Best sub £400 mountain bike?

Richard Lewis said:

My local shops have recommended the following bikes for general use:

Specialized Hardrock Sport £300
GT Avalanche 1.0 £400
Giant Terrago Disc £400

I'm not sure which one to go for - any thoughts please?

I'm in the same boat as you. I've seen the Terrago (not sure if FS1 or FS2,
could be both) for around £325 (back of bike mags) and the Avalance 1.0 for
£350.

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

Quoted message said:

I'm in the same boat as you. I've seen the Terrago (not sure if FS1
or FS2, could be both) for around £325 (back of bike mags) and the
Avalance 1.0 for £350.

The Terrago you're talking about sounds like the 2004 model. The £400 Giant
I've seen is a 2005 edition.

--
Richard

in message <[email hidden]>, Richard

Lewis (') said:

My local shops have recommended the following bikes for general use:

Specialized Hardrock Sport £300
GT Avalanche 1.0 £400
Giant Terrago Disc £400

I'm not sure which one to go for - any thoughts please?

You really don't want a mountain bike for general use. Seriously. The
gearing is too low, the suspension is largely a nuisance on tarmac, the
tyres are slow and noisy, and disk brakes are thief magnets. If you're
wanting a general utility bike, get a hybrid with slick tyres, rigid
forks and V brakes. It will be lighter or cheaper or faster (and most
likely all three).

Mind you, of course, if you want to get seriously off-road in the
forests or hills, then you _do_ want a mountain bike.

--
[email hidden] (Simon Brooke) http://www.jasmine.org.uk/~simon/

Morning had broken, and there was nothing we could do but wait
patiently for the RAC to arrive.

"Richard Lewis" <[email hidden]> wrote in message
news:[email hidden]...
: My local shops have recommended the following bikes for general use:
:
: Specialized Hardrock Sport £300
: GT Avalanche 1.0 £400
: Giant Terrago Disc £400
:
: I'm not sure which one to go for - any thoughts please?
:
Hi - I just got a Terrago FS2 as part of an insurance claim. Rides quite
nicely and some nice bits but within 2 weeks I had to replace both wheels -
one had a 'design fault' (LBS) and the other buckled twice, just with light
road use. While I was at it I replaced the brakes/levers to LX for £35 -
more of a badge upgrade, the ones on it work fine, they just look like
something off a £59 supermarket bike. Frame is well finished, although the
paint is too 'boy racer' for me - looked far more subdued in the photo.

Rob

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

Quoted message said:

Hi - I just got a Terrago FS2 as part of an insurance claim. Rides
quite nicely and some nice bits but within 2 weeks I had to replace
both wheels - one had a 'design fault' (LBS) and the other buckled
twice, just with light road use. While I was at it I replaced the
brakes/levers to LX for £35 - more of a badge upgrade, the ones on it
work fine, they just look like something off a £59 supermarket bike.
Frame is well finished, although the paint is too 'boy racer' for me
- looked far more subdued in the photo.

Sounds like you've got a 2004 model. The 2005 Terrago is very understated
in a gun metal grey colour.

--
Richard

in message <[email hidden]>, Richard

Lewis (') said:

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

Quoted message said:

I'm in the same boat as you. I've seen the Terrago (not sure if FS1
or FS2, could be both) for around £325 (back of bike mags) and the
Avalance 1.0 for £350.

The Terrago you're talking about sounds like the 2004 model. The £400
Giant I've seen is a 2005 edition.

And?

Don't get conned by this model year nonsense. A good bike is a good
bike. Cycle technology isn't advancing so quickly that a 2005 bike is
automatically better than a 2004 bike. Indeed, in my experience the
best bargains in new bikes are the ones being sold off cheap for no
better reason than that they're last years' model.

--
[email hidden] (Simon Brooke) http://www.jasmine.org.uk/~simon/

;; Life would be much easier if I had the source code.

"Simon Brooke" <[email hidden]> wrote in message
news:[email hidden]

Quoted message said:

And?

Don't get conned by this model year nonsense. A good bike is a good
bike. Cycle technology isn't advancing so quickly that a 2005 bike is
automatically better than a 2004 bike. Indeed, in my experience the
best bargains in new bikes are the ones being sold off cheap for no
better reason than that they're last years' model.

I think the 2005 model looks a lot better in it's gun metal grey. By all
accounts Giant messed up their 2004 range and really making up for it this
time around 🙂

It also has hydraulic disk brakes that are the same as on one of the £1500
Giants. I don't think the 2004 Terrago has these.

--
Richard

Quoted message said:

My local shops have recommended the following bikes for general use:

Specialized Hardrock Sport £300
GT Avalanche 1.0 £400
Giant Terrago Disc £400

I'm not sure which one to go for - any thoughts please?

For £400 can you get the next model up of Hardrock?

They're all going to be fairly heavy, and the GT will (probably) have a very
harsh ride, due to the triple triangle frame setup. The discs on the Giant
will probably not be great.

However, taking all that into account, any of these could give you a decent
platform for going mtbing, if you want, or just a fairly bomb-proof bike for
every day use. Can you take them for a test ride? That'd be the best way to
choose.

Failing that, look at a couple of mtbing mags - they regularly have 'what
bike can you get for under £500' reviews, and may provide an insight into
which you might prefer.

If you still can't choose, check out the spec on each - I'm guessing they'll
mostly have Shimano Alivio parts, or possibly no-name stuff. If there's any
Deore, that's a bonus. And check out the fork - do they come with suspension
forks, and if so, which model.

Nick

Richard Lewis said:

My local shops have recommended the following bikes for general use:

Specialized Hardrock Sport £300
GT Avalanche 1.0 £400
Giant Terrago Disc £400

I'm not sure which one to go for - any thoughts please?

After buying GTs for the last 10 years my last 2 have been very
disappointing (Avalanche included). I had a Giant a few years ago and wasn't
too impressed but after visiting a large bike shop that stocked everything
was told that in terms of value for money the Giants came out top. So I got
a 2004 Giant (forget the model but around £400 with disk brakes) and it is
excellent and I'll be looking at Giant again when I'm bored of this one.

I think mountain bikes are great for general use with the right tyres on
them. Rugged, solid and fun.

"Stephen (aka steford)" <[email hidden]> wrote in
message news:[email hidden]...

Quoted message said:

Richard Lewis said:

My local shops have recommended the following bikes for general use:

Specialized Hardrock Sport £300
GT Avalanche 1.0 £400
Giant Terrago Disc £400

I'm not sure which one to go for - any thoughts please?

After buying GTs for the last 10 years my last 2 have been very
disappointing (Avalanche included). I had a Giant a few years ago and

wasn't

Quoted message said:

too impressed but after visiting a large bike shop that stocked everything
was told that in terms of value for money the Giants came out top. So I

got

Quoted message said:

a 2004 Giant (forget the model but around £400 with disk brakes) and it is
excellent and I'll be looking at Giant again when I'm bored of this one.

I think mountain bikes are great for general use with the right tyres on
them. Rugged, solid and fun.

You seem to have gone through quite a hew bikes,
what do you do with them? wreck them annually.

I would recomend looking at Merlin Cycles. www.merlincycles.co.uk

Malt 1 Ltd edition is £400 and you get :

fairly light Alu 7005 frame
Full deore groupset
Handbuilt Rims
Reasonable Fork (have to pay a bit more to get a better one)

best bike available for the money IMHO

Quoted message said:

Specialized Hardrock Sport £300
GT Avalanche 1.0 £400
Giant Terrago Disc £400

I'm not sure which one to go for - any thoughts please?