Advice on buying an entry level MTB

[bobafett]

So my dad is after a mountain bike for a bit of a roll round - mostly just country lanes and a touch of very light off road stuff.

He wants to spend between £200 - £300 

I haven't had a mountain bike for 20 years so haven't got much of an idea TBH

But I personally like the look of these :

Specialized Hardrock Mountain Bike 2010  -  £299

Mongoose Rockadile AL (or ALX) 2010 - £249/£299 (got to try and get another goose in the family  )

I think you can grab the 2009 version of the mongoose ALX now for £225 as well.

They're all hardtails but I think that will suit his needs TBH 

Any thoughts ? recommendations ?

 

[martylaa]

go to your local bike shop mate see if they can do anything for you, i wiould go for the specialized over the mongoose, me personally i have a commencal meta 5.5 full on bouncy bouncy mode
also don't be afraid to check out halfords, they sell boardman bikes and they are top class bikes for th money

[R Al]

Next time you're at Coppull pop into Buy a Bike (just round the corner) they have a good selection and I've always found them helpful, you can even have a ride round the car park before you buy

[bobafett]

go to your local bike shop mate see if they can do anything for you

Yeah I wanted the advice of people that ride 'em rather than people that profit from them 

i wiould go for the specialized over the mongoose,

I did think that, well as far as a buying a known brand in the area of MTB goes...... but it's just that the mongoose ALX comes with disc brakes for the same price as the specialized and if he goes for the 2009 model then it's £75 cheaper 

Next time you're at Coppull pop into Buy a Bike (just round the corner) they have a good selection and I've always found them helpful, you can even have a ride round the car park before you buy

Yeah I think i'll have to do that 

Think I've been in there once before with Joff - if not that one then it was another bike store in the area that sold loads of MTBs

Probs best to try before buy 

Any other suggested / tried n tested models in this price range ? 

[diesel]

Specialized Hardrock - Can't go wrong 

[bmxboy70]

Ditto you cant beat them at the money!

[bobafett]

 OK nice one lads 

[Dark Diggler]

If he is 5'4-5'10 ish and can stretch a bit more on budget, this is a goodun

http://www.paulscycles.co.uk/products.php?plid=m1b1s2p1429

[kev-s]

good hardtails start at around £300 best thing to do is find a local bike shop with lots of stock, try out various bikes until he finds one which suits him and is in his price range, then tell the shop u gonna have a think and will be back tomorrow, go home and find the cheapest one you can on the net, print it off then go back to the shop and see if they will match it

[Peter J]

Specialized Hardrock - Can't go wrong 

 

[NORTY40]

John , bring him upto Buyabike , I know Pete , the owner . Sure I can sort you out with a good deal 

He sells the Specialized and some decent Treks too 

[bobafett]

Coolio 

[spooky69]

At that price range I would lean towards the Specialized or GT brand rather than Mongoose,
 http://www.cyclestore.co.uk/productDetails.asp?productID=21403&categoryID=60
http://www.cyclestore.co.uk/productDetails.asp?productID=22564&categoryID=675
Lookout for last years models or even older as there are some good bargains to be had with much better specs on, one area I would give particular attention to is the forks as some of the lower end models have in my words "suspect suspension " with some very harsh top out on the rebound.....as some of the other 's have said test ride a few and if possible I'd aim for above the £300 mark rather than below 
Don't be fooled by what looks a better bargain because of disc brakes, their going to be mechanical cable pull at that price and sometimes a v brake is still going to offer better performance
Happy shopping