Recommendations for MB for occasional user

Trevor said:

I am looking into buying a Mountain Bike with delivery to France for
occasional use in the Pyrenees. I am not a serious biker and would
like to spend around £200.

Any suggestions?

A local branch of Decathalon when in France ?
The local cycle hire shop's end of season sale ? The hire shops I've seen in
French mountain areas seem to have decent bikes.

--
Nigel Cliffe,
Webmaster at http://www.2mm.org.uk/

On Jan 8, 7:08�pm, "Trevor" <[email hidden]>

Quoted message said:

I am looking into buying a Mountain Bike with delivery to France for
occasional use in the Pyrenees. I am not a serious biker and would like to
spend around �200.

Any suggestions?

6ft 5" �14.5 stone male BTW

Have you thought about using eBay France? There is a Specialized
Hardrock on there at the moment going for 35 euros with 4 days to go.
Just an example but it might be a better bet than buying in the UK. Or
otherwise consider the "free ads" but stay away from Sterling House or
Apollo-type rubbish that was only �89.99 new.

"Nigel Cliffe" <[email hidden]> wrote in message
news:[email hidden]...

Quoted message said:

Trevor said:

I am looking into buying a Mountain Bike with delivery to France for
occasional use in the Pyrenees. I am not a serious biker and would
like to spend around £200.

Any suggestions?

A local branch of Decathalon when in France ?
The local cycle hire shop's end of season sale ? The hire shops I've seen
in French mountain areas seem to have decent bikes.

That's a pretty good idea. Decathlon bikes are regarded as decent value for
money and if there's one near your residence in France it just might be
worth a look. The service departments, based on the one that I saw in
France, seem to be decent and certainly the one that I used was a cut above
Halfords.

"Trevor" <[email hidden]> wrote in message
news:[email hidden]...

Quoted message said:

I am looking into buying a Mountain Bike with delivery to France for
occasional use in the Pyrenees. I am not a serious biker and would like to
spend around £200.

Any suggestions?

6ft 5" 14.5 stone male BTW

You will not get a usable new mountain bike for £200. Avoid disk brakes
except for Deore hydraulic and Magura - almost every other type has packed
up in proper mountains. I'd go second hand.

Trevor said the following on 08/01/2008 19:08:

Quoted message said:

I am looking into buying a Mountain Bike with delivery to France for
occasional use in the Pyrenees. I am not a serious biker and would like to
spend around £200.

If you can stretch the budget a bit, I would recommend a Specialized
Hardrock. The Pyrenees conjures up images of lots of downhill, with
corresponding uphill, and the difference between a £200 bike and a £300
bike is quite marked.

--
Paul Boyd
http://www.paul-boyd.co.uk/

Doki said:

You will not get a usable new mountain bike for £200.

A bit sweeping. What you'll get for £200 today will be basically as
good as the £350 one I bought over 10 years ago, which was in turn
better in every respect than the one my brother bought for £300 a decade
before that, and both of those machines have done real duty riding in
real mountains.

I'd agree to avoid the chrome, but for an occasional use off-roader it
should be perfectly adequate if you /do/ avoid the chrome. Remember,
not everyone is doing highly technical stuff, and if you're not then a
solid frame as a platform for big tyres is almost all of what you need.

Pete.
--
Peter Clinch Medical Physics IT Officer
Tel 44 1382 660111 ext. 33637 Univ. of Dundee, Ninewells Hospital
Fax 44 1382 640177 Dundee DD1 9SY Scotland UK
net [email hidden] http://www.dundee.ac.uk/~pjclinch/

Trev - for that money I'd strongly advise second hand. Also go for a
hardtail (front suspension fork only) not a full sus. IMO just as
capable in most 'occasional use' scenarios.

Get a 'real' mountain bike, not a chain-store lookalike, (a mate
bought a Halfords special which was unusable after three rides -
whereas my Merlin only cost a bit more and has taken everything thrown
at it for more than 3 years). Look for what is available on ebay etc
and then search for reviews, or post up here with a short list for an
avalanche of advice ;?).

You're quite a big laddie, so make sure the frame will be big enough.
MTB frames tend to be smaller than road bikes anyway, so if in doubt
pop down to yr local bike shop and get a point of view from them
Happy trails you lucky begger, wish I had the Pyrenees in my back yard!