, canyon are only available from their website, not in shops or anything.

The giant would be better than the felt but a step down from the lapierre or the GT in my opinion. The fork is crap, the brakes are hydraulics (which is good) but I've never heard of tektro dracos so I can't vouch for them.
The finishing kit is also pretty cheapy as is the crankset/bottom bracket.

EDIT: Actually, it describes the brakes as being hydraullic in the spec sheet but looking closely at the picture they appear to be mechanical so I don't know what you're actually getting there.

thanks for that. i think itl be between the gt and lapierre so...do you know anywhere that sells gt though??

LillySV

ok im back!about to make my decision and going for either the gt avalanche 3(not the 4 as previously mentioned), the merida matt 20d or lapierre raid 200...what ye think???all advice and opinions welcome