Cheap Mountain Bike for £100 ish?

ClarkeKent

Starting a new job and looking at the possibility of biking on our quiet village roads to the station.

Not sure whether I will stick with it so want to try out a cheap back first.

I know I'm not going to get anything decent for £100+ but can anyone recommend a brand or online store that might fit the bill?

I'll be looking at 21"-22" frame size, ideally a Hybrid but not sure whether they go that low i price. Thanks

Keep_pedalling

The last thing you need is a mountain bike. You don't want knobbly tires and you don't want nasty low end suspension forks.

If you live anywhere near somewhere that sells second hand bikes, go and have a chat to them. Tell them what you want the bike for and they should be able to sell you something that suits. You will get a much better value bike than getting something new from Halfords.

Freebyman

Keep pedalling is right, at that price you could pick up a really good second hand bike. Perhaps a hybrid with road tyres? At around £100 new you will only be able to buy a BSO from the likes of Tesco and Halfords. I did that and have learned from that experience, best to pay a bit more for a lot better build and quality.

AndyBSG

For £100 you are going to get a very cheap and nasty bicycle shaped object if you buy new.

As recommended above you'll get something much more suitable if you go secondhand.

For commuting, as you've said, you will want a hybrid. Try to find one without any suspension and if it doesn't come with them swap the knobbly MTB tyres for a good set of puncture resistant slick/semi slick tyres(Schwalbe Marathon Plus for example)

Gumtree is a good place to look and i'm sure if you post which town you are in I can find a few decent bikes in your price range in the local area.

Keep_pedalling

AndyBSG wrote: »

For £100 you are going to get a very cheap and nasty bicycle shaped object if you buy new.

As recommended above you'll get something much more suitable if you go secondhand.

For commuting, as you've said, you will want a hybrid. Try to find one without any suspension and if it doesn't come with them swap the knobbly MTB tyres for a good set of puncture resistant slick/semi slick tyres(Schwalbe Marathon Plus for example)

Gumtree is a good place to look and i'm sure if you post which town you are in I can find a few decent bikes in your price range in the local area.

You can find some good bikes on Gumtree but you need to know what to look out for. I would recommend paying a bit more by going to a good second hand dealer. They will make sure you get a bike of the right size, and it will have been serviced properly. Most will also give you a short warrantee as well. Less chance of buying a stolen bike as well.

TiredTrophy

Ask around to borrow a bike from the back of someones garage.....check the brakes!
Some towns have schemes where bikes are reconditioned to help train young people/folks at risk of offending/integation of migrants/homeless or something like that...various local charities do this....bikes then sold to run the scheme.
Police/ local councils sometimes sell or aution bikes they have acquired.

You will need a lock, pump, basic repair tools including puncture repair, and chain 'oil'.
It actually rains on you less than you think:)
There is also a public transport and cycling thread which might be helpful?? Not sure who posts there or how friendly they are!

TiredTrophy

I forgot..

And lights!

Comstock

If you are determined to go new, the Btwin Rockrider from Decathlon is often mentioned as the least worst cheap mountain bike out there.

http://www.decathlon.co.uk/rockrider-300-mountain-bike-id_8284495.html

Note I say "least worst" and not "best"...

Jodzz

There's some great "bikes for sale" type groups on Facebook where you can pick up some cheap bikes up and down the country. They're often from bike enthusiasts that have really looked after their bikes too so they're in really good nick. I think there's one called Cycling, Buy, Swap, Sell which I know to be really good. Lots of people offloading things like hybrids when they want to upgrade to a full road bike.

Richard53

Post your question to the Public Transport and Cycling forum here. They (we) are a friendly bunch, apart form the odd two or three who like to argue about cyclists' rights and who owns the road. But a question like yours will get a very helpful response.


Personally, I would say the Halfords range starts at slightly over your budget, but contains some decent if unexciting bikes. There is a bit of a dilemma here - pay too little and you get a rubbish bike that will be disappointing to ride, and you will decide you don't like it. You need to have something of at least a basic quality before you can judge if it is really for you - which involves a slightly bigger investment. As above, you will get a far better bike second hand, and will probably be able to sell if for ~ what you paid if you don't like it (or decide to upgrade when you get the bug). And I agree - for road riding and mild off-road, tracks and trails, you need robust road tyres, not knobblies, and you do not need suspension. Cheap suspension is horrible, and saps your energy with every pedal stroke. Great for kids who want the 'dirt bike' look, but a hindrance to everyone else.

moneysaving_convert

Second Decathlon for good value "budget" bikes - My Triban 3 road bike has done me proud for 3 years over many km. Their flat bar Triban 500 road bike gets very good reviews.

Also the sales people are usually pretty good at helping you choose right size frame and fit. You need to get that right otherwise after a few miles you may get pain and niggles which will make you less enthusiastic about getting out there and riding.