I'm interested in buying a mountain bike for commuting to work and have a maximum budget of £400?

Question

I really like the look of the Scott Scale 80, 2008 model. Is this bike any good or can anyone recommend any alternatives as I am a newcomer to cycling.

Answer 1

I would definitely recommend kona blast 08. I cycle every day and it has been a joy. www.cyclestore.co.uk have it on a sale price. You can find it over places aswell. My mate has a scott scale but a similar model. It hasn't let him down once so you can go foer a scott dale.

Answer 2

The Scale 80 has a great spec for this price range, i have owned a Scott bike before and am also looking at purchasing either the Scott 70 or 80 soon.  Other considerations may be the Cannondale F5 Disc and also consider GT bikes.  These would be fine to use in any kind of cross country riding and could even be raced.....so should be more than fine for commuting!!

Answer 3

I would recommend going to your local police auction; people don't nick rubbish bikes, and you get *a lot* more bang for your buck second hand.

If you can't find a police auction, try a pawn shop; I picked up 1500 quid's worth of Dave Hinde M3 for 200 quid.

Answer 4

there is lots of choice at this price, I strongly advise you to use your local bike shop, if you are commuting, you will need your bike serviced on a regular basis, and you can,t get this done mail-order.

Avoid the auctions unless you know what you are buying, its easy to get carried away, I,ve seen bikes with bent forks sell at more than the cost of a new bike!!

Also , if you are using the bike on road and decent tracks only, do not have rear sus, it adds to the weight and soaks up energy, also fit slick or semi-slick tyres with puncture protection

Answer 5

I have recently purchased a Giant mountain bike it is great easy to handle it was very reasonable too less than £200 in a sale.

Answer 6

The Scale is a good bike.  If you can get it for under £400, buy it.  However, it is worth noting that the Scale is a race machine.  This means that its handling on the trails is set up for power and speed in amongst a pack.

You might do better with another machine with a more general XC set up.

Also, you are going to be using this as a commuter machine.  Do you need a mountain bike, or will a road/hybrid be more practical (Note: road wheels will get you around quicker on tarmac than nobly tyres).

However, if you want to go off road and have some fun on the trails, then a mountain bike is for you.  You might also consider a Giant or Trek as these might be more suitable to your learning curve.

So overall I would say that the Scott is a bargain, but pop down to your local bike shop (NOT Halfords/Tescos/Auto centre etc. But a real bike shop) and talk to the people there about the sort of riding that you want to do.

Luck