Introductions - A small intro

Hi,

I'm Shep, living in the sunny and rain free region of Northern Ireland. A place of outstanding natural beauty + amazing off-road bike tracks. About a year ago i wrote off my motor. Because of shyloc style insurance agents i was unable to replace my car. When i was younger i used to cycle everywhere on an old raleigh 18 speed mountain bike but stopped when i got my license. So with no car i went and bought a trek 3500 21" mountain bike (no suspension + V brakes). Because i was mostly concerned with getting to work and back the no suspension wasn't a problem, but recently i have been doing some forest and mountain work and the rigid frame is killing me off-road. As a result of cycling to work everyday for almost a year (excusing sleeping in or snow) i have really caught the bug. Mostly because the extra fitness is helping me with my other hobbies and general awareness in everyday life. I have some questions that i will trail through this forum to find the right place to ask, and i hope they will be honestly answered.

The first thing to say is that we have now got a cycle to work programm in conjunction with Halfords. The result is that if i order a bike up to a value of £1000 pounds, the government will subsidise the payment. Meaning - i pay back the value before i get taxed, so all bike come with a immediate 25% discount. I have around £400 quid to spend on a bike, Halfords have told me i can go to Evanscycles.com and pick a bike. I have my heart set on hydraulic disc brakes and good front suspension, i don't like the idea of rear suspension.

Does anybody have some constructive criticism or input to help me make a really good long term choice for both on and off - road everyday cycling?

Hey Shep, welcome to BF! Since you're looking at a mtb for both commuting and trail riding, you might want to post this question in either Commuting or the Mountain Bikes forum, depending on which you plan to use the bike for most. Before you do, try searching BF for the models you're interested in to see what others have written in the past. If that doesn't yield anything useful, post the question. Good luck!

your a good man thanks

Having never owned a bike with disc brakes I cannot comment on their reliability, but I would try to stay as simple as possible, esp. if this was my primary means of transport. Something with simple cables and break blocks seems like it would be the most reliable. I think you may want to look at a bike intended for the sport of cyclocross. It should be tough enough to handle most trails, and still pretty swift and nimble on the road. Best of luck to you in your search and kudos to your kudos to your government for helping to encourage cyclists with economic incentives. I second the idea of visiting the commuter sub forum here for advice.