MTB recommendations?

Hi all.

I'm in the market for a new mountain bike, having decided that neither my
Dawes Galaxy nor my Brompton are suitable material for bumpy canal paths
and forest tracks.

So I'll be off bike shopping tomorrow, yippee! I'm just wondering if
anybody's got any recommendations...

Looking to spend under £500, some front suspension would be nice,
would prefer not too heavy. Don't need anything too funky, just want
a good quality bike that'll get me over mud, gravel, bumpy tracks, etc.
What's the best I can get for under 500?

Helen ST

--

(remove the last letter of the alphabet to e-mail me)

"Hel" wrote in message
news
Hi all.

I'm in the market for a new mountain bike, having decided that neither my
Dawes Galaxy nor my Brompton are suitable material for bumpy canal paths
and forest tracks.

So I'll be off bike shopping tomorrow, yippee! I'm just wondering if
anybody's got any recommendations...

Looking to spend under £500, some front suspension would be nice,
would prefer not too heavy. Don't need anything too funky, just want
a good quality bike that'll get me over mud, gravel, bumpy tracks, etc.
What's the best I can get for under 500?

Helen ST

--

(remove the last letter of the alphabet to e-mail me)

In your shoes - Specialized Rockhopper Womens if you can afford £549. It
doesn't seem to be discounted anywhere. Otherwise you could look at the Trek
4500 WSD which comes in at around £400 although I have no personal
experience of Treks. If you're looking for Value for Money Edinburgh Cycle
Co-op do their Cadence range of Womens Mountain Bikes. If it were me I'd
stretch to the Specialized particularly if you want something to match the
quality of your other 2 steeds and I suspect the manitou forks are going to
be less fuss than the others. All this assumes that you have the usual leg
legtn/reach quibbles whn you use a man's frame.

HTH
Julia

Hel wrote:
Hi all.

I'm in the market for a new mountain bike, having decided that neither my
Dawes Galaxy nor my Brompton are suitable material for bumpy canal paths
and forest tracks.

Whyever not? I have no hesitation taking a tourer on canal paths and
forest tracks. And that's just on the way to the real off-road areas,
where I can lose the showy MTBers 'cos it's far too rough for them.

By all means get an MTB, but the above isn't a reason for it.

--
Nick Kew

in message , JBB
') wrote:

"Hel" wrote in message
news
Hi all.

I'm in the market for a new mountain bike, having decided that
neither my Dawes Galaxy nor my Brompton are suitable material for
bumpy canal paths and forest tracks.

In your shoes - Specialized Rockhopper Womens if you can afford
£549. It
doesn't seem to be discounted anywhere.

The Rockhopper is quoted as being a whole Kg lighter than Specialized's
cheaper Hardrock series (and the bottom of the line, V brake equipped
Rockhopper is 2Kg lighter than the top of the line, disk brake equipped
Hardrock). However, for another £150 you could get a Cannondale F400
Feminine, which is another Kg lighter still.

--
(Simon Brooke) http://www.jasmine.org.uk/~simon/
;; "If I were a Microsoft Public Relations person, I would probably
;; be sobbing on a desk right now" -- Rob Miller, editor, /.

"Nick Kew" wrote in message
...
Whyever not? I have no hesitation taking a tourer on canal paths and
forest tracks. And that's just on the way to the real off-road areas,
where I can lose the showy MTBers 'cos it's far too rough for them.

Yebbut, a top cyclist riding a Raleigh Shopper would beat me off-road on my
mtb and on-road on my 'dale but I still don't want to ride a Raleigh Shopper
(and nor do they really, I imagine) ;-)

Pete

In message , Nick Kew
writes

I have no hesitation taking a tourer on canal paths and
forest tracks. And that's just on the way to the real off-road areas,
where I can lose the showy MTBers 'cos it's far too rough for them.



I was amused last weekend when out walking in our local woods with my
daughter, a couple of lads out on their mtb's plying in the woods. It
was a bit of hill, though fairly gentle, they were riding down the hill
and then pushing their bikes back up. Obviously not worked out what all
those rings and cogs were for :-)
--
Chris French, Leeds

Peter B wrote:

Yebbut, a top cyclist riding a Raleigh Shopper would beat me off-road on my
mtb and on-road on my 'dale

Erm, they'd beat me too, many times over. But that's not what I meant.

--
Nick Kew

"Nick Kew" wrote in message
...
Peter B wrote:

Yebbut, a top cyclist riding a Raleigh Shopper would beat me off-road on
my
mtb and on-road on my 'dale

Erm, they'd beat me too, many times over. But that's not what I meant.

I woz 'avin a larf.

I appreciate what you meant (I think) in asmuch as your tourer is more than
up to riding on rough tracks.
It isn't that the OPs bikes can't handle canal paths more likely that the OP
would have a softer ride with decent front sus and fatter, lower pressure
tyres.

The mtb probably would be no faster off-road, up to a point, and certainly
slower when transitting on-road to off-road sections but would likely be
more comfortable, it's down to selection criteria that is not exclusively
the bikes ability to handle the rough.
Hence my remark about not choosing a Raleigh Shopper, but you've already
said "By all means get an MTB, but the above isn't a reason for it" so we're
really agreeing, I think.

Pete

Peter B wrote:

Yebbut, a top cyclist riding a Raleigh Shopper would beat me off-road on my
mtb and on-road on my 'dale but I still don't want to ride a Raleigh Shopper
(and nor do they really, I imagine) ;-)


You just more technical terrain. They won't beat you if they must carry
the shopper while you still ride.

Kind regards

Bruno

Hel wrote:
Hi all.

I'm in the market for a new mountain bike, having decided that
neither my Dawes Galaxy nor my Brompton are suitable material for
bumpy canal paths and forest tracks.

So I'll be off bike shopping tomorrow, yippee! I'm just wondering if
anybody's got any recommendations...

Looking to spend under £500, some front suspension would be nice,
would prefer not too heavy. Don't need anything too funky, just want
a good quality bike that'll get me over mud, gravel, bumpy tracks,
etc. What's the best I can get for under 500?

If you're a tall woman, an 18" geared Inbred from on-one.co.uk

It's not got suspension, but it's nice and light (about 26lbs I think), and
not much more with suspension forks on.

If you're a short woman, an 18" geared Inbred, a 14" inbred frame (email
them and they'll do you a deal), and move all the components over and sell
the 18" frame. Should work out about £400 again, and if you're not keen on
swapping the headset and BB over, they can both be had for about £15 a piece
and you can leave them in the frame.

And then a pair of Marzocchi MX Comps from last year when you get some cash
and really want suspension.