How to Chose a Mountain Bike - From Hard Tails and Alloy Frames

Aug.22, 2008 in Bikes

There is now a huge choice of mountain bikes on the market to chose from, and all with a wide variety of options. The first step in choosing a new bike is to set yourself a budget. Cheap bikes start in at under £100, and these provide fantastic value for money. Most good mountain bikes are in the price range of £200-£300, and then upwards of £300 bikes start to get more specialised. Top end bikes can be well over a thousand pounds - these are for the serious riders.

Bikes are built using various different materials. The material used is generally the main determinant of price. Generally bikes are made from either aluminium, carbon fibre, chrome molybdenum (a steel alloy) or titanium. Aluminium is the most durable material, and also the most affordable. Titanium bikes are extremely tough, but very expensive.

Mountain bikes come in hard tail or full suspension models. Hard tail models better suited to frequent road use, with occasional trail racing / mountain biking. Full suspension mountains bikes are essential if you will mainly be riding off road over rough terrain, and generally putting the bike through its paces.

Chose the right size of the bike. Mountain bikes come in small, medium, large and extra large. If you are going to be riding on the road, then get a larger frame, as you will be seated most of the time. For mountain biking, a smaller frame is often preferred, as it will be lighter, more agile, and you will rarely sit down while riding.

There are many well respected manufactures of mountain bikes. Claud Butler produce an excellent range of bikes. The Claud Butler Cape Wrath D27 2008 Dual Disc Hardtail Mountain Bike 22″ is a good choice for a general purpose bike, with an aluminium frame, making it lightweight and fast on the streets. A good starter trail bike is the Lombardo Yakhchal 450 18.5″ Full Suspension MTB, which features a sturdy alloy frame with an all alloy four bar linkage rear suspension system. If you are looking for something more high-end, then the Claud Butler Antaeus 2008 Dual Disc Hardtail is a good example of a solid all purpose bike.

Other selection Mountain Bikes:

Lombardo Yakhchal 450 18.5″ Full Suspension MTB
Buy new: £245.50 Usually dispatched within 1-2 business days