good mountain bike shops in dublin????

ste31

Hi,

looking to get a hard-tail mountain bike for myself and my girlfriend.
we are complete novices so any advice is welcome.
im looking for some advice on where to get the bike what models and also we have a budget of 1000 euro for the two of the bikes. we went to cycle superstore yesterday and didn't get a very nice sales man who just said 1000 wasn't enough and didn't really take any time to tell us about what bikes to get, seems like he didn't care about what we needed at all. left the shop just as confused as when i went in. i was wondering can somebody point me in the right direction as to where to go and a suitable bike within our budget.

thanks in advance

bogmanfan

Best bet at your budget would be to see if you can pick up some ex-rental bikes from biking.ie in Ballinastoe. I know they sell them off a few times a year. They'll be well maintained and well capable for any of the trails in Ticknock or Ballinastoe.

ste31

Hi,

sorry meant to say we are going to be using the bike to work scheme, so they are prob not on that scheme..i dont mind putting a little bit towards the 1000 euro if we get a good bike

bogmanfan

Places like Mad Elk, which are dedicated mountain bike shops, might not have much in that price range. Last time I was in Wheelworx in Fonthill they deemed to be selling off their Felt hardtails so might be worth a look.

ste31

cool ill have a look there so..any advice on what brands to stay away from?
i was looking at a lapierre bikes last night, then a guy in work said that they were known to be bad bikes..

bogmanfan

Quite a few in my club ride Lapierre mtbs. Never heard a bad word about them. I'd say just to stay away from any of the low-end Halfords junk (Apollo, trax, Shockwave) and you'll be fine. Having said that, the Voodoo range in Halfords is well regarded and is often reduced so may be worth a look.

ste31

ah cool thanks, from my younger years i always taught giant and trek bikes were good.
i see on the giant store in dublin that there is some giant bikes at approx 500 euro.
where do u think is the best shop in dublin for the selection for my price and also customer service as i will prb stick to that shop for servicing and stuff like that.

thanks for the help

Macy0161

I'm only getting into mountain biking (on an ex-rental trek hardtail from Biking.ie as others have suggested), so I don't have a lot to add, other than some of the Halfords and Boardman bike stuff does get good reviews in the magazines. Not the bottom end apollo/ trax stuff though.

For what it's worth, I'm pleased I didn't jump into the btw and went for the second hand as I was (and probably still am) clueless on options (full suss v hard tail, travel/ geometry, wheel size etc). I find it what I have fine on the coillte trails, but looking to upgrade for the "natural" trails. Probably just the rider rather than the bike, but it's in my head now!

JBokeh

Is it 1000 each you have or 1000 for the 2 bikes? You probably won't get one that is going to last you long on the trails for that money if I'm honest. The MTBs in the 5-600 category are mountain bike looking hybrids, after riding them a few times you'll realise the front fork is junk and the group set starts acting up and showing signs of wear and tear.

Generally 700 would see you a nice entry level hard tail that is plenty strong enough for trail riding, with a mid level shimano group set, alu frame with a slightly more aggressive geometry and decent fork. Try the likes of Cube, giant and lappierre as they seem fairly reasonably priced

ste31

Hi,

its 1000 for the two of us, but we can go up a bit if we knew a good bike to get?
could u recommend any good models of bike for the 700 price range to get us started?

have been lookin at the giant talon its around 600 mark.
and also should i look out for a bike with rockshox front forks?

lennymc

these look ok to my reasonably untrained eye. Hydraulic brakes, fork with lock outs, 650 b wheels, 120 mm travel. If you have an axa card you get a further 10% off.

Beer Assistant

Expert cycles Rathfarnham...for Mtb.

Roguee

Talk to Brian in bikingdirty, they stock commencals and the new hardtails are lovely.. great spec too!! I just ordered my new enduro from him. they are based in Rathmines.
For €1,099 you could get a great marzocchi fork, reverb post, wide bars, short stem, maxxis tyres, also comes in black if its abit to flash... cracking bike for the price

EDIT: just noticed you have 1000 for the two.. have a look at some of last years bikes that didn't sell might get some good deals!

novarapid

what level of mountain biking do you plan on doing? Will ye both be doing the same level of mountain biking?
most of the entry level bikes will just have a basic coil fork which will do fine for easy off road.
the voodoo range from Halfords gets good reviews as do the btwin from decathlon.

ste31

We wil be going up trails nothin too crazy at the start but id like to have a bike capable of handling a bit of downhill trails as my friends do it. Was looking at a hard rock bike for 700 today. Has the forks and hydraulic brakes and aluminium frame. Any ideas if the hard rock bikes are any use? The guy in the shop said there was a lifetime guarantee on the frame

superelliptic

I was in Halfords in carrickmines about 2months back and they had a selection of Kona's (decent hardtails) that went from about €550 to €900ish. I think the story was that kona changed distributers in Europe and that they were left over stock. I'd have got one myself if I didn't already have a bike. Might be worth ringing them to see if there's any left.

nak

ste31 wrote: »

We wil be going up trails nothin too crazy at the start but id like to have a bike capable of handling a bit of downhill trails as my friends do it. Was looking at a hard rock bike for 700 today. Has the forks and hydraulic brakes and aluminium frame. Any ideas if the hard rock bikes are any use? The guy in the shop said there was a lifetime guarantee on the frame

Specialized Hard Rock?

If you want to do DH, full suss might be a better option? This will be more expensive though. On your budget as a starter bike I would go second hand.

I just bought my first mountain bike, wasn't sure what I wanted or what type of riding I would be doing (all I knew was no DH!) and am already thinking about buying a FS after getting a hardtail due to the nature of the trails here. The HT is good for learning skills and for me XC racing. FS trail bike would be good for fun stuff.

Yanu

I got myself this one and I'm very very happy with it

http://www.konaworld.com/blast.cfm

I do trails like ballyhoura, derroura and ballinastoe. With the cycle2work it will cost you about €450/€500

GTDolanator

OSI wrote: »

Are you buying both bikes on the one claim? Pretty sure you can't do that. You'll have to claim one each.

your not supposed too but you can!

Roguee

Have a look at vitus bikes.. they have some nice hardtails, you can only get em from crc though so im not sure about cycle to work scheme

paulgs

ste31 wrote:

its 1000 for the two of us, but we can go up a bit if we knew a good bike to get? could u recommend any good models of bike for the 700 price range to get us started?

ste31 wrote:

have been lookin at the giant talon its around 600 mark. and also should i look out for a bike with rockshox front forks?

ste31 wrote:

its 1000 for the two of us, but we can go up a bit if we knew a good bike to get? could u recommend any good models of bike for the 700 price range to get us started?

Boardman out of Halfords is about the best value for money you will get in your price range.

ste31

Hi.

Ended up getting a Saracen Kili from Hollingsworth cycles in stillorgan.
Got a great deal in the end and I'm happy with the bike.
Thanks for all the replies people 😀