Hardtail Buying Advice

Andy said:

Hi,

I'm intending to purchase my first decent moutain bike. As
the post subject indicates I'm after a hardtail and have
probably max of £400 to spend (maybe £450)

so i've been looking at

Marin Hawk Hill Marin Palisades Trail GT Avalanche 1.0

Any advice on which is better, is the palisades trail
really that much better than the hawk hill (i.e. worth the
extra cash)

Try them all out if you can as it's the one that fits you
the best which will ultimately be the best.

Apart from that compare specs, frame weight and equipment
levels. Then I suppose its down to aesthetics however if
you are considering a GT then this probably isnt an issue
for you. 😉

Quoted post said:

Originally posted by Andy
Hi,

I'm intending to purchase my first decent moutain bike. As
the post subject indicates I'm after a hardtail and have
probably max of £400 to spend (maybe £450)

so i've been looking at

Marin Hawk Hill Marin Palisades Trail GT Avalanche 1.0

Any advice on which is better, is the palisades trail
really that much better than the hawk hill (i.e. worth the
extra cash)

I was also looking around for a cheap 2003 version of these
but have had no luck ! do they just not exist as otherwise
the Palisades Trail is £100 over my budget!

Thanks for any advice,

Cheers

Andy

I am also thinking about getting a basic mountain bike and am also considering a Marin Hawk Hill. I have also been told to look at the Specialized RockHopper (with or without disc brakes) since it is meant to be comparable.

Go to:

www.mtbreview.com

and see what others thought about your bikes, and possible alternatives (although most of the reviewers are American so you have to make allowance for them - poor darlings) 😉

Vincent Wilcox posted ...

Quoted message said:

Andy said:

Hi,

I'm intending to purchase my first decent moutain bike.
As the post subject indicates I'm after a hardtail and
have probably max of £400 to spend (maybe £450)

Quoted message said:

Try them all out if you can as it's the one that fits you
the best which will ultimately be the best.

I'd agree with this advice. At this kind of price point, the
fit of the frame / seat / handlebar combination makes far
more sense than checking whether an LX groupset is better
than an LX with a different front derailleur (say) ...

Fit and quality _can_ relatively easily be changed by
swapping out components, but if you have a limited
budget, getting a good fit in the first place makes good
economic sense.

--
Paul

(8(|) Homer rocks .. 😉