Recommend me a mountain bike

[Paul the 6th]

not had a mountain bike for around 8 years but I moved to York a year ago (v. Flat area with lots of nice country) and cycling 17km in the gym prolly isn't as effective as real world riding (it's bloody boring if you've not got any drum'n'bass etc to listen to)

So mighty org, show me a decent mountain bike suitable for 6ft 3, about 16 stone, which is decent quality and will perform well on long distance road rides, muddy off road paths, and pottering into town... £200-£250

[leesh00]

one with an engine ;)

[Jamiebridges123]

Having worked in Halfrauds Bikehut I can suggest the Apollo FS26se, I think that's the one with the disk brake and bigger forks.

[punyXpress]

Try York Cycleworks In Lawrence Street where I'm sure you'll get unbiased advice.
Shameless plug & no connection.
They really use their bikes unlike the larger sheds.

[plowsie]

From recommendations on here and on the internet the few that I was looking at were:

Specialized Hardrock Sport
Carrera Vulcan Disc Spec or V-Spec
Decathlon rockrider 5.2
Mongoose Tyax Elite

But, then again, what exactly are you looking for from a bike? I got the Carrera Vulcan on the 8th May and have rode it almost every day bar a few rest days. It does the job for me and I seem to be gel-ing really well with it. There is a slight trail that is pretty rewarding by my missus's house that requires a 6 mile ride to get to first on hilly roads, always worth the journey and have done it 3 times now on the vulcan, happy times.

Check out the MTB thread, the guys in there are very helpful.

[johnnyrod]

I've got one for sale, its' ancient but cro-mo frame, no suspension, could do with new shifters but I can fit them if you really want, it's just blocking up the garage, tenner to you. Seriously! It's proper bo off road if you don't need springs.

[gavinsky23]

I work in Halfords and wouldn't touch an Apollo if you're using it a fair bit. Much better with Carrera, should be able to get a vulcan for that price.

[plowsie]

Halfords do Vulcans for £249.99 with V-Brakes, £299.99 with Disc Brakes.

[Jamiebridges123]

I work in Halfords and wouldn't touch an Apollo if you're using it a fair bit. Much better with Carrera, should be able to get a vulcan for that price.

Ahh yes forgot about that.. *facepalm*

[cb5_keith]

Having worked in Halfrauds Bikehut I can suggest the Apollo FS26se, I think that's the one with the disk brake and bigger forks.

I wouldnt touch an apollo with a bardge...pole....

I managed to snap one in half once, came off, hurt myself, and looked like a ****....

Look for a decent second hand sale, can usually find a reasonably well off person selling one for peanuts, try gumtree etc.

[stewie]

I've got an old GT Timberline hardtail that I've just rediscovered, depends on your price range I suppose, pm girth, he works in the U.K.,s biggest bike shop, Im sure he,d point you in the right direction.

[zsv650]

i can wholeheartedly reccomend the claud butler stone river you can pick them up for around the £250 mark of ebay i have had mine a good while now and it is awesome i ride it every day to work and the finish is really good and ive gave it a good kicking the level of equipment supplied standard is imo good for the price with names like truvativ,shimano ,kenda and tioga all over the place to ride it is nice the tyre's offer a load of grip even through the snow and ice we had a while back the disc brake's work well and the frame is nice and light the front suspension on mine is suntour and while they don't get a great write up in real riding condition's find it spot on for the daily commute really happy with mine and it's gonna last me a bloody age like my dawes did before it.

[Jayneflakes]

I work in Halfords and wouldn't touch an Apollo if you're using it a fair bit. Much better with Carrera, should be able to get a vulcan for that price.

I am a Bike Hut Tart too, Vulcan is not a bad bike for the money. Mind you I ride a Giant and find that to be gorgeous. Check your local independent Cycle Shop for good deals.;)

[Viney]

If your not going off road, get a hybrid. Much nicer on the roads.

[Paul the 6th]

If your not going off road, get a hybrid. Much nicer on the roads.

will prolly be going off road at somepoint when fitness is up a tiny bit more and I've re-acclimatised to riding :) found out about dalby forest which isn't far from me :D looks fecking wicked. There's a 2, 6 & 12 mile trail which I'll have a bash at :D

[Steve_God]

Dalby Forest is awesome! (Going there again in August for a weekend).
Tbh... you'd ideally want to be spending a little more if you're looking to go somewhere like Dolby often.

It all depends on what your after in the bike. For £500 for can get a 'decent' hard-tail mountain bike that will be suitable for everything, however with anything less, you'll generally find that some of the components will be cheaper, and lower quality. Which isn't a problem, as long as you know which bits you don't mind being 'not quite as good'. These things will generally be:
- Frame (Weight of it)
- Brakes (V-Brakes vs. Wire Disk and Hydraulic Disk)
- Suspension (Length of travel (80mm is a reasonable amount), type of suspension (foam vs air, most should be air ideally!), ability to alter suspension settings)
- Crankset/bottom bracket (Standard vs. Octalink vs. HollowTech)
- Derailleurs/Cassetts (Cheap standard stuff that will wear quickly vs. higher spec. that will last longer and be more serviceable (Shimano Deore, etc...)
Other things that aren't quite so important can include the type of seat, pedals, and other little bits that come down to personal preference. But those above should be your main considerations.

As for something that's easier going on the road, get 'Semi-Stick' tyres for it. They have a lower profile section in the middle which gives a better rolling resistance than full on 'off-road' tyres, yet still have plenty of tred at the sides for cornering off-road.

[Paul the 6th]

cheers steve :)

a few people have mentioned that I'll be fine with v-brakes in the mean time as long as I pick up a bike which has mountings/can accept hydraulic brakes in the future... Apparently the wired disks are a bit of a gimmick (not much better than v's in comparision with full on hydro's).

£500 is waaay out of budget to be honest. I think I'll be happy as long as it's got decent gears in the mean time and is fairly light. Defo looking at a hard tail as I will be doing a fair bit of road riding for fitness and then trails for fun & fitness.

Looking towards XC/cross country bike with semi slicks as you say. Just need to go for a test razz to see how I get on. Only thing I'm not entirely sure about is which frame size I'll need - 6ft 3 and heavy... sounds like 20" is the average frame size for adults (with 22" seen as XL?)...

Thanks for the advice again guys :)

[Jamiebridges123]

I think 20" frame is for people who are 6ft or over so try one of themmm.. 22 is MAHOOSIVE.

[plowsie]

I ride 20" with my Vulcan Paul, that is fine IMO. Thing is, I was reading up on one of the MB forums, the frame size sometimes doesn't actually mean anything, it's more to do with what you actually feel comfortable with.

[zsv650]

i wouldnt say wire discs are a gimmick they dont suffer from the elements like v's do and can be quite sharp depending on the pads youve got in em so i'd say thats bollox tbh hydro's are good but you can alway's get them later.

[punyXpress]

Call in when you come up to Dalby, Paul
We're only 3 miles away & even I can ride that far!