Buying a Mountain Bike

[portseven]

OK so I fancy getting a bike, I live right next to a load of trails in the Peak District and so should start using them.

Willing to spend up to about 700 quid.

Quite fancy a Orange or Gary Fisher, because they 'seem' quality bikes.

Anyway, opinions on what bike people?

[Barriebazg]

You won't go wrong with this bike

[threaded]

I do the Peak District on a Cross Country, and for £700 you're not going to get much of a Mountain Bike, but could get a reasonable Cross Country bike.

For a mountain bike you need to start looking £1500 and up.

[lukemg]

You can have my Marin East Peak for 700, cost me a grand, ridden on mostly flat stuff, nothing worse than grass about 20 times !

[Numptycorner]

For a mountain bike you need to start looking £1500 and up.

What a load of crap, like most things, unless you are any good you won't notice the extra pounds. If I were you I'd start with something like this;

http://www.specialized.com/bc/SBCBkModel.jsp?spid=22184

PS if you buy a bike in September when the new bike models come out you can save up to a 1/3 on the current years model

[threaded]

That's a hardtail. I was suggesting for the price he might as well forget about suspension altogether. I was quoting a ball park figure in terms of usefulness and full suspension, not weight, if you want to play the weight game then you're into £3000 and up.

[Numptycorner]

My point is spending that kind of money is like the novice golfer who spends a grand on his clubs. It won't make any difference to the way he plays.

[ratewhore]

for trailriding I spent 300 notes on a giant yukon. hardtail but front suspension and for a relative newcomer to offroad biking it does the business...

[threaded]

My point is spending that kind of money is like the novice golfer who spends a grand on his clubs. It won't make any difference to the way he plays.

Good similie, I was saying, why bother with a full bag when you can start with a driver, putter and a wedge.

[gingerjedi]

A question for the mountain bike experts:

I used to make helicopters for a living and I know for a fact that aluminium 'age hardens', do mountain bike frames suffer to the same degree? Has anyone had one fail due to age?