Looking to buy a MTB over the holiday - whats a good budget?

Tea_Bag

as the title says really. Christmas present for myself, i want a MTB that:

will be used every day for commuting.
will be tortured everyday (i like to jump and mess around, occasionally falling)
will be left in the rain on occasion. (should i get a cover>?)
will be well upgradable as the budget increases.

what is a good budget to start on, just so i know how much i should be saving?
where is a good place to buy from? i plan on availing of the back to work scheme if possible. online is fine, also, i can get the bike shipped to family in england if they dont deliver to Ireland.


i have an old (be not much used) Scott Aspen (2003 i think) frame, is it worth my while building up from the frame, or buying a complete bike?


thanks for any advice!

seamus

"Good budget" is subjective. €1500 is a good budget. So is €2500. What can you afford?

If you're trying to get quality for as cheap as possible then you want to look in the €600-€800 bracket.
A hardtail is what you need, you'll get a fairly decent bike in this price range with a good base to upgrade from (but which wouldn't need it for a while).
If you're going to leave it outdoors, a cover is essential as is a massive chain lock.

Icyseanfitz

look for second hand bikes is my advice, i just bought a bionicon edison for 900 quid and am delighted with it im like a child at xmas go to madmtb.com and epicmtb.com as they have a good used sections

mockler007

Tea_Bag wrote: »

as the title says really. Christmas present for myself, i want a MTB that:

will be used every day for commuting.
will be tortured everyday (i like to jump and mess around, occasionally falling)
will be left in the rain on occasion. (should i get a cover>?)
will be well upgradable as the budget increases.

you would leave it out in the rain,???

Tea_Bag

mockler007 wrote: »

you would leave it out in the rain,???

unfortunatly, yes. ill be cycling to college and work, regardless of weather.

to hell with paying car insurance.

thanks for the advice so far guys.

as regard to budget, i really want 600 euro to be the upper limit, because its going into second hand car terratory there. that said, id hate to miss out on a much better bargain (and value for money) cause i didnt throw another 100 euro into it.

would i save much with the back to work scheme, or is better to buy second hand?

i went onto the websites suggested, but epicmtb is confusing and madmtb has mad prices on their for sale stuff.

Icyseanfitz

Tea_Bag wrote: »

unfortunatly, yes. ill be cycling to college and work, regardless of weather.

to hell with paying car insurance.

thanks for the advice so far guys.

as regard to budget, i really want 600 euro to be the upper limit, because its going into second hand car terratory there. that said, id hate to miss out on a much better bargain (and value for money) cause i didnt throw another 100 euro into it.

would i save much with the back to work scheme, or is better to buy second hand?

i went onto the websites suggested, but epicmtb is confusing and madmtb has mad prices on their for sale stuff.

yeah some of the stuff for sale on those sites is a tad expensive because there is a lot of top tier stuff for sale on them, just keep looking through them and you might find something. btw what are you looking for? a hardtail or full suspension bike (which can get quite pricey) id also suggest you look at this site for some new bikes (but add on £70 for shipping from england). im sure others can give you better advice as im a bit of a noobie

mockler007

here man, if i spent money on something, the last thing id do was leave it locked up in a bike rack, even those krypton locks arn't worth a joe blank,
they can be cut it in under 30 seconds, so much for their stated 5 minutes,
buy a chicken chaser, for a run around, and keep your proper much loved steed away from prying skanger eyes

Tonyandthewhale

Tea_Bag wrote: »

as regard to budget, i really want 600 euro to be the upper limit, because its going into second hand car terratory there.

Yes, but a second hand car is never going to be as much fun as a good MTB is it?

Barrya

i second the above poster in saying that if you are going to leave it locked up outside and leave it in the elements, don't bother spending that much. it will be gone in an instant.

if you want an mtb for its intended use then go for it. otherwise, it is likely to be regretted, and i would keep it cheap. losing bikes sucks, losing expensive bikes sucks even more.

Single Malt

Also a €600 bike will not last when jumping. You need two bike with a total budget of c. €2000, 600 for commuter, the rest for the jumper.

Daniel S

Tea_Bag wrote: »

unfortunatly, yes. ill be cycling to college and work, regardless of weather.

to hell with paying car insurance.

thanks for the advice so far guys.

as regard to budget, i really want 600 euro to be the upper limit, because its going into second hand car terratory there. that said, id hate to miss out on a much better bargain (and value for money) cause i didnt throw another 100 euro into it.

would i save much with the back to work scheme, or is better to buy second hand?

i went onto the websites suggested, but epicmtb is confusing and madmtb has mad prices on their for sale stuff.

You can get second hand bikes on the bike2work scheme as far as i know. You should check if the guys in Ballyhoura still have any Cube Acids left, it'd be worth the trip down to Limerick for it.

Lumen

mtb_kng wrote: »

You can get second hand bikes on the bike2work scheme as far as i know.

No.

Daniel S

Lumen wrote: »

No.

Why not? What's the difference between buying a used bike for €450 and a new one for €450? It still goes through the shop, exactly like a new bike.

Tea_Bag

mtb_kng wrote: »

Why not? What's the difference between buying a used bike for €450 and a new one for €450? It still goes through the shop, exactly like a new bike.

im fairly sure i wont be paying gov. tax on a second hand bike if i buy it

im actually in Limerick fwiw, so bikes arent stolen as much here as in dublin (i think). it'll be parked with loads of other bikes at the university during the day only, but at night (on weekends) it'll be parked by a (nice) pub with loads of CCTV cameras.

what are the Cube Acids like, and how much are they?
who should i get into contact with?

Gavin

Getting a 600-700 MTB for commuting is pointless. It's more likely to be stolen and there are better designs for handling all weather.

For example:

* Rather than a traditional derailleur, you could get a bike with hub gears. The hub gears are fully sealed and so less vulnerable to the elements.
* Instead of getting a bike with a suspension fork which again would be more vulnerable to weather, get a rigid fork.
* Most MTBs don't have eyelets for proper mudguards. Good mudguards don't just mean no wet arse, they also mean feet don't get splashed and the bike itself stays cleaner and needs less maintenance.
* MTBs come with offroad tyres, fat, plenty of knobbles, low pressure. No good for commuting on the road. Thinner, slick, high pressure, puncture resistant tyres are what you want for constant use and speed.


I'd suggest an On-One Pompetamine. They have disc brakes, hub gears, eyelets for mudguards and look deadly. It is still an expensive bike though, relatively, so you'll need a good quality ulock. (Do not buy a cable lock, if there's one bit of advice you actually take, that's it.)

Lumen

mtb_kng wrote: »

Why not? What's the difference between buying a used bike for €450 and a new one for €450? It still goes through the shop, exactly like a new bike.

The difference is that one is allowed and the other is not.

Daniel S

Tea_Bag wrote: »

im fairly sure i wont be paying gov. tax on a second hand bike if i buy it

im actually in Limerick fwiw, so bikes arent stolen as much here as in dublin (i think). it'll be parked with loads of other bikes at the university during the day only, but at night (on weekends) it'll be parked by a (nice) pub with loads of CCTV cameras.

what are the Cube Acids like, and how much are they?
who should i get into contact with?

Cube Acids are great bikes, about €880 new. The guys at Ballyhoura (trailriders.ie) are selling ex-rentals for €450. Since they're a shop, you could possibly get it on the bike to work scheme which means it would cost less than €250. I could be wrong though.

Edit: I am, can't do it with second hand bikes. You could still get the 2010 acid for €800 or the
2011 for €880. they both new bikes and would work under the scheme.

Bluefoam

I'm gonna suggest a Charge Tap, cos I have one and its deadly. Its not and MTB, but can take a hiding. It has a hub gear,all the fittings for mudguards and racks, a double butted steel frame and is super fast for a commuter. The 2011 model has mudguards as standard.
http://www.chargebikes.com/products/bikes/detail.php?id=26

Wiggle have the 2010 version for cheap & you can use the bike to work scheme with them.
http://www.wiggle.co.uk/charge-tap-2010/

Icyseanfitz

this seems like a nice deal but you have to add on £70 for shipping, comes out at around £370 read a good review on it on bike radar as well