Argos Silverfox pushbike offer

Originally Posted by zsv650

no dont buy a dawes i had one fantastic had it from 2001-2007 till it finally gave up the ghost i was about to get another when the guy at the bike shop told me not to bother as they'd been taken over and were now crap i was dissapointed but better the devil you know currently riding a claud butler and it's been good so far.

There is absolutely nothing wrong with Dawes bikes. They come out of the same factories in Taiwan as most other big bike bikes.

He was probably referring to the fact they are no longer made in the UK which is not a bad thing.

Meh .. I wanted to pick one up today ... I'm impetuous like that!!

Silverfox used to be a top bmx maker back in the 80's....but as far as mountain bikes go i believe muddyfox is the one to go for out of the 2...HTH.

Like the others say, That bike's rubbish!

The big question is what are you looking to use the bike for?

If you're going off road into forest trails then you'll need to spend a minimum of £300(new) for a hardtail mountain bike (£500 for a decent hardtail).

Example of terrain below, when I was out with a group yesterday.



If you're just commuting on the road and riding along canal towpaths and other non challenging terrain then you should look at hybrid bikes instead of mountain bikes.

How much are you willing to spend?

Good brands are Specialized, GT, Giant, Mongoose, Claud Butler, Trek, Cannondale, etc.

I simply want a bike for roadwork and possible the odd weekend offroad ... nothing hard-core.

There are only 2 things that matter to me ....

1: It doesn't fall to bits even with light use like my Tescos bike
2: I don't have to worry it is going to get nicked/vandalised if left in town ... so that rules out anything over £300.

[fizzwheel]

Originally Posted by Blue_SV650S

I simply want a bike for roadwork and possible the odd weekend offroad ... nothing hard-core.

You IMHO then dont want a full sus bike, theres no point. Or if you do you want one you can lock out when on road. You arent going to get that on a cheap bike from argos.

Depending on if they have your size, any of these will do, under £200. Don't get anything with rear suspension as it will be rubbish under £800.

GT
http://www.evanscycles.com/products/...-bike-ec000717

Pinnacle is Evans Cycles own brand.
http://www.evanscycles.com/products/...-bike-ec000917

Mongoose
http://www.evanscycles.com/products/...-bike-ec016054

Iron Horse
http://www.evanscycles.com/products/...-bike-ec014820

Raleigh
http://www.evanscycles.com/products/...-bike-ec001051

[northwind]

You cannot buy a full sus bike that's any good for that much, it'll be rubbish out of the box then it'll get worse! Bad full sussers are so slooooow, half of your pedal stroke gets turned into squelching up and down like you're on a waterbed instead of going forwards. Not to mention that the components'll all be mince. The fork's likely just an undamped spring frinstance.

Try Halfords... No, seriously, the carreras are pretty good, have been for years. I just retired a 16 year old on and picked up a very lightly used kraken for £250, it's not impressive to look at but it's a really solid allround bike, everyone who's ridden it's been surprised (they start out saying Halfords bike eh? Nae luck)

Their Vulcan disc is £250 new currently, and quite a nice piece of kit for the money. If you don't want the Halfords own-brand, then the GT Aggressor they sell for £280 is a bit less good but has a better name Remember not to be foolwed by Halfords "sales" though as they artificually inflate the prices before "discounting" to what they cost in the first place, just like Argos.

Either of those'll easily deal with a day's moderate offroading, mine's not so much better than those and it's been down red runs without too much protesting, and also deals with freestyle jumps reasonably well. I've spent a little bit of money on nicer bars, pedals and tyres though. Actually, there's something to watch for, bikes often come on daft tyres- mine came with mud tyres which no doubt were chosen because they look hardcore, but they're rubbish at everything but mud.

What else is decent at around £300... You can get a Cannondale F6 Disc for that much from Edinburgh Bicycle Co-operative at the moment, they can't sell those at all so they're silly cheap. Bit heavy, not the best frame but they're nicely specced.

What Mountain Bike say Saracen Element 3, Gary Fisher Tarpon, or Merida Sub-D. Personally I wouldn't choose any of those over the Vulcan disc, they've all got less good forks and not much in the way of positives tbh. The lockout fork is very good for road riding, it just turns the suspension off so you don't lose power on suspension travel.

Please don't hit me!! ... but what about this? ... the rear wheel is rogered on my bike now ... so I need a new one ... and I want one I can go pick up today ... it used to be £350 ...

http://www.halfords.com/webapp/wcs/s...egoryId_203002

[northwind]

I've never met one, but I bet it's no good. Also, I bet you an entire scottish pound that it was only at the higher price for the minimum legal period so they could drop it down and call it a "discount", that's in no way a £350 bike. Well, it might have been in about 2001.

Evans can do you a Gary Fisher Tarpon for £200. That's one of What Mountain Bike's sub £350 choices, it's pretty basic- rim brakes, cheap forks, but then it's £200 for a proper bike. Or the Mongoose Tyax Comp at £240, that's one of their other choices and quite a bit better.

Or Halfords have the Vulcan v-brake for £200. (another fake discount, it's down from about £240 but they upped it to £300 first) which is cheap for a real bike. An extra £50 gets the same with discs, but they're cable discs. But that's not a bad package all round.