Hardtail BIkes up to $1500?

M

Michae1

Likes Dirt
Hey Guys,

I am just entering the market for a new bike and as such would like to hear some recommendations from everyone as to what bikes to look out for.

I am 6' tall and 78kg, will be riding a combination or cross country, road and probably some trails also. ( I will also be buying a kiddie seat for my 2yr old so he can come for rides occasionally)

Looking to spend up to $1500 (just on the bike), prefer a Hard tail over a dual suspension ( I also imagine that for $1500 I'll get a better spec hard tail than a dual suspension.)

I live in Ipswich, just out of Brisbane, so maybe recommend some stores to visit between Brissy and Ipswich.

Cheers in advance for the advice :)

Michael
 
moodybluebob

moodybluebob

Likes Dirt
99 bikes
fortheriders
riders cyclery
nrg cycles
tc's bike barr
cycle now
life cycles.
kenmore cycles

thats just a few stores i know.
 
MasterOfReality

MasterOfReality

After forever
Avanti Barracuda gets my vote (cos I have one hehe).

I have only been in Brisbane for 10 months and there are a few Avanti dealers around, I remember one in Jindalee and one near Grange.
 
axertes

axertes

Likes Dirt
Well, I was in a similar situation and people recommended a Giant XTC2 as a good, light, well-specced hardtail for the price. So I bought one, and I'm quite happy with it so far. You should be able to get a new one for $1300ish.

I don't know much about other stuff though. I just ride the thing because these folks told me to buy it.

You could always go second-hand, but I was too underconfident with my knowledge, and basically couldn't be arsed, so I bought new. Have you looked at the buy-and-sell part of this forum?
 
ikon

ikon

Likes Dirt
GT Avalanche Expert just under your price from memory reasonably good kit X7/9 not bad weight and pretty strong, also flexible in use due to conservative geometry, not XC race and not too relaxed
 
C

cobba

Likes Dirt
Michae1 said:
I will also be buying a kiddie seat for my 2yr old so he can come for rides occasionally.
Looking to spend up to $1500. Prefer a Hard tail over a dual dual suspension.
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If you are planning on attaching a kids seat that would probably eliminate getting a dual suspension from the equation.
The frame on the bike will also need eyelets on the seat stays and rear drop outs to attach the kids seat/rack that the kids seat is attached.
This will eliminate a lot of different brands and models.
The bikes that were mentioned the XTC2 only has eyelets on the dropouts and Barracuda has no eyelets at all so they wouldn't be a very good choice.

Some brands and models that might interest you:

Avanti : Ridge Rider and Montari
Giant: Yukon, Alias and Talon.
Trek: 4300, 4500, 6300 and 6500.
Specialized: Hardrock and Rockhopper models.
Scott: Aspect models.
Gary Fisher: Marlin, Wahoo, Tassajara and Piranah.
Norco: Bushpilot, Mountaineer, Charger, Kokanee and Storm.
Kona: Fire Mountain, Caldera, Cinder Cone and Blast.

These bikes would range in price from around $750 to $1300, there all trusted brands and models -some more popular than others, and they would all do the job that you would require from it.
 
M

Michae1

Likes Dirt
I actually went and took a Trek 6700 (07 model) for a ride last night, it's been a while since I've ridden a bike, but it felt really good, light, easy to control. (has kiddie seat mounts too)

Price is down to $1500 from $2000 too :)

I dont plan on getting a duallie, I've never felt right on them.

I'll be going to the local shop this Saturday and taking some bikes for a ride, I'll keep an eye out for some of those bike you mentioned Cobba.
 
kv1973

kv1973

Likes Dirt
Michae1 said:
I actually went and took a Trek 6700 (07 model) for a ride last night, it's been a while since I've ridden a bike, but it felt really good, light, easy to control. (has kiddie seat mounts too)

Price is down to $1500 from $2000 too :)

I dont plan on getting a duallie, I've never felt right on them.

I'll be going to the local shop this Saturday and taking some bikes for a ride, I'll keep an eye out for some of those bike you mentioned Cobba.
Click to expand...
For the price you are talking about, most bikes if not all are generally made in China or Taiwan anyway. I believe Giant and Merida are the two largest manufacturers. Hence it just comes down to preference of which brand you are loyal to and what colour scheme you like. As for performance its either here nor there. Unless you are willing to pay for a little more - so its pretty much you pay for what you get.

Buying stuff off ebay is great. Surprisingly most bike mechanics I've spoken to buy off ebay for their personal bikes/components. If someone is in the same area as you contact them for a test ride. Usually you're getting unbeatable value. For the price you are willing to pay you can almost get a highish top end bike. As for duallies its a matter of preference - some people love them and some don't. I think if you off road all the time then duallie is the way to go. I like HT thats because I ride on road sometimes.
 
M

Michae1

Likes Dirt
Well, I went back to the Yellow Jersey today and put down a deposit on the Trek 6700, should be going to pick it up next Saturday :D

Didn't get a chance to go ride any other bikes, but I'm ok with that.
 
M

Michae1

Likes Dirt
Well I picked my bike up last night and rode it 6ks home, gotta say for someone who hasn't ridden a bike in about 6yrs I think I handled it well.

Rode another 7ks tonight, (with my 15kg 2yo son on the back) felt pretty good.

I plan to ride 10ks each way to work (I live 800m from work, so will be working out a longer way to get there)

Also intend get out onto some local trails for some leisurely rides until my fitness picks up a bit and I can get out there and ride with a decent level of intensity.


I'm loving the bike so far, the gears are taking some getting use to but with enough riding I'll have them sorted in no time.

I'm getting some M545 pedals next week so look forward to learning to ride clipless again (raced bmx for a year or 2 about 7yrs ago)
 
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