What should I look for in a cheap mountain bike

[David]

I would like to get into cycling, I dont intend to do any really
serious off roading or anything competative, I just want a basic
mountain bike for roads/parks etc.

The kind of bikes I have seen are advertised from £70 ($120) to about
£150 ($270), but I want to know if £70 is too good to be true? Will it
fall apart the first bump I ride over, or is a £70 bike fine so long
as I dont actually want to ride down a mountain on it?

..when making my decision what points should I look out for? - ie I
asume things like number/type of gears is important and weight? - how
heavy should a bike like this be, will it make a big difference to
normal riding if its a bit on the heavy side?

Is it worth paying for one with suspension, or is this only really
needed for cycling down Everest?

Is there a particular make of gears that is good/bad? Will it make a
difference?

I notice that a lot of expensive bikes have brake disks in the middle,
I assume this is so they dont get wet, does this make a great
difference?

Finally, any recommendations as to where to buy it (uk) - ie ive seen
some 'ok' looking bikes at Halfords...

http://www.halfords.com/opd_category.asp?root=1&id=90

..and some even cheaper ones at ToysRUs (yeah I know a bikes not
really a toy!)...

http://www.toysrus.co.uk/Category.aspx/TruHome/TruBikesWheeledGoods/TruBikesWheeledGoodsMens/TruBikesWheeledGoodsMens26InchWheel?ref=TruHome%2fTruBikesWheeledGoods

..any advice would be grately appreciated!

Thanks

David Bevan

http://www.davidbevan.co.uk

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[smokey]

Post by David
I would like to get into cycling, I dont intend to do any really
serious off roading or anything competative, I just want a basic
mountain bike for roads/parks etc.
The kind of bikes I have seen are advertised from £70 ($120) to about
£150 ($270), but I want to know if £70 is too good to be true? Will it
fall apart the first bump I ride over, or is a £70 bike fine so long
as I dont actually want to ride down a mountain on it?
..when making my decision what points should I look out for? - ie I
asume things like number/type of gears is important and weight? - how
heavy should a bike like this be, will it make a big difference to
normal riding if its a bit on the heavy side?
Is it worth paying for one with suspension, or is this only really
needed for cycling down Everest?
Is there a particular make of gears that is good/bad? Will it make a
difference?
I notice that a lot of expensive bikes have brake disks in the middle,
I assume this is so they dont get wet, does this make a great
difference?
Finally, any recommendations as to where to buy it (uk) - ie ive seen
some 'ok' looking bikes at Halfords...
http://www.halfords.com/opd_category.asp?root=1&id=90
..and some even cheaper ones at ToysRUs (yeah I know a bikes not
really a toy!)...
http://www.toysrus.co.uk/Category.aspx/TruHome/TruBikesWheeledGoods/TruBikesWheeledGoodsMens/TruBikesWheeledGoodsMens26InchWheel?ref=TruHome%2fTruBikesWheeledGoods
..any advice would be grately appreciated!
Thanks
David Bevan
http://www.davidbevan.co.uk

First of all, I live in the USA, so prices may be a little different
over here. The ToysRus bikes are a bad idea. They most likely won't be
set up or adjusted correctly (brakes, derailleurs, etc.) and will
weigh a ton. You will definitely notice this on hills. In your price
range, you're better off with a hardtail as it's not possible to get
quality suspension at both ends for that price. In the drivetrain,
either Shimano or a Shimano/SRAM mix is fine, just depends on whether
or not you like SRAM's Grip Shift. If you could go up a bit in price
to the $400 level, there are many fine bikes from most of the major
manufacturers. What usually happens with cheap bikes is that you end
up upgrading the components and spend more than if you had purchased
better ones with the bike. I still have my first mountain bike, a $400
Gary Fisher Marlin. It's given me great service and was well worth the
money.

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[S o r n i]

A run in the stockings and too much mascara.

Bill "clean version" S.

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[Earl Camembert]

Post by David
I would like to get into cycling, I dont intend to do any really
serious off roading or anything competative, I just want a basic
mountain bike for roads/parks etc.

In a cheap mountain bike you should look to get a broken frame and
possibly a serious injure. Get a good helmet.

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[tcmedara]

Post by David
I would like to get into cycling, I dont intend to do any really
serious off roading or anything competative, I just want a basic
mountain bike for roads/parks etc.

Are you sure you want a "mountain bike"? Depending on what sort of "parks"
you're talking about, a mountain bike may be a poor choice. If you are
talking paved bike paths and real pave roads, then a road bike (or one of
it's several derivatives) may be what you're after.

Tom

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[unknown]

***@davidbevan.co.uk (David) wrote:

What you should *expect* in a cheap mountain bike:

* A heavy frame
* suspension that wont hold up
* a chain that will last about 200 miles (depending on use and your
weight)
* a cassette that will go about the same time as the chain
* the cheapest rims possible
* unreliable assembly at best bordering on unsafe
* unending problems with the rear hub in the second year
* shoddy components (eg chainrings that are not true, cheap pedals
etc)
* a nice shiny paint job to distract you from all that

The only way that a Toy R Us or Wal-Mart type bike will last is if you
dont ride it. Seriously, anything you "save" on the initial purchase
can easily be spent twice over on replacement parts and repairs in the
first year.

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[Ed]

Post by unknown
* A heavy frame
* suspension that wont hold up
* a chain that will last about 200 miles (depending on use and your
weight)
* a cassette that will go about the same time as the chain
* the cheapest rims possible
* unreliable assembly at best bordering on unsafe
* unending problems with the rear hub in the second year
* shoddy components (eg chainrings that are not true, cheap pedals
etc)
* a nice shiny paint job to distract you from all that

Well maybe. But Carl Fogel who posts in r.b.t is up to several hundred miles on
his $53 Mountain Fury Walmart bike with no trouble whatsoever. He would agree
with the heavy part. And at $53 there is no suspension to fail.

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[S o r n i]

Post by Ed

Post by unknown
* A heavy frame
* suspension that wont hold up
* a chain that will last about 200 miles (depending on use and your
weight)
* a cassette that will go about the same time as the chain
* the cheapest rims possible
* unreliable assembly at best bordering on unsafe
* unending problems with the rear hub in the second year
* shoddy components (eg chainrings that are not true, cheap pedals
etc)
* a nice shiny paint job to distract you from all that

Well maybe. But Carl Fogel who posts in r.b.t is up to several
hundred miles on his $53 Mountain Fury Walmart bike with no trouble
whatsoever. He would agree with the heavy part. And at $53 there is
no suspension to fail.

AFAIK, Carl has done all his "Fury-ous" riding on the road. There's little
doubt that rugged trail use would kill that bike in short order.

Bill "it's a Fury Roadmaster, I believe" S.

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[Ryan Cousineau]

Post by S o r n i

Post by Ed

Post by unknown
* A heavy frame
* suspension that wont hold up
* a chain that will last about 200 miles (depending on use and your
weight)
* a cassette that will go about the same time as the chain
* the cheapest rims possible
* unreliable assembly at best bordering on unsafe
* unending problems with the rear hub in the second year
* shoddy components (eg chainrings that are not true, cheap pedals
etc)
* a nice shiny paint job to distract you from all that

Well maybe. But Carl Fogel who posts in r.b.t is up to several
hundred miles on his $53 Mountain Fury Walmart bike with no trouble
whatsoever. He would agree with the heavy part. And at $53 there is
no suspension to fail.

AFAIK, Carl has done all his "Fury-ous" riding on the road. There's little
doubt that rugged trail use would kill that bike in short order.

The prime issue is that, for the money, you can almost certainly find a
used rigid mountain bike. Rigid bikes are so passé that they sell for
nothing at garage sales and not much more at used-bike dealers.

For the money, you might well get a high-end MTB that will hold up for
years, and make a great bike for commuting or light trail work.

[jason]

I would recomend a fuji for a moderitly low price mountain bike i have a
gary fisher tassajara which is almost 5 years old and is made from aluminum
and i havent had a problem with the frame ever the difference is in the
welds and also a lighter bike is going to be better to ride on trails and
easier on hills also bike shop bikes such as fuji , gary fisher , cannondale
come with quality components unlike walmart bikes.

Post by S o r n i

Post by Ed

Post by unknown
* A heavy frame
* suspension that wont hold up
* a chain that will last about 200 miles (depending on use and your
weight)
* a cassette that will go about the same time as the chain
* the cheapest rims possible
* unreliable assembly at best bordering on unsafe
* unending problems with the rear hub in the second year
* shoddy components (eg chainrings that are not true, cheap pedals
etc)
* a nice shiny paint job to distract you from all that

Well maybe. But Carl Fogel who posts in r.b.t is up to several
hundred miles on his $53 Mountain Fury Walmart bike with no trouble
whatsoever. He would agree with the heavy part. And at $53 there is
no suspension to fail.

AFAIK, Carl has done all his "Fury-ous" riding on the road. There's little
doubt that rugged trail use would kill that bike in short order.
Bill "it's a Fury Roadmaster, I believe" S.
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[R.White]

Post by Ed

Post by unknown
* A heavy frame
* suspension that wont hold up
* a chain that will last about 200 miles (depending on use and your
weight)
* a cassette that will go about the same time as the chain
* the cheapest rims possible
* unreliable assembly at best bordering on unsafe
* unending problems with the rear hub in the second year
* shoddy components (eg chainrings that are not true, cheap pedals
etc)
* a nice shiny paint job to distract you from all that

Well maybe. But Carl Fogel who posts in r.b.t is up to several hundred miles on
his $53 Mountain Fury Walmart bike with no trouble whatsoever. He would agree
with the heavy part. And at $53 there is no suspension to fail.

That's not exactly a vote of confidence.

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[unknown]

Post by Ed

Post by unknown
* A heavy frame
* suspension that wont hold up
* a chain that will last about 200 miles (depending on use and your
weight)
* a cassette that will go about the same time as the chain
* the cheapest rims possible
* unreliable assembly at best bordering on unsafe
* unending problems with the rear hub in the second year
* shoddy components (eg chainrings that are not true, cheap pedals
etc)
* a nice shiny paint job to distract you from all that

Well maybe. But Carl Fogel who posts in r.b.t is up to several hundred miles on
his $53 Mountain Fury Walmart bike with no trouble whatsoever. He would agree
with the heavy part. And at $53 there is no suspension to fail.

I am sure there are exceptions, but more often than NOT, that's
exactly what you can *expect* since you get what you pay for.

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[Mark Weaver]

Post by David
I would like to get into cycling, I dont intend to do any really
serious off roading or anything competative, I just want a basic
mountain bike for roads/parks etc.

If the situation is similar to the US, you should be able to find a cheap
mountain bike that has comparable parts to a low-end bike store MTB. For
example, just last week, I picked up one of these:

http://www.target.com/gp/detail.html/sr=1_6/qid=/ref=sr_1_6/601-8012216-1095302?%5Fencoding=UTF8&asin=B0000BXHPC

for my 13-year-old who'd outgrown his old bike (which was a $75 dept
storebike that lasted 8 years and two kids and is still in good shape
despite years of kid abuse/neglect--but that one, too, has reasonably decent
components). Anyway, the new bike was on sale for $110. I did have to do
some minor adjustments to the brakes, but it seems like it will be far more
than adequate for his uses.

Post by David
..when making my decision what points should I look out for?

Skip the full suspension. Look for alloy rims, quick-release hubs (front at
least), linear brakes, aluminum (rather than painted steel) brake, fork, and
crank parts (for weight and corrosion resistance). Here's the sort of bike
you don't want:

http://www.walmart.com/catalog/product.gsp?product_id=2073249

Steel caliper brakes, steel rims, 1-piece crank, plastic brake levers, etc.

Post by David
Is it worth paying for one with suspension, or is this only really
needed for cycling down Everest?

You definitely don't want rear suspension for street riding (and even
moderate trail riding). It will make your pedaling less efficient, provide
no real benefit, and is more likely to break.

Post by David
I notice that a lot of expensive bikes have brake disks in the middle,
I assume this is so they dont get wet, does this make a great
difference?

Don't worry about disc brakes, that's overkill for what you're thinking
about.

Mark




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[manuel borowski]

8 months ago, I was in the same situation as you are in today...
I bought me a cheap trek 3700 for about 350 EUR (with the 21 speed
shimano altus) and a cheap RST suspension. I was new to mountainbike,
and, if I didn't like it, not much money lost then...
I have to say I was quite pleased with the bike... In fact, my friends
had more expensive bikes, and they faced more problems than me
(chainsuck, rear derailleur didn't work well, squeaking sound in the
bottom-bracket...) :-)
Two weeks ago, I had a rather unpleasant meeting with a car (it cut me
off while I was approaching an intersection), and I took the opportunity
to replace the low-cost drive train to deore-lx... I have to fetch it
from the LBS this evening (can hardly wait :-)
A drawback of the cheap drive train is that it is less accurate, I had
to maintain it a bit more carefully to make sure that it worked well. A
specially after a months of mud and water... But hey, that's how you
learn to maintain a bike :-)

Greets

Manuel

Post by David
I would like to get into cycling, I dont intend to do any really
serious off roading or anything competative, I just want a basic
mountain bike for roads/parks etc.
The kind of bikes I have seen are advertised from £70 ($120) to about
£150 ($270), but I want to know if £70 is too good to be true? Will it
fall apart the first bump I ride over, or is a £70 bike fine so long
as I dont actually want to ride down a mountain on it?
..when making my decision what points should I look out for? - ie I
asume things like number/type of gears is important and weight? - how
heavy should a bike like this be, will it make a big difference to
normal riding if its a bit on the heavy side?
Is it worth paying for one with suspension, or is this only really
needed for cycling down Everest?
Is there a particular make of gears that is good/bad? Will it make a
difference?
I notice that a lot of expensive bikes have brake disks in the middle,
I assume this is so they dont get wet, does this make a great
difference?
Finally, any recommendations as to where to buy it (uk) - ie ive seen
some 'ok' looking bikes at Halfords...
http://www.halfords.com/opd_category.asp?root=1&id=90
..and some even cheaper ones at ToysRUs (yeah I know a bikes not
really a toy!)...
http://www.toysrus.co.uk/Category.aspx/TruHome/TruBikesWheeledGoods/TruBikesWheeledGoodsMens/TruBikesWheeledGoodsMens26InchWheel?ref=TruHome%2fTruBikesWheeledGoods
..any advice would be grately appreciated!
Thanks
David Bevan
http://www.davidbevan.co.uk
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