# Mountain Bike Suggestions



## danwel

I'm looking at a mountain bike for my son who is going to be 10 and is 150cm tall.

I'd ideally like something that is going to last and not going to be scrap in about a year. It will be used for paths, gravel trails and the odd jump at the tracks near us.

I was looking at a Rockrider ST 100 for around £200 but in all honesty it's a bit of a minefield.

I think budget is around the £200 - £250 mark and I guess I'm not against buying second hand of I'm getting a much better bike.

any advice or suggestions I'd be gratefully appreciated

I'm currently at these 3 but open to suggestions, I know one is over budget but wondered if it was worth the extra cast compared to the one at £179

https://www.halfords.com/bikes/moun...2020---black---xs-s-m-l-xl-frames-340910.html

https://www.decathlon.co.uk/275-mountain-bike-st-100-id_8542588.html

https://www.decathlon.co.uk/st-520-mountain-bike-yellow-id_8558840.html


----------



## AnthonyUK

At that price point I would take a look what you can get second hand. 
If there is nothing the last Decathlon is ok. 
It does weigh nearly 2 stone though but he will likely outgrow it before it is wrecked. 

IMO it is a false economy upgrading cheap bikes so you may as well start off with something half decent.


----------



## kingswood

As above. Don’t upgrade cheap bikes as would be a lot cheaper buying a decent one when he’s ready 

Are any of them bikes in stock? They may have to make your decisions on what’s available. A lot of stuff has sold out. My friend has a bike shop and they can’t get any new stock. All the 2020 gear has sold. He stocks cubes and pythons as a cheaper option. They’ve being the busiest they’ve ever being as people have more time and the weather is better. 

Good luck with your search 


Sent from my iPhone using Tapatalk


----------



## danwel

AnthonyUK said:


> At that price point I would take a look what you can get second hand.
> If there is nothing the last Decathlon is ok.
> It does weigh nearly 2 stone though but he will likely outgrow it before it is wrecked.
> 
> IMO it is a false economy upgrading cheap bikes so you may as well start off with something half decent.


That was my thought process in that am I better off buying decent now in the hope it lasts a few years, I definitely have no intention of upgrading parts as they're not worth the hassle


----------



## danwel

kingswood said:


> As above. Don't upgrade cheap bikes as would be a lot cheaper buying a decent one when he's ready
> 
> Are any of them bikes in stock? They may have to make your decisions on what's available. A lot of stuff has sold out. My friend has a bike shop and they can't get any new stock. All the 2020 gear has sold. He stocks cubes and pythons as a cheaper option. They've being the busiest they've ever being as people have more time and the weather is better.
> 
> Good luck with your search
> 
> Sent from my iPhone using Tapatalk


The carrera's in Halfords are in stock and the rockriders are in and out of stock. I'm looking to buy one soon as like you said they're all getting sold out.

I'm not against a second hand one, I just don't even know where to start


----------



## Tyrefitter

I got a Carrera from Halfords at beginning of lockdown & it a decent bike for the money £300,,Halfords shares have gone up by about 15% since lockdown started with everyone buying new bikes & bike accessories.


----------



## danwel

Tyrefitter said:


> I got a Carrera from Halfords at beginning of lockdown & it a decent bike for the money £300,,Halfords shares have gone up by about 15% since lockdown started with everyone buying new bikes & bike accessories.


To be honest my son is the carrera vengeance I linked in the post at his mums and has had it since xmas and it's been good so far


----------



## jenks

I know it's not a mountain bike but I have a Carrera cyclo-cross which I've had 4 years now. I've done over 4k miles on it, mainly a mix of paved cycle paths or compacted mud/hardcore ones. It's been great, I can't recommend it enough. It's cost me £10.70 in repairs in that time.
Don't forget that your son will probably outgrow the bike on a couple of years anyway


----------



## danwel

Oh my days, what a nightmare trying to get a mountain bike !!! The ones in decathlon go in and out of stock and if you’ve not got delivery at 11;01 a minute after they update then it’s game over !!

I’ve got until July 24th but it’s not looking good lol


----------



## Kenan

The Decathlon bikes are very good value for money, at Halfords they periodically knock 30-50% off the bike prices so unless they are currently discounted you are paying over the odds. If you do buy from Halfords you can get 10% off if you join the British Cycling Association, so depending how much you spend you can save s bit.


----------



## danwel

Kenan said:


> The Decathlon bikes are very good value for money, at Halfords they periodically knock 30-50% off the bike prices so unless they are currently discounted you are paying over the odds. If you do buy from Halfords you can get 10% off if you join the British Cycling Association, so depending how much you spend you can save s bit.


I think I may struggle with Decathlon but will keep trying. Seen a couple on Halfords I could buy and they do tell you what is coming in stock the following week so that's helpful.

Thanks for the heads up in the discounts and joking the British cycling association, I'll look into that


----------



## Coops

My lads both have Rockriders, great bikes and offer really good value for money.

We got them when they were 13, a couple of Christmas's ago, bought much larger sizes due to getting them in winter and they are still going strong.

They've stood up to all the rigours thrown at them when we go biking, road and off road. So they're not fully fledged MTB nor have really high spec kit on them but they are functional as kids bikes.


----------



## danwel

Coops said:


> My lads both have Rockriders, great bikes and offer really good value for money.
> 
> We got them when they were 13, a couple of Christmas's ago, bought much larger sizes due to getting them in winter and they are still going strong.
> 
> They've stood up to all the rigours thrown at them when we go biking, road and off road. So they're not fully fledged MTB nor have really high spec kit on them but they are functional as kids bikes.


Thanks for that, that was pretty much my thoughts. My son isn't going to be doing mountain trail after trail to be honest. It's just trying to actually get one now before 24th July that is proving to be difficult


----------



## percymon

At a similar age i bought son a new Merida Matts 500D hard tail. superb bike with a decent alloy frame that's served him with bare minimum maintenance until he was ca 16. Frame is a bit too small now for his lanky 18 years build, but he can ride it for short trips to pick up my beers from the shops. I probably paid nearer £300 at the time (it was a £750rrp bike) but there are often lightly used examples at low money on ebay - it's not the brand a lot first think off (likewise Marin), so buyers advantage.


----------



## danwel

Lillamy said:


> The Decathlon bikes are very affordable, I'm planning to order ROCKRIDER ST 520 27.5" Mountain Bike next week.


They have good stock of bikes at the moment so get in there quick as delivery slots are literally gone by 11:01 / 11:02 once they've reset at 11pm


----------

