Which mountain bike for £500??

[Barty]

Afternoon fellow forumites

I find myself in the market for a new MTB and have £500 to spend. I'm looking at Giant, GT, Cannondale and Kona.

Any suggestions?

Many thanks.

Regards.

Barty

[andygib1982]

Dont be conned in to one with lots of good kit on it go for one with a good frame to build on over the years.Cannondale would be my choice.

[gaspingforair]

I don't know what they are like in terms of quality, but you might want to consider Decathlon's own brand as well as you'll probably get "more bang for your buck" as they say across the pond.

[Derby Tup]

For 500quid you could look on ebay or check out 2008 models
Singletrack forum classifieds is another option. Google Singletrackworld

Where you looking to ride it? Local woods/ trails or further afield over rougher ground?

[nikalas]

for that money, Commencal is well worth a look.

[Fly]

Could you get on the cycle to work scheme ? check with your employer.

with ours you can get a £1000 bike for £600 with the tax breaks and green incentives.

I'd go for something in steel and hardtail. on one frames are good for the money also, orange or genesis are good. Don't go full suss, you get less for the money

[No vice]

As others have said.
Bike for work scheme is good, generally about 40% off list. Generally if the bikes on sale you can get 40% off sale price...
£500 you'll get a basic full sus or a very decent hardtail.

Might be a bit late for the bulk of sale models. The new ranges seem to come out late summer.

Decathlons been mentioned. I don't know what their range is like now, but 2 years ago they were the 1st manufacturer (B'Twin) to get a good review for a £300 full sus in what MTB. They were that proud of it they'd got laminated copies on the relevant model in the Sheffield branch.
Rep they've got is for well spec'd bikes at a good price. (So good that at one point I was considering buying one to strip down and sell for parts on ebay)

[Tuffer]

Go hardtail, at £500 price point full sus will be heavy and clunky, but you will get a good hardtail, bike to work scheme if applicable will help. There are quite a few sale models about at present of 2009 models.

Visit a few decent bike shops in your area, they will all sell different models so you should be able to see a decent range. The manufacturers all tend to compete at the price points and on the face of it there isn't much too much difference between the models. Usually its the mix of better frame with cheaper components or cheaper frame and better components.

I would go with Andygib1982 go with the better frame. Nowadays the components all work well right down the range, they introduce cheaper materials to reduce cost, but the design technology goes from the top down through the range.

Cannondale, Orange and Specialized i have had good experience with.

All the best in your quest.

Tuffer

[Robw1]

Barty, Depending where you are in Suffolk, it is worth visiting your local bike shop. In Ipswich I would recommend either Elmys or Cycle Revolution, where you can try them for size. If they can't give you a decent price at least you know what size is suitable when you buy it off the internet. As previously said, go for a hard tail preferably with hydraulic disc brakes, something along the lines of a Specialized Rockhopper.
Rob

[No vice]

Agree with hydro discs. If not then go for a disc ready frame/wheel combo with good Vee brakes.

Cable discs IMO are garbage. Mine came with as standard and were traded up to a trusted second hand pair of Hayes hydros within 6 months.